Festive dressing has a way of making you want everything at once. The embroidered kurta you spotted on Instagram, the saree that would look incredible at a Diwali party, the lehenga you have already imagined twirling in, and that statement co-ord set you know will turn heads. The only catch? Building a festive wardrobe should […]
Karwa Chauth has a dress code, and it is written in vermilion. Red is the colour of the sindoor, the bridal lehenga and the long wait for the moon, so it never goes out of season. It carries upon it, generations of devotion and faith. And while nothing could replace the beauty and aura of […]
Navratri is almost at its grand finale, and Day 9 calls for an outfit that makes every garba spin and festive photograph count. The colour of the day is purple, a regal shade associated with elegance, luxury, and celebration. From embroidered sharara sets and twirl-worthy lehengas to statement sarees and contemporary cape outfits, there are […]
Diwali taash nights are not really about the cards. They are about who walks in looking like the main character before the first deal even happens. Somewhere between the diyas, the snack platters and the friendly trash talk, there is an unspoken rule that your outfit needs to hold its own for hours of sitting, […]
Day 3 of Navratri brings grey to the centre stage, and this is not the rainy afternoon grey or your boring office wear grey. Navratri greys come with shimmering tissue, intricate mukaish, silver embroidery and silhouettes made for all-night garba twirling. Grey has a way of making festive dressing feel soft, refined and effortlessly luxurious. And when […]
Durga Puja goes beyond just four days on the calendar. It is the rhythm of dhaak from the next lane, the smell of dhunuchi, endless rounds of adda, the delicious bhog khichdi, late-night pandal hopping and that one friend who somehow has a completely new outfit for every outing. For Bengalis, dressing up for Pujo is part […]
Karwa Chauth in Britain has its own choreography. Sargi happens in the dark, in a cold kitchen, at an unreasonable hour. Then comes the long day of tea you cannot drink. By evening, the flat smells of ghee and mehendi. Somebody’s mum is on video call from Ludhiana. The moon, meanwhile, is hiding behind a […]
There is a particular kind of October evening that only British Navratri knows. You leave the house in a puffer coat over your outfit, park three streets away from the community hall, and by 11pm the room is warm enough that the windows are fogged and someone’s dupatta is on the floor by the dhol. […]
There is a sound that marks the start of Durga Pujo before anything else does. The dhak. Somewhere between that first beat and the conch shells at Sandhi Puja, wardrobes across Bengal and its diaspora quietly transform. Cotton and handloom sarees gives way to silk. Everyday drapes give way to something with a little more […]
Janmashtami in the diaspora has a rhythm all its own; temple aartis that start after the American workday ends, community dahi handis in a parking lot instead of a Mathura lane, midnight bhajans that somehow still fit into a Sunday-night schedule. What hasn’t kept pace is the wardrobe. Most closets still default to a plain kurta […]
