Kurti or Tunic

Aunties, sisters, discard those kurti's. Please do not wear them anymore, they are not in fashion anymore. Have not been for the last 3 years.

If you have to wear something similar - try a tunic instead. The difference between a kurti and tunic you ask? A tunic is a non desi version of a kurti ( essentially a kurti minus the zari, embroidery or ethnic work)

For the older amongst us, I would like to suggest a tunic the kind found in Tory Burch's collection. Very elegant and classy. Neetu Kapoor has been seen sporting several tunics from the collection on different occasions.

For the younger amongst us, try something like what Cameron Diaz had on last week. So casual yet so hip

Sources: olivecookie, shopstyle

Belt it Out

First it was Logo-ed tshirts, then it was bags with Logos and now the Bollywood fraternity (and that includes the socialites and wannabes) are pulling in their burgeoning bellies with logo-ed belts.

Take a look at this picture taken 2 nights ago at Katrina Kaif's birthday bash ( no idea what birthday she was celebrating, even if she did make it public, it still wouldn't be the true)

KJo is wearing a Dolce and Gabbana belt, which costs around $400. Then there is Gauri, King Khan's wife, wearing a YSL belt, this belt is in the family of around $600.

Then there is current socialite (an has been actress) Madhu, wearing the much coveted Hermes belt. This sucker costs $540.

And there are the wannabes. Take a look at Bhavana Pandey (one time actor Chunky Pandey's wife, remember him, vaguley maybe?). She is wearing a Gucci Belt that costs around $275.

Then you have the Fendi belt, the Prada belts, the Chanel belt. List is never ending and the cost is never diminishing. Feast your eyes

Pecking Order

I have always been fascinated about how trends flow through the entertainment industry and down to us - the janta. Stuff like - where they start, how they escalate (or drop) and then how they filter through to us.

I followed this particular brand trend from the inception. This really explains the flow.

I first heard of and saw an Ed Hardy tee shirt on Madonna in 2006. After that I saw several Hollywood stars like Justin Timberlake sporting Ed Hardy t's.

In 2007, they got very popular with our Bollywood stars. They hit big time in India after stars like Kareena Kapoor and Salman Khan were seeing sporting them.

In Fall 2007 the Ed Hardy stores opened in India and now in 2008 we see the "aam janta" wearing them. It is another thing that our desi tube stars fall in with the rest of us - take a look at one of them sporting an Ed Hardy tee last week

Dunno if you have heard of him, this dude is named Ashish Chowdhry (yes this is how he spells it - he is still hoping numerology will help him)

So now the pecking order stands revealed. Elementary, my dear Watson.

Case in point

Remember how a couple of posts ago, I had mentioned that Indian silver jewelry was gonna be the big trend for Fall this year. As the Fall collections start to trickle into the stores we will see more and more stuff that we are familiar with. Check out this belt from Alexander McQueen's Fall collection






It is called the Punjab Waist Belt and can be preordered at Saks. It is priced at $625

Source: Saks

Faux Pas

My Pet Peeve with Bollywood stars. They are ultra glamorous on screen, they are now getting pretty stylish at publicized events but when it comes to being casual - their FQ (Fashion Quotient) takes a nose dive. They just do not do casual right.

Now take the case of Priety Zinta. She is supposedly one of the most stylish stars in Bollywood, she is dressed out in the best outfits on screen, wears the best designer clothes to events, but how does she dress for a casual evening out? Take a look at this picture taken at Olive's (Mumbai) this week

Not to be critical but Polo shirts are so last year, capri length jeans so 2 years ago and don't even get me started on the flip-flops or chappals or whatever it is she is wearing.

Well Priety, if you are reading this, if you had to wear a jeans and tee combo - you should have picked an edgy tee from Lauren Moshi and paired them with skinny jeans and cute flats, like Lauren Conrad here

And if you had really wanted to wear those two strap flipflops or whatever - you should have bought them in a nice bright color and teamed them with a cute, casual and cottony sundress like Halle Berry here

One day, hopefully....

Sources: singer22, madamedior, santabanta

Top this

It really is hard to choose from among the thousand choices of cute tops out there ( and I want them all). Let me narrow some down for you - being desi I am always attracted to tops with an ethnic touch to them. The following would be so cute to wear to a barbeque or to a nice restaurant for dinner.

I love the bandhni top worn by Fergie here, so summery, so fun.

This next one reminds me a lot of a top I had seen in a Ritu Kumar collection (private labeling maybe?)

