If you are still in awe with our first Durga Puja Look we styled in last post  lets bring on yet again another favorite of ours. For the mornings when you walk down to the pandals for a pushpanjali or the evenings you want to sit and enjoy the arati and sit for hours in adda with friends....the most classic, and stylish version of yourself. Bangali and Bangali's Durga Puja are incomplete without a silk and a dhakai. As we have already styled a traditional silk in our previous post its turn for the Dhakai now.

Draping the most gorgeous and traditional Dhakai Jamdani available in the market. It has the age old saw or korat motif weaved very densely all over the body. The color is most unusual...a wine or a garnet shade with bright orange work and golden zari meenakari on it. On my customary trip to Sriniketan , saw this saree draped on a mannequin in the front door and I JUST HAD TO BUY IT. They didn't have a second piece so I had to rob off the saree from the mannequin.

Now comes the most interesting part of the look, the contrast olive green blouse. Those who have previously read my posts know that  I love experimenting with mismatch blouses but this blouse was a find for me.There are flood of blouses with back embroideries in the market now, but this stroked an odd chord with me. I saw this blouse with back embroidery resembling the poster of the classic Satyajit Ray movie Charulata on a Facebook owners profile and again JUST HAD TO BUY IT. I have been an eternal fan of Ray's Charulata, The intelligent, sensitive and strong character of Charulata fascinates me everytime. Her discovery of herself and her emotional turmoil is ever so relevant. Thus this blouse holds a special place in my wardrobe now. Matched this with this favorite Jamdani of mine.

 

I kept the look very easy-to-go with light makeup, a small bindi and silver jhumkas. Its comfortable and wearable for long hours of addas with friends. If you wish you can glam up a little more with flowers in your hair and a heavy silver neck-piece. 

Its one of our favorite looks this season. If you like the post please do like, comment and share it. Your words of encouragement keeps us going. Please do follow us on  Facebook and Instagram for latest updates on the blog.

Come the first few weeks of September, the heart of a Bong thumps faster, it is nothing but in anticipation of homecoming of goddess Durga – that is Durga Puja. It won’t be entirely an exaggeration to say that Bengalis world over spend a significant amount of their time planning and deciding what to wear during the Durga Pujas. Most of them wear multiple sets of clothes – mind you, there’s a morning outfit and an evening outfit, plus emergency backup outfits😄😄😄. Like every year we have dedicated a special series to the Durga Puja Lookbook that will tell you in great details which avatar you should put on yourself this Navratri.  These three looks that we have conceptualized, styled and donned will inspire you how to style yourself on Shaptami,  Ashtami and finally on the Navami. So make sure you are subscribing to this blog so as not to miss the Durga Puja Lookbook blogposts which will be published one after another all throughout following weeks.

The first look of the series is all traditional in the classic color combination of yellow and red. Its a rich swarnachuri saree that has been a priceless addition to my closet. The border and the anchal has intricately woven motifs of a dancer with meenakari work along with peacock motif buta in the body. Its absolutely mind blowing master piece.

I got hold of this stunning Benarasi fabric last winter from Heritage Shop in City Center II, Kolkata and immediately thought it to be the perfect match with this swarnachuri saree. The saree has its own red plain blouse with the border woven on the sleeves. But I thought a more rich blouse would look more gorgeous given the saree only has lighter work in the body. Thus you can completely mix and match different blouse options with your traditional saree to make it suit the time and ambiance you're wearing it in.  

As for the accessories, the mango yellow color of the saree was screaming for some marigold in the hair. I loosely tied my tresses in a messy bun and styled them with some strings of marigold. Thus it was effortless and yet oozing out glamour. The plan was to have a quintessential traditional look thus there can be no alternative to gold jewelry. Kept it light with a sleek gold bib necklace. Lastly the big red tip or bindi and kohl eyes did the final magic with this whole look.

I hope you found some inspiration on how to drape your timeless traditional weaves and be the starlet of the Puja. Your purchase may provide bread and butter for the extraordinary weavers who create such art with fabric. So this season go traditional and empower our own classic sarees.

