Power Dressing 1O1 (ft. Ni & Sa Bags)

Hey pretty ladies, hope all's good and you're keeping pretty. It's been a while since I've had a conversation about power dressing, and a lot of you have been asking me to put across my thoughts about the styles we could don at work! TBH, I'm not really fond of dressing for work, but there's no reason I shouldn't be doing it as well. I meet so many different people at work and I've realised the first think they notice about me (and vice versa) is how I've dressed, and it speaks a lot about my personality. So, today's post is about a formal look I created recently to show you how to rock at your next business meeting! 

My favorite quote about style is "Being stylish means standing out yet fitting in at the same time."  I think this is so appropriate for workplace attire and creating a powerful style because you always want to stand out for the right reasons at work.  This means to find a style that fits within the parameters of what’s appropriate, but this varies for each individual. Clothes tell you a lot about a person, and whether you like it or not, the way you look plays a role in your success in the modern workplace!

shacket : Shopnineteen.com | spaghetti, pants : Pantaloons | heels : StreetStyleStore.com | bag : Ni & Sa Bags

sunglasses : Rayban | watch : Daniel Wellington | ring : Blinglane

It's true that there isn’t a lot of variety when it comes to work clothing, so when creating a powerful style the goal instead is to play with how you combine these pieces to make them look different.  In the outfit above, all the pieces are pretty basic. I opted for a pair of high-ankled grey pants from Pantaloons. Now these are cotton pants with classic checkered pattern and super comfortable to wear! I paired it with a pink spaghetti and layered the top with a zebra print shacket in brown-beige. This 'shacket' is a substitute to the heavy blazers we opt to wear at work, but this is a lighter piece with satin fabric base apt for summers, and looks formal and stylish at the same time giving a stronger impression!

Along with a stylish outfit, what also is needed to invest into are the accessories you choose to play with. And bags actually play an important role in making you stand out! For my look, me being me, chose to ditch the boring leather bags and picked this cool tan bag with multi-colored tassles from Ni & Sa Bags Collection. Its really spacious to fit in everything you need for the day (files, stationery, and other regular essentials). And, the sling makes it a cross-body which is super comfy to carry too.

To finish my look, keeping the other accessories minimal, I added a classic petite sterling silver watch which looks the most formal in my watch collection; a little ring on the mini finger; and my stepped-up peep toes in beige and black to match the outfit and portray a straight posture. Trust me, heels (not too high) are one of the most important part of power dressing especially for younger girls! They make you appear classy and smart in most cases and everybody appreciates that.

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So girls, the next time you're leading a team, making a presentation or just want people to know you are in charge, dress up your best and rock it! Let me know if this post helped you in some way, in the comments below. Until next, love.

Photographed by : Madhukant Tripathi  |  Makeup by : Divya Vishnani  |  Shot at : Rollarappa Lucknow - Episode 3

~xoxo~

Pop Fashion 101

The fashion industry is at once the most visible and overlooked of cultural sectors where fashion statements are often both influential and philosophy-laden and, therefore, often need to be considered, analysed, or challenged. When we open our closet doors each morning, we seldom consider what our sartorial choices say, whether we tend toward jeans and a well-worn concert t-shirt or wingtips and a three-piece suit. Yet, how we dress divulges more than whether we crave comfort or couture; our clothing communicates who we are and how we relate to our culture.

Today, as I write this post for you, I feel my style and sense of fashion has evolved into popular culture by mixing both western and traditional clothing in my dressing often! Its been long that I have been combining fashion theory with approaches from literature, art, music, advertising, media studies, and sociology, which seems to have the capacity to both influence and be influenced by popular culture, and its meaning is also contingent upon context. Well, as the fashion that appears in "pop style fad" imagery too closely resembles the constructs found in the creators of high fashion, I am here to share with you a look that might act as a medium for self-expression covering a host of stellar designs!

Fashion-conscious youth like me pay attention to minute details such as color and design while buying clothes, and when you are in a creative field, anything and everything inspires you, which could be nature, architecture, colors or just anything around! It took me a few days' time to figure out that there are still some fashion-girl trends that even the most style adept have trouble mastering with total confidence. A mix of westernised clothes with Indian cuts still needs a lot of stylised blends may it be in fabric, patterns or draping, and while my recent shopping included a lot of solos (which means that I bought them not because I needed them, but only because I liked their cuts, prints and colors), I thought of creating a pop culture look which might help you solve the trend turmoil!

kurta : Anouk | leggings : Kook n Keech | dupatta : Aksara | bag : Old Buy

heels : StreetStyleStore | necklace : Shopnineteen | watch : Cheapo

When we talk of pop culture fashion, most of to what I've been reading since years is majorly constituted of the Japanese styles incorporated from the U.S. at one time. But darling, when I say fashion in Japan, its not confined to Kimonos! There's a lot more to it like skinny bottoms with long flowy shirts or dresses, astonishing platform shoes and radical makeup. Taking inspiration from the same kind of popular fashion culture, I chose to team up a pair of black Marvel leggings from Kook n Keech with a modernised short kurta from Anouk, that has the trending cat print on it, brought down straight from the runway inspired by Marc Jacobs' latest cat design collection, and a bright floral bluish-pink dupatta from Aksara, giving it an Indian twist!

