Chiconomical

It's the final day of Navratri! Are you happy about nine days well spent? Or are you sad it's almost over! I'm at that bittersweet point where I'm super happy we have a long weekend right around the corner, but I'm also a little sad I have no plans for it! Somehow all my close friends are working and the rest already have perfect getaways planned! Anyway, let's get back to the post instead, this is something I am super excited about!

If you have just stumbled onto the blog and have no clue what I'm harping on about (no weekend plans excluded) then let me fill you in. This post is part of a nine day series of 3 ways to wear different colors during the festival of Navratri. You can go check out the previous posts here : Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8

Right! Back to the lookbook. Now purple is something I struggled with right from the time I realised I had to create three looks in this color. I don't own a lot of purple pieces, I especially don't own pieces that can be mixed and matched and so the struggle was very real. However, a bit of logic and a whole lot of luck meant I still managed to pull it off so read on to check out the looks!

1. Purple Reign


This look wasn't supposed to be on here. I had something completely different in my head but then somehow I ended up loving how festive and formal this whole outfit was at the same time. The top is actually a kurta that I bought on sale years ago from Globus and it makes for a great top. The skirt is new from forever 21 in the sales and the overall look is super twirly (always a good thing) and has just a hint of festive in it. Perfect for the office!

2. Simple Pairings



This outfit has been worn multiple times before. From Diwali parties to friends' weddings, I've taken this look pretty much everywhere. It never made it to the blog in this avatar and this was a good thing because it gives me a change to share it today. The outfit does all the work really. Don't want to take too much effort with styling for festivals. I suggest hitting the sales post diwali (yes, that's the right time to get the best prices) and stacking up on pieces that make a bold statement. The only time you take any effort is when you look for them, the rest is all a cake walk!

3. Purple Pyaar


Finally, the last outfit had me stumped till I saw my Pyaar top tucked into a forgotten corner of my closet. The clashing asthetics of this look make it quite interesting to me. Bold fonts paired with traditional pieces. My nod to the pop art phase that the whole world is seeing right now. Of course, there's always scope to spread love and that's exactly what I want to end this series on.

Thank you so much for the love you've sent my way over the last nine days! I'm so grateful. When I started this series, I didn't think it would be so well read and loved and it's all because each one of you has stuck with me! So thank you and have an absolutely fabulous long weekend!!

PS: Worried all your Navratri clothes go waste for the rest of the year, I'm putting together a guide to reusing them by fusing these pieces with your everyday wardrobe. If you want in then I suggest you go sign up for The Chiconomical Insider right now to have all these styles delivered straight to your inbox! 

Is there a girl out there who doesn't own pink? I'm guessing there's probably several. However I'm betting you'll be hard pressed to find a girl who hasn't ever tried pink! As we reach near the end of Navratri, I'm getting closer to thinking about reusing key pieces that I got for Navratri and incorporating them into your regular wardrobe.

Oh, in case you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, here's a quick intro. Navratri is a nine day festival in India and I'm doing 3 ways to wear one color for every single day of the festival! If you fancy, you can check out the previous posts here (Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7)

I remember a conversation with a girl in the office about this very same thing. Today's looks all have one core Navratri traditional piece, mixed in with wardrobe staples. There will be a special post up next week where I get into this conundrum, however, for today let's dive right into the lookbook!

1. Festive Workwear




When styling for this, I realised I haven't yet featured a single look in one of my favorite combinations. A co-ordinated separates look! Since practically everyone I know balks at the thought of wearing a blouse to work, I decided it had to demonstarted it's simple. Here, I paired by heavily embroidered blouse with high waisted palazzo pants and added a long jacket for a bit of structure (okay, it was really to hide the back of this blouse but it's still a good workwear layer). Ladies, it IS possible to wear your heavy wedding outfits to work, the trick is to layer it with more structured pieces to tone them down.

2. Fusion Swag


Full disclosure? I really couldn't keep my eyes open while I shot this look. Which is exactly why the sunglasses came out and while it was a completely unplanned addition, I couldn't help but title this look 'swag' inspite of finding the word way too frustrating. Anyway, this is the exact blouse that I wore before, only this time it's paired with dhoti pants and a scarf (you may remember this from my newsletter if you've signed up) as a turban. Lately, I've been into wearing scarves on my head (Hey Mumbai weather, thanks for giving me a reason to do it). The overall look is a very I don't care what you think of me, I'll rock my midriff exposing outfit without a care in the world!

