Tag: Men’s Style

Men in skirts?

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Men is skirts.

I think this statement holds a lot in it. Something after so much discussion and history, still has not seen acceptance in everyday style as much. I use the word style more specifically because if ever a man wears a skirt and shows up, it is considered a statement, without a miss. Be it a hollywood star showing up in a kilt on red carpet or a star kid showing up in a fashion campaign (Jaden smith), carrying off a skirt, it is always talked about. Why are we men so scared of wearing a skirt? That question has very obvious answers and I would not waste my word on that over here. However, when a guy gathers the balls to sport a skirt in a public appearance, it is certainly an empowering sight. Even more so when the person wearing it feels no compromise on his masculinity or identity.  And why the heck not. Men have worn drapes as much as women did, till the western tailoring took over the idea of everyday dressing world wide.  Check out the historical costumes of different cultures and you will know what I mean.

This look here is all Anuj Bhutani. Needless to say he is definitely one of the most tasteful designers around. The extreme minimalistic elegance that these pieces had really intrigued me and I wanted to explore the style. The very first time I tried the combination, I fell in love. It brought back the same feeling of grace I had felt when I had worn one of the tibetan men’s full length kimono. I know it sounds funny but I partly did feel like Samurai Jack and that got me even more into it. I got the feeling of an old world charm that could seem like a fantasy land. Where legends lived and world was full of mysteries.

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Moving back to the current reality, it still feels amazing to just be in it. I would usually deny myself the opportunity to dress like this more often as I would attach so much definition to it. Right from gender, sexuality, age, social appropriation and a general sense of being judged unwell. This post for me is also a part of challenging myself and my creativity. Questioning my own idea of self image and growth. It has been an empowering experience. It is a sort of beginning of a journey where I come out of my shell and explore my creativity more fearlessly. This post has some of my favourite images till now.  I love them for their pure beauty and elegance, floating free from the usual and mundane.

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Starting from calmness and opening out to be its own kind of creature.

Clothes by Anuj Bhutani.

Concept, styling and photography by me.

Sahdev Hooda.

Dreams are made of colours.

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There is a mad scientist that lives inside each of our’s brain. He is the original dreamer. The one who sees a broader spectrum of possibilities. Things that are not ordinary, mundane or usual.  It is this guy who pushes us to the get the juice out of life. To do things that we would not, unless the mad scientist came up with it.

These are dreams that he is always painting, right form your childhood days. Telling you to go for the biggest candy. To slip out of your mother’s protection and go roaming around the city. To just be yourself.

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With time the scientist grows in his ideas, while you are busy updating your shoe size. He has bigger plans for you now as he only adds to “must do crazy things” list. He is not bothered about making sense. He is mad. He gets away with it. All he knows now is his love for colour. So when we go to sleep, the mad scientist is still at work. Mixing new colours, like the white and red of the candy, swirling around each other, painting a new picture for you. So that when you wake up, you know what you want.

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Though when he is lonely, he invents friends for himself. They are generally nice guys, they like the scientist. They are his creation. his minions.

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Well a little company killed no body.

Jumpsuit by Anuj Bhutani.

Concept and Photography by me.

Sahdev Hooda

p.s. Special thanks to Manisha Shastri for letting me shoot at her place, play with her cats and the invented friends.

Where the kites fly.

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My fascination with the sky has been like a love affair. After I moved to Bangalore, weekends and early evenings come together on the terrace, sitting and staring at the blue, endless sky and look at the kites flying above you. Majestic looking, their glide only adds to my fascination.

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Just how I love the blue sky, I also love design. And Urvashi Kaur. I think she is filled with great passion for her craft and her energy is infectious. I always want to know what her new range is like. There is a certain romanticism in the choice of weaves, textures, colours and cuts she puts together. Yet, such absolutely practical pieces that you fall in love. I picked  3 pieces from her label Urvashi Kaur (shirt and jacket) and Kapda by Urvashi Kaur (T-shirt) to shoot. The pants are my own. The shirt and jacket “touch and feel” amazing. One could live in them. I remember trying the jacket at her stall at Lakme Fashion Week for the first time and refusing to get out of it,

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These are only among the several other things that I love from her range. Out of the three, the t-shirt is the one that took me to the sky. The dye effect reminded of a black eagle. Rest all was a chain reaction from there. I hope I could marry the romance I feel for the sky and great clothes together here.

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Shirts and Jacket by Urvashi Kaur and Kapda by Urvashi Kaur.

Concept, Styling and Photography by me.

Sahdev Hooda

What I Wore #4

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I would like to begin this post with talking about the high point of this look, the hat . Even though the shirt from Kanika Goyal Label and the suit by 0.0 are styles that I personally love a lot, the hat did steal the show.

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This was gifted to me by my best friend. She picked it up from Egypt on her way back to India. It is hand crafted by an old local woman. The vibrant colours and the geometric pattern made me stand out from a mile, even in a crowd. Almost like a navigation pin.

One more interesting thing I have to mention is that a friend pointed out (jokingly) that why am I wearing this hat, if I am not muslim. I responded saying that is like if you are not muslim, you can not eat biryani or a caucasian girl can’t wear a saree to a non-indian occasion. I mean really. It is a cool and everyone should get one of these.

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I like hats. The more traditional, the better. I have always wanted a Kinnauri Hat. Never found it in my size. I have a big head. Speaking of the size of my skull only.

The shirt is a perfect tunic length and it was a great add on to my wardrobe as I still get compliments every time I wear it. Isn’t the pocket detail so cool? The ‘band gala’ suit by 0.0 is also such a unique style. I generally don’t imagine pants with a “band gala’, yet Abhishek(Designer) did.

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I really enjoyed wearing this look. I think mixing a little tradition and culture in your everyday style is a great feeling. Specially when such a style initiates conversations you weren’t expecting. Or you were.

Photographs by Mrinalini Singh