Swiftly gracing this summery outfit, I added a fussy looking fringe necklace from complementing the fringe bag I hung as a cross body in brown color. By looking at the pictures you must have noticed I tried to keep the color scale of my outfit on a brighter tone as compared to the earthy accompaniments like the leather platform heels matched with a leather strap wrist watch in brown along with other accessories as mentioned. I must tell you that my heels might appear to be impractical or uncomfortable but these are one of the most comfy pair of footwear I've ever owned to look taller!

To finish off, my MUA chose to pin my hair up in a side bun, color my lips deep pink simply to match the kurta and add a few defined lines of kohl creating a checker box near my eyes making it look unconventional, and if you bump into me only to fine me sporting it on a regular day, you'd probably think I've become a wackadoo! But you'd also agree that it does look cool. Well, now that I've shown you a way to style an eccentric look, I hope y'all will try to incorporate it the next time you're fanatic over a pop fashion style, and oh, just to mention if you kept on thinking pop fashion means discovering and replicating pop star fashion, you should probably just laugh it off! :p

PS : This entire look contains all clothing from Myntra, and I really hope you liked it, and if you did, do let me know in the comments below. Also, if you have a personal pop fashion style to suggest, please drop me a message and we can cover it up in the next post maybe! Until then, lot of love.

Photographed by : Yash Athwani  |  Makeup by : Divya Vishnani

~xoxo~ 

INDICHIC ft. Indisans

Hi everyone, hope all's going good at your end! I've just got up from a heavy dose of sickness and getting back to work feels nothing less than amazing.

A lot of you know that I've been on bed rest for past one week but I really wanted to throw up a post today, since its been really long that I was working on this editorial for you with INDISANS, a new fashion brand that sells a variety of handloom bags and clutches! Its one of the coolest startups by a friend and I'm really happy to share this post in collaboration with one of their exclusive bags from their soon-to-be-launched collection! Scroll down below to check out all bag details and some pretty outfit shots...  

dress : AND | coat : StalkBuyLove | shoes : StreetStyleStore

bag : Indisans | handcuff, bracelet : Shopnineteen | earrings : Privi Accessories

In India, fabrics and garments have been an integral part of life. They are reminiscent not only of the beauty of the past, but also a catalyst to future entrepreneurs. Indian craftsmen are constantly being reminded and encouraged to move with the times and bring innovations to their designs. The world’s leading couturiers have fashioned India’s timeless fabrics into garments that mesmerise the world with their beauty and splendor. Similarly, Indisans was born at a discussion about how diverse India is with an idea to uplift the culture and traditional handicrafts, and develop a platform, a marketplace which has a collection of handlooms, regional products and specialities of India.

Since Indisans is launching their online website soon, they sent me a few pieces from their exclusive collection and I picked a blue brocade zipper clutch to show you all in this post! More often when we see an Indian design bag, we readily team it up with some Indian attire like sarees or salwar kameez, but I chose to pair up my clutch unconventionally with a blue short dress from AND, layering it with a white Edie Blazer (or doctor's coat as they call it) from StalkBuyLove and my current favorite black high-tops from StreetStyleStore, creating a fun, street style look! Not often do we see such pairings but I just felt it looked decent enough with a spark that I added by accessorising it perfectly with those gold earrings and blue-gold handcuff to match the gold design on the clutch and a blue bracelet on the other wrist to add some definition.

The clutch has a small sling that makes it easy to carry in your hand, and a zipper to keep it simple. I really like the keri design on it which is both traditional and casual making it a versatile piece, undoubtedly. PS : Indisans has a lot of other designs to choose from, ranging from handbags, to slings, to shoulder bags and party clutches. Don't forget to check out their instagram to pick your favorites!

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If you liked this post, do share it ahead and don't forget to follow me on instagram, facebook, and snapchat for daily OOTDS and all BTS! Until next time, lots of love.

~xoxo~

India On A Platter at L-14, Renaissance Lucknow

Hi guys, what's up? Hope y'all are gearing up for all the festivities that are lined up! Yeah?

Now, please consider my apologies for the delay in publishing this post. I know how eagerly you've been waiting to know all about the INDIA ON A PLATTER dinner buffet I attended at L-14, Renaissance Lucknow Hotel last week, but tbh I just wasn't in the condition of writing anything because as some of you already know (via my Snapchat), I accidentally burnt my face and still am in the dilemma seeing the scars on it! I so hope it recovers soon.

Well, I am sure by now you are quite aware with my association with Renaissance Lucknow, and I really want to thank you for being so supportive and loving all my articles that I've been writing for them past 2 months! It feels overwhelmed reading your responses too. Like for the last one, one of you readers mailed me saying "I love the way you portray each and every detail about all the food that you eat at Renaissance, it feels like I myself am experiencing all of it!" It touched my heart you know.

