Monday, 4 February 2013

Magpie’s Little Charmer

Every other school has a special child who is tiny, intelligent, bubbly, jumpy and has shining white teeth. This is the child that stands in front of the line, can push his way through the crowd, can have as many candies possible and can make a tall kid feel short with his charm. Seldom remembered for wisdom and charm, this kid is just a one-day star. He is a Magpie with a thousand shades of charm but gets to shine only when observed with a binocular in the dense forest. That’s the situation of the Brooch, a little member of the jewellery family who is forgotten by the world with the passage of time. This little master with shiny jewels and a charm to die for has lived through generations- appearing now and then. Still makes an appearance when the fashion world is in dire need of it.


Brooch is a jewellery item that was used for holding the garment in place. This long lost clasp was born in 3300 BC but nobody gave a thought that a clasp can be the next big thing in the Y2K fashion world. It is the best pick to breathe some fresh life into a tailored business suit or pep up a black fedora. A brooch acts like a sensible jewellery piece that can be worn by both men and women without overdoing it. This magic touch of fairy godmother is made in various metals like bronze, copper, steel, silver, gold and studded with crystals, pearls, beads, semi-precious and even diamonds. Brooch is the only accessory type that crosses the sub-culture divides and be worn year round.


Magpie, go ahead and flaunt this amazing piece of art at following places with some tips:

a. Brunch/Lunch: Just remember that all that gaudy stuff can be saved for the afterhours (when nobody watching). So grab the delicate ones that have some tidbits hanging from them or just a single metal insect brooch will do the justice. Just don’t stick it to your upper shoulder or lapel, try new places like belts, ties, shirt collar or placket of your Chinese collar shirt.


b. Office: Don’t try to impress your manager with loud pieces as you cannot afford them to go blind in your appraisal meeting. Go for the subtle type, opt for the very simple bow style brooches or handmade brooches.


c. Party: Unleash your lust for gaudy stuff and opt for art deco brooches or Vintage style brooches. Just make sure it compliments your spiked slip-ons or printed scarfs. Just a request, please do not go overboard with your love for sparkle.

You can wear the brooches with an ease and without giving a dim about how it will look on you. Now please do not imagine that I will be giving you a tour de vintage, let me introduce you to some of the bobbing trends:

1. Pin Style Brooch:

Basic design revolves around a safety pin that has tidbits hanging or stuck on them.



2. Vintage style Brooch:

These are designed keeping in mind the golden era and a hit these days because of Game of Thrones.



3. Felt Brooch:

Made using fabric, threads, buttons and beads, these ones are a rage after Jay Z flaunted one recently in the photo op for a magazine.


Sunday, 27 January 2013

My Birthday Basket!!

In a few days, I will be 24 and my friends will be pouring me with loads of surprise gifts. But every year I waited for three gifts the most, one each from my Sister, Best Friend and Mom!!. But this time, my sis and best friend have disclosed what they are going to gift me.

Sister:


Best Friend:


Mom:



EXCITED!!

Now, I am waiting for my mom's gift!! I know it's going to be good. Plus, I my next post will be about Suitings!! 


Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Ed Hardy

As such, I was never a very big fan of Ed Hardy. Never even thought of entering their stores or checking their collection anywhere, as I always believed that skulls are good for coffins not clothes. Recently I started going through their designs and really liked some watches, which can be called as ‘SUBTLE’. Apart from their very loud skull tattoo collection, they have some items that one can wear and not regret buying those. Christian Audigier, the god behind the creation of this out loud brand, has combined the elements of vintage punk with his inspiration Don Ed Hardy.





Thursday, 17 January 2013

STYLETAG.com

Sometimes, it is good to have a brand name that actually talks loud about what you have in store or what can be expected out of you. I must say that styletag.com has done justice to the name by featuring some of the best collections. Do check out the WLIFW spring/summer 2013 collection that they are selling online. They are rolling high on fashion and that is what is expected out of an eCommerce venture. If you can provide us with clothes that a store salesman can do then please stop calling yourself a fashion/lifestyle giant of the online world. We need sites that can offer exclusive stuff at amazing prices. Exclusive here doesn't mean you are going to push rejected stuff that is never going to see the luminosity of the mall stores or ever going to be draped around the body of the mannequin. As a shopper who is stuck or in reality trapped in the walls of the the office, I want stuff which is perfect for my body type, I don't need to try it or think thousand times about its quality. So big flaming eCommerce ventures, please wake up and stop featuring products that are from the old collection of some famous brand or are so pathetic that your girlfriend might break-up with you if you even thought about clicking on "Add to the Cart" button. 