3. Desi Damsel


Finally, after all the crazy looks, I had to give you a good girl outfit. For this look, I paired this printed ghagra (also seen here) with a tshirt that I knotted to convert into a croptop. A quick raid of mom's closet to get her pink dupatta and pinning my tassel earring as a maangtikka and we're done. A super simple outfit that can be thrown together at the last minute without any problems! This works with any skirt, dupatta and top really. And if you're feeling a bit bold, try going with just the top and ghagra!

And that's it for the day folks! Tomorrow's the last day of Navratri and also the last day of the series. I honestly struggle majorly with coming up with the content for tomorrow but it's still majorly interesting (atleast to me) and so I'd say you better swing by the blog tomorrow to catch the tail end of this crazy 3 ways series! In the meantime, give me a shoutout in the comments with what you'd like me to feature this festive season. Since we're going to be hit with a massive blur of festivities soon, if you have something on your mind, go ahead and ask and I'll definitely feature it on the blog! 

Happy Tuesday guys! We're in the home stretch of this absolutely mad festival and can I say I'm just a little bit relieved? If you don't know already, this post is part of a nine day series where everyday I share 3 looks with you in a particular color. Go check out the previous posts here if you haven't seen them already (Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 )

The thing about writing a post everyday is that it's physically taxing and sometimes it's hard to create posts of value for you all. However, today's not about whining but about one of my favorite colors, blue! Now for today's look series, I wanted to give you guys super quick ways to wear blue. I have worn royal blue before I a couple of my posts mostly here and here and so today's post is actually designed to feature styling I haven't done before.

1. Comfort Workwear



Can we take a moment to appreciate the palazzos to work trend that seems to have finally arrived? I spoke about it in a post a couple of months ago where I broke down excatly how you can wear palazzos to work. Today I wanted to give you another option to do the same. If you own just one pair of palazzos, then you can absolutely style this look. A white shirt (something that I'm a HUGE fan of and I've shared 10 unique look ideas to style it too btw, in case you're interested) and an obi belt are all that you need to complete this look. In fact, if you're not a fan of tucking in your shirts, this is a great look for you!

2. Everyday Woman



You know the crazy period dramas that have hit the Indian screens recently? It's like we're assaulted with period images all the time and that mean I can't help but get a bit of ethnic fashion from the days gone by and infuse it with my indo-western series. Since you loved the last post where I fashioned a top from a dupatta so very much, I decided to share yet another favorite drape of mine. This is actually a converted dupatta and this super comfortable and functional. The drape is completely inspired by period dramas of recent times on television, eventhough I don't watch them unless it's as a passive second party who has zero control of the remote control! Yep, I know it's happened to you too!

3. Double Duty 




Finally, since I can't imagine asking you to go out and buy more pieces, I decided I'd share a quick way to reuse the skirt from above. This blue maxi skirt has been a wardrobe staple for countless number of years and if you want to switch things up, why not try and pair your saree blouse (yes, you heard me right) with a maxi skirt like I've done here? This is a super quick way of getting yourself a new maxi dress/anarkali if you fancy and the top can change into whatever's struck your fancy for the day. Reusing clothes you already own is a huge part of affordable fashion. It isn't about buying more, it's about using more!

Have a great day guys. I'm off to get another 3 ways done and hope you remember to come back tomorrow and see what's in store!

PS: If you struggle with creating double duty looks like the one above, why not sign up for the Chiconomical Insider? It's absolutely free and there's a ton of styling tips that I share with you alongwith the best sale finds, all delivered straight to your inbox! 

The thing about white is that it's too often associated with death in our country. Wearing an all white outfit is in my mind associated with someone dying. However, since today's color is white, I figured why not do white outfits my way. Since white on it's own is great for a hot summer but isn't really something that brings me joy, every outfit in today's post is white mixed with other colors. You may or may not love this and that's completely your choice. As always, these looks are to inspire you to create a look of your own!

1.  The Common Woman


If you don't know who The Common Man is, I suggest you google him right now. For the longest time, this was one of the first things I read in the morning and this look is inspired by that childhood memory. I saw this print on the jacket and felt it made a great piece to add to my steadily growing jacket collection. I deided to wear it as a top and added a dupatta and a patiala from another set to complete the look. This reminds me of the common man, except this time, it's the modern day interpretation of him and it's actually a her. If you've got a jacket lying around in a funky print, then I suggest you find a pair of funky pants and make them interesting again!

