How To Style A Dhoti

During the India Bridal Fashion Week, as always I was going through the dilemma of what to wear. Especially now, since a lot of clothes are quite snug on me, it was a bit of a challenge. Going through my closet I discovered my beloved pair of dhotis and decided to style them a little differently this time. Now I know most of you have already seen me wear my Nehru jacket and dhoti ensemble and my friend Rasna insisted that it had been seen and I should avoid it, I genuinely didn't have a choice as it was one of the few things that still fit. So what do you do if you've already pulled off the Indian politician? Try a little Indo-Western perhaps? That is exactly what I did and the results were great. I put on a silk tank and tried pairing it with two jackets. A short denim jacket and a formal black blazer. Unfortunately the black blazer was just too snug. As in snug to the point where if I move my arms too much there would be a nice rip in the lining!

Another reason for this quick post was to also tell you that for the rest of this awful Delhi summer, you too should invest in a pair of dhotis. I've realised they are so versatile and can be paired with such fun tops and footwear. Tank top, tube top, a fitted shirt or blingy flats, mojris, and high heels; there are numerous combinations. I bought this one from Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla because I just love the way it is draped. It's perfection. So please ensure that your pair is also draped well, else it'll just look like too much fabric hanging!

Here are some random photos of me. Unfortunately they are just pictures I take from my iPhone because I would feel too conscious getting someone to photograph me with a professional camera.

Look 1 - With a snug black blazer

Look 2 - With a fun, short denim jacket

Look 3 - The original neta jee combination! With my deadly Nehru jacket

 

India Couture Week 2014 - Dissecting What I Wore

It's very rare for me to post photos of what I wear to events or even out and about because generally I am not a very experimental person. I have standard style which I define as classic chic and stick to the basics which I have now become very bored with. I am starting to get a little sick of the usual silk shirts and skinny jeans that I hoard season after season. For this couture week, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and experiment a bit! Here's the dissection.

Day 1 was Sabyasachi, so naturally I HAD to wear one of his outfits. I decided to attack my sister's closet for her Sabyasachi couture outfit she wore for the day of my nikkah. It was this beautiful oxblood colored choga with the most exquisite embroidery in dull gold and was unlike anything the designer ever created. Of course I wasn't going to wear the choga, (velvet in 40 degrees centigrade, I am not that bad a fashion victim). I was going to wear the palazzo pants that was to be worn under the choga.

Mind you, I've never worn big, flared pants ever before. The pants were in a dark wine colour and had a block print all over with a big embroidered border at the end. So basically when you wear the whole ensemble together, only the border of the pants can be seen. I tried those on with a black shirt and a pair of heels and it looked pretty fun, so I settled on that. On the day of the show, I paired the outfit with polki earrings and a maroon Chanel 2.55 bag to complete the look. Any thoughts?

The pants under the choga

3.5 years later, pairing the pants with a shirt!

For day 2, I had already decided I was going to wear my oversized SS 14 Acne Studios poplin shirt dress (click on the link if you want to buy it). The fabric of the dress was just beautiful and perfect for a hot summer night. I cinched the dress at the waist with a very old Ferragamo belt that I had lying somewhere in my closet. For my accessories, it was my cool new Moschino bracelet, Saint Laurent Paris Chyc clutch in a yellow and SS 14 Prada wedges (click on the link to purchase). For the finishing touch, I added a red insect brooch on the lapel of my dress.

The third day was a bit of a dilemma. I had absolutely no clue what to wear and I was determined to do another fun indo-western combination. Finally, I decided on wearing a pair of Forever 21 skinny jeans, a crisp ZARA white shirt with my beautifully embroidered Anamika Khanna sleeveless jacket (remember the Anamika anarkali I talked about a little white ago in one of my currently trending posts that came with a jacket as part of the ensemble). For the accessories it was a blue Saint Laurent Paris Chyc clutch, antique blue and green chatri earrings and once again for the finishing touch I added these eagle collar pins I picked up from Primark last year. Et voila!

Tip: When buying Indian clothes, try and invest in pieces that have separates that can be worn individually as well. This way you get more use out of your Indian wear because most our expensive Indian clothes end up being worn twice at the most and then just sit at the back of our closets! So for example, my wedding sangeet outfit was a JJ Valaya couture jacket worn over this stunning Spanish style skirt with round metal rings inside it. I have worn the jacket with the skirt and with skinny jeans. The skirt also can be worn separately white shirt that has an oversized collar. Same goes for the clothes I described above. So always keep an eye out for ensembles that you can pair with western clothes as well. Just more value for money. Not to mention, if worn correctly, it can look absolutely fabulous.

Now for my final day of India couture week ( I didn't attend the last two days), I was kind of tired and decided to keep it fairly simple. A pink Diane Von Furstenberg silk shirt worn over a denim Zara pencil skirt. For the accessories it was a camel Givenchy Antigona clutch, Gucci suede high heeled loafers  with horsebits and a statement Swarovski necklace. I was so blah that day, sadly I didn't really take a picture of myself at the venue!

And that's all folks! Reviews to be posted shortly.