The BIG lil Flea

Hello !

I know I have been MIA for a while now, but that was only because I was super tied up with an event I participated in. So,today my blog post is going to be about that event

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Wardrobe Essential : A T-Shirt Dress

Fashion, Home

Happy Wednesday you guys !

I LOVE dresses, all kinds of them, but mostly the ones that are loose and boxy. Not only are their comfortable to be in, but there are many, many ways to style them too. So, today’s mid-week blog post is for all those people who hate wearing pants, like me !

I spotted this red dress in Forever 21 couple of months back and that was the best Rs. 600 I have ever spent till date.

I have worn this dress so many times, and in so many combinations- its insane. So today I’m going to share with you 5 ways in which you can style one basic T-shirt dress.

Look 1

Style the dress with a scarf. They are easily available and doesn’t even cost much. Try and use contrasting prints and colors to really bring out the color of the base outfit. I paired it with some nude flats and added these gold hoop earrings from Claire’s to finish off the look.

Look 2

Layering is your best friend. Layer the dress with a with a long cape to add a little drama and jazz to the outfit or throw on the most fashionable trend of the season- kimonos and you are all ready to roll. I have worn a delicate gold leaf chain I got from colaba to complete this look. I have also layered this dress with a denim jacket, I think it adds some dimension to this dress. I wore some blingy choker neckpiece with the jacket, and finished off the entire look with a pair of oxfords.

Look 3

Get your girlie on- Pair it with a floral skirt. If you want to add more colors to your outfit, this is the way to go. Add a bright tote and you are all set to meet your girls for brunch. I wore my nude flats and also added an aqua neckpiece from Forever 21.

Look4

With Denim. Yes,OK. Sometimes you just HAVE to wear a pair of denims and when you do, you can tuck this in and finish it off with a nice belt.I have used an old tan thrifted belt for this look, paired with my Aztec pumps from Van Heusen, a neckpiece from Forever 21 and topped it off with the oldest watch I own !

Look 5

Get creative. You know how sometimes you have those days when you have to wear something Indian when you are going out but you have nothing to wear ? Ta-Da- T-Shirt Dresses.Dig out your mother’s Patiala or loose dhoti pants from her closet and throw on a contrasting printed dupatta.

It is easy & comfortable,you can create your own look and lets face it, your mother’s happy 😛

So there it is, a simple T-shirt dress, styled 5 different ways.

If you think there is something more you could do with this dress, leave your ideas below !

Belly Boot Camp

Home, Random Musings

I have always spoken about dance, my entire life, so it was only natural that I make some space in my blog for my first love.

I have been dancing since I was in school, but never went to any professional classes. I started learning belly dancing when I was in college, just because I wanted to learn something different & it helped that the studio was close to my college too. I continued learning for a couple of years, and in between this, is when I fell in love with Latin form of dancing too. I tried managing both one after the other- which is a task, trust me (and it doesn’t help that, such professional classes aren’t really easy on a college student’s pocket)

Apart from the regular belly dancing classes, there lot of dance workshops and bootcamps that gets conducted, wherein you have guest instructors coming down and teaching you their style. Somehow I never attended any of them, until I finally did ! And boy was it something..!!

A 12 hour belly bootcamp- split across 2 days. It was as intense as it was hot to learn from one of the best belly dancers India has had !

From intense drum solo to dancing with veil Poi, Payal Gupta had us on our toes. Add to this Arun Bharadwaj‘s smooth jazz-belly fusion and his workshop on learning to choreograph on the spot, and we had the perfect melange of technique and innovation.

This event was organized by Melvin Louis’ Dance incorporated as a prequel to their main show happening in December. You can follow their page for more updates on their event. The bootcamp was very well organized and I definitely had a lot to take away from this apart from the pair of Poi I took home. I sucked so bad at it, that I decided to take it up and learn to work with it, before Payal decides to come down again for these workshops !

If you guys were wondering what I had worn for the workshops, I decided to wear loose cotton pants on both the days. On day one,I wore this tangerine tie-pants, which I got from Goa. These pants are free size and has fastening at the front and back (got it for Rs.120) and paired it with a crop top I had worn before here. And on the second day I wore a pair of palazzos and a tank top from Forever 21.

Belly dancing is all about feeling good about yourself, being confident and comfortable in your own skin. I think every person should attend at least one demo class, to know what I’m talking about !

So go on and try something new today !

PS- If any of you wants to know more about belly dancing,dance classes or about these instructors, you can always give a shoutout to me.

