Players gonna plaid

The tartan patterned plaid shirt is like hot chocolate on a nippy day. Comforting, yet never goes out of style. Plaid isn't just confined to the kilts of the hot Scottish men or the sexy school girl outfit *cough* and here at FTLOFAOT, I give you my own version of the plaid look. In this weather where I was seemingly undecided about whether it was chilly enough for a jacket or warm enough to just float about in my maxis, I decided to do a little cool layering with my dependable custom made black maxi dress and the plaid shirt. Its certainly hipster since the floaty maxy and the shirt both exude a very devil-may-care vibe, but hey, turns out the devil does care and teams up a leopard print clutch against the plaid shirt. Hair, Brooklyn-ish gold hoops and black multi-strapped flat sandals could easily be classified as norm core but thats the thing, I always do norm core in parts and elements.
This was my outfit for Day 4 of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week and the photographs are courtesy the lovely couple behind The Fashion Flite.

Wearing:
Plaid shirt: Zara
Black maxi dress: Custom stitched
Black strappy sandals: Forever 21
Portfolio clutch: ASOS
Gold Loops: Forever 21

Till the next post,
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Back to the roots

Now is a good time as any to go back to the roots. With design mavens like Sanjay Garg for Raw Mango, Vaishali S, Wendell Rodricks teaching us a thing or two about going back to the Indian textiles, the design scene in India looks richer than ever before. The saree in khadi, matka silk, chanderi and other hand spun textiles is suddenly the new cool option. Not to say that it ever was not. India's design history has always been rich and our resources are never ending. The man power is talented and it is phenomenal what a little tapping into it can do. But these designers with interesting cuts and drapes are making these options seem so much more appealing to everyone. I for one am sold.

To the outfit now. With an attempt to do a half drape saree, this look is the more earthy and unkempt one amongst the two that we shot for my friend's college project. The half saree look can be achieved this Diwali even without the complications of the whole nine yards. Take a cue from the photos and you definitely run the chance of upping the style quotient at that coveted Diwali party. ;)

Wearing:
Half draped saree: Dastkar Mela, Delhi
Jewellery: Paharganj, Delhi
Earrings: Forever 21

Photography Courtesy: Riddhima Arora Behance or reach her on email at riddhimarora17@gmail.com

Soul of a wanderer

I have contemplated the theory that I have the soul of a hippie. On days I just want to pack up and leave, irrespective of the day, time and state of affairs in the Republic of Kalra. But apart from the whimsical thoughts too and more on point of what I choose to put on my back, I have enjoyed sporting a look or two where I don at least one element of a very bohemian look, even if not more. This look, however, is entirely another story. A shoot I modelled for, for my photographer's fashion school project, I shared one of the images from my shoot here and the response propelled me into sharing the entire look with you. Its whimsical, yet practical. Hippie, yet mature. It is an alter ego which I best describe as 'a wanderer' that surfaces occasionally and mostly when I decide I cannot flow with the mainstream anymore.

Wearing: 
Black maxi dress as kurta: which I got stitched
Floral pants and the accessories: Photographer and stylist's
Strappy sandals: Forever 21

Photography Courtesy: Riddhima Arora Behance or reach her on email at riddhimarora17@gmail.com

WLIFW: Day One

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week kickstarted today and is it politically incorrect to say that the shows were just about lukewarm? Are we taking the same trend and showcasing it in the same permutation combination? Or can I look forward to more exciting shows in the days to come?
Alpana & Neeraj's 'kawaii' themed Japanese line with minimalistic design and lot of bow detailing made for a beautiful runway presentation. Hemant-Nandita played with ikat and used some great '70s inspired silhouettes that made you think a retro funner summer resort line.
Meanwhile, us bloggers have a tendency to run our own little fashion show off the runway. I went sporty luxe with a tinge of gothic. A Dhruv Kapoor sweatshirt in bonded jersey and mesh paired with leather skinny pants made for an almost androgynous look. Of course worn with those shoes my mother would never approve of but I adore.
Just an insight into Day One's outfit. Here's to hoping for better shows tomorrow.

Wearing:
Sweatshirt: Dhruv Kapoor
Leather pants: Next
Shoes: Charles and Keith
Clutch: Zara

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Chanel Spring 2015: A call for a cause or a call for attention

When the Chanel models took to the asbestos streets at Palais de Tokyo at the Paris Fashion Week, their choice of cry for protesting was feminism. But is it really embodying feminism? 
Ever since I saw the show, complete with its theatrics of eyebrow maven Cara Delevingne taking to protesting against inequality between men and women into a Chanel megaphone, I have been slightly perturbed by the nature of these theatrics. Now I am not someone who studied gender deeply, but with a basic understanding of gender and law and what really entails feminism, this feeble attempt by Karl Lagerfeld to make Chanel ready-to-wear a part of second wave feminism missed the mark. His idea as I read on Style.com was simple, "my mother was a feminist, and I was brought up with a history of that." Completing his thought, given how 'cool' the concept of being feminist has become in this day and age where every average woman without a real understanding of the issues with gender norms or gender inequality, claims to be a feminist, it seemed like the right vendable move. Are we, in the process, over simplifying feminism? In my opinion, yes. Do beautifully tailored pant suits on typically beautiful models suffice to carry forward the desired message of feminism? Probably not. The idea of feminism in sartorial choices is wonderful except I failed to see anything that had not been said before. Women have been taking to pant suits like fish to water since the late '60s ever since the induction of this androgynous piece of clothing in our wardrobes. The collection highlighted khaki, tweed with a hint of psychedelic, pin-striped with a lacquered sheen, skirt suits with lacey blouses, leather stripped dresses and knitted sweater dresses. The collection was on point with the luxurious use of fabrics and bringing a whole bag of elegant to the table. But do slogans on the lines of 'Be different', 'free freedom', 'history is her story', 'women's rights are more than alright', really convey the essence of this zeitgeist called 'feminism? Why are we lapping up everything that is the current politically correct flavour of the season, in this case feminism? 
A creative director known for having called Adele, 'a little too fat' preaching a feeble sermon of feminism to the fashion world and the world at large is resounding hollow and downright fallacious.
We all love a little drama on the runway but this is when we ask ourselves the larger question? Should the drama ever overpower the clothes? 
I believe that fashion has the power to be a purveyor of great social and political messages. I do also believe that a surreptitiously worded slogan hinting at some kind of equality between men and women does not create an impact that a cause like this deserves.
Sorry Karl, this Boulevard of Chanel did not create the fashion Bastille that you hoped it would.