fashion blogger – SLAY THE STYLE

Vegas To New York

Published on November 10, 2019November 11, 2019 by Lavanya Pulijala2 Comments

Where do I start from?
The Casinos or the SkyScrapers!!
The Gambling City or the City that Never Sleeps!!
Las Vegas or New York!!

Everything about both the cities is completely different with each one having it’s own charm.The never ending world of casinos where time has no value with that delusion of coming closer to deep pockets!
On the other hand, New York , a concrete jungle with people constantly hustling all along the day!

My trip to both Vegas and New York are short two day trips. This blog would definitely help you get an idea about the places to explore, if you are a first time visitor and if you have less time on hand.

Let’s just start with travel tips for each of these cities!

Las Vegas

Temperature : Around 40-43 C (In August)
Well, It’s a desert, what else can you expect!

Accommodation : We stayed at The Venetian Resort. We chose weekdays for Vegas as the otherwise expensive luxurious accomodation seemed affordable (especially, plan it during the weekdays just before a long weekend – you would end up getting great deals)

For those of you who aren’t aware about this casino world, Vegas has numerous hotels/resorts which have casinos and clubs of their own which are open for the visitors. It’s totally up to you about how many you would like to visit and explore. I will let you know the main ones in this blog

Things To Do:

Walk along The Strip – It’s the main street of Vegas where all the action happens. Sprawling with casinos, resorts, strip clubs, and a lot more, this street should be the first place you should visit to get the actual vibe of the place (preferably in the night). It looks spectacular in the night with all those brightly lit buildings.

Explore The Venetian and Caesers Palace – These are two exquisite resorts with Italian and Roman themed architecture respectively. Both of them are open for visitors to roam around, shop and gamble. Both of them host one of the biggest casinos, luxury brands outlet stores and some decent restaurants.

Watch the Bellagio Fountain Show – It is an incredible 15 min fountain show where the fountain movement is choreographed with light and music. It usually starts at 8 pm and goes on till midnight (Do check the timings as it might vary for weekdays and weekends)

Experience Night Clubs and Strip Clubs – The Night Club experience is particularly different in Vegas. Few popular ones are Omnia, Marquee and XS. The strip clubs in Vegas are famous too. You can try them if you are interested

Watch the Volcano Show at Mirage – This is one more fountain show which gives the illusion of a volcanic eruption with light and fire, along with choreographed movement of it with music. It is a 5 min show which happens daily at 7 pm/8pm/9 pm.

Explore Vegas Shows – Cirque du Soleil is one of the popular shows in Vegas. I couldn’t find a show during my visit. If you do get a chance, try that. There are many other shows that one could see. (Entry Charge is slightly expensive for this show – around 100$)

Try Daiquiri – It’s a cocktail where you can mix the flavours of your choice. There are many stores on the strip which offer these. Fat Tuesday’s daiquiri is one of the popular ones.

Travel Tips :

Good night clubs usually has an entry charge which is almost like 100$. You can avoid that by getting on to the guest list in advance for a specific night club (Google about guest list for a club — you will find lot of links to submit your name). Only disadvantage of guest list is that you need to be there by 8/9 pm which I feel is a decent tradeoff for 100$

Plan your vacation in Vegas during weekdays when the accomodation charges are almost 1/4th the price during weekends

Be there for the fountain shows at-least 15 min before the show timing so that you have some space to view it, before the crowd steps in.

New York

Temperature : Around 15-20 C (In September)
It was raining heavily too on one day (So, plan for some winter and monsoon wear if you plan to visit around the same time)

Accommodation : I stayed at my cousin’s place. Accomodation in NYC is expensive enough. If you are a budget traveller like me, try couch surfing or staying at New Jersey or Brooklyn (which have decent travel access to NYC).

Places to Visit:

Screen Shot 2019-11-10 at 6.15.33 PM.png — Times Square

Times Square – Of course, who misses to visit the Time Square if you are visiting NYC. The huge digital banners changing all the time, the artists and the crowd is what makes Time Square the place it is! It is definitely different and entertaining to spend your evenings around here.

