The Less-Celebrated Timeless Fashion Piece

On a breezy Sunday evening in September, I switch on my laptop to write a blog post on timeless fashion pieces. I think of structures blazers, black and navy blouses, trench coats and tan belts. I mentally picture each item under a soft spotlight in a studio and decide to place my bet on one. But then, as I scroll through my image library, I see pictures of me in a striped white t-shirt. In a sartorial world replete with expensive-looking trends, the classic white t-shirt seems like an approachable and less-celebrated timeless piece.

Look for Jean Seberg in Breathless or Audrey Tautou in Coco Before Chanel or this picture of Audrey Hepburn from a magazine shoot. And in case you are wondering how to style a striped tee in today's time, I suggest you throw it over a denim skirt (the longer, the better). Or you can pair it with a pair of mom jeans and a silk scarf for that vintage feel. And if you have shorts in the same colour as I did, try the pair at home to see if it works.

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The Divisive Shorts

Are they supposed to be worn only while riding a bike? Are they underwear/bloomers? As divisive as they might be, biker shorts are not going anywhere, and for all the right reasons.

Whichever category your fashionable self may assign them to, you can't mistake a few distinct qualities these shorts do have. They are super comfortable, unless you are hell-bent on going for a size smaller. You walk, you ride a bike, you take a train, you pump iron at a gym, or even go for a swim, there is nothing you can't do in biker shorts.

Moving on to the shallower aspect of things, biker shorts look good and you don't have to scratch your head while trying to dress them up or down. With a black or white crop top and a white shirt. With an oversized t-shirt and sneakers. With matching blazers and a bralette. With a big shirt and a cute cap. Or with a t-shirt and denim jacket. Real fun shorts that go well with so many things in your existing wardrobe.

The only thing that clearly doesn't go well with biker shorts is the fear that it's not outdoorsy or dressy enough. 

Please ignore the abrupt end of this blogpost. Not a good writing day.

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That Black Shirt

Growing up, I had my eyes on a black shirt with big prints that my cousin owned. She looked like a fashionable Italian model who had everything sorted in her life. But under no circumstance would she part with that shirt of hers. So all I could do was imagine myself in that shirt, happy as a bird.

Last month, I saw this shirt (in pictures here) and I could not believe how it all came back to me. The memories. Even after all these years, my want for a similar shirt had not waned, not even a bit. Somehow, I can't seem to write more at the moment. Thank you for still visiting this blog.

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Conversations with an old pair of shorts

Dear pink shorts

I decided to talk to you today. You, an object in the perfect shade of light pink, flaunting old-world crochet, reminding me of the years that went by in almost a blur. 

You were so tiny, that I almost didn't pick you for fear of being judged for wearing next to nothing. But then, somehow, good sense prevailed and I got you. You have been with me for 15 years now. You have seen me through so much - from finding flats and flatmates to switching jobs, moving cities, heartbreaks, losing friends, growing out of hobbies, and whatnot. 

I wore you when I saw the ocean for the first time. It was an evening that served up the best sunset I had seen in my life, the kind you use to compare every next sunset you see, at least in your head.

You go well with shirts and tops of almost any colour - white, grey, black, pink, yellow, multicolored? You are underwear-like enough to be worn under a super short dress. And you look the best sandstained.

Dear shorts, thank you for not letting me grow out of you.

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A Case For The Little Black Dress

If you are a sucker for fashion magazines like me, you must have come across numerous articles serenading the timelessness of the little black dress. I for one failed to see the appeal. As someone leaning towards the brightness of yellows and greens and whites, I ended up missing out on the understated yet noticeable additions of black to my wardrobe.

Fast forward almost a decade and I have black clothes for all sorts of reasons. For starters, it gives you this off-duty model kind of feel. Just pair black leggings or jeans with a black t-shirt, throw in some dainty accessories, and there you go! Carry a large-sized Latte for that extra sense of purpose. 

I have also come to realise that a black dress or an all-black outfit is - for the lack of a better word - a mood. The one that gets you dancing, hints you to go to a book reading, or just makes you feel like taking a walk on the beach.

