Ok BYE ! *til next week*

I have my boards starting from Monday .. and all i have done is blogged n Blogged and BLOGGED!

Who will give my papers .. any of U ? HMPH .. 

Bye for now my babies .. :(

..Wish me luck ..

Eenie Meenie ..

Pic 1: Lanvin Spring R-T-W 2010
Pic 2: Alberta Ferretti Pre-Fall 2010

In absolute awe of both !! .. Love the colour of Lanvin's one shoulder  .. and is just so attracted towards this easy chic nude dress by Alberta ..

Which one do u like ? *In any case .. m picking up both ..  ;)*

Pics courtesy: Style

As times fly ..

My little mom on the left..with my mom's sister ..                    My dad so young.. with the 70s mustache at
I look so much like her!                                                                  San Fran's Golden Gate..
*the round bindis are so prominent*                                      

I love going through old albums .. and when you come across pictures like these ..it makes you imagine how life would have been all those years back !! ..
What i love about old pictures is its peculiar colour .. desaturated / sepia .. i prefer clicking my pictures too in these two tones .. they look the best in that !

Dancing in the Rain like a PEACOCK!

The peacock print has gone onto me .. i have never particularly loved any print .. but now i have a weakness .. for Peacock prints !!! .. I dont know why .. and how .. and when this happened .. but Peacock feather prints just take my attention immediately .. and oh ! did i tell u about my peacock feather print craze :P

This print reminds me of a similar Peacock feather print design by Matthew Williamson *but his version is much more brighter*

This pic was taken when i had been to Dubai.. Its Matthew's HUGE store in Dubai Mall

With his Peacock Feather print  as a Background!!!

Colour Play ..

Recently my house underwent major reconstruction .. and this time around .. i was all grown up to decide the colours of my room that i share with my elder brother .. Initially i did think that choosing a colour would be a task .. but it turned out to be more complicated !
Task 1: As i share my room with a boy .. the room had to compliment both of us
Task 2: Decide a mutual colour/texture on a particular wall
Task 3: As our room is really tiny .. we had to make the best use of every space ..
Task 4: Be in budget!

We ended up selecting fiery Red as a prominent colour for one wall and the rest would be mix of cream and pastel yellow .. *thank god for the cream ! .. otherwise my room would be RED and YELLOW ! And i would be living in a circus tent :| ! *

This is a picture of  the room pre-renovation.. *the painter had painted our room using pink and purple !!!! what was he thinking !! *

Post-Renovation:

You have to believe me ..Change Is Good .. :)

Fashion Boopers :P

I didnt even realize this boy's hand *trying to save himself from drowning * till i saw myself in the mirror after an entire day!! *tch tch*

The Last Remains ..

I was going through my draft posts .. when i found this post incomplete ... I complete it now ..

I couldnt see anything else on Style except for Alexander McQueen's Last incomplete collection that day ..
Again .. i was blown away ..

I am sure if he was still breathing .. this show would have been THE Show ..

You see 5 out of the 16 pieces above that were his last remains ..rest experience it on Style.com

So that i can see .....Stylishly :)

i have been wearing spectacles since i was in the 7th grade .. and it takes me a while to change my optical frame ..
I usually stick to the tried and tested ones in terms of shape and colour .. but the current one that i own is red turning to grey to red again and frankly im quite bored of it now ..
I wear my eye aids from the time i wake up till the time i sleep and im very particular about that .. for the simple reason that without them i just cant see any damn thing !!

I am on a world wide internet search *my level of exaggeration* to find my next pair of eyes .. and i have bottled down to the colour blue as im quite fond of it now .. i was first thinking of picking up a wooden spectacle but i would drop them almost every hour .. i'd rather stick to the ones in plastic..

Designer spectacles are beyond my reach but i sure do lust these ones !!
http://www.spectaclesblog.com/ is an interesting blog .. a must read .. The blogger has also posted an article about BioGlasses which will be made using cucumber skins ! .. Hmm .. now thats a pair i would like to own ! :)

Excess is not just OK !

I am always in search of t-shirts that have an interesting graphic print to it .. and recently i bumped into this brand called Excess is Ok which caters to Men's clothing and accessories .. 

This is surprisingly my first men's fashion related post .. and im super happy to begin it with this brand .. Not available in India ofcourse but u can ship it .. But i dont know how many people in India do that !

Date Night !

"Get Smart" was the first movie that i saw that stared Steve Carell .. and he was just so funny in that ..
Then i saw "Date Night" with 8 of my girlfriends .. and i almost died laughing !! *haha*
I can watch this movie a dozen times and still choke myself to death laughing !!
Steve Carell and Tina Frey are just perfect for the roles they play and its just the kind of humor i enjoy.. perfectly sarcastic  !

Date Night is a case of mistaken identity that causes a bored married couple's attempt at a glamorous and romantic evening into a crazy whirlwind of events ..






Take my word .. and just go and watch this ..

Colour Blocks!

The first picture is an artwork that i had don way back in the 3rd semester .. we were asked to create a woman with a character of our choice .. and me being all for the super cool kick ass lady .. i had to draw this woman who cared a sh*t about anyone and wants to live on her own terms .. ;)

The second and the third picture are photoshoots that i did on my best friends who ever so willingly help me with anything outrageous .. what are friends for anyways !! *These photoshoot pictures also are a part of my portfolio as fillers .. *

Finding titbits .. 2

With accessories i have phases .. 