One brand that is turning out to be my latest MUSE. I have fallen head over heels for the cuts and fabrics used to create a collection that is mind-blowing to every stitch. At the present, Styletag.com has cufflinks, shirts and jackets from the brands collection. What I really like about this brand how they have mixed the modern fabrics with the conventional designs and cuts to create a piece that is not loud, dull or complete disaster. Take a look at some of the pieces from their collection:

Jackets





Shirts




Cufflinks






Wednesday, 21 November 2012

JaCkEtS

I wish I could carry my warm-warm Blanket and hot-hot Coffee Mug when I leave for office in the morning. It is still not freezing in Delhi but the chilly wind gives you shivers and in the evening you just cannot step out. Warmth of smoke and small fills of instant coffee are a bit of relief providers at the office. But you can beat the winter with all new range of Jackets form various brands. Check out some of my favorites: 

Zovi.com




Basics

Flying Machine


GAS


Indian Terrain



Just Natural


Wrangler



PUMA



United Colors of Benetton





Zovi.com




Monday, 19 November 2012

My Life and Thoughts!!

"I wish life could be like a string of a violin that carried music to both ends...

I wish life could have 7 colors of happiness and sorrow... 

I wish every beat of my heart could reflect my emotions ... 

I wish my cold eyes could give my heart's warmth away..."

I may or may not be the first and the correct person to write about "what life really is about?". But I have learnt a few things in 23 years and 6 months. People might just call me crazy for calling my life an "Apple Pie" but in reality it is. It has layers and layers of sweetness and nutty dryness that cannot be defined till the time you take a mouthful bite of it. I even cannot myself define its depth, its path and the way it's taking turns & twists. For every eye in the space around me, I am a human with two legs, hands, ears, eyes and a face. But for me, every other human walking on the earth is a mystery that requires to be deciphered. I try not to observe but I fails every other day as I want to know more about the person. Every finger movement, twitching of the lips, tapping of legs, shifting of gaze and much more never goes unnoticed.

I wish I could just go on observing people and live my life with others in my memory. But this had to change, I got this hunger for being with someone. Observe the movements of that someone special whom I could relate to. I wish I could rewind my life two years from now and just make the toughest decision of my life "No, you are not the one for me". Just one yes made me feel all amazing till the time I realized where all this was heading to. But I don't want to repent now, want to move ahead with that hunger. I am not a dreamer and never anticipate the best for me but I like to wait. This waiting thing might take days, months or years. Still, I will WAIT like a mature (that I am totally not!).

You know the worst phase of life is when YOU don't have someone special and your friends have ONE. It is the situation when you feel like running away from this world and take a SAMADHI in Himalayas. If you want to catch a movie or anything in this world, you literally have to take an appointment.
You: "Hello Blah, Are you free today?"
Blah: "No, I have to go out with Him or Her. Sorry."
You: "Dat's Okay, what about tomorrow or the coming weekend or next week?"
Blah: "Sorry Yaar, Need to spend some time with him or her also. Hope you understand."

That last line pinches you like anything and makes you feel like a loner. There is a solution to it, go out alone. There is one more solution, go out with your love-dovy friends (NO, it looks like you are an outsider in their private world).

Let me start with my life in actual sense, what am I, who am I and how I came to this planet. I was born in the year of 1989 on 6th Feb, when Delhi looked less like a metro city. It was the coldest day of the month and winds were blowing. As all know that I am not normal, how could I have entered the world without creating a mess? Doctors tried hard to get my mother in to labor, but failed with every technique they tried. Finally, doctors planned cesarean, the toughest operation to bring a baby out of the womb. This is how the son of Mr. and Mrs Arora came to this planet. The first person to take me in her hands was my Nani (Maternal Grandmother), she always reminds me that. Being the first grandson of the family, I was treated like a star by my parents, maternal grandparents and my Paternal Uncle. But my Paternal Grandparents just considered me as grandson, no extra importance (till date, No Issues, I love my Grandmother.).

Then started my school life, one miserable experience of my life. Let me share my dad's version first. According to him, if I would have been the deciding authority for my schooling, I would have been sitting at home for sure. I made scenes and cried like a baboon on the gate of the school or just gave up on the interviews by acting sick. I played all my cards to make sure that I am not going to school. But somehow I got admission in ASN, Delhi. Then my dad moved to Mathura to handle the bank branch located there. Even my mother opted for transfer as they both worked for the same bank. I got admission in the finest school of Mathura - Amar Nath Vidya Ashram Senior Secondary Public School, Mathura (I still remember how hard it was for me write this full name on my exam sheets.). Yes, I gave exams when I was in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Lucky me!! But the school life was great, actually full of friends and weirdest activities. Even the principle's grandson was one of my best buddies. You won't believe but I was top scorer in Sanskrit. Once my teacher thrashed me so badly that my mother literally bashed her in front of the whole school. How can you expect a child in 3rd class to know the basics of SANSKRIT?? My mother bashed many teachers during those three years. I still remember, after school my destination use to be my Mom's branch. Use to play there like a mad with all the grown up 'kids' who use to sometimes pick on me and I played with all those old fashioned rolls used for calculations. Worst question they used to ask "Who loves you the MOST??". On my offs, I used to spend my days with my care taker who loved to play Doctor Doctor with me. I spent there 4 years and left the school to join a well known school in Noida.

