Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

What are dreams made of? What do desire the most? What are your aspirations? What inspires you the most?

Sugar 'n' Spice 'n' Everything Nice

Dream a Little Dream of Me…. Happy Birthday to ME!!

Images: Courtesy Etsy.com

Season of Colour Blocking

With bright colours and sober colours, monotones and neutrals, pastels to vintage brights, colour blocking has no rules. Colour blocking can be done whichever way you’d prefer. The trend of  colour blocking in India is so ubiquitous through our ethnic wear, that it doesn’t seem nouveau. We love to experiment with colours, we love the play of colours and yes, Oh Boy!! We are quite colourful. But I see so little colour blocking for men… Absolutely… So little.. So here’s some treat for the eye.

Colour Blocked Look

Fashion Lifestyle Apps for iPhone

iPhone 4, Apple

Yes!! Its here and I finally bought it… the by-product of Steve Jobs’ Imagination, Ingenuity and Innovation – Iphone 4 !!!

My yearning for this genuinely genius product has finally resulted into a fruitful, enticing shopping experience. But, the best part is that I am totally in awe of the iPhone apps especially the Fashion Lifestyle Apps. As listed below, these are my top favourite apps.

1) INSTAGRAM

The sheer bliss of not working too hard on Photoshop but creating vintage photo effects with the click of a button puts Instagram No. 1 on my list of Fashion Lifestyle Apps. Its also No.1 because it helps me CREATE.

Instagram, Apple

Instagram

2) STYLE.COM

For those who love fashion and fashion is your passion, then STYLE.COM apps will not disappoint you. With latest updates on seasonal designer collections, runways shows from across the world, backstage parties, street looks and blogs to impress, STYLE.COM is a perfect app for the fashionista.

STYLE.COM

3) LOUIS VUITTON: 100 YEARS MALLES DE LEGENDE

The history, splendour and glory of Louis Vuitton can be seen through this iPhone app LOUIS VUITTON: 100 YEARS MALLES DE LEGENDE, which when translated reads APPLYING LOUIS VUITTON: 100 LEGENDARY TRUNKS. Partnering with Editions de La Martiniere, Louis Vuitton exhibits one of its finest collections of LV embossed Malle bed, streamer trunks, cake boxes, mail-box library, portable desks – all to portray its 100 years legacy encouraging travel and discovering it through its book.

Louis Vuitton, 100 Malles De Legende

Louis Vuitton, 100 Malles De Legende, LV embossed trunks

4) GQ STYLE GUIDE:

GQ has created its ultimate style guide for MEN in association with MR.PORTER which I can say is men’s No.1 online shopping destination. Having the potential of educating its consumers through style advice on How To Wear, What To Wear etc, GQ has set itself on the path of converting its reader base into conscious shoppers, thus embanking trust on MR PORTER.

GQ Style Guide in association with Mr Porter

5) VOGUE STYLIST

An app that lets you curate styles based on seasonal trends and links it to a unique shopping experience by bringing in lot of interface enhancements. VOGUE STYLIST is your own personal style curator that backs up your choice with insights from trends, daily style inspirations and fashion stories.

Vogue Stylist

For now, these are my top favourites but more are yet to come or should I say, yet to be downloaded.

Happy Anniversary PIINK!!

Its been a year since I started writing this blog. Happy anniversary Paisleys and Indian Ink. I have enjoyed this experience and I am looking forward to write more and more, hoping my travels would take me to places unknown.

Happy Anniversary Paisleys and Indian Ink

Browsing through numerous beautifully encapsulated moments, having archived images of wonderful places, having learnt new cultures, languages and having adopted newer fashion styles, I am thrilled to write a column on what I love, what I recommend people to read and what to explore out there in the world full of art, culture, fashion, lifestyle, music, architecture, customs, food, travel, photography and writing. Happy Anniversary again!!

Who Wants To Be A Fashion Entrepreneur?

