Starting today I am adding a new section "Caught my eye" featuring things that caught my attention.

The day the clouds aligned themselves.

Notice the shades of blues.

Shades of green against the blues.

It was a beautiful day.

The aligned clouds. 

Street Style Diaries Mumbai - Vani Gupta

Fusion Wear

With a petite frame, long black hair worn open, sans make-up and in a little white dress you could see Vani as a demure, shy girl-next-door. However, its her deep set eyes and a resolute gaze, a hint of a-sign-of-maturity grey on the mane, the chin-stud and her choice of accessories that bring out her quirks, her craft and her personality. Vani Gupta does bags and accessories that you see in the background.

Tribal jewelry has been about hammered metals, rough wire unpolished/uneven stones and has always appealed to me. One such confection on Vani drew my eyes, a neck piece made largely by twisting copper wires and twisting along beads of different colors/shapes/sizes along with a beaten copper leaf and a flower, making quite a unique accessory.

Keeping her liking to the beaten metal I presume, she wears a chunky silver ring on her forefinger.

She wears this bangle with wrapped silk threads in a vibrant yellow and adorned with kundan work which is so quintessentially Indian bling, will pair beautifully with any traditional Indian attire.

She carries a tote with pom-poms and distinctly Parsi floral embroidery in primary hues of red, blue and yellow.

With her varied choices and eclectic pairings Vani represents the cultural milieu that Mumbai street style has become all about! eager to know your views, don't you think?

Vani Gupta

Street Style Diaries- Anup Arun Mastakar

Style Statement

The best advertisement for your wares/craft specially if it is wearable, is you! Anup dabbles in many such crafty pursuits and when I met him he was like a walking billboard of his exquisite hand painted/crafted accessories using coins among other things.

Coins have always had the power to draw collectors over centuries and are great examples of beautifully detailed and rendered artworks that are the sign of the times preserved for posterity. Coin jewelry is a fun alternative to the conventional precious (or not) metal jewelry that we are all used to. Don't we all have a lucky coin/lucky penny that we do not wanna let go or an exotic souvenir or a gifted coin from faraway land that we want to keep forever? I have an old neck piece in silver with old guineas and i will always love it, do share your coin jewelry with us and tell us how you feel about them....

Anup uses these coins to fashion pins, brooches, armlets, pendants and such innovative pieces to help you carry your memories with you, on you. He also does these interesting hand painted ties. What I saw reminded me of the Egyptian art influences in terms of the color usage and the graphics, specially the Eye of Ra. I do love the vintage timepiece on a washed denim band with hand painted graphics on it.

Don't forget to notice the 10 naye paise from 1958.......nostalgia and the stories from my granny of its worth and how it could buy the world then....priceless!

Anup Mastakar

Being Human- Spring Summer 14 Exclusive Preview

Your blogger was invited to an exclusive media preview of the Being Human SS14 line! It was a real treat to go through the vibrant range and know what there in store for us through the summer. Being Human, the clothing line associated with The Salman Khan being Human Foundation is surely set to wow its patrons with its something-for-everyone offerings for summer. What makes the brand unique its the spirit of looking good while doing good, which helps the Foundation undertake many initiatives for children and the underprivileged. This is perhaps why Being human is the most trusted brand of the year according to the Brand Trust of India. You can know more about the Foundation through www.beinghumanonline.com.

I love the details in each and every product and I think that is what brings a unique flavor to the brand. The graphics on the Ts are fresh and full of life. The washes on the chinos, shorts and the denims have a lived in feel and is something you must-try-on-to-believe.  I do like the baseball/pea caps for men and the flip flops on offer.

I leave you with some images from the range and my favorite picks from the Men's look book which I think are quite hip and trendsetting. I also leave you with their yet to be launched campaign video that features who else, Salman Khan talking about the brand.

The range is available now in the Being human stores, many other formats that they sell through including online. Check out www.beinghumanclothing.com for more details.

If you like the looks, do leave a comment and share your feelings, but more important go grab the goodies before they fly out!

  

The Spring Summer Presentation

The details

The Being Human Men Chinos

Menswear Tees with some fresh graphics

Chinos get a stylish twist with some cool suspenders.

The universal must have logo shirt

Great denim washes, must pick one.

Some of my favorite looks from the Men's look-book.

Pastel Riot- Love the pastel pants with a cool blue shirt and a splash of yellow.

Pastel Riot - Style your pastel pants with some summer white and add some color.

The Indigo Fever -The denim on denim look with my favorite pick shirt the star printed shirt.

The Indigo Fever - Striped tee with denim shorts to beat the summer blues.