Brooklyn Bridge and Dumbo – I personally loved the view from Dumbo which is on the other side of Hudson river giving the entire view of NYC. I found Brooklyn Bridge to be a little overhyped but the view from there is decent 🙂

Empire State Building – Checking out the panoramic view of the city from the 84th floor of Empire State Building should be on your list. I visited the place in the morning but it would be much more beautiful if you can visit once the sun sets. It is open till 2 am in the morning. Entry fee is around 35$ to go to the deck

Financial District – World Trade Center, Wall Street : The area around WTC is where the twin towers of NYC were! If you are interested, there is a museum about the twin towers and the tragic event.

Apart from this, the streets around WTC have great wall art, and good food options. One can just walk around to explore the place

Fifth Avenue – It’s a street for luxury shopping. If you are into it, this is the best place as it has a wide range of designs

Central Park – Don’t miss this if you have time. (I couldn’t Saving it for the next time)
I happened to visit Bryant Park, which is a pretty little park that has decent cafes to hang around.

Also, Statue of Liberty was last on my list as it didn’t seem interesting to me except the ride on Hudson river till the island.

Travel Tips :

Internal transport in NY is one of the best in USA. I personally used the metro to travel, with each ride costing around 2.75$. There is bus transport available too.

I would say, NY is beautiful in the night. So, if possible, explore the city in the night rather than mornings

Try veg pizza at Artichoke Basille’s Pizza, cup cakes at Melissa Bakery (Being lactose intolerant has knocked me out of the option to try the pizza but do try, if you can). The cupcakes were decent enough, even though not so extraordinary

Go to a one of those famous NY broadway shows. The prices vary depending on the show. Do check the availability and plan in advance.

NY2 — From 78th Floor of Empire State Building

I hardly had two days in New York.With rain ruining my plans for one complete day, there is lot that I could not explore. Saving the rest for the next time!

I hope you find it useful if you are planning to visit Vegas or New York 🙂

Feel free to ping me on my Instagram or email me for any more travel tips or doubts 😀

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Photos by Satwik Varala

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Previous post : A Californian Experience Through My Lens : 10 Must Visit Places In And Around San Francisco

Black Bell Bottoms : Shein |White Top : Shein|White Blazer, White Mules, Olive Jacket, Beige Skirt, Black Top, Box Bag : Zara |White Shoes : Nike

Print On Print

Published on April 14, 2018April 14, 2018 by Lavanya Pulijala3 Comments

Prints and patterns have a lot of history, few of them having some political significance too. It started in 50’s and over time, experimentation continued till 90’s. Post 2000’s , it is mostly a revival of previous patterns with a touch of creativity.

Did you know that the polka dots pattern came into existence when a group of dancers wore polka dot blouses to protest Wall Street supporting Vietnam war!! Fashion does have some history attached to it in addition to the creative perspective.

Fashion runways have been flooded with Print on Print trend this season and I am sold for this trend due to the risk involved in creating a flawless look while keeping in mind the color palettes, print patterns, accessories and lot more.

Let’s not dig into the old trend of matching prints with solid plain opposites to which most of us are inclined to. Let’s just dive into mastering the art of matching prints which is quite a challenge for many of us unless we know how to decipher the logic behind that.

Since many of you also requested for a blog on this trend in my Instagram , let’s get started.

( In case you are still trying to figure out, mixing prints basically means matching a printed top with a printed bottom)

Firstly, the Do’s and Don’ts:

If you are mixing two different patterns, then it’s better to stick to similar color palette. It’s better not to go for contrasts in this case.
If you are mixing similar prints, you can play around with the color palette. Keep in mind, that the color of the pattern could be contrasted but the base color needs to same. ( Say, a white top with red polka dots can be matched with white trousers having vertical stripes in black)
Pattern colors could be matched based on contrast but NEVER the base colors.

I have experimented with mixing similar patterns – stripes. I stuck to monochrome and added some dainty jewellery to elevate the look.

I have also added some additional references for other types of mixing patterns. Hope it helps 🙂

Also, do let me know if it really helped 😀

1. Stripes All Over Look

Mixing stripes while keeping the base color constant.

2. Checks All Over

Matching checks keeping the base color constant is the only rule for this look.

3. Polka Dots

You may try mixing polka dots of varied sizes to make it look appealing. Again, first rule first, either same base color or flip the base color of top with pattern color of bottom.

4. Logo/Slogan Shirts and Patterned Bottoms

Pair a logo or slogan t-shirt with any kind of patterned bottom. Here, you can contrast the base colors, that’s actually the key to ace this look in a new way.

