I am from the border of Bihar and Nepal, the village I come from is 20kms from Nepal. Having said that my dad had a transferable job so we moved around quite often and lived in beautiful big campuses and old houses. I travelled to the jungles often with my dad (along with my mum and brother) who was in the forest services. I was sent to a boarding school in Dehradun called Welhams when I was 13. I live in Banglore now.
The year has been very reflective, a bit anxious, busy, and exciting at the same time. The pandemic brought a strange anxiety mixed with a sense of weird calm during the lockdown. I introspected, cooked, and thought a lot. Lots of ups and downs and really thinking about life goals and what really mattered at the end.
I travel/travelled a lot for work within the country, mostly Rajasthan. I also went to the hills, to Kumaon with friends. I think my style only changed slightly due to the weather and not really the place. I was in jackets, jeans, pashminas, and boots during winters. Went back to my more relaxed light kaftans and kurtas with stoles and duppattas as the weather got warmer. Evenings are always about silks and organza or pashminas depending on the weather.
I love menswear-inspired clothing. A white chikankari kurta without a bottom worn like a dress would be my numero uno! I would wear it with a sarong or pants if I was roaming around in the local markets sourcing things.
A white linen or cotton kaftan is my second go-to - again tailor-made as it is extremely difficult to find the cut/silhouette I like. I like clothes extremely loose yet sexy. Clothes made here never have a generous neck, don’t know why we shy away from showing our necks and décolletage 😉 This reminds me of the tailors who would always complain saying I had kept the neck “toooo deep” for most of my things growing up. Things with buttons in the front which I usually keep open and style with scarfs and jewellery work for me.
I would pick a beautiful silk slip dress with a deep deep back and broad straps (Again tailor-made) as my third go-to - this is literally what I would wear to dinners or parties with a beautiful organza duppatta from Raw Mango or from my local embroiderer. My most favourite dress is the seashell bra slip dress from Bevza.
Everyday ease, finding beauty in everyday things, and also the power that beauty has to move you, inspire you, and transport you to beautiful places. I am the queen of daydreaming and I find it hugely inspiring. My head is always in my clouds.
I think I really missed seeing hand crafted pieces that reflected our history, colours, traditions and craftsmanship at an affordable price that could be worn often without having to wear ethnic/formal clothes along with it. I was sick of occasion wear and tired of seeing people from outside the country come celebrate our culture and traditions while we just looked to the west. I think jewellery shouldn’t be stored in lockers but out on us.
It’s very instinctive, there are no rules but I don’t shy away from wearing a lot of things at once. I love keeping the colours in line and lengths varied so everything shows but isn’t in one's face.
Jewellery has to be easy to wear and take off for me, no lobster hooks, I hate them. I love wearing jewellery around nude/beige coloured threads that merge with my skin only showing the bits of metal hanging from them.
This might sound surprising but I never sleep with any piece of jewellery on. I need to take off everything before I sleep other than the tiny nose pin I wear. I always mix up my pieces and am a mood dresser - sometimes letting the music I am listening to while dressing up guide me. I really just dress up for fun and myself.
White is my favourite colour to wear. I love colours in nature, things and places but not on me. My style I would say is comfort with an effortless abandon. I dress up for myself and really don’t care about what people think.
Sharara’s are my current obsession, especially the kind my friend Fatma Shah (from Lahore) makes.
Raw Mango is an all-time favourite that I fall back on for every occasion.
I also discovered Misha Lakhani ships to India (alas, I'll go broke). I love the brand for fuss-free ethnic clothes. My designer friend from Pakistan Fatma Shah has made me an all-white summer wardrobe that I can’t wait to try. Kashmir Looms and Andraab have also been favourites for a long time.
It might be hard to believe but Satish my tailor is my go-to for clothes. We create things together and he understands what I like now, namely XXXL clothes that look like bed-sheets 🙂
My grandmum’s organdy sarees and jewellery.
Italy - a wine yard in Italy most probably. I will wear my silk kaftans and pashminas (if it’s cold) with oodles of jewellery as per usual.
Body con dresses.