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What I wore:
Saree: Adi Mohini Mohan Kanjilal, College Street, Kolkata, India
Blouse: Heritage, City Center II, Kolkata 

Jewelry: Rupashree Jewellers , Kolkata

Styling  and Makeup yours truely Sanchita

Saraswati Pujo has been always nostalgic and full of childhood memories. The only day when Ma wouldn't bother if we don't sit with our homework and when you get to explore her wardrobe for sarees without getting a scolding. It has been so much more than just a religious affair. Now at this phase of our lives we miss those stupid giggles and the innocence. Nevertheless that doesn't mean we don't enjoy Saraswati pujo anymore, every age has its own shares of laughter.

 Last year our first ever Saraswati Pujo look has been immensely popular (you can revisit it here ), so we decided to create another look for 2019 which would be more dramatic yet easy to recreateThe saree and the blouse were both from Bolpur but different sets. But somehow they created a royal vibe when paired togeter. Our inspiration was the Bengali women of Zamindari household, who represented an aura of beauty and strength. 

The white Kantha Saree has a beautiful anchal and is paired wuth a kantha blouse with frills not only on arms but neck and back too, much like the ones from early 20th Century. But fashion as they say recycles itself.

Kept the look traditional, true to the attire by pairing with light gold jewelry, kohl eyes and red lips. But what I loved most about accessorizing this look was the genda or marigold strings. It was Sanchita who got this idea and got hold of simple marigold strings used for puja or decor purposes. and Voila! it changed the vibe of the look completely 

I hope you like our look! If you want to revisit our look from last winter click here. If you like the post please do like, comment and share it. Your words of encouragement keeps us going. Please do follow us on  Facebook and Instagram for latest updates on the blog.

Saree is a power suit for me. I feel more myself wearing a saree than any other outfit. And I believe I am not alone, most Indian women has a special spot for sarees in their wardrobe, and Lehenga is no different. Imagine turning your saree look into a lehenga style for a change! Does that turn heads? Yes, you will certainly love yourself more in this saree turned into a lehenga that transforms your looks and adds a stylish touch. The icing on the cake is that you don't need to buy a separate lehenga for this but just drape any of your saree into one. All you need is a saree, a choli and a full size dupatta. The fusion of two traditional dress forms does promise to enhance your looks. 

After an elegant Saptami and a dramatic Ashtami I styled this va va voom look for Navami night because officially, it’s the last day and your one last opportunity to sport the best attire in the most festive mood because Bijaya Dashami brings out the ‘sombre’ for some when it’s time to bid adieu to the Godddess until next year. Also a lot of us loves to shake some legs on the Garba tunes on Navratri thus whats better than a lehenga. So, here you go...

Drape Story:

It was a very interesting drape that is all over the internet these days and I so wanted to try it out! What a better opportunity than Navratri. I chose a little longer choli rather than a blouse which had a very sensuous blouse. I pleated the whole Kanjeevaram saree over a underskirt and draped the Kantha dupatta from the waist to over the shoulder like you do in a lehenga. Voila!!

You can easily wear this to Garba night and also go for pandel hopping and addas. 

Styling

I kept the styling simple, traditional and more comfy for a night out in the festive fair. Tied the hair in a bun to avoid messy sweaty hair situation and covered with some faux gajra. A small bindi, hand cuff bracelet, a potli bag and a waist chain...and there you are ready for the evening.

If you like the post please do like, comment and share it. Your words of encouragement keeps us going. Please do follow us on  Facebook and Instagram for latest updates on the blog.

What I wore:

Saree: Adi Dhakeshwari Bastralaya, Gariahat, Kolkata, India
Blouse: From a different set, bought local store in Gauhati

Dupatta: Amar Kuthi, Sriniketan, Bolpur, India

Earring: Gariahat market, Kolkata, India
Bangle: Sam n Moon, Houston, USA

Potli bag: Gift from Hyderabad

Styling  and Makeup yours truely Moumita
Photography: Rabindra Kr. Kundu