2. The Couture Woman

Red is hands down the most favored color when it comes to festival dressing. In navratri, it is the color that representes the Mother Godess and everything strong and that invariably means you'll be seeing a lot of big bindi, hair flying looks on social media today. While I'm a huge fan of the big bindi, I wanted to give you something different. The idea of taking read and making it festive shouldn't be very hard. But then it's also the color that almost everybody I know shies away from because it's so strong. 'But it makes me look washed out' or 'It just doesn't suit me' are things I've heard enough of to last a lifetime. If you're one of these people, here are some super simple ways to wear red today with whatever you own.

1. Desi Power Dressing


The good thing about wearing red is that it's such a strong color on its own, you don't really need much more to turn it into a key piece for a strong outfit. A red blazer will be a lifesaver when you want to really stand out and make a statement. It's also a great accent piece when paired with western pieces in Indian prints. This croptop is the same as yesterday's post that I simply paired with different pieces to make the look more indo-western than Indian. If you work in an office that doesn't let you wear croptops, then you can easily replace this top with a shirt or a longer white top and till replicate this look.

2. Minimalistic Classics


Sometimes, minimalism is the best style. This is always true when it comes to wearing bold colors. This red outfit is something that I think almost every girl has worn at some point in their lives. A clean, simple kurta, a pair of dhoti pants or any pant variation you fancy and messy hair. Add a bold pair of earring or necklace to bring it all together and you've got a simple yet striking outfit. Btw, this kurta was actually a layering piece that went with this jacket from Big Bazaar.

3. Layered Reds




Finally, if you're a true banjaran, why not embrace the reds and wear them in multiple shades? I layered my red column maxi dress (this was such a steal at 50% off btw) with a long ethnic jacket from Ajio (yet another sale buy at 60% off) to get a bold yet interesting look. This is my favorite outfit from the lot (although the red blazer comes a close second) and if you are feeling rather bold, I'd say go for it and layer different shades of red together. Wear a bold lipstick too because you know what, those rules of fashion everyone talks about...they don't mean a thing!

Hope you all have an absolutely fierce day ahead! Can't wait to share the outfits for tomorrow with you all. Till then, for some more images and behind the scenes pictures, swing by my Facebook and Instagram! 

It seems I really need to start finding more orange to wear. Like I've said before here, I don't own a lot of orange which makes it super hard to create outfits around this color. Are you someone who thinks that really loud colors don't suit you? I for one certainly think so on most days. Of course then there's Navratri and loud goes with the territory. Now for those of you who don't live in India and are curious about the festival, I did explain it a couple of years ago in one of my older blog posts. You can read it here if you want to gain some info on it. Anywho, back to the outfits. Now since I don't own anything other than this orange skirt that's orangey enough, I had to resort to doing some fancy styling to make the three looks unique!

1. Flash Forward



2. Fusion Forever




3. Fixer Upper Fashion

Hello hello! It's day 3 and if you've just popped over to the blog, then let me fill you in. Since its Navratri, the nine day festival that's celebrated in India, I'm sharing 3 indo-western ways to wear on particular color for every.single.day of the festival. You heard me! That means there are 3 new looks that hit the blog everyday. In case you haven't seen them yet, here are the looks for the first two days! (Day 1 | Day 2)

Grey, this is a color that not many people associate with festivities. I for one didn't really know I could make it look fun till I started planning this post. Greys are good for giving yourself a break from the riot of colors that we always associate with festivals. This was supposed to go up yesterday but then life simply got in the way and that meant I needed to delay it by a day. But hey, better late than never! However, to make up for it, I've shared 4 looks for you!! And since I wanted to give you an indowestern look guide, every look here is designed to inspire you to use what you already own.

Look 1: Power Dressing


Look 2: Desi Working Girl




Think you can't wear pants with traditionals? Think again! Why not let your accessories do all the talking? Pair your statement accessories with trousers with a bit of ethnic touch and you've got an outfit that's workwear appropriate but still makes you stand out. A simple silver belt and a statement coin necklace take this look from normal to navratri approriate!