Chikankari Pants and Unapologetic Shopping Deets

December 11, 2018

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In this post I had written about what I did on my trip to India. And if you read that, you know that I did a lot of shopping. So you're going to be seeing "from India" a lot in the attributions of my outfits in the next posts. For example, in this outfit, my earrings, pants and bag are all from Pune, India. My ring was gifted to me by a cousin sister in Vashi. I got my Polaroid sunnies from a mall in Hyderabad. See what I mean?

Sometimes shopping from a whole other market can feel so liberating because they have such different styles than what you get where you are. Bahrain being such a small place, we have very limited shops and styles. I'm really tired of the fashion we get here and of seeing the same clothes on everyone. I used to go to Dubai before for shopping because they have bigger shops there and more variety. Thankfully now I don't need to do that as I can get unique couture clothes made by Saji's Couture, something I spoke about in my last post as well. And yes, I know you can buy everything online but it's just not the same.

So, finding amazing new fashion and styles {that aligns with your personal style} in different countries is so great. In Pune, I found these chikankari palazzo pants everywhere. I actually found palazzo pants everywhere, in different colours and so, so cheap. We {mom and I} found plain ones in the softest, lightest cotton, which we bought in a few colours, and then we came across these chikankari ones.

Chikankari is a traditional embroidery style that originated in Lucknow, India. The word "chikan" means embroidery. It's usually done with white thread or with the same colour thread on the cloth. I've always loved chikankari embroidery and fabric. Here's a post from a few years back with one of my favourite chikankari tops.

These pants are made from very soft cotton with chikankari done in a soft, thin thread, on it. What I love is that the embroidery is concentrated on the hem of the pants, and it has the typical holey design. Plus the edge is scalloped, which looks so dainty.

The pants are extremely soft and the waist is elastic. It's a free size and in typical palazzo style, the pants are wider at the bottom. The thin material makes the pants flow and flare out as you walk, and they are very, very comfortable. I got these pants in grey and black as well, and the embroidery on all three pants is a different design.

I paired the pants with a pussybow top and a black sweater. I've worn this top with a floral skirt before. I adore preppy looks of collared shirts with round neck sweaters, with the collar peeking through. Better still if it's a pussybow top, and I can have the bow dangle prettily over the sweater. The cobalt blue of the top stands out on the black of the sweater, while the black adds depth to the bright red of the pants.

Keeping the look colourful, I wore a green statement ring. Since the sweater sleeves are long, a big ring pops out and looks glamorous.

In my ears, I wore small dangly teardrop earrings. Since there's so much going on in the neck area with the collar, sweater and pussybow, small earrings are perfect and the teardrop style adds to the elegance of the look.

I'm absolutely crazy about teardrop or pear shapes in jewellery. I got loads of jewellery from India and happily enough, I found all the teardrop shapes I could get my hands on. These earrings have zircon diamonds in them. I love zircon jewellery {I'm not a fan of diamonds- overpriced and overrated} as it looks gorgeous, has a brilliant shine and never looks tacky. I usually either get gold-coated or silver jewellery with zircons.

I finished with a structured bag in a soft coral. The colour works well with the other deep shades in the outfit and the shape adds a professional touch.

Don't even get me started on the handbags I brought back from India. I must have gotten over 15 bags, all from one shop. When it comes to bags, I want them in delicious candy colours, made of durable, thick material and in different shapes. And of course, the stitching, zippers and other details need to be very neat and of exceptional quality. I found exactly that all in one shop and I got all the bags I needed. Travel bags, professional big bags for work, envelope clutches, hard clutches, casual weekend bags. I'm set.

NB: If you're wondering how I managed to get all this back in my luggage, we had an obscene amount of baggage allowance through our Gulf Air flights. We could have shopped more. Tee hee.

Bags are so important as they pull a look together. You could be wearing something really simple but a great bag and good shoes will make the outfit look effortless and sexy.

If you want more information on how to choose the right accessories for yourself, I talk about jewellery, sunglasses, bags and how to create your own personal style in my book, Loving Yourself In Style. The book is available in stores in Bahrain and online worldwide and has fashion illustrations in watercolour done by me showing different looks.