The Statement necklace!

“A Vogue Idea”

Talk about trends and talk about accessories; I know what comes to your mind – ‘statement necklace’!

It’s the thing right now. Everybody’s wearing it, every store has it, and you can even get it in street markets throughout the world.

And it has always been there around us but seems like we just started noticing!

If I look back into my History of World Costumes class, the costume that always intrigued me was of Egypt. The women wore a sheer linen cloth draped around their body paired with the impressive jeweled collar or the Usekh collar. I guess that is the start of statement necklaces. I believe that for a woman, to demand attention and respect from her subordinates, it is very important that along with her striking personality, her outfit should also have an impact on the people, and that is exactly what the Egyptian women’s attire did!

Think about all the tribes across the world. Their clothes are pretty simple, and in some cases there are no clothes. But what seems mandatory in all of them is the use of jewelry. Every tribe is known for their style of ornamentation. And the beautiful thing is that since they are not exposed to luxurious materials, they creatively use whatever is around them to make adornments.

India has had royalties as well as tribes, which means we have a lot of styles of jewelry at our disposal. Isn’t it amazing how a necklace created almost 50 years ago in Gujrat, looks so contemporary and modern!

 This beautiful necklace made in the 1920’s in Himachal Pradesh, was worn as a charm for wealth and fortune. It was made with real British Indian Silver Rupee. If that doesn’t make a statement then what does?

And far along the north east India, tribal women use natural items to beautify themselves. The neck pieces shown here one made from shells and beads and the other from the teeth of buffalo, both dating back to the 20^th century. I know I would love to own these pieces because they really make a statement!

Now this was just a prologue to today’s Vogue idea, because while going through a lot of websites and blogs, I found someone from my own city with a very quirky Indian taste in clothing, who also happens to make some very fancy but head turning jewelry.

So let me introduce you to….

Polka Princess, creator of the blog “chappals vs stilletoes”

Check out her blog here - http://stripesandpolkas.blogspot.com

I really like the way she mixes up different elements of clothing together to create outfits, also the way she uses colors to brighten up an attire.

And even though she has to be formally dressed for her office, she will add some unique element to make an outfit stand out among the rest.

I think this picture best explains her quirky Indian style. The way she has teamed up an ethnic printed leggings with a casual tunic, and add to that the colorful bangles, in my opinion it is very Indian and yet has a very international appeal to it. I think the mustard, fuchsia and the cyan works very well!

Now, what really fascinated me about her blog is that she makes these amazing pieces of jewelry and the line is called Howrah Bridge!

And I'm obsessed about it.

Eccentric!

And my favorite piece! The statement necklace!

You can find more pieces here - http://shophowrahbridge.blogspot.com/

There was a day when I would take out a dress from my wardrobe and team it up with some accessory. But today, I pick up a statement necklace and pair it with a dress and I go out there and I make the statement!

Ref: - http://rabari.co.uk/index.asp

A Vogue Idea...

It is getting pretty boring around here. I know…!!!

I got to thinking and thinking and then it popped into my head! I have got to do something.

So, here it goes...

Starting in a-few-days, every week I will post about an interesting fashion blog/website or something interesting fashion-wise. It will be a new category of posts called “A Vogue Idea…”

I hope the people flipping through my blog casually just to see what there is without actually leaving any indication whether they liked it or not will appreciate this!

A little closer to nature....

               Pictures of the village side of Kolkata.

Photographs by : Me

October festivities and street shopping...

     

‘Durga Puja’ a religious festival devoted to Goddess Durga during the month of October in West Bengal, is an extravagant affair. It’s a 5 day long celebration where people rejoice, eat to their hearts content, and spend time with their family and friends, going through various pandals, praying to the goddess and resolving to lead a better year ahead!

For me it was a first but became a little frustrating as the crowd increased.

The more interesting thing is you can see a lot of interestingly dressed people and also otherwise!

Well, anyways, it’s a Bengali tradition to give some money to the children of the family, so well I went street shopping.

 I just fell in love with these dangling oriental looking earrings. It makes a little trickling sound when I walk.  A jute tote bag with a bamboo handle. A closer look at the material. Its white with an intricate Victorian motif in black printed on it.  This is a beautiful stone neck piece which has been tied together with a thick thread that makes it very rustic and chic. The eye-shadow pallets was inherited from my sister-in-law.  A very interesting necklace in oxidized silver.I really liked the oxidized necklace very much so I bought a second pair.