5 Festive Must Haves !

Fashion, Home

The last 3 months of the year are the hardest for us, Indians. Mainly because there are so many festivals, functions, weddings to attend that we can hardly keep up. Either you are visiting your relatives place, or you are hosting ‘em. If not that then its your office Diwali party !!

So today I’m going to give you a lowdown on all the must haves for the festive season, and how you can style them without going overboard

1. A Saree

A saree is my go to thing. Unlike what most girls feel,it’s actually not that difficult to handle, besides what are half a dozen pins in the saree for 😀

So, over the years I have worn them at a lot of occasions, out of which I could only dig out pictures clicked at a friend’s wedding,my office Diwali Party and to a friends wedding reception. The first is a Kota saree, second is everyone’s favorite georgette and the third is a Chanderi Cotton. All of them have a different feel and fall and you can actually play with so many textures and fabrics !

2.Ditch that Anarkali

We have had enough of these already and its time to move away from them and experiment a little.

Also,floor length anarkalis are NOT the most flattering thing on all body types, unless you look like a Deepika of course.

So ,what do you replace your Anarkali with ?

Go old school and try a pair of dhoti pants or Patiala bottoms or even palazzos with a nice well fitted kurta. Throw on a statement dupatta and you are golden. This may sound very very simple, but remember simple is good. It gives you space to experiment with makeup and accessories..!

You will find some nice Patiala pants options at Jabong and Voonik.

3.Long skirts to the rescue

Long skirts have been around since forever, and I own about a zillion of them. Mainly because they are extremely versatile. Long skirts are very easily available, but all you have to do is find the right print and color to reflect the festivities..! And depending on the body type, you can pick the top. If you have a lighter upper body go for a brocade crop top or a corset and layer it with a dupatta. If you are a little on the heavier side, wear a kurta that has vertical accents to it and keep the skirt in one bold color. It will elongate you and give you a hourglass silhouette.

The above outfits are from WhySoBlue, but FabIndia also has some good options.

4. Jewellery

This is where we all go bonkers and end up looking like a maniac. The key is to be minimal.

For eg, if you are wearing a nice long earring, ditch the neckpiece. You don’t want to be all over the place. There should always be one hero for an accessory- pick that one and keep the others muted. Instead wear lots of bangles and rings.

Don’t do it all. Earrings, neckpiece, bangles, rings, anklet, bag – pick your hero and let the others be muted.

Trust me, its very difficult to not wear it all and but once you see the end result you will know what I mean !

You can look for some nice bracelet cuffs here and some really nice earrings in Voylla.

5. Footwear

Footwear is extremely important. It has the power to take your outfit up a notch. Here’s what I did and I’d recommend you the same. Invest in one good pair of heels. Keep an eye out for any sales or offers, and get a pair of metallic heels. Metallic , because you can easily pair it with any color and any jewellery. I got this pair from Tres Mode couple of years back and its been a lifesaver. Another footwear you need is flats- you can get them from the streets or from the mall-whatever you prefer. These are essential for the not-so-important events.

You can check out some flats at limeroad and SSS.

So there you go, some basic Do’s and Don’ts for the festive season. If you want to know more, comment below and I’ll add more to this !

White Palazzos Styled 4 Ways

Fashion, Home

Hello Friday Lovers..!

The next few months are going to be very difficult, mostly because there are so many events to attend and so many places to be ! You can’t possibly shop for each and every occasion, unless , you actually can 😉

Also I have come to realize that a lot of girls find it tricky to style a pair of palazzo pants. And even if they do, it’s invariably a black pair of pants.

So today’s post is about styling a thrifted pair of white palazzos, in 4 ways..!

Look 1

For the fist look, I have gone all formal. I paired my palazzos with a sheer white shirt I bought from bandra years ago. I’m usually not an all-white kind of person, but it looked really refreshing once I was done. The only colors I added to this was the blue neckpiece from Forever 21, and the bubblegum pink bag from MK. I kept my lips neutral pink and lined my eyes. Very chic and simple yet totally powerful !

Oh and don’t miss my VanHeusen pumps !

Look 2

It’d be a crime if I don’t do an Indian look with so many festivities right around the corner ! The top I have paired with the pants is actually a high-low dress I got made. I bought this fabric from a stall at the lil flea this May- absolutely couldn’t resist the popsicle print on it ! I added this beaded neckpiece I got from Goa night market (for Rs.120) , added an aztec cut-out cuff I got from here and stacked up on some gold rings I had lying around. Kept my lips brown, added a bright red bindi and threw in my TresMode metallic heels.

