Ode to My Fashion

What happened to the cool days of Summer? The Monsoon came and went, and came back bringing really hot and humid days back to Pune. I have to admit that for once I am looking forward to colder days. I am not sure it will be cold enough to break the coats and boots but you never know. Scarf- taken from my Mother Shirt- Sundap shop in M.G. road  Pants - Shimamura Shoes- gift from Hubby Bag - gift  Indian style earrings - random shop at Women's fair  Anyway, for a day of running errands under the rain, I just opt for a button down and my loyal cargo pants. I love button downs, always have, always will. As a teen I use to steal my father's shirt, then I moved on to my boyfriends. I love them super baggy. But a feminine one never looses its class. In India, I discover that they are very affordable and come in every color and print. That is why I am stacking them up. I must have 5 by now. I should really stop but they are just so easy to sty...

My first Summer (or Monsoon) and Ramadan in Pune is great; temperatures are low so I am not sweating. It is kind of weird to spend Summer nights reaching for a blanket and not craving ice cream. My only problem is the rain; you cannot really enjoy the outdoors or walk without being splashed or have your toes in mud. On top of that I do miss the sun and blue sky. In this gloomy weather, dressing up in anything than jeans and tops seems crazy. So in order to mix things up and uplift my mood I add colorful accessories.   Tunic - thrifted Jeans - thrifted Bag - Chatujak market Thailand Shoes - Westside These earrings came with feathers but I removed them coz they were too much. May make other earrings or necklace with the fuchsia feathers later    New shoes bought on sale at Westside department store Truth be told, the purple (fake) suede shoes worked as long as I had to stay indoors. But since I had to walk between the car and where I was go...

The thing I like the most next to shoes (next to accessories, next to clothes) is bag. I am a sucker for bags. One time in my past life, I decided to buy bags in every color of the rainbow, reason why I now have an extensive collection of totes, basket bags and even clutches. But nothing too expensive as I am always scared to invest in a brand name bag. For me they are way too pricey for a housewife. If I was working, maybe..I even got chances to get good condition second hand Coach or Tory Burch bags in Japan for a fraction of their normal price but I always chicken out at the end. Do you know how many clothes I can buy with that kind of money? Anyway it has been a while since I bought a new bag (Ok! 8 months is like 2 years in shopaholics years) I did fancy many bags since my arrival in India. But this Summer I lust over a small  jelly cross body bag in neon. It was not that pricey (around 500 rupees at Much More store) but I was never too sure of the color ( I think I am too o...

We took advantage of the Independence day long week end to travel to Mumbai via road. We departed from Pune at 10 am and took the old highway. There was not much traffic and because we had to pass many villages, cars were not really speeding. On the way we passed beautiful green hills with waterfalls and idling buffaloes and monkeys. We arrived in Mumbai minutes before 3 pm because it took us one hour to enter the city. We checked in ITC Grand central hotel located in Parel. The hotel is called a luxury hotel and you could see why upon entering the lobby: high ceilings with beautiful chandeliers, rich seating areas. The room itself was small but nicely decorated. Anyway, we stayed only thirty minutes there then went in search of a restaurant. It was hard to find one in Parel so we headed towards Marine drive. We found Sukh Sagar restaurant opposite Chowpatty Beach. Unfortunately the lunch menu was not available as it was almost 5 pm. We ordered Dosa for the adults and veg sandwich a...

There are traits of your personality that are yours and there are others that you inherit from your parents. I am impatient like my Dad and talkative like my Mom. During a recent trip home, I also discovered something else I got from my Mom: Hoarding. When I am home in Senegal, I usually leave some clothes at my parents place to be washed and ironed. When I went to retrieve them, my Dad and I had to look inside many different suitcases as he is never sure where he put them. While checking them, we found some old clothes in a tiny carry-on. There were my Mother's and judging by their design, they dated back to the 90s. Most of the clothes were Winter wear ( heavy jackets) but the rest was silk shirts, scarves and skirts. When asked about the clothes, my Mom said that she was keeping them to wear during colder weather. But obviously my Dad and I both knew that she was never going to wear those clothes. My mother is a hoarder; She likes to keep things and she rarely uses them....

It was another simple Sunday in Pune with showers here and there. We decided to check this Sari fair in Karve Rd. It took us some time to find the place. And when we did, we had so many styles of Saris in front of us mostly made of some kind of silk (did not even know that there were different kind of silk). We did not buy because we were just looking. And I have to say that the Saris were not cheap. I am not even sure as to what should be a normal price. Sometimes I wish I had an Indian friend to hang with here so she could guide me. She would know where to get the best Indian material, teach me how to drape a Sari, introduce me to a good seamstress and hire for Mehendi sessions at home among other things...Too bad all my Indian friends are out of India. Or maybe it is time to make new friends?  Kurta - Big Bazaar Jeans -can't remember Tablet cover used as a clutch - Gift Shoes - Ross Had these shoes for 7 years now, yet I can count the number of times I...

Ramadan Mubarak! Remember when I said that I was not really into the matchy matchy thing ....Well I lied. I am a Senegalese after all, and Senegalese women do matchy matchy. You can take the Senegalese out of Senegal, but you cannot take Senegal out of her. Today, I am matching in pink and black. And I am following all Summer trends: kimono, neon, jelly shoes... And what was the special occasion? Nothing much. Just wanted to get out of my jeans and tunic phunk for a while (although technically I am still wearing tunic and jeans but let us not get too anal about it!) Kimono - thrifted (Tsukuba flea market) Tunic - H&M Pants - H&M I am actually very happy to be able to fit back into my skinny pants after 6 months. Thanks to fasting for Ramadan, I may have lost some inches around the waist. I wish that I can keep up with losing weight. I plan on eating healthier and working out more once the Holy Month is over. Looking at old pictures of myself, I see that I was not ...