Chatting a bit about my love / hate relationship with Mumbai’s Monsoons.
bhane. sway dress // Firmoo silver round glasses // Lavie path wallet // Jord cora wood watch – purple heart // Hunter boots – original tall gloss in cranberry
lips – Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in More Better 💋
Photos by Sheila Vaz
As I sit here typing this, it’s pouring cats & dogs outside. And all I can do is think about early June & laugh! You see, summers in Mumbai can be brutal & by the end of it, everyone is praying for rain (not just the farmers, who depend on it to grow their crops). When the first showers start in late May / early June – we’re all collectively excited – about the chill in the air, about petrichor, about how glorious & romantic monsoons are. Fast forward three weeks – it’s pouring every day. Everything is wet. The bad roads become worse, traffic that already moves slow now practically grinds to a halt. All I’m saying is, it sucks, y’know?
We’ll all be relieved when monsoon is over & next summer we’ll all be waiting for it to start again. There’s something weirdly poetic about it, but that’s just life in Mumbai.
I’ve been sharing personal style posts on here since 2010. I bought these Hunter Boots in 2012 – on a college goer’s allowance (& vacation money) they were a definite splurge but worth every single penny, I can’t think of many other fashion items I’ve had for five years (Mumbai’s humid weather is not kind to leather, or metal, or cloth, really). I’ve styled these many different ways over the years – you can check out my posts from 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016.
This year’s look is about a lot of things I really like right now- minimalism, anti fit, Scandinavian aesthetics with little pops of colour.
Also, now’s as good a time to talk about this as any – early this year, I went on a makeup / beauty buying ban until I could finish up some of the products I’ve already amassed. I’ve been quite happy with the results so far (I’ve just bought a single mascara since 2017 started). And that just helped me realise that I could re-examine my buying habits in other areas too. I buy too many clothes – I’ve been known to use this blog as an excuse. I have quite a few things that I’ve purchased & never worn, & even more that I have worn just one time. So my next personal goal is to buy less clothes & try to cut out fast fashion as much as I can – I don’t want to say never because one day I am going to succumb & pick up a pair of cute sushi or cat socks from Forever 21, but I do want to buy more consciously – support Indian brands. Buy more consciously – well made pieces that aren’t trend based but will stay in my wardrobe for a few years at least. I’ve resisted all of the July sales thus far, & I hope I can keep this up for longer.
I’ve been a fan of bhane. ever since they first launched (remember when I was part of the bhane. Spring Summer in 2013?) So few labels in India design contemporary pieces at an affordable price tag & I’ve bought from them many times over the years (for me & mom!) This is another dress that is going to get so much of use from me!
Of course I’m looking for more clothing labels that are well designed & made, ethical & sweatshop free. Do you know any that fit the bill? I’d love your recommendations in the comments! x
