Part II of ♫ These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things ♪ ……:
By Penny & Pound
It’s been a little time coming, but here’s the remaining 5 of our 10 favourite essentials:
1. A Saree in a Traditional Weave: Ok, there’s no two ways about it – the evergreen saree is a must in your closet, and it has to be a traditional weave! Gone are the sequins and the shiny, blingy stuff stuck on net and sheer fabrics….lay on the class and elegance with a lovely handloom, a crispy starched cotton or a graceful silk that can turn heads anywhere.
Our personal favourites are the Southern handlooms, the Chanderis and Maheshwaris from M.P., the Bengal cottons, the Orissa Bomkais and the Rajasthani Kotas…..but hey, we love them all, really! J
Dress up a solid-coloured handloom with block-print blouses in matching shades, or go for the English-professor vibe with collared and/or sleeveless blouses and long beaded necklaces….yummy!
As always, the tip: Be sure to drape these sarees well, with sharp pleats and on the pallu, no one-boob show please! While such drapes look tacky on the sequinned sarees, they’re really unbearable on the traditional ones.
2. A Pair of Jhumkas: This is a jewellery essential that we’re absolutely in love with! It’s a quintessential Indian trinket that adds jazz to any ethnic outfit you’re wearing, and hence finds its way into our must-have list.
We are lusting after the real 24- carat deal right now and hoping that either our budgets or our convincing skills on our husbands would one day allow us to own a pair J. However, like us, you too can in the meantime check out Add-Ons and Accessorize for some neat ones, starting from around Rs. 500.
Again, tip-time: These babies are meant to be shown off, so please don’t let your hair loose and cover them; try a nice simple updo, or pull your hair back in a ponytail or a plait – this will also add to the traditional vibe you would be trying to channel.
3. A Clutch and a Tote: Just as for watches in Part I, we also recommend 2 good bags as indispensables. For formal occasions and parties, a nice clutch; and for your jaunts out shopping and travelling and just hanging, a nice tote (one that can hold all your other essentials)!
Now we know that bags are quite the style statement, what with the BV knots and the Hermes Birkins and the Alexander McQueen clutches – but hey, we’re about affordable fashion and we suggest you rummage around in export shops, or on internet shopping sites for some surprisingly good buys. Of course, they may not have the brand names, but we’d like to second Juliet (of Romeo and Juliet fame…duh!) and say, ‘What’s in a name?’ to that!
For Mumbaiites, the Sion-Dharavi stretch can be a good source of leather bags….do a lot of poking around though, and a lot of bargaining as well!
As we all know, bags & clutches are available in loads n loads of varieties of shapes and colours and sizes, but we’ll leave it to your personality and style to choose the best that suits you.
4. A Chic Scarf : A scarf is another “we like very much” versatile piece of clothing…and it’s an easy, affordable way to add your own signature style to your look…
So we put together this nice little list for getting this piece of accessory right:
- We recommend bright colors and bold prints to alleviate a dull outfit (meaning when your outfit spells all white, cream or black) or colour palettes that are on the muted side (read light green, nudes, light pinks). Vice versa, you can also try to tone down a bright outfit by adding a muted scarf (picture a red shirt with a white crochet scarf!).
- Do not go overboard with monochromatic…if you must wear an all-black outfit with a black scarf – try mixing textures to bring some life into the outfit. Try experimenting with fabrics like silk, satin, wool, crochet etc. against cotton; stay away from extra shiny fabrics as they look plain weird!
- Do not buy too bulky or heavy scarves that will make you look that you are being choked to death! Sleeker softer fabrics spell feminine charm and work well with most attires. You can also pick ones with tassels to dress up for a party or a night out; just make sure that you opt for a nice solid color!
- Wearing the scarf right is important - try styles like the Parisian knot (just fold a long scarf in half, put it around your neck, then pull both ends through the loop) or simply hang the scarf under the collar of your suit with the ends covering your lapels. You can also try a little more dramatic way of wearing the scarf - drape it stylishly at the neck in a bunch, making you look sophisticated, elegant & comfy at the same time.
To sum up, a scarf is another must-have and is an inexpensive way to add glam! So go splurge – you can pick up nice cheap ones from street shops like Sarojini and Lajpat Nagar at Delhi or in Fashion street @ Mumbai. If you can brave a little extra cost, check out collections from Nalli and Satya Paul as well (duh…obviously during sale time silly!!)
3. A Stylish Jacket: Well, what do we say about this one…it’s a piece that makes us feel instantly dressed up and important!
A classic jacket preferably in a dark colour like black, brown, dark blue is an essential in every wardrobe. The jacket can easily transition from one style into another, and can be worn casually with a pair of denim jeans, or with trousers for a more sophisticated office look or even on top of girly dresses and printed jumpsuits! For those brave ones out there who don’t mind extra long laundry bills, a white jacket is also a good option and is really useful to wear with darker colours for just the right contrast.
Make sure you buy a nice tailored jacket -- fitted to flaunt your feminine curves. The jacket should enhance what’s good about your figure: give girly curves where there are angles, create waistlines when you have a more boyish figure and smoothen out fuller figures. Do choose jacket fabrics like tweed or corduroy or go luxe with suede or brocade. Stay away from shiny leather ones and ones with garish sequins or motifs! Also avoid ancient styles like the double breasted ones – urgghhh!!
