Breathe in the ocean 

Summer's almost here!! Time for the nature-lover inside of you to wake up and get some fresh air. Sunny days, beachy hair, tanned skin, bikinis, water fights and summer loves. If you want to look hot this summer, here are some sexy swimsuits you could try:

Bikinis 

1-nordstorm, 2- Victoria’s Secret, 3-nordstorm 

1-neimanmarcus, 2-Victoria’s Secret, 3-Topshop 

1-ASOS, 2-Topshop, 3-ASOS

Tankinis

1-jcpenny, 2-newlook, 3- oldnavy            

1-jcpenny, 2-Victoria’s Secret, 3- Debenhams

Swimsuits 

1-ASOS, 2-River Island, 3-ASOS

1-jcpenny, 2-ASOS, 3-Bankfashion

Fancy shoelaces 

Photo 
Living in hot countries near the equator, my regular shoes were all slippers and sandals. The only time I wore actual sneakers was once every year for sports day (I was more into swimming than running and football). Then of course there are the shoes we had wear as part of our school uniform, which I wouldn't necessarily classify as sneakers. They were the classic black school shoes that we had to wear with horrible “school socks” that never fit anyone properly.

(School socks weren't blue) 

Getting back to the point, I recently bought my very first pair of converse sneakers! =) Playing it safe, i got the plain black ones and I really like them. They’re so comfortable and look good but I wanted to jazz them up a little without going too overboard on the first try. So I found out different ways to ‘weave’ shoelaces that are both easy to learn and practical. Here are a few that I tried out:

Asterisk & lattice lacing

Directions for first and second 

Hexagram & hash lacing

Directions for first and second 

Spider web & double cross lacing

Directions for first and second

Pentagram lacing

Directions  

Hints and tips: if you’re going to try one of these styles, make sure the laces don’t get tangled and that they’re not bent, even on the inside because you don’t want to go back after you’re done and straighten everything out. And of course practice makes perfect!

If you want to try different styles, Ian’s shoelace site offers a wide range of lacing techniques and variations. Check it out: http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/

Jeans, Jeans, Jeans!

Photo

Ah jeans. Started in the mines and now are found in every corner of the world. I mean who doesn't own a pair? Whether on hot sunny day or cool breezy afternoon, jeans are easy to slip on as well as to style. They were originated in Genoa, Italy where they were exported by sailors throughout Europe. In the French city of Nimes they loved it so much that after much trial and error, they created another fabric known as Denim (de Nimes). 

Jeans were popularized in America by Hollywood actor James Dean when he starred in ‘Rebel without a cause’. They immediately became a symbol of youth rebellion in the 1950’s. In-fact  teens who wore jeans were kicked out of or banned from restaurants, theaters and schools!! Imagine that?

Instead of styling the common blue jean, I picked 7 very different jeans for the 7 days of the week. I created easy to wear, comfortable looks that are fashion friendly yet practical. Out of all the many jeans that are out there, these are the 7 I chose:

Studded jeans

Jeans, top, earrings, flats 

Shadow print jeans

Jeans, top, earrings, bracelet, flats 

Bright coloured jeans

Top, jeans, silk bracelet, shoes, studs, hair bow 

Snake print jeans

Top, belt, jeans, earrings, flats, bracelet 

Tie-dye jeans

Top, ear cuff, sweater, jeans, boots

Polka dot jeans

Ear studs, jeans, shirt, hair tie, flats 

Floral jeans

Ear studs, jeans, top, sandals 

Swedish graduation

Photo "Bow down before us Swedes, we are your future bosses"

One of my best friends is from Sweden and her graduation is coming up soon! In Sweden, graduation is a BIG deal! On the day of the graduation, girls usually wear white or light coloured dresses and guys wear black or grey suits. The graduating class wears a white and black cap  with their names written across it in gold letters.

In the morning of the big day, students and teachers have a “champagne breakfast”. When school is over they literally run out of their classrooms (like children), out the school building to the outside where friends and family wait for them with flowers and posters. Student’s parents usually hold up posters with baby photos of their kids. This is followed by formal lunch with speeches. After this, they change into more comfortable clothes, get on a lorry/truck and parade around the city blasting loud music, singing, dancing and spraying beer on each other. They then arrive back at school and go home to Celebrate with friends and family. PS, they get gifts too! 

At night, classmates meet up and party all night long! Overall it sounds like a fun day!

Here are a few white dresses I thought would be great for graduation:

Little white dress

1-nelly, 2-Lulus, 3-ASOS, 4-nastygal

Classy in crochet

1-swell, 2-ASOS, 3-ASOS

Lovely laces

1-charlotterusse, 2-modcloth, 3-nastygal, 4-Lulus

A bit of black

1-modcloth, 2-ASOS, 3-ASOS

 Traditional Indian Hand Block Printing

For a field trip and to research for my A Level Art Personal study essay, our teacher took my fellow art student and I (yes, there were only two art students in my batch) to the Regional Handcraft center in Bangalore. The people there were very friendly, welcoming and gave me all the technical details I needed for my essay. The ambiance in that studio was amazing! You could tell very quickly that each and every artist was passionate about the work that they do. There was so much to look at! Mugs of bright coloured printing dyes, intricate designs on printing blocks gathered together on shelves, the many many pieces of completed projects left to dry.

After Mr.Prabu Kumar (the hand block printing artist) explained the careful steps to successful block printing, he let us try it out. Let me tell you, it is not as simple as it looks! When applying the dye on the block, you have to make sure to dab it enough to get the colour all over the block but not too much so that it’s not uneven. When placing the block onto the cloth, it must be precisely on point or it’ll mess up the entire design. And what I found most difficult, the actual printing process: hitting the block with all your strength. For smaller blocks, there are no handles on the back of them but the big ones have thin handles and it’s the thin piece of wood you have to hit hard. It won’t work properly if you use your palm. It has to be the bottom of your closed fist. My god it hurt! I hit it as hard as I could but still couldn't get all the dye onto the cloth. Though my hand was pink and sore when I was done, I'm glad I experienced it. I now know how much physical effort goes into making a hand block printed piece and I wouldn't mind paying more for it. 

Ouch!

If you would like to own beautiful block printed clothes visit Anoki. Anoki is a world famous Indian brand that uses traditional blocks prints to create modern cutting edge designs. You can check out their website: http://www.anokhi.com/

Here are a few of their designs:

Photo

Photo

Photo

Photo