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Cotton Cottage: almost as good as Fab India?

I came across a little store Cotton Cottage tucked in among a row of shops at Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. At first glance, it seemed like any other store, but a second look made me go inside. And guess what? I wasn’t disappointed at all, even as much to tell my friend that I was glad I didn’t buy anything from the Fab India store down the road.

As the name suggests, the store has a range of cotton kurta, kurtis, churidars and dupattas. That sounds awfully similar to what Fab India stocks, and it really is. But what makes the difference is the quaint experience I had at CC. A visit to Fab India a couple of hours ago had felt like déjà vu, I’d seen this kurta and that print before. And the store’s floor plan and stacking of garments had left me confused as well.

Cotton Cottage, on the other hand, had clothes with the familiar Indian cotton feel, but with a fresh look. Their prints were mostly not-seen-before, there was staff at hand to help, and the kurtas et al were neatly piled up. What I liked the most were the colours—there were bright blues, greens and yellows!  I tried on a couple of kurtas, but finally opted for a brown kurti with a gold block print on it.

While I don’t see Cotton Cottage sweeping away Fab India yet, their stores (they’re around the country) are worth a visit or more.

So when are we heading to Cotton Cottage, girls?

Chic News: Good Times are here!

My late night TV viewing is usually limited to the 5764th rerun of Friends, unless an episode of I’m too Sexy for my Shoes is playing on NDTV Good Times. The designer challenges, the latest style and fashion recommendations and fashion explorations are too much fun to watch. And the charismatic and leggy Ambika Anand is the perfect host, teamed up with the stylish Mohan Neelakantan.

Turns out that the new season of the show kicks off February 12 and with it a series of on-ground events that complement the channel’s brand. The first event, themed “Sexy Shoes”, is a grand party to be held in Delhi. Other than the great food and dance and other standard fare, the party’s style quotient will get a fashionable boost with Salvatore Ferragamo, Just Cavalli, and Canali showcasing their Spring Summer 2010 look.

For all fans of the channel (including me), this new initiative seems to be a great way to enjoy our passion for food, fashion, gadgets and luxury. When, where and how of the events have not been revealed yet, but my ears are close to the ground already.

Now if only we could get an invite to the Sexy Shoes party!

UPDATE: Turns out I can get an invite after all, so can you! Participate in the Sexy Shoes contest and you could win an invite for the party!

Geeky Chic: Mouse rugs!

Who said gadgets have to be boring and umm, well, unstylish? I recently stumbled across this very cool accessory, guaranteed to lighten up the drabbest of office cubicles and workstations. Here it is.

Ta-da!

   

Believe it or faint, this miniature Turkish carpet is actually a mouse pad! Called a mouse rug, there are hundreds of colours and designs available (check out their website).

The cool design’s not the only reason I love this geeky accessory. For starters, my optical mouse rolls smoothly across its surface, made with yarn-dyed nylon. And the bonus: the rug is hand washable, ideal for a rough and messy user like me!

So now my four-month-new sleek-n-silver laptop gets a dash of old world charm and plenty of style. I can’t help but glance at my mouse rug ever so often despite my busy-ness, and it never fails to make me feel happy. :-)

I’m now tempted to try out their book rugs and coaster rugs, which are smaller, but otherwise identical.

Before you rush to the mouse rug website, be warned—they don’t deliver in India! All you need to do is ask your spiteful aunt/ long-lost friend/ sworn enemy (or my sweet cousin) in Dubai or USA for it. And remember to say please!

Transformed: Vintage to Ultramodern!

I still remember the moment I first spotted it. It was late evening and I was in my PJs, rummaging through mom’s cupboard. The beige fabric had perhaps lost some its shimmer, but a good dry clean could restore some of its erstwhile glory. I dug deep for more information on this six-yard fabric, a sari I didn’t remember seeing earlier. The sari was her wedding gift from an American family friend, Mom explained. Unfortunately, she had no idea who the designer was.

My surprised reaction was, “I didn’t know you had such a lovely sari!” The netted fabric had flowers woven into it, giving it the appearance of lace. Best of all—it was vintage!

It was to be my first family appearance in a sari (a cousin’s wedding reception) and I wanted it to be memorable (for them and for me). Now that I had discovered the perfect sari, I had to face a formidable challenge. Being a vintage garment, my look had to preserve the essence of the sari, but I didn’t want to look an auntie either. I concluded that I needed to drape the sari the traditional way, wear classic jewellery, while creating a look that stated modern, elegant and “quarter-life-crisis-has-just-struck-me” simultaneously.

Blouse hunt

It’s only in the past few seasons that the sari blouse suddenly rose to prominence on and off the ramp. The plain, self-colour blouse was boring; variety in colours, fabrics and embroidery were à la mode. Blouse-hunting turned out to be harrowing process, going from store to store, looking for the right match, comparing materials. The brocades were in the wrong colour, the velvets were too plain. We emerged from a trifle disappointed from all the stores we visited.

At the last store on the list, I pulled out a swathe of orange, sequins-laden georgette. I held it up against the sari, took it out in the sun, and voila! The rows of the little gold embellishments did not just spice up the sari, but also made it super stylish, with a dash of colour and bling.

Vintage is forever, so are diamonds

It was the ultimate fashion conundrum— what do you pair with a vintage outfit? How do you give it your personal signature while paying tribute to the original creator who laboured over it decades ago?

