Aztec print Maxi Dress for the petite

Amidst all this maxi dress rage, I was really skeptical of pulling off a maxi dress for I am a very petite woman. On my last holiday to Singapore I picked up this aztec print maxi dress for a friend. However,when I tried this on myself, I was suprised that it looked great on me. With this style post, I wanted to break the tall-women-maxi-dress-taboo.

Tip: 

Choose a midi length maxi dress if you are not very tall.

Style Post- Black Peplum top

I was one of the nominees for The Dark is Beautiful photoseries campaign in Hyderabad. This is what I wore at the photo exhibition at the MuseArt Gallery, Marriot. The dress code was black and I didn't want to wear a dress because I just thought  an LBD was to cliched to wear on an occasion like this.

What I am wearing: Black Peplum Top # WestSide(Wardrobe); Black jeggings #Lee; Wedges #Catwalk; Bag# Some brand in Singapore; Earrings #Westside

Cat Calling or Did you just pay me a compliment?

How different would our day be without that passing sexual inneuendo or that ‘ptchu ptchu’ sound a few "lesser" men make with both lips pursed. If not an obscene comment, then it’s an obscene stare. It’s the shared common public experience of most young women in this country. It is so common for me that once in a while I get to look at the better side of these Roadside Romeos. Some of them can actually pull off a subtle compliment very appropriately which makes me feel good. I’ve listed a few that happened recently.

1.    “Madam, dupatta is short on one side”. I’m walking on street in the rush hours trying to get to work when I hear someone say this. I turn around to fix the length of my dupatta when I spot him. He then smiles awkwardly and says, “Looking nice!” It made my day.

2.    “Wow!” Man of a few words but the right word.

3.    This one happened in the same lane where my office building is. I was walking one morning when a guy on a motorbike stopped to ask for directions to another company. I told him the way to the address he asked for. The conversation ended with a smile and a thank you, or so I thought. . I continued walking and to my surprise this guy rode back to me and this time he says, “I forgot to tell you that you are very beautiful.” For a moment there, I didn’t know to process this as a roadside Romeo comment or a genuine compliment. I felt this was sincere and, I politely thanked him and smiled.

4.    I caught a guy staring at me in the billing counter queue at the Inorbit mall. To break the awkwardness and redeem himself, he asks me about my nose pin. “Is that a diamond on your nose?” I told it was and he just says, “Nice!” I wondered if he really was staring at my nose pin. Probably not, but still this wasn’t awkward or weird.

I’m not encouraging cat calling, eve teasing or passing comments, etc but just saying that there’s nothing wrong in complementing a stranger. Due to a few ugly encounters with roadside Romeos, women look and react to most men derogatorily. It’s almost offensive for a man calling a woman beautiful or cute. A stranger complimenting a woman is not an act of eve teasing. Men shouldn’t be afraid of picking up a conversation with women in public. Eve teasing is a lot worse and bunching in uninvited compliments in the definition is treating the matter lightly.

Sunday Brunch Look.

Teamed up a white Sisley T-shirt with a cute heart print and a denim shrug jacket. I opted to wear my favorite black jeggings instead of picking up a pair of jeans for this look. My red puma sneakers make the look so complete and refreshing. This red sling bang is one of my favorites, I have been using sling bags since school and they are my personal favorite.

Awkward things about maternity.

When I first knew of the news that my sister is very soon going to be a mother, I felt a little shy and awkward about the news. When I met her after 7 months of being pregnant, it felt strange holding her in my arms, her proportions had changed, a baby bump coming in between us. We didn't know what to say to each other. It is a lesser known fact that most families don't even know how to react when they know a newborn member is coming soon. I can bet it's not how they show in movies.


           

She complained her clothes do not fit her well and that she needed newer clothes. I and my family didn't know where to take her shopping because clothes for an expecting mother is not something you get that easily.

When I was in the mall with my sister who was wearing a t-shirt and a jeans, some people would look at her as if she was disabled or something. I do not blame them. I think the reason is it's not a common sight in India yet to see a pregnant woman dressed casually in a T shirt and trousers. Today even in most parts of India, a pregnant woman stepping out of her home is considered unacceptable. This is the reason most women hide it with a dupatta or a stole. As ridiculous as it may sound but this is true. I do not understand why maternity wear is so overrated in India but only inclusion of more maternity clothing brands into retail will change a lot of perceptions.

I work for an ecommerce company myself and I was amazed to see the dearth of maternity wear options across the internet. To my rescue, I couldn't help but notice Morph Maternity . We bought some great lounge wear and comfortable clothing for my sister. Flipkart too has an amazing lineup for maternity clothing.