And finally this one by T-bags. I had loved it in it's dress avtaar when I first saw it a Neiman Marcus. It became the most sort after dress after an American Idol contestant wore it on the show ( does it's neckline not remind you of a kurti with stone work).

Sources: T-bags, couturecandy; shopgreenapple

Kurti - dress??

I am in love with this Rag and Bone Dress. I first saw a picture of Blake Lively wearing it in Blue, a couple of days later I saw the same dress on Cameron Diaz. Then again I saw Blake Lively wearing the dress - this time in grey( guess she likes the dress as much as I do).

What I like about this dress is its simplicity and the fact that it has a tap collar(or Chinese collar, as it is called in India), has a border and matching cuffs and a small slit on each side. Infact it could easily pass for a kurti. Check out the pics

Blake Lively wearing the dress in Grey

Cameron Diaz wearing it in it's Blue avtaar

Now here's the catch - the dress was originally priced at $325 now it is on sale for $229. Do you think it is a bit pricey for a blue and white cotton kurti?

Sources: justjared; popsugar

Channel your inner fashionista

Super model and fashion icon Kate Moss has been known to dictate fashion trends. Whatever she wears is copied the world over. Check out this pic of her's.....

Do you see what I see?? Kate has accessorized her light jeans and grey tee combo with an Indian coin necklace. She has wrapped another silver necklace around her wrist and finished it off with a big chunky ring. I abso love this look.

Start raiding your mom or grandmom's treasure trove of oxidized silver jewlery and you will be as trendy as Kate (FYI - Gucci's Fall 2008 collection features many similar silver pieces)

Source: whowhatweardaily

Maxi - mize your Look

Sorry for not posting anything new these last couple of days. Things have been real crazy around here.

Anyway, I really went for the maxi trend when it first began last year. Every one commented that it was a passing fad and would not last one complete season. But the maxi's are still around and in full strength too. I am seeing more maxi's being worn this year than last.

While they are definitely a fun and cool way of dressing for summer - what I think, I really like about them is that most maxi's ( not gowns mind you, which gets some uninformed individuals confused) come in Indian prints and designs. Check these out and let me know if you agree:

Ombre (or tie dye as we better know it)

Batik -

Ikat -

and finally, this Block Print maxi from Juicy ( does it not remind you of the maxi's and caftans you can buy at Elco Arcade in Mumbai and Janpat in Delhi??)

Sources: fabsugar; justjared; people;runningwithheels

Neon Lights

Neon colors are really in right now. I first saw a picture of Victoria Beckham in a neon green dress and thought.. are you kidding me? Now the rage seems to have caught on from dresses to scarves to nailpolish. Check out pictures of trendsetters Rihanna and Mischa Barton

I was wondering who in dear ol' Bollywood would be the first to jump on to this bandwagon and I thought it would be the usual suspects either Bipasha or Kareena. But guess who was first spotted in Bollywood wearing neon

Surprised??? yes I was too. It is none other than Amisha Patel (who by the way has now dropped Patel from her screen name) on an episode of the TV show called Nach le Ve.

Well, wonders never cease.

Sources: instyle; indiafm

Guess what? Britney likes Indian too

Indian styling and emboidery has been in for several years now. Usually trends dip and rise but things Indian have stayed consistent.

I have never been a fan of Britney's -but have to admit I really like this cute number with Indian embroidery that she had on last week.

Source: justjared; britneyfans

Leona likes everything Desi

Leona Lewis, protegee of Simone Cowell (of American Idol fame), seems to prefer fashion served up Desi -style. Check out the two outfits she wore for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebrations this week.

This outfit clearly looks like a saree worn gujju style with a kamarpatti (belt) at the waist. The next one designed by Roberto Cavalli has, what looks like, Parsi borders all over it.

Needless to say, I like both the looks. What do you think? Send me your comments.

Sources: fabulousnesstranslates;celebrity-gossip

Look for Less

I saw this style and cut first on Amrita Arora, then on Malaika Arora Khan and now on Priyanka Chopra

If you like this look, you can make it your own at a very very reasonable price from Old Navy for $30.50. Check it out

To buy go to www.oldnavy.com

Sources: highheelconfidential; oldnavy

What were they thinking?

My previous 3 posts have, unintentionally, involved Kareena - so lets move on to her biggest competitor these days. Here is a pic of Katrina from her soon to be released movie "Singh is King"

I dunno who her stylist or designer were for this movie but what were they thinking???? What's with those shoes and SOCKS???? The skirt with gold dots and border is super cute but the blue around the neck and big blob in the center leaves me speechless........ Sure you want your star's outfit to garner attention - but they are going about it all wrong.

