Styling a Mumbai Monsoon friendly outfit that’s both cute & practical.
JDY dress // Accessorize envelope clutch // The Label Life signature chalkboard umbrella // Hunter cranberry tall gloss rain boots
on my lips: Colourpop More Better / nails: Nykaa Lemon Pudding
Photos by Sheila Vaz
Some of you (ok, most of you!) might find the title of this post tad misleading as there are absolutely no fields in these pictures. These were actually taken at my garden, my lush little oasis in the middle of a very concrete jungle that is Mumbai – I probably take 80% of my outfit pictures here because it’s pretty & convenient! It is, however looking a bit more lush & overgrown thanks to the Mumbai Monsoons.
If you happen to be living a non-tropical part of the world, let me break it down for you! Mumbai is a coastal city with very tropical & humid climate. From June to August, we experience a season called monsoon, characterised by heavy rain almost daily. Mumbai has been going through this since the beginning of time, you’d think the city would be better prepared for it but nope! Every year it’s the same old story, roads go bad, traffic comes to a standstill daily, increasing your commuting time exponentially & if it rains really heavy, the trains will stop functioning too, to avoid accidents. Add to that, everything starts to smell musty & leather grows mildew overnight. Not a happy time. It’s not even raining as I type this & it’s still at 84% humidity.
I wish I could say that I loved Mumbai in the monsoons, but I really don’t. It always turns me into this grumpy old man who can’t stop grumbling about how much monsoons inconvenience me. I enjoy monsoon getaways to Goa, because I’m on vacation & I’m allowed to take it slow. But in the city, it just hampers me. But I’m trying to find the positives in it, as difficult as it might be & it’s so lovely to see trees & plants just flourish in this season.
Styling my Hunter Boots has become an annual monsoon tradition of sorts! You can check out my posts from 2012, 2013 & 2015. This is the first time I styled it with a dress & I love how it turned out. Gloomy days tend to get my down so my personal mantra during cloudy days is to just wear the brightest, happiest looking things I can find! Also, how cute is this The Label Life chalkboard umbrella?
Monsoon style has mostly focused on being very practical but not particularly styling, so I hope this look can show you that you can be monsoon ready & chic, it’s all about how you put things together.
What are your thoughts on monsoons? Have you ever experienced a really bad one? x