I was Bangle crazy in 2009

i am quirky Chains Maniac NOW !

I just cant seem to control my urge to pick what i like in the accessory department !! .. it bloody takes a toll on my pocket money ! :( But its money well spent :)

These are some that i bought which i Lorve !! 

      From Twisted,Inorbit                                Floral neck piece from H&M 

                   Picked from a guy who was carrying                 Small elephant link metal chain with 

                            this in a cane basket!                                          copper sparrow

                                                                  

Art Deco inspired Brooch that i picked up from a small little shop hidden somewhere in Bandra,Mumbai

Im am very attracted to accessories in gold .. particularly becoz where i live .. the air is such that any metal turns into a different colour .. a colour that makes it look antique ...and i am in love with that ! :)

East India Company

East India Company was Kristel-Ann and My baby .. Our graduating collection for Shalom 2010
Not a lot of brain storming went into the selection of this theme..as we had very similar ideas and looks already decided in our heads ! *saved a lott of time,energy!* We wanted to incorporate strong Indian influences and combine it with modern patterns and cuts. We luckily also knew that we wanted to have separates..and we ended up having 19 of them in our collection !! A lot of thought went into naming our baby ..and after a million odd names.. we concluded our search by naming it "EAST INDIA COMPANY"

For you to read: Our Concept Note

Oh bury me at Cassino
My duty to England is done
And when you get back to Blighty
And you are drinking your whisky and rum 
Remember the old Indian soldier 
When the war he fought has been won!

Juhi Khanna and Kristel-Ann Marie LaPorte

Present

East India Company

Out of an Era, when chests and cabinets were made by hand from the real wood of a single tree,  when every household produced their own cloth and all necessities were grown in your own backyard. We take you back to a period in Indian History which transformed our education system, economy, politics, architecture and lifestyle of the people.

Right from the 16th and 17th centuries western relations with Mughal India began through trade. The trade ties between the rich and powerful emperors of India and the Europeans lead to the rise of colonialism. In AD 1600, the East India Company was founded. By the eighteenth century the British began gaining control over India and set up manufacturing firms that began to exert influence on India's thriving textile industry.

Cloth, clothing and identity were deeply intertwined in colonial India. Historically there was tailored repertoire for the nobility (tunics, gowns, jackets, waistcoats and trousers) and unstitched clothing for the masses (shawls, turbans and saris) .Eventually the Indian colonial subjects sought to fit in with their British rulers by adopting European clothing. Traditional garb gave way to the modern pant suit and jacket for men in urban pockets of the subcontinent.
“East India Company” is a collection that draws its inspiration from this amalgamation of two cultures. It expresses how cloth became one of the most potent symbols of the struggle for Indian national independence.

Collection Analysis
In accordance with our theme which propagates handloom and the invasion of the British monarchy on the Indian soil, we have chosen to make use of fabrics that existed in that era. Khadi, Handloom cottons, Linens, Tussar silks, Matka silks, Benarasi Brocades, jute blended with fabrics that were bought to us by the British such as Satins, Jacquards on georgette, cotton twill weaves and suiting textiles.
Garments in our collection illustrate tints and tones of almond, nude and old rose moving to khaki, beige, fawn and chocolate browns teamed with military greens. Ruby reds combined beautifully with bold blues conclude our collection.  Floral and paisleys are the motifs used in the collection as they were the most commonly used motifs of the era and are still timeless. Dori work, antique lace and jute cording embellish our garments. Buttons engraved with heraldry and emblems that replicate the colonial insignia complete our collection.
The accessories are created using medals, English roses, lotuses, filigree work s in brass and stripped ribbon. Antique metal bangles and earrings, pocket watches, walking sticks and jholas are the other accessories that emphasize the colonial inspiration in our garments.
Right from the weaves to the metal embellishments we have tried to depict “Handicraft” as an essential part of this culture fusion by promoting the use of handloom and handspun textiles.


Its very very important while designing your collection that more than anyone else, you need to understand your collection the most which shows on the concept note that needs to be spread and also while selling your garments! 


I say it with pride that almost everything that could be sewn by us .. was infact sewn by us ..! yes i know thats hard to digest .. but yes we did it !! *yay* i know every stitch .. every tack .. and every detail that went in our collection .. im not trying to be preachy here ..but thats the only true way that you learn and enjoy this process.

This is our entire Collection Line-up. We were asked to design 6 female garments and 2 male garments.

We worked into every detail that went into the collection and also created this label for East India Company!

Kristel and Me both are Accessory junkies and our love for quirky pieces made us create our accessories on our own too! Brass roses, filigree pieces, stripped velvet, cheap medals, custom metal cut into stars,crowns, shields, vintage flower pendants and 4 tubes of FeviBond resulted into this !

Pic 1: Dedicated to my Tea crazy partner :P

P.S. The last two pictures were taken around 5:00am in my house.. *when we had just ended with all the titbits we had to do in all our garments* It was a moment we stole when we both were just staring at our babies and looking back at every stitch that went into creating them .. :)

The final day !

! Our Moment !

To end i want to say .. that i do love my collection a lot.. but at the end of this journey .. i did sort of got completely fried with looking at the garments again and again ! there was no suspense left that intrigued me anymore! Then it dawned on me why designers keep churning out new collections every season .. its becoz they are bored .. and also they have the greens ! ;)