Wandering minds.. Searching Souls and through numerous job-searching agendas, I ventured into different ideas on how to be a self-starter, a fashion entrepreneur. I don’t know if I would ever become one or just keep blogging away about the same. But nevertheless, these articles gave me an insight into how to think creatively, how to be business-minded and how to avoid mistakes and how to write more blogs to increase viewership.

Focusing on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, there are ‘N’ number interesting articles online on ‘how to be an entrepreneur?’ Paisleys & Indian Ink has listed out some interesting articles, blogs on the same.

Who Wants To Be A Fashion Entrepreneur?

‘The Stylist’ has listed two great articles:

• Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets: http://www.stylist.co.uk/stylist-network/entrepreneurs-share-their-secrets 
• How To Think Creatively: http://www.stylist.co.uk/stylist-network/how-to-think-creatively

 Entrepreneur.com provides interesting blogs, ideas and business advice for small businesses. It lists ‘The New Faces of Fashion Entrepreneurship’  and showcases how five entrepreneurs turned their creative ideas into profits:

 

• The New Faces of Fashion Entrepreneurship: http://www.entrepreneur.com/ slideshow/217289

 On a similar model, YourStory.in has interesting start-up Stories about Indian entrepreneurs: 

 

• Social Entrepreneurs: http://www.yourstory.in/entrepreneurs/social-entrepreneurs? layout=default
• Women Entrepreneurs: http://www.yourstory.in/entrepreneurs/womenentrepreneurs? layout=default

 Practical E-commerce.com enlists pointers for successful online businesses:

 

• How to Succeed as a New E-Commerce Entrepreneur: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/blogs/post/663-How-to-Succeed-as-a-New-Ecommerce-Entrepreneur

Ethical Fashion Forum provides training and master classes for social entrepreneurs in the field of fashion and apparel.

• New Entrepreneurs: http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/

Whereas Neil Patel discusses

• 10 reasons you are not a successful entrepreneur: http://www.quicksprout.com/2008/07/13/10-reasons-you-are-not-a-successful-entrepreneur/

Here’s another interesting blog on women entrepreneurship: http://women-entrepreneurs.blogspot.com/

Reality shows like ‘The Apprentice‘ and ‘Dragon’s Den‘ are ‘infotainments’ that give insight to the different ideas, business analysis and unique entrepreneurial ventures undertaken by people.

• The Apprentice: http://www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice/
• Dragon’s Den: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/

Last but not the least, Youtube has an amazing collection of videos on entrepreneurial talks. There are many more but these are some of the good ones that I found!! Happy reading!!

SHOWTIME

Its my SHOWTIME profile on LCF’s website. Well, I didnt do a design collection but a 18,000 word research project on ‘Fashion Forecasting’.

http://showtime.arts.ac.uk/LavanyaVenkatraman

This is a gist of it!!!

The Making of The Sartorialist

This is a video of the making of the ‘The Sartorialist’, the man and his work which has been an inspiration for many fashion bloggers.

Must watch!!!

John Lennon – My Style Icon

On 8th Dec, 2010, it was the 30th death anniversary of the eternal music legend John Lennon. I grew up listening to the songs of Beatles and among all of them, I admired John Lennon the most – firstly for his music and most importantly for his style. Newspapers have discussed in length about Lennon’s contribution to music, the Beatles, Yoko Ono, his Zen-like tranquillity, and his anti-war activities in promoting peace around the world. The so-called smart Beatles’ influence on music and fashion is remarkable.

Rolling Stones discusses the life history of John Lennon with his biographies, interviews, stories, photographs and videos along with an online archive that has never been published before. The Telegraph and GQ have posted numerous photographs of the iconic legend and his rebel style.

The following is a compilation of  photographic images of John Lennon and his iconic style right from the Preppy, Schoolboy look to the MOD look, Rock ‘n’ Roll look moving onto the Hippie Look of the 70′s with a touch of glam.

Lennon also personifies the ‘Peace Look’ and adorns the Revolutionary look as well. He also continuously changed his appearance from a clean-shaven look to a handlebar moustace to a bearded look (this having resulted after his union with Yoko Ono). From a ruffled hair to long hair to a bald look that totally reminds me of Jason Statham or to aptly pinpoint Brad Pitt with his bald head and gold rimmed glasses. Guess, Lennon has inspired generations to come.