The detailing is so delicate.

All bargained and from the streets of Kolkata.

I was reading October Vogue when I found out that Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre was hosting an exhibition of photographs taken by Norman Parkinson as part of a photo shoot for British Vogue, in India in the 1950s. So I rushed and I was mesmerized. The pictures are taken all over India and they stand out, even though they are so simple. There are hardly any props used, the clothes look amazing and the backgrounds are so interestingly used.

And as I had mentioned in my last post, I uploaded my portfolio. Not much here but it’s a start.

Now if only somebody notices and gets me a job!

Well here's hoping for the best!

Photographs taken by : Me

The City of Joy!

Finally I’ve moved to Kolkata.

Also I’ve joined a six month program at a renowned gym here to lose some serious weight.

So in the next six months here’s what I plan to do (apart from my weight loss program):

1)      Prepare my resume and portfolio

2)      Send my resume and portfolio to the brands that I’ve listed down in my dream list, (national and international).

3)      See Kolkata

(Even though I’ve been coming to this city for as long as I can remember and I’ve been to its various parts yet I don’t really know the whole place)

4)      Visit Shantiniketan (will elaborate on this sometime later)

5)      Probably visit some other craft clusters within West Bengal

6)      Try to check out fashion events happening around the city

And something else that’s new is that I got a really short haircut.

This is how I used to look until a while back.

And I’m wearing a very interesting cardigan from Vero Moda.

And this is my new awesome haircut. I look so different.

I’m wearing – Top – Thrift store, Skirt – H&M, Belt – Guess

 I’m trying out skirts at the moment. I’ve never worn skirts except when I was in school but I’m so much in love with this look.

BTW this skirt used to be my sister’s and she’s not fat like me but this skirt still fits me. How?

Well, like Gabi Gregg would say, “it’s not always important to wear an outfit like the designer intended.”

Be happy, Stay Beautiful!

Plus sized style tips a la me....

Okay, so here’s what this month’s Vogue India says about the latest trends.

Red, Green, Orange, Yellow, Pink, Blue just pick a color you like, forget blacks and nudes, it’s time to bring out the colors! But just to make it a lil’ fun, add some black and play it up with accessories in neutral shades.

Longer skirts are back. Knee-length and below, good news if you don’t have those lean looking perfect legs.Trousers, tapered; flat fronted or pleated, more importantly peg trousers, which I think look very hot on plus sized women.

Trend India : Wear a kurta and add a belt; therefore creating the belted kurta, gives your regular kurta a new edge.

I love prints so it doesn’t really matter to me what the gurus of fashion have to say about it, I’m gonna keep wearing them as often as I like. Also, what’s in is the masculine look, I’m not a big fan of this but anyways.

So I did a lil’ style sheet for us plus sized girls keeping in mind the words from the fashion bible.

Printed peg trousers, pleated at the waistline creates a gentle curve around the hips and camouflages any unnecessary bulges. Simply tuck in the top and add a long necklace to visually reduce the broadness around the bust.

Top - Dorothy Perkins, Pants and Necklace - Promod, Shoes - Zara, Bag and Earrings - Accessorize, Scarf - H&M

Cropped pants with flowy top belted at the waist helps create a slimmer silhouette. Add those neutral accessories to stay in trend and be ever stylish.

Top and Pants - Forever 21, Shoes - Aldo, Bag - Zara, Belt - H&M, Bangles - Accessorize, Earrings - Promod

Skirts, worn mid-waist or a little higher with a tucked in top hides those bulges and makes you look slimmer and feminine. Add that long necklace and see the difference yourself.

Top - Forever 21, Skirt - Dorothy Perkins, Shoes - Aldo, Bag - Accessorize, Belt - Zara, Necklace - H&M

Kurta with straight pants and just when you start to think what's so stylish about this, add that belt around the waist and adore the look!

Top, Pants, Belt and Earrings - Promod, Shoes - Aldo, Bag - Zara, Bangles - Accessorize

Well, I hope this helps.

I am still trying to do a photo shoot but actually I'm waiting to get a nice haircut so stay tuned!