Chiconomical

Hello September! Starting this month, I've decided to start a new section on my blog, that features all the designers I'm gushing about, or think are going to be big, or simply love and think would be a good investment/bargain! Of course, I had to start with my current favorite, Silai London.


Haven't heard about SL? Well, the fact is, the brand still in the nascent stages and still finding its feet. But!!! Since the beauty behind the brand is my cousin, I get to brag about being the blogger who features her first. Silai London is her label that aims to bring the designer experience to the masses. While everyone wants a customised outfit, its absolutely unreal that you have to spend anywhere close to 80-100 quids for one piece! Of course you can buy a high street off the rack piece, but hey, is that really you? Or are you just ignoring the gaping hole it leaves in your pocket figuratively and literally?

I know what you've been thinking, Where have I been recently? Working! No, not working in the "I'm a student working in the lab" sense. Instead, I've now got a job. My first ever real office job! Yes, crazy right?! The last few weeks have seen me busy with office (omg! its weird even saying that) and wrapping up my academic commitments and there's a whole new set of rules I need to know and follow now. Obviously, one of the key ones is office dressing! The new job came with its own set of dos and don'ts for what is and isn't appropriate at the workplace. Whoa! Quite a challenge for a girl who likes her grunge jeans! Let the hunting begin!!


On my little hunt to find office wear that was chic and in my price range, I came across Dress4Less. So impressed was I with the items on the site (and the prices too), that I decided to get in touch with the beauty and brains behind the store, Naina Seth Jain. Naina is one of the nicest people you'll meet and she told me a little bit about the collection! She curates each piece and tries to offer the quality that you may find in a boutique in UK (she lived there for a few years) to the Indian market. A lot of her pieces are similar to collections I've seen on high street stores such as River Island and H&M, but don't have the price tags of those brands. You should definitely check out the tops section for some interesting pieces (read cute crop tops and a minions and cartoon print vest I'm coveting!!

Now, onto how I got on the site in the first place (and my outfit of course), there are some really amazing blazers in a very affordable price range.  I've spent loads of time looking for blazers and other officewear bits recently, and let me tell you, finding one that doesn't fall in the 3-5 grand range is a challenge. Dress4Less has some unique pieces in the 1.5k price range. There are also some great bags that are office as well as pocket friendly. Oh, and for those evening dinner parties, there's some interesting gowns too! With easy shipping and returns options, I found the store to be a simple, hassle free shopping experience.

Indo-western is something I've rarely done on the blog. While a lot of my outfits will have little Indian touches, somehow I feel that these outfits are never good enough for the blog. Well, turns out I was to get a chance to shoot for this trend very soon, courtesy of "My first ever blogger collaboration"! What?! 

The awesome Abha Tiwari from PunkPie Blog got in touch with me for a very special collaboration where we would showcase our take on the Indo-western trend. Of course I was excited and said yes! Now I usually don't wear a lot of Indian on a daily basis and when I do, its usually for some occasion of the Great Big Indian Weddings that I have to attend. So as soon as I got the theme, I knew I wanted to do a look that was wedding appropriate Indo-western. Abha did a more casual everyday take on it and I love how both our looks show two end of the spectrum.