The name of the school is good enough to describe my schooling life but this was the name that kept me on my toes. My grandfather got me admitted here as my brothers and sisters were already studying here. For one whole year, ENGLISH was one subject I lagged behind so badly that I could see the terror of me failing in the eyes of my mother. But somehow I passed as I was not bad with other subjects. But years of misery just started. I was not into sports and nor in the co-curricular activities. I was more of a guy who thought that the school was a fortress filled with secrets. I would imagine out-of-the-box stuff hiding under my desk during the games period. The library was one place that fueled my imagination, gave it wings in the form of fictions. No one knew that I was interested in science and wanted to be an astronaut like every other kid. I would secretly issue do-it-yourself experiments manual from the library and conducted secret experiments with everything I could source from home. Made various moving objects by breaking expensive remote controlled gadgets and toys my parents bought for me. I was aware about the second world outside my own little world. This was just the starting of the miserable 6 years of my life.

Friendship is one bond in my life that has taught me more than what my parents preached. It's like Practical exam of what you have ever heard from others. I have few pillars in my life that are holding me strong. Tan, one person whom I can call at 3 in the night and I know my phone will be answered. Raj, taught me the true meaning of friendship and how to hold on to it. KD, very new in my life but this KID is more mature than me. Salute to the way this person handles me and my tantrums, mood swings, serious issues and childish behavior. Shanu (shops like HELL), one good listener and advisor in my life. ANOUSHKA, One girl whom I can never forget, no matter what happens. She was my soul for 4 years and knew me in and out.

You know people might say that love is more than words and here I am supporting that thought. I know I am not allowed to msg you or call you till the time you want me to. I made this rule as I know what you are going through in your head. I have been through that phase what people will think specially friends bothers us more than anything in this world. But every word that you share with me, keeps me attached to the reality. I know if you ever going to read this, you might not contact me for months. But I don't mind that as I know that you exist and I can bank on you in my harsh days. I am not a crazy guy who is ever going to force myself on you but I would always want you to tell me the truth before my air castles start turning into reality. I don't know how to say this but my life has a meaning only if you are there even if as a friend, Forever.


I am sick to the core now. I never cared about the world or people around me but now I feel this world will eat me up. How do I move on?? Where should I go or what should I do to forget everything? It took me so long to get over my ex and move on... then this person came into my life... After so long I felt important.... I moved out of the cocoon of ME and moved to Us... Man, this took me so long but finally I started opening up and started feeling lively. But again "best friend" came in... God how could I have fallen in love with a person for whom I had a bad gut feeling about.... Okay, what should I do? Go to the movies? Going (alone as friends are busy). Talk to people? No way (sick of their problems). Listen to music? Done that, what next? Eat? Putting on weight like hell. Drink? Doing that every day but not helping. Shop? Don't have space now to store so many clothes. Write? Doing that everyday, but that doesn't make me forget anything.
One thing I know very well I cannot move on... As I will not fall for the third time in life, enough of people who just exist for their own good. Either don't make me dream or if you have done that den don't break them. I can only wait now as nothing comes easy for me.

Felt like sharing something from my heart. I always told you that I cannot not be your first choice. If you love him then you cannot be mine. Plus, you are young, you can find anyone in this world. I always wanted things to go slow as I was afraid of this what happened today. No one in the world could have judged the pace of the relation we were planning for ourselves. But I knew that your feelings for him cannot be suppressed. See what happened, I was tagged as rebound and you are awaiting his three magical words.


Will update this post with my jumbled up thoughts. 

In LOVE!!

People say that my first love is FOOD!! Nah, it is always and always going to be clothes. My never ending love for clothes has landed me into deep shit at my home because of over-bulging wardrobe but I still cannot give up on it. One thing that makes me a Shopaholic is not the brand name (Not at all brand crazy) but the CUT/DESIGN. For me clothes are like diamonds, you need to check the cut, design and clarity of the execution with a piece of fabric before you bet your hard earned money on it. If one thing goes wrong, the whole apparel is a mess. 

My LOVE for clothes will never die and example to prove it is this FCUK Jacket. No idea if this belongs to the latest collection but I am ready to don it without considering all that.