Anyways, so the last editorial was about the Oriental Food Festival I attended at L-14, and this time again I was invited to be a part of their Independence week dinner at the same restaurant! I surely was much excited because the place won my heart even the last time, completely. So, I along with my friend and photographer Karan Sawnani went to hog on some scrumptious delicacies as flavoured and brought under one roof from all the corners of India, as to celebrate the country's 70th Independence Week! We spent some amazing time tasting the delicious food at the buffet, and clicking some pictures for you to drool over. Scroll down to take a look at all of it below...

Both me and Karan are vegetarians, and its kinda said that vegetarians miss out on a lot while they just have a few options to choose from, but bursting that myth, let me tell you that the chefs at Renaissance make sure that vegetarians are never lagging behind when it comes to getting the best of fooding amidst the huge layout of non-vegetarian dishes. For us, the menu was a super huge one to pick our favorites from. Starting from the starters served at the table were Kurkuri Tikki, Malai Seekh Kebabs and Tandoori Aloo, while after finishing it we got up to enjoy the buffet loaded with mouth-watering main course that including variety of dal (lentil), and other gravy dishes from different states of India, and we ate Dal Makhni, Gujrati Kadhi, Paneer Tikka Butter Masala, Gutti Vankaya Kura, noodles, etc. with variety of rice and breads. The salad section was filled with multifarious assortments as well. And lastly, the desert section like always pulled me for more. My favorite being the Rasmalai, Mathura Peda and Petha. 

STARTERS

Kurkuri Tikki

Malai Seekh Kebab

Tandoori Aloo

Tandoori Corn

Variety of Salads

MAIN COURSE

Bhaji (Curried Potatoes)

Bhurji (Indian Scrambled Eggs)

Wok Tossed Vegetables

Dal Makhani

Gujrati Gobhi Matar Ka Saag

Keema Kaleji (Minced Lamb) - Non Veg

Andhara Fish - Non Veg

Nijami Tangri (Hyderabadi Spices Flavored Chicken) - Non Veg

Mutton Tomari (Minced Lamb Preparation) - Non Veg

Pulao

Guests at the dinner buffet

Oh, my fingers! But the food looks much more appetising! (hehe)

DESERTS

Mango Savarin

Mathura Peda

Rasmalai

Me trying to grab the petha like.......dayyum!!

I would separately like to mention the Chaat corner they had consisting the flavours of North India to be specific. I enjoyed the LIVE Pani Puri eating session, and then we had the startling Raj Kachori to sum up our love for Lucknowi chaat. Also, I love to eat Gujrati dishes, and one of most favorite is Khaandvi. I don't really get good Khaandvi in Lucknow, but the pieces I tasted at Renaissance charmed me tons!

Chaat Pre-preparation : paapdi, kachori, mathri, bhujia, sev, etc.

Like how we love to have the authentic Paani Puri.

Raj Kachori (filled with aloo tikki, fruit bits, dahi, chutney, sev, etc.)

Dhokla (up), Khaandvi (down)

It might sound monotonous while I tell you that L-14 has the best view for you to gaze at the town outside, but I can't resist mentioning it again & again! It leaves me spellbound each time I visit there. And, lets just talk about the interiors and the ambience provided for a minute, they have something new to cater each time, like for this week, it was all festooned with colorful kites (that incidentally matched my outfit for the day too), above their open kitchen, the roof above the dining space, and everywhere. Immensely beautiful it appeared! PS : A little Chai (tea) corner completed the theme for #FlavoursOfIndia as arranged by them, that if one of my tea lover friends would've visited along, surely would've felt in love with.

Its really thrilling to see how the entire team of Renaissance manages to make you feel comfortable each time you visit at the hotel. In other words, I've started feeling like home at #RenLko already. Also, in a quick recent interaction with Chef Sachin Verma at L-14, I got to know about a variety of flavours and techniques that he and his team used to prepare some of the most authentic Indian dishes for this exclusive dinner buffet that's running up till tomorrow - 14th August, that'll be followed by a grand Independence Day Brunch on the 15th of August, 2016. Now you surely wouldn't want to miss out on that! Make reservations now.

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You know I'm not much of an Indian outfit wearer, but occasionally it feels good to dress up as per the theme. So, this time at L-14, I wore a long, blue Pakistani kurta with pink, wide palazzos to that came along as a set! Accessorized the outfit minimally with a pair of matching earrings, a handcuff and rings. Completed the look with a matching clutch and heels!

kurta, palazzos : Pantaloons | heels : Steve Madden | clutch : StalkBuyLove

handcuff : Shopnineteen | rings : Myntra | earrings : Auhna Creations

Hope you liked this post! If you did, do share it across. And, don't forget to hit up to my social media that includes facebook, instagram, twitter and roposo for daily OOTDS and other cool updates. Until next time, much love!

Photographed by : Karan Sawnani (Exposure Imageries)

~xoxo~