Tag: palazzo

Admiring Leafy Pubs: In Printed Palazzo Trousers

When I first moved to England many years ago, I had the pleasure of working for a company located in a scenic part of town that afforded easy access to a variety of beautiful country pubs. Furthermore, I was lucky to work with people who enjoyed visiting a different pub every Friday and soon this had become a Friday lunchtime team tradition.  These visits provided a great education into English pub culture, allowed me to experience some great ‘pub grub’ and exposed me to some beautifully decorated pubs.  Ever since, I have always admired beautifully decorated pubs and I especially love the beautiful foliage and greenery that adorns the outside of many an English pub. These pictures were taken outside a pub that I often pass by (I have never actually been inside) and the profusion of flowers always puts a smile on my face. I now realise that taking pictures in front of green plants, wearing green, was perhaps not the smartest idea I have ever had, however, it makes for a great ‘spot the blogger in the picture’ game.

I have always been a huge fan of the wide-legged trouser shape in all its forms and printed palazzo trousers are an all-time favourite. They really are an easy-going garment and seem to work with almost anything you pair them with. I enjoy wearing palazzo trousers with flats and heels, however, the one bit of styling that I am always careful about is that my chosen palazzo’s length is in-keeping with my choice of shoes. There are so many beautiful palazzo pants in the shops at the moment that one is spoilt for choice. I intend to add a few more pairs to my wardrobe this summer, hopefully in some bright colours.

I hope you enjoy this lookbook and have a great day.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

(Clothes and accessories: Top – Zara, Palazzo Trousers – Zara, Tote Handbag – Bottega Veneta, Leather Jacket – F&F Tesco (Similar Mango), Necklace – Michael Kors, Sunglasses – Dior)

Weekend Vibes: In a Red Tie-Dye Kurta and White Palazzo Pants

Happy Saturday my dear readers! The anticipation of spring and warmer weather has me giddy with joy.  I am expressing my elation by pulling out the more casual Indian outfits that can be worn on a weekend to a casual ‘get together’ or just because they look so pretty and feminine.

I saw this beautifully bright red silk material in a shop in Mumbai and thought it would make a lovely kurta.  I had it stitched with silver piping in the traditionally men’s style of kurta making with the patch under the arm.  It is striking, comfortable and easy to wear; it turned out exactly as I had hoped.  I have paired it with lovely over the ear cuff earrings I found in Delhi.  The vendor went to great lengths to explain to me that the ‘fashionable’ thing to do was to wear only one.  I think he was a bit disappointed with my fashion acumen when I insisted on buying two.  Finally, my wool poncho does a great job of warding off the nip in the air while adding a relaxed and destructured layered effect to the overall outfit.

Have a fabulous weekend and thank you so much for visiting my blog!

‘Rescue Mission’ Series: Old Gotapatti Kurta With a New Brocade Palazzo

Regardless of how you voted, the Brexit decision has now been cemented – I think!  Whether you felt elated, dejected or somewhere in between, I think we can all agree that we all witnessed history being made last week.

One of the few immediate positives of living through the referendum was that  it was a powerful example of democracy in the working, especially for school age children.  My children have learned about various forms of government over the last few  years in the classroom.  The referendum proved a great opportunity to not only show them how democracy works but more importantly to illustrate to them that sometimes your opinion wins and sometimes it loses, but learning to accept a fair result and move on is a crucial life skill.

Given the events of last week, it seems like a good time to do another ‘rescue mission’ where I take something old and combine it with something new to produce a new outfit. I thought my ‘rescue mission’ outfit provides a parallel for how events can sometimes unfold in real life. The results of the referendum demonstrated, just like my outfit, that sometimes things that may have worked beautifully for many years can ‘lose their shine’ and need to be reworked  partially or completely to better meet the needs of today.

In its past life,  this kameez and duputta existed as a lovely cheerful outfit, paired with a matching churidar. The outfit still worked well with the churidar, but I had worn it many times in its old avatar and it had lost some of its appeal.  I love the gotapatti work on this kurta and it seemed a shame to banish it to the back of the closet, so I asked my mother on her last trip to India to get me some matching palazzo pants made with it.  I am really pleased with this new combination and I think the palazzos are exactly what this outfit needed for a new lease on life!

Thank you for visiting my blog and have a great week ahead!

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A Beautiful Kurta: And Masala Chai And The Egyptians

I am a tea addict! There, I have said it and I have no plans to quit! I enjoy all kinds of tea and the weather and social norms of living in England have only fuelled my habit further.  Yesterday I was craving Indian masala chai after having a cup earlier in the week at ‘Dishoom’ at my Mumbai expat reunion – when this happened:

This coming week is exam week at school for our children. My husband and I, like good ‘modern’ parents spent the weekend acting like shepherds herding our beloved sheep into their study pens (pardon the pun!), all the while trying exceedingly hard not to come across as pushy ‘traditional’ parents – exhausting work really! Part of this preparation included helping the ‘younger lamb’ learn about the Egyptians. We were discussing how the Egyptians prepared their food and his revision notes stated that they pounded the ‘Emmer’ (a kind of wheat) with a mortal and pestle to release the grain within. My son said that he did not quite understand this, just as I was about to make a cup of masala chai.  I reached out for the mortar and pestle when it struck me  – I could show him how! I told him to take four cardamom pods from the container, pretend they were Emmer and put them into the pestle.  Then, I then told him to take the mortar and pound the pods.  Doing this of course released the seeds within.  I then told him, that these were the grains being released as a result of the pounding. He was so happy with my real life depiction and I was so happy with my ‘on my feet’ intelligent mummy thinking. Making masala chai had helped my child understand history and I had gotten to enjoy a lovely cup of masala chai – thus proving that making tea is always a good idea!

Sitting in the garden, enjoying a cup of tea, is a pleasure second to none. This pleasure is doubled when the tea is drunk out of gorgeous pottery mugs.  I decided to take this opportunity to lookbook this beautiful cotton kurta from Fabindia that a favourite cousin visiting from India recently brought me as a present.  I paired it with cream palazzos and a cream dupatta that I already had in my closet.  I also love the look of these delicate earrings I purchased from Fabindia last year in Mumbai. I adore the movement of this kurta – thank you so much G for knowing that it would be love at first sight between me and this kurta.

Thank you so much for reading and have a great week!

(Clothes and Accessories: Kurta – Fabindia (http://www.fabindia.com/), Palazzos – Westside, Earrings – Fabindia, Tea Set – Good Earth (https://www.goodearth.in/)