But for the most part,  this little, in the bud affinity toward all-black outfits may have something to do with the growing up. The color comes in handy when you want to appear like you mean business. By taking some attention away from you and adding a touch of orderliness, it can also camouflage the fact that you are yet to get your shit together. What's not to like?

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Never Not Wearing White

The thing with random posts is that they increase your chances of rambling. This week I had decided to stay focussed, not digress, and write something I could be proud of. Something that would look good on the blog and also help me go freestyle every once in a while.

Didn't happen.

But you see, I have a topic- why do some people, including me, constantly wear white? And I have some pictures to go with the topic. Stuck at step three, and probably the most important one, I am almost going to stop after writing just two lame paragraphs.

To be continued in the next attempt.....

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A Dystopian World

Two years back, for getting pictures clicked for my blog, I used to create my own dystopian backgrounds. Not a single soul to be seen. I don't know how I managed that. Something to do with deserted spots, mornings, and of course the good, old crop tool I guess.

Two months back, I had to step out to get some medical supplies urgently. The streets had never looked so dystopian. I am hoping they never will. Even the leaves were still. No dust anywhere. As if no one had walked the road since morning. I didn't need to turn my camera in a specific direction to capture the emptiness of the streets. 

What a difference two years make.  

Sharing whatever is left of my pre-pandemic pictures. Thank you for visiting the blog. For reading things that don't even make sense to me if I read them a few months later. 

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Avocado Toasts and Other Things

Two years ago, an Australian billionaire named Tim Gruner had an interesting advice for millennials who wanted to buy a house but could not. "Stop buying avocado toasts," he said. 

Well, we all know the price point at which restaurants usually sell avocado toasts; as if that smear of green softness came straight out of some exotic land, half-accessible from humanity. According to Gurner, people who own homes have worked very, very hard, and saved every dollar they could. This is especially true for the baby boomers from the middle class with very moderate incomes, who managed to buy their houses mostly in their 40s, or even 50s. Gurner goes ahead and adds lattes to the list of indulgences young people should ideally forgo. Now the internet is divided on this one. According to me, the guy makes sense. In a way, he is not pointing fingers at just the toast and the coffee, but every single indulgence that doesn't make economical sense for the younger generation. T

Let's talk about the indulgences of our generation. It doesn't stop at avocado toasts and Iced Coffee. The list includes breakfasts of all kinds, weekends bar bills, Uber Sedans (UberGo doesn't cut it for most people), weekend gateways, online shopping, products for nine-step skincare regimes, frequently changing mobile phones (an iPhone at that!), and the endless number of shoes.  

Now let's see if we can live without any of these. Surprise, surprise, we can. The pandemic has reinforced the fact that we can live without anything that is a non-essential. But can we? And if we can, for how long can we stretch the minimalistic lifestyle? I tried asking a few of these questions to people of my generation.

"I won't move to an android, that's for sure."

"No, no, no...I can't cook, I won't cook. Can I cook? Let me think."

The lockdown just got lifted and you are asking me if my two-year quarantined ass wants to go to a pub this weekend? Oh, that was a question. Okay.

The resistance was unanimous, even when most agreed that savings are important. I, for one, understand that not buying avocado toast alone won't allow me to buy a house. But I have another theory. If you start saving, wherever possible, without looking like a maniac, your brain will constantly tell you you are saving for a house. In a way, you will be preparing for the day you buy one. You will start to hold on buying things that make perfect sense at your current place, but have no place in your dream home. With time, without you even realising, you would have ended up working towards your goal, simply because it has been on your mind. Every saving you decided in the name of something bigger, would have triggered the same thought, and hence action.

I hope I am making sense. Thanks for reading a non-fashion blog post. I will go, have my coffee now :)

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The One Night Stand Dress

I am yet to know a girl who doesn't own that one article of clothing she bought with a gleam in her eyes but ended up wearing just once. Now keeping aside the size or uncomfortable, impractical fabric issues, what is in play here? Why separate so soon? Can't we try just one more time to get to know each other? What prompts boredom of this magnitude?