For starters, the accessories had to be timeless. And there’s nothing more timeless than diamonds. I opted for a dangling pair that ensured I looked my age, and teamed it with a simple ring and matching gold-and-diamond cuff.

Plum it up

It was an image of Dita von Teese on a beauty portal that inspired my makeup. Her bright red lips were too hot to handle for me, but I stole her idea of drawing attention to my lips. I followed the natural-looking layer of foundation with muted lilac eyeshadow and pink blush from MAC, but jazzed up the lips much as I could with an intense purple Lancôme lipstick that would stay through the event.

I already had a great haircut, so I just blow dried it the right way—a sideswept fringe across the forehead that had people asking for my stylist’s number!

Hey there, gorgeous!

The compliments that evening ranged from “So who did your makeup?” to “You’re looking sexy!” to “That’s a lovely sari! Which designer?”

But that all didn’t matter. The best compliment came from the original owner of the sari, my mom, who said, “The sari is perfect for you. It’s yours now!”

Wearing an invaluable vintage garment albeit with a contemporary touch is a sartorial experience I’d advise all young women to try. Why? Because it made me feel good, it made me appreciate the real artisans, and because it was one of my biggest style moments. I left the reception as radiant as the bride.

This post is the official entry to Star World Betty of Elle Contest- http://www.starworld.in. Being an ardent fashion follower and blogger (feel free to explore the Speaking Chic blog and the Twitter feed) as well as a word lover, getting a chance to work at Elle would fuel my passion for fashion, style and writing. Elle India's approach of balancing high-end fashion and spot-on trends with engrossing features and cutting-edge photo shoots is the perfect launchpad for a career in fashion writing and blogging. I hope to make this kind of writing be taken seriously in India, and developing an online Indian fashion destination. With the great insights into the fashion and publishing industry that I get from the internship, I would improve my fashion knowledge and eye for fashion, style, aesthetics and trends. I’d learn about the fashion business, how to identify trends and ideate, the ropes of styling, magazine design and photography, and even what it takes to produce a 200+ page magazine month after month with great content. At the end of the two months, I would be in a better position to combine my journalism and content development background with fashion to develop a distinctive writing style that would make me a better fashion blogger and writer (I aspire to be India's answer to Cathy Horyn and Suzy Menkes :-)). Above all, the internship will be the experience of a lifetime, and I will emerge enriched in every way possible.

Chic Invite: Bachelor Cheers!

My cousin KK is getting married soon, and to celebrate his last few days of singledom (read: freedom), he and his lovely fiancée are throwing a grand bash for close friends and family (singles and doubles both invited).

So KK did the expected thing—he invited us on Facebook. And then caught us off guard when he followed it up with a very cool invite – a cocktail glass, all dressed up for a party!

The little silver scroll on the stem, held together with ribbon, doubles up as a brief invite.

So why is this chic? For starters, it comes as a surprise to those invited (the glass came in an inconspicuous maroon paper bag with a personalised tag), it’s fun and it’s completely in tune with the idea behind the party!

So here’s a toast to KK and his lovely bride-to-be P! Wish you both a happy, fulfilling and fun life together! :-) 

2009’s biggest fashion lessons

Bling it on!

As they say in the west, “Keep it simple, stupid!” They like to keep the bling factor very low. But back home, we just loooove to pile it on. Luckily for us, 2009 brought with it a licence to bling. From the ubiquitous shimmery lamé to fully-sequinned mini dresses, and  Naeem Khan’s gown for Michelle Obama, it was all about bling. And who could miss the handful of gold chains women threw around their neck. Thrilling times for Indian women. I couldn’t be happier!

2010 prediction:

Keep shining, all through the year! (And anyways, bling is never out of fashion in India). 

Why match, when you can clash?

The bolder fashionistas dared to experiment with mismatched colours, textures and prints. Before we knew it, everyone was doing it. You could wear a green shirt and offset it with a pink bag. Or a carefully mismatched sari blouse. In a nutshell, No one matched their clothes and accessories. I made the most of my bright red H&M bag, carrying it with anything and everything. I loved this trend because I could finally wear garments that were a few shades apart. So my sky blue shirt with bold silver buttons and my favourite pair of blue jeans didn’t look funny at all!

2010 prediction:

This one’s for keeps, at least for all of 2010. Make the most of it!

Belts are not just to hold up your trousers

Turns out that belts are not so boring after all. From the runways to the streets, women wore belts to accentuate their figures, define their waistline and to make a statement. On the runways, Lanvin  used belts extensively in his Spring 2009 RTW collection, while closer home, Tarun Tahiliani used our own Indian belt – the cummerbund – extensively in his S/S 2010 LFW collection.

2010 prediction:

Keep the belts on, ladies, at least for the first half of 2010.

Saris are not just for our moms

I have always avoided saris like the plague—they were difficult to wear, uncomfy to dance in, and were meant for mom and aunties. Circa late-2009: I insisted on wearing a sari for a family wedding, sorry, no lehengas for me. I even wore a kanjeevaram for the pre-Diwali office lunch. Maybe Manish Malhotra’s lovely saris for Kareena Kapoor at red carpet events did the trick. Us girls realised how a sari can actually make you look gorgeous, not an aunty at all.

2010 prediction:

Let’s go sari-hunting!