Color Block. Desi Tourist Look.

My first holiday in Singapore. I was super excited to keep it stylish my way. My personal style always needs to have a hint of Indianstyle (desi tadka) in it. I have an earthy and dusky complexion and I love to experiment with the brightest kalamkari fabrics because I think they go well with my skintone. 

MY brother  has been trying his hands on portrait photography recently. We went to the Marina Bay Sands during afternoon to do an exclusive photoshoot. 

The Look:

1. I picked this printed blue cotton palazzo pants from Westside.

2. Layered up a white basic tank and a red sphagetti. Layering two tanks or sphagettis with different strap width and color adds a lot of splash to your look.

3. Since the red and blue color block look was already too loud, I kept the jewellery simple and just wore a simple blue neckpiece and my regular diamond studs. You will find some assorted blue and red bangles to complete my look.

4. Aviators are my all time favourite. This one was a gift to my dear brother-in-law on his birthday. These brown aviators is on my next must have list.

 My favorite summer look till date. I got so many compliments for this look that I was forced to do a post on this. This is probably my first fashion post too.

This is the first time I wore red. I was not sure if red could go well with my complexion. I am glad I experimented. Credits to my sister-in-law.

Basic White tank top: Bossini | Printed Palazzo Pants: Bombay Paisley, Westside | Red Sphagetti: Max | Black wedges: Catwalk | Assorted Bracelets: Street shop, Hyderabad | Blue Necklace: Random store | Brown Aviators :Opium
Photography: Ravi Kumar

On conquering fear of people

To me, politicians have always looked like people with too much of self proclaimed hype and unwanted attention. There were very rare times when I had to confront a politician or gathering of political interest, one of which being recieving a prize for an elocution contest by the then CM of Odisha when I was just 7.  But the first time I was told by an acquaintance, Mr Brahmaiya that I might get a chance to meet Chandrababu Naidu, I was not very excited. Yes, the fact that I am going to meet one of the most influential figures in the State did stir me. The proposed meeting generated a lot of excitement within my friends and peers. At such times, your excitement builds up so much that you start  imagining the meeting  in  many different ways.

Mr. Brahmaiya told me that Babu garu has an innate sense of reading people. It’s all in his eyes. He can read your eyes and quickly sense the sincerity and honesty in your talking. That piece of news kind of frightened me and I started doubting my own intent of meeting him. I was extremely nervous to meet him and thought whether it’s a really great idea to have this meeting. I could as well just shake hands with him and get a picture taken. I started assuming that this meeting would be a very big failure and I would end up looking like a stupid girl. Amidst all this day-dreaming I was quickly called upon, infact was made to push myself through the crowd accompanying Babu garu in the elevator. The elevator was filled  with more than 6 poeple surrounding this Godly figure who was draped in a beige colour shirt and white pant that made a lot of justice to his Godly avtar. The first thing I said was “Sir..err” with the most stupid and not so happy smile. That was when I thought “Omg! i am caught. He must have read my smile. No.. Brahmaiya garu said it was the eyes.”. That was a silly and convincing escape though. I had prepared a presentation that I worked on for hours together but little did I know, this man was least interested to look into a presentation. He politely said, “Amma, I don’t have time to run through this.” That was naturally  quite discouraging especially with the daunting smiles of people around. But I did not give up and I quickly prompted “No problem Sir, we can talk.” And then there was no stopping I went on talking about my idea from the time we were in the elevator to walking till his car. That 10 minute conversation was extremely gratifying for the fact that I could suddenly see my confidence zooming upwards. I took a step forward conquering fear of talking to a great personality. Babu garu patted my back and congratulated me for my endeavours saying, "Keep going. All the best."

The purpose of narrating this incident is to share with you a self realisation that I went through during this incident.

While doing life changing projects( entrepreneurial I mean) we come across many situations and people. Some of whom happen to be extremely powerful and influential. It’s natural to feel self conscious around such people.That mental monster of fear keeps reminding you that “He is powerful. Your comments and ideas are much below his comprehension and interests. You are going to look like a fool in front of him. Step back. Give up.”

Fear of other people is a big fear. There is a way to conquer it. You can conquer the fear of people if you learn to put them in a proper perspective.

Get a balanced view of the other fellow. Keep this point in mind while dealing with people:

The other fellow is important. Emphatically he is. Every human being is. But remember this also, you are important too. So when you meet another person, make it a policy to think, We are just two important people here to discuss somethign of mutual interest and benefit.”- The Power of Thinking Big.

This mutual attitude keeps the situation balanced. The other person does not become too important to you relative to your thinking.

I conquered my fear of other people the day I realised that I am important too.