I never even thought about this till it happened to me. This red dress right here that you see in this blog post is something I wore just once. No idea why? Was it the red? No? Was it the cut? No. Was it uncomfortable? A resounding no! I guess I just felt like I was someone else.

My sister has happily taken this dress. But even today, I wonder if I am too fickle. Why grow out of something so fast? Guess I will never know. The one thing I know is that it was good while it lasted. Hence the happy pictures.

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Racing Car

Of late, whenever I decide to write about something, my mind drifts like an anxious dog spinning in circles, then taking a break only to jump up and down over nothing. Absolutely nothing. Writing needs a controlled mind, and nothing seems to be in control in the midst of these uncertain times we are living in.

Who am I kidding? Pandemic or no pandemic, this head has always been like this. The other day I was reading that meditation is especially difficult for a lot of Geminis because their mind is always speeding like a racing car. You bet! I fall asleep exactly after five minutes of meditating.

On a serious note, I am in the middle of a lot of things. Life is 1@**d3kdhb... No matter how much I try, no good, put-together piece is going to come out today. No beautiful imperfection or haute mess. I should just stop typing now...

See you later. Hope everyone who reads this blog is doing okay. If you want to rant, the comment section is all yours. Sorry for wasting your time. Will come up with a better post next month. 

Missing this day on the beach though....

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Zero Talent Days

Is writer's block a real thing? I very much think so. I am not talking about that occasional blank screen or that once in a while mediocrity that makes the words that you type look like a bunch of hybrid plants that no one wants. I am talking about the vacuum that doesn't let even a simple 300 words write-up happen...at times for as long as a week.

I have googled ways to overcome this. But somehow nothing seems to be the perfect cure.

Take a walk

Here is the thing. I walk for at least half an hour everyday. So when I decide to take a creative walk, my system fails to see the novelty. I am full of purpose when I walk, but at the end of it, nope. Nothing.

Eliminate distractions

Since I have this interesting ability to look at things and think nothing, for hours, (remember those scary girlfriend videos of early 2000? Same expression.) I don't really know of distractions. And when i have a distraction - like a real, walking chocolate cake that I see only once in a while - then I put down my pen. Simple!

Play a game

I suck at playing games. I don't understand half of those walking, creepy looking things on screens of all kinds. No, I don't mean to say I don't like them. I mean it literally. i don't understand them. It's like Monica telling Joey about commitment and he keeps saying "Not following".

I am sure if I was a little more flexible and had a little more IQ, I would have done better. Will try the next three ways in the next three months. You guys have a great weekend there.

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Things I Have Learnt So Far in Quarantine

Before you tilt your head on your comfortable side (mine is right), raise your unthreaded eyebrows, and say,"Not another quarantine article!", let me assure you I won't present any data that would make you more frustrated than you already are. I don't know if we are going to emerge stronger - like those forwarded whatsapp messages claim we will- or will play a blink-and- you-miss-it role in a real life version of a pandemic movie. I don't. So I am just taking the liberty of talking about random, not necessarily sad things, I have observed during this quarantine. And here they are!

People Snack! Like a Lot!
So I am a part of a whatsapp group where we can mention the things we need, and a local kirana store guy will get it for us at the society gate. Very good initiative I must say, because that ensures very few people actually step out of the society. For all those who know me and my knack of observing the weirdest things ever, would totally understand why I read the lists sent by so many people everyday! No, I have no role in procuring that stuff, I just read because I can! It's out there in the chat group, for everyone to read. And my latest research tells me people snack a potato pile lot more than I thought. Biscuits, cookies, chips, cake slices, you name it, they are eating it. I must have been living under a rock all these years, thinking we Indians snack less and hence have healthier food habits. Suddenly I am worried more about obesity in the country than corona. I even dreamt of babies eating Nutella pancakes while sitting on a mountain  of soft vanilla cake!