Cakewalk 😉

Look 3

This is mainly for those people who are skeptical about wearing crop tops. To start out with, start layering the crop top, it really helps. I personally ,stayed away from crop tops for the longest of time, until I realized the art of layering. Here, I have paired my palazzos with this crop top from bandra (for Rs.200) and layered it with a very old chambray shirt. I kept my lips blush pink and added an orange neckpiece I got from Colaba( for Rs.250) Oh and these gladiator flats from Catwalk was a gift, which I hardly ever wore(they are nearly 4.5 years old)

This look is something I recommend to everyone..!

Look 4

So, if you are one of those daring people, wanting to show some edge, this look is just perfect. This is my favorite T-shirt, I wear it to my dance class and to all those nights when I want to feel good,without trying too hard. There is something about these off-shoulder tops that attracts me !

I got this T-shirt from bandra forever ago, but you can re-create your very own by simply buying a soft T-shirt that will stretch if you tug on it(disclaimer- do not involve your mother in this)

I went totally minimal on the accessories, and added this really old sling that I have been using for years.

So there you have it. A pair of pants that I got from Colaba for Rs.700, can actually help you create so many looks !

PC- A Story Perhaps

Since most of these are thrifted ,I was wondering if I should do a post, from where you can shop these look. What do you guys think ?

Kimono Love

Fashion, Home

Aah Mondays. The day that almost always brings in the crankiest in us.

This post isn’t about about how to beat the Monday blues- Oh no. We have read a tad too many of those. And trust me, we will start populating Mars away before we will ever get a solution to this.

Today I’m doing a blog post on a lazy girl’s guide to making any outfit look a-maz-ing.

We have a hot and humid climate almost through the entire year, and most often than not, you would see me in a pair of denim shorts or a T-shirt dress or anything that doesn’t cling to my skin. But lets face it, how much playing around can you do in ‘em ?

*Drum Rolls*

Enter your knight in shining armour- kimonos/ loose shrugs/ coats- what have you.

I have seen a lot of kimonos lately, but most of them have fringes at the end, and I had been looking for one that didn’t. Finally, I found this amazing kimono here. It has a splash of colors and looks extremely quirky and bohemian.

The idea was to experiment.

For the first look, I simply paired it with my denim shorts and a black T-shirt . I kept everything from my basics to shoes in one bold color and let the kimono bring in the freshness. By the time I got all my essentials on, the bohemian in me wanted to play around a little, so I went ahead and stacked up on all my rings. I also created my version of a half bun. Not too shabby I thought.

Later, I took out an old belt and tied it around my waist. And I tugged it from the top to create a balloon effect. Once done, it looked like a printed wrap dress. Also, since the fabric is light, it falls neatly and creates pleats at the right places, when tied together !

For the third look, I ditched my T-shirt and wore the kimono as a top. I have used a cloth belt to cinch my waist, but you can even use a broad belt- it’ll help create an hourglass silhouette. I wrapped from either sides,with a side parting, creating a tulip-hemline like appearance.

PC- A Story Perhaps

Sunglasses- TopShop Bag- Michael Kors, Denim Shorts & T-shirt- Bandra haul , Kimono- WhySoBlue , Shoes- From a Mall in Dubai, Rings-thrifted

That’s all folks ! Hope you liked the looks I created.

If you think there is more we could do with the kimono, then please comment below and let me know !

And also, what do you think of my first attempt at a half bun 😀

Of Mustard and Marsala

Fashion, Home

Hello you guys,

This being my first blog, I’m going to re-create the look I had on my birthday last month. And no, I’m not going to squeak with excitement or get overly dramatic about it, I’ll get directly to it !

Jumpsuits get me all worked up and squirmy. I have always been wary of wearing one, but when I saw this Mustard in a flared pattern in Zara, I fell in love. But just like in the Bollywood movies, love isn’t enough unless your pockets are REAL deep.

Couple of weeks later, I saw the same baby on sale and the lovers united. I thanked my stars and bought her without even giving it a second thought. I strutted my way out of the store like I was one of the Kardashians.

Oh the power of Zara !

Anywho, coming to the look of the day, since this jumpsuit looked extremely chic, I upped the ante and went all classic. I went for the old-school mid-part with natural straight hair I had that morning( Thank Heavens ! ) I paired the Mustard jumpsuit with earthy accessories-gold earrings, gold belt-turned-bracelet and a leather buckle clutch.

I should take a moment and mention that this particular piece of accessory, the gold belt-bracelet, can be molded and worn in any million ways- from headgear or neckpiece to belt or anklet- basically anything. So obviously I was caught fiddling with it quite a lot mid shoot !

I decided to throw on some Cyan Pumps from Madame to break the monotony of the earthy tones instead of going with the usual black. And to finish off the look I wore my favorite color of the season , Marsala on my lips.