The Dip Dyed Blues Look

The Style Icon Salman for Being Human 

The Women s Range

Shorts and Chinos in fresh summer hues for Women

The Quest Tee range for Women

Colorful Chinos for Women-A fresh take on the colors for Summer

Nautical inspired stripes and dotted slippers

Street Style Diaries Mumbai - Kaills Fotini

Denim all the way

I am a die-hard denim fan. The humble piece of attire, a pair of denims, has a knack of reinventing itself over and over again to stay relevant to the times and to stay on trend globally. Ever since the Levi's 5 pocket, it has increasingly become a wardrobe staple and that seems unlikely to change.

I noticed Kaills at the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai, out with her camera to capture and take memories back home, for the fab pair she was wearing.

Kaills wears this pair of distress novelty acid washed pair of denims rolled up to mid calf length. It has a very 80's retro and vintage vibe with the strategic abrasions and tears. She teams it up with a coated knit sleeveless tank in black, a raw amethyst pendant around her neck and a crinkled patent leather sling. Her choice of footwear is an interesting pair of sporty wedge heels that looks high on comfort without compromising one bit on style. Her cat eye shades are style of the moment and everyone, from models, celebrities to the fashionistas, all are sporting it!

Casual, Cool, Comfortable and Chic, Kaills Fotini has cracked the code for dressing right and having fun in Mumbai with her perfect ensemble.   

Street Style Diaries Mumbai- Meitei

Hype means Nothing

Hype means nothing to Meitei, he is a bundle of energy, confident and out there! He gives me this pose practiced to perfection from his idol Beyonce with a wide smile.

Meitei is a hairstylist and I'm sure he is absolutely entertaining for anyone who's hair he styles, how wonderful that is. He sports the in-for-the-year undercut style for men, with a twist of top mop with blonde highlights.

He seems well clued in with his style and sports a bold print-on-print trend and totally works it. Printed T-shirts with face prints, celebrity or otherwise and big bold prints is the biggest trend right now. 9 out of 10 brands have it in their collection.  I'm sure you recall the famous moustached celebrity faces on T's by the brand Eleven Paris,. You can also check out Zara to get your hands on these. 

Meitei wears the designer label 'Hype Means Nothing' Beyonce sleeveless T. This label is famous for celebrity face print T's with various celebrities such as David Beckham, Kanye West, the late Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson and even the character Homer Simpson. Check them out at Hype Means Nothing. He pairs his designer T with a cool off-white-black Navajo printed pair of bottoms, ankle length lace-up boots in washed brown leather and a braided brown leather belt.

Meitei sure is a destiny's child and looks like he's already put a ring on it!

Meitei- Hairstylist

Street Style Diaries Mumbai - Loulou van Damme

Someday I want to be Loulou!

I noticed her when she got up after dinner from the table next to mine at this restaurant and possessed, I followed her, not caring for my soup that had just arrived.....

Loulou van Damme, originally from Belgium is a self-confessed indophile, loves everything about India and calls Mumbai her home. This grand dame of style is a creative consultant for interiors and works with Maithili Ahluwalia's Bungalow 8.

Loulou wears a creation from another creative genius behind Bungalow 8's fashion Mathieu Gugumus Leguillon. She has the agility and aura of a yogi and Comfort seems to be the keyword for Loulou's style. She wears this unique jumpsuit in black and white horizontal striped cotton, the silhouette of which is a masterful blend of the traditional Indian dhoti+kurta pairing. She teams up her visibly comfortable attire with a pair of canvas sneakers in white, also high on comfort; and an interesting graphic printed stole around her neck. 

Being an indophile and a woman automatically makes her a lover of the white(silver) and yellow(gold) metal and many interesting pieces adorn her hands neck and ears. I am sure each piece of jewelery on her has a story behind it and has the flavor of the places it comes from.

For a lady who doesn't want to lug around a bag, Loulou proves that all you need phone+money+keys can fit in her comfortable and compact customized sling.

You define grace, and some day I want to be you!

Loulou van Damme

Kala Ghoda Festival 2014

Its almost a ritual for me now, a visit to the The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. Now in its 16th year, is a community celebration of the arts within one of the most beautiful and historic precincts of Mumbai, The Kala Ghoda Art District. It has been held for the last 15 years, and is open to all, free of charge. It has traditionally offered various programs in Visual Art, Music, Theater, Dance, Street Acts, Heritage Walks, Literature and Workshops for children as well as adults.It has the power to lift your mood and spirits almost immediately even though you'de be bumping into people all the time. The Festival has grown exponentially, and is hugely successful, drawing over 150,000 people from all over the city to 350 events over 9 days. Tourists from all over the world plan their trip to Mumbai to witness the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. I wish we had more space for this 9 day culture fest..... 
The most exciting part is that the funds raised from the festival go towards the restoration and upkeep of the area. Several heritage buildings and institutions in the area have benefited from this. I hope one day we learn the importance of conservation and restoration and above all learn to admire our heritage the way we do when we visit any place that has history like Paris or Rome.
If you haven't yet you must check it out while there is still time and I guarantee you will be thrilled!

About Kala Ghoda Association