Some people have better WhatsApp statuses than others 
One of the many times I realise I know the worst set of people in the world is when I check out the status section of my WhatsApp, filled with banal, meh content. Why, people why? But before I begin to take you through the streets of quarantine-snobbery, by saying more mean things about people who do not need my permission on the kind of things they have to say, let me be a little bit nicer. Let me talk about the bright yet soft rays of light, about those that upload kick-ass statuses. Mehak Mann, Jatin Khurana, and Hardeep Kaur, you know how to make a forever-irritated, quarantined woman happy. Thank you for existing. 

People are revealing their true selves, almost.
A friend who was gushing about a guy in February, just realised he can only waste so much time on her. Another one has realised how unhappy his job had made him and is already working on something new. Another one I know is going to confess her love to someone the moment all this is over. People are coming out. The flaunters, the singers, the pessimists, the optimists, the potential social butterflies hidden in the garb of loners, the alcoholics, the cooks, the fuckboys, the kind hearted....and so on and so forth. Now is the time you may discover something about your friends. They are all quarantined, masks reserved only for grocery shopping. Take a peep guys. You have the chance to know thy loved ones like never before. 
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The Outsider

Do you ever get that feeling that you are stuck in some kind of style rut? That you, out of all people, you, who looks at people only for their clothes, can't really put together an outfit anymore? On days like these, I feel like a fashion outsider - someone who can still appreciate people's sartorial choices, even get some fluttery sorta feeling after looking at Chloë Sevigny, but has forgotten how to dress up for fuck's sake.

Now that you have already wasted two minutes listening to my rant, you might as well spare some more into looking at my analysis of why this happens...to me at least. And how I intend to fight it.

The office shit
I know a few women who dress up so well for work. But to me, all office wear stuff usually look like monkey suits - bland, sad attempts at hiding the real personality underneath neutral tones, take-me seriously blazers and boring as hell fitted shirts. Solution? Make a Pinterest board with all the work outfits that inspire me!

Those extra 7 kgs
For someone who loves androgynous style and oversized stuff, not being thin never helps. I know, I know we are supposed to be secure and flaunt our bodies, this is 2020. But I do allow myself this one tiny insecurity. And that is precisely where my personal style never really comes out. Solution? Accept the fact that it doesn't really matter! Grow up!

Lack of inspiration
For this one, instead of cribbing, i will straightaway jump to the solution. Read dear girl, read. Read fashion articles. And save all the outfits that you love on Instagram. Look at those images on a Sunday and see how you can take cues from them to create 5 outfits for the next week. Sounds like a plan? I am on it already.

What do you do when you feel like you are stuck in some fashion rut?

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A Little Extra

Recently, I have kept accessories at an  arm's length distance. It seems like too much work. It's almost as if 2019 brought in with itself some wave of lazy fashion in my way. Not a good wave. 

Even fashion icons have a signature accessory. Mostly. Imagine Coco Chanel without her pearls, Anna Wintour without her sunglasses, Negin Mirasalehi without her boots, or any one of your favorite influencers without her stacked bracelets or dainty necklaces. Not the same. 

When I decided to take pictures of this outfit for the blog, I knew something was amiss. So I rushed in, got that red scarf and them sunglasses. Because when it comes to fashion, a little touch of something extra means a lot, if not everything. 
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The Colours We Like

Why do we like certain colors?

I have seen people whose faces light up like a ferry boat when they see certain colors. And when I try to wonder about it, the whole thing feels like science. Almost. I know a lot has been written about the psychology behind preference for certain colors. But at times, I feel we gravitate towards some colours for reasons more than obvious. Here are some colors that never get old for me.

Yellow
Now here is a colour most people will never get in their life time. If you ask me, there are days when I feel yellow is the color of my soul. Of course there are less appealing shades of yellow, but the color seems to be the happiest a colour can get. Have you ever seen a tree with yellow flowers and not felt a thing?

White
50 per cent of my clothes are white. When I think of white, I see Lady Diana, Cameron Diaz, Josephine Skriver's recent white jumpsuit (for me, it will never get old in this lifetime). 

Beige
This one is 2019's favorite color, and rightly so. The color is everything if you ask me. Imagine this: beige tank to, navy blue pants, brown shoes. You can thank me later.

This time, for a change, the photos have something to do with the text. I have included all these colors in this outfit.
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