This is a video of 1968, Revolution Mod Fashion Show that portrays the 60′s mod look and also present at the show are John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

During the Beatles first tour of the United States in 1964, John Lennon wore a black fisherman’s cap which quickly became popularly known as a “John Lennon Hat”.

His changing hairstyles are complemented with his changing glasses. He often wore glasses due to his poor eyesight. From thick rimmed ‘National Health Glasses’ that he hated wearing to his softened ‘Buddy Holly’ styled frame glasses, his constant experimentation with glasses continued.

As a tribute to John Lennon fans, Luxury Culture.com has launched an ultra limited edition of cashmere sweaters emblazoned with 1971 self-portrait of John Lennon (which now hangs in New York’s Museum of Modern Art) or with the original hand-written lyrics to his song ‘Imagine‘.

John Lennon will always be remembered for his music, songwriting, his fight for peace and his ever-changing, inspiring personal style. He is my STYLE ICON.

French Sailor Chic in London!!!

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Over the summers, I captured a lot of coastal inspired stories. Amidst all that, I totally forgot about this beautiful snapshot that I had taken on 14th of July, 2010  celebrated as Bastille’s Day. Bastille Day, formally called La Fête Nationale (The National Celebration) and commonly le quatorze juillet (the fourteenth of July), commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

The Borough Market in London was having a celebration of Bastille’s Day. This vibrantly dressed group of people were singing and dancing, playing the accordion, drums and guitar, dressed in absolute French Sailor Chic style. The guy playing the accordion in the background with his beret and turned-up hem trousers and the printed scarf around his neck, looks absolutely French. The styling resembles the new Lanvin for H&M men look sans the pencil moustache. The red scarf on the guy playing the drums totally accentuates his black outfit and black beret.

The girls are dressed in ‘stripe T-shirt’, a typical of sailor look’ with a scarf elegantly tied around the neck. The red-buttoned cardigan with the red lipstick totally completes the French look. Not to forget the white culottes with black leggings and red shoes that complement the whole look.

The stripe t-shirt with the red scarf and the high waisted pants with the red belt, all typical of a sailor chic look. To read more about the coastal story and the reign of ‘stripes’ , click here. This is the video which I took on Bastille’s Day. Although, the girls seem to be missing from the picture.

Have a look at more of the French chic look with the likes of Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn and Alexa Chung, courtesy The Wall Street Journal.

And to add to this, I found this interesting video on how to dress up ‘French Chic‘!!! Enjoy!!

Lanvin for H&M

Gosh!!! I couldn’t wait to write about H&M’s collaboration with Parisian luxuxy house Lanvin!!! Yes, its finally here today!!! I happened to have a glance at the new store window at H&M and I was totally flabbergasted!!! Not to mention, the website too is amazingly done!!! I love the graphic illustrations and the new look on the mannequins that flows right onto the collection, the t-shirt graphics, the packaging, window display and onto the digital world!!!

With all the excitement and hosh posh going to womenswear, I decided – why not have a look at the menswear collection!!! Not to mention if you are going to shop for  menswear collection at the H&M store, today, early morning you don’t have to wear a shopping bracelet or shop under just 10 minutes per section!!! WOW!! Lucky men!!!

‘Lanvin for H&M’ offers men a daytime relaxed-fit tuxedo jacket with matching jogging pants!!! I must say… quite comfy there!! Its great… it’s all about dressing up, it’s all about an individual style statement, mixing it up in your own fashion!!

Designed by Lucas Ossendrijver, the menswear collection includes a nylon trench jacket (who doesn’t want one now – it’s so in vogue), trousers with ruched cummerband for men, double-breated navy wool coat with gold buttons, navy seeksucker blazers and Alber Elbaz’s trademark ‘bowtie’. Love the whole 1920′s look with mouthbrow (thin pencil moustache ) and slicked back hair!!! This so reminds me of John Waters!!!