Nope, not being facetious. I really do have the same dress, 3 ways. There's a black, a white with black stripes and a black with white stripes. For a while I struggled with striking the right balance between the ever present conundrum of "must have more clothes"- "I have nothing to wear" and having a style uniquely my own, whilst staying on trend. All that changed with my 30s: I don't give a fuck about trends, opinions and what anyone has to say. So liberating. Everyone must try it. The 30s, I mean.
After spending quite a bit of time thinking about personal style vs fashion, watching my Mom being fastidious about her style and reading about fast fashion, I now have a guiding philosophy: own few clothes, of good quality (nothing synthetic, only natural fabrics; solid colors as much as possible) and only pieces I truly truly love. Life's too short to hold on to anything I don't love anyway. That's also why I own 6 pairs of shoes and 3 bags. My #OOTDs are same-same but slightly different 🤓
Bombay Perfumery
I took a beginner's class in perfumery this weekend with Rajeev Sheth of All Good Scents to get to the heart of what goes into making a perfume: accords and notes and how they play together to create scents that trigger memories of people, places - the ones we love and the ones that got away. Here's what makes this world of intrigue and mystery such a draw: A scent is a memory and emotion - you and I will NEVER experience a smell in the same way.
Read MoreThe Original Duffle, The Burlap People
I like big bags and I cannot lie. If you’re looking for an all-you-can-carry bag that makes heads turn when you travel and is cause of much envy when you post pictures on Facebook, The Burlap People’s duffle bag with repurposed leather straps is IT.
The Burlap People run by the super-efficient and friendly Sam is based in Kolkata. They showcase on Instagram (whowouldathunk!) and sell via email and Whatsapp.
Read MoreWhat I’m loving this week ~ No Nasties
There are many BIG problems that our Indian cotton farmers face. Here’s what the numbers look like:
Cotton is the “dirtiest crop” - 55% of all synthetic pesticides in India are used in cotton farming.The average rate at which farmers commit suicide in India is every 30 minutes. There are 60 million child labourers in India - nearly the population of the UK.
If I were to estimate the size of this BIG problem and try very hard to boil it down to an equation, this is what it would look like:
BIG Problem = Conventional Cotton Farms x Regular “Nike-style” Factory x Exploitative Brands x Greedy Customers
All of these obviously cannot be solved by our armchair activism. But armchair shoptivism (yes, I just coined that word) could help solve a teeny-weeny bit of it and that’s where No Nasties steps in.
I love the approach they take. They take each bit of what makes up that equation and do their bit to change and improve it! How’s that for multiplicative effect?
No Nasties makes t-shirts. With 100% Organic Cotton. Which are 100% Fair Trade. They sell them through their 100% Awesome Store. We get to own 100% Cuddly-Bunny Soft Tees that keep us 100% Happy.
The cotton used is pesticide free, the dyes used have no carcinogenic chemicals and the packaging has no plastics
What’s amazing is they are doing this while building an ecosystem of No Nasties around them - sustainable business taken to a whole new level. No Nasties also works with designers to build a community that regularly contributes with artwork and all their tees are delivered through Mirakle Couriers that employs low income deaf adults.
If you’re still not convinced about how all of this feel good, no nasty business works, here’s what they have to say:
”You may be tempted to ask if purchasing a single t-shirt matters; if participating in something so small can really make a difference?
We believe it can! And it starts with you! Start small; do your bit. Sooner or later, the others will join in. And then some more - and more - and everyone will do their small bit. And one day, there won’t be any more left to join & the world will be a better place. Magic!”
Shoes and Other Hurts
Go forth on high heels, come back on
foot. Post-lunch trauma. The tragedy that
strikes black stilletos and my twisted feet
shall only be spoken about in hushed
tones. Deference to the departed.
The slinky black stilletos now lie
wrapped in a neon pink plastic bag in the
trash can, their next-to-last resting place,
on Robertson Boulevard and Melrose
Avenue. Right outside Cecconi’s.
This tragedy which was followed by dinner at
Louie involved the consumption of
generous servings of mussels and clams,
whilst further drowning in the charms of
Mint Juleps and Sparkling wine. The
mourning spilled over into the morning,
where I helped myself to
pizza with Italian Sausage from Terroni’s
and gulped down mouthfuls of French
Vanilla flavored coffee from the
neighborhood CBTL.
May the shoes rest in peace.
They had seen better days.
Runaway Bicycle
When runawaybicycle launched their Tumblr blog (peppered with gifs of their fairy-like model waving around leaves in an orange dress, now running in a white dress), I was taken in by the cotton and khadi dresses that looked “comfortable, cheery and as cool as an afternoon breeze.”
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