Victoria's Secret model Selita Bank's was recently spotted wearing this similar looking Milly dress. This is the way to accessorize an outfit to make it classy.

This outfit also comes in pretty mango and pistachio colors. To buy this outfit go to www.net-a-porter.com.

Source: rediff; madamedior

Scarves in Mumbai

Summer scarves are the hottest trend in both UK and US this year and I was surprised that none of our Bollywood stars or starlets had been spotted wearing one.

Finally, 2 days ago Kareena Kapoor was spotted wearing one (looks like a Burberry scarf to me) at Mumbai airport when leaving for the Temptations Reloaded tour.

While I like the way her outfit is coordinated - I wish she had not winterized her look. It is a summer scarf after all. She should have made it summery and fun like Kate Hudson below. But hey it is a start.......

Source : indiafm; instyle

Respect Your Mother

Kareena was spotted wearing this t-shirt backstage at the recently held IIFA Awards. While we all know that Bebo thinks the world of her mother, this tee refers to Mother as in Mother Nature.

This tee is made by Local Celebrity, the makers of hip and humorous t-shirts. This t-shirt has been made in collaboration with Global Green and is meant to raise awareness and money for a cause that they feel requires more attention - which is Mother Nature.

It can be purchased for $28 from www.localcelebrity.com

I am hoping Kareena was wearing the tee for the above reasons and not just for Babita (seen faintly in the background).


Source: localpaparazzi; localcelebrity

Was the look Indianized or has it been Westernized?

Sienna Miller wore this Jasmile di Milo dress at the Edinburgh premier of her movie " The Edge of Love" on June 18th.

Kareena Kapoor wore a similar looking lehanga choli outfit in every imaginable color in "Dil Haara" song in Tashan. The song was shot probably sometime last year - so Manish did us proud. He cannot be accused of being inspired........

While personally i would not wear either, i like the burst of color in the Kareena's black and white outfit via the red shoe and anklet.

The same concept can be seen in a Westernized outfit and an Indianized outfit. Which do you prefer?

Source: instyle, yashraj films

Chanel - Robertson Boulevard Collection

Chanel, in celebration of their new boutique on Robertson Boulevard in LA, has released a set of four limited edition polishes designed by Peter Philips.

I love L.A. Sunset. I think the color is the perfect Orange for my desi skin tone. The pink too looks like a great addition to any nail polish collection. The Rodeo Drive (what an apt name) - it is so funky. It would look great on toes and can be used all the way from summer to winter. I am still a little unsure about the yellow, though.

Here is the catch - each of these bottles is priced at $25. It is a lot more than I like paying for a bottle of polish - whatever the brand. The other, the lacquers are available exclusively in-store at the Robertson Boulevard Chanel Boutique as of right now. They will be available on Chanel.com and in other Chanel boutiques from July.

Source: teamsugar

Summer scarves

So what's the hottest rage this summer? Summer scarves. Scarves are not limited to winter anymore. Hollywood trendsetters like Rachel Bilson and Jessica Alba have helped kickstart this trend. The two hottest selling scarf labels are Tolani and Sir Alistair Rai and both these labels are owned by people of Indian origin.

For those who want to buy exact ones the stars wear they should go to the the labels websites and buy them.

For those of us on a budget and don't want to spend a hefty amount on these scarves - here is my suggestion: Take a close look at the scarf worn by Alessandra - does it not remind you of the scarf Hindu priests wear for pooja? Can we not buy them at a local Indian store that sells pooja stuff? For those of us in India can we not find these at Janpat, Delhi or Colaba Causeway, Mumbai at a fraction of the cost?

For the other tie dye ones and solid color ones - can we seriously not cut a dupatta into 2 and use them as scarves ( one for you and one for your girlfriend)?

This way you can obtain a designer look with doling out for a designer outfit!!!!

Source: justjared

See any similarities?

I came across this picture of Hard Kaur in a dress designed by Shantanu and Nikhil. It reminded me of a Missoni designed dress worn by Leighton Meester.

I wonder who was inspired by whom? Which dress do you like better?

Sources: Highheelconfidential, Instyle

Would you wear a dog harness?

I think it was early last year when i saw a picture of Sienna Miller wearing what looked like a dog harness. I loved the look - it was daring, edgy and fun.

When I chanced upon a dog harness at a local target - I stopped and considered buying one ( for myself. I dont own a dog) but then wimped out.

But guess who did not wimp out. Today I saw a picture of Rihanna wearing, what again looks like a dog harness and man does she pull it off. I am on my way to Target.

What do you think of the look and would you wear a dog harness?

Sources: usmagazine and justjared