There are many other patterns which you can try, say, rainbow, animal, tropical prints and so on. Just stick to the main rules, you are good to go 🙂

If you do try any of my styling tips, do send in your pictures through email or Instagram!! I would love to see them 🙂

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Photos by Arun Premkumar

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5 Ways To Ace A Simple Saree

Published on January 13, 2018January 13, 2018 by Lavanya Pulijala6 Comments

Those who are more inclined towards a simple saree and who find it difficult to make a statement with such sarees, these tips are going to be your savior so that the next time you wear one, you can be sure that you are going to ace it 🙂

1. Statement Jewelry

Find one piece of jewelry, could be a stunning pair of earrings or a perfect neck-piece or may be even an embellished clutch. Make the statement using just one type of accessory but not all statement pieces ( You don’t want people to be confused on which accessory to focus- keep it clear- one statement accessory 😀 )

2. Heavy Blouse

If it is a simple plain saree, you can make it work wonders if you could find a heavy blouse to go with it.

And yeah, if you choose a heavy blouse, never choose a heavy neck-piece as it just spoils the beauty

You can probably go with statement earrings/ maang-tikka instead of a heavy neck-piece.

3. Bold Makeup

This just works miraculously to brighten up that otherwise boring saree. Pick those bold reds or the badass deep wine lip shades – I promise it is going to be kickass.

While you are trying these bold lip shades / eye-shadows, you can actually concentrate less on other accessories.

Wearing a deep wine lipshade

4. Saree Shape-Wear

If you are not a pro in draping a saree, then this should be something you should really invest in. Get a good shape-wear for a saree since that helps you define the draping and also makes it easy for you to get that perfect draping style.

A nicely draped saree could be a highlighter all by itself, more than any other accessory.

5. Apt Hair Style

This is quite important and it is going to give a finishing touch to your masterpiece. This needs to vary according to your face shape, accessories and blouse.

If it is a high neck blouse or if you are wearing a heavy neck-piece, you might want to go for a hair bun/ up-do so that the focus is on blouse/ jewelry.

If you have a round/ square face structure, go for loose hair or any hair style that slightly covers the sides of your face to give that structured jaw look.

Tried messy hair look here so that my no-accessories look doesn’t look boring 🙂 A normal up-do

Hope these tips help you in making that boring saree look jaw-dropping 🙂

Also, If you are someone who wants to try those expensive designer labels but doesn’t want to spend so much on just one outfit, then DateTheRamp has the solution. It is an online rental platform for authentic designer apparel and accessories. It hosts a huge range of collection from apparel designers like JJ Valaya, Shantanu & Nikhil, AnjuModi, Ritu Kumar, Satya Paul and also a number of accessory designers like Outhouse, Valliyan and several others.

This website not only helps you indulge in those designer label outfits but also allows you to do so at a very low rental cost with great service. I personally had a really good experience with them where I rented two of these Satya Paul sarees at a very reasonable price.

Yeah, if you have to attend your best friend wedding or a party and don’t want to spend insane amount on designer lehengas or sarees, you need to try renting an outfit from DateTheRamp .

Sarees : Satya Paul ( Rented from DateTheRamp ) | Neck-piece & Ring : Jaipur Store | Mustard Mules : Koovs | Black Mules : Ajio

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Previous post : A Letter To The Society

A Letter To The Society

Published on January 6, 2018January 6, 2018 by Lavanya Pulijala6 Comments

This is going to be a post which is very personal to me and which is described entirely based on my own perspective. Hope you like it 🙂

Dear Society,

Who decides your rules?

Who does your moral policing?

Is it those who support modernization or is it the bunch of people who are still stuck in the zone where they are not able to accept any change?

Is it those who consider wearing a crop-top a sin while wearing a saree is decent even though the extent of exposure is same!!!?

Is it those who rip us naked with their looks in case they found us wearing something below the knees?

(Omg!! You need to take care of your clothes such that those people don’t comment about you!!

Oh yeah!! Why not wear a Burkha that covers you all-over? Oh no!! If you have a bigger bust, then even that would not help !! Chuck-it, you just need to ignore or probably get used to those creepy looks!! )

Coming back to those people who design the moral policing for our beloved society,

Is it those who look down on an unmarried 30-yr old happy independent woman?

Is it those who start pestering parents to get a ladka for their beti as soon as she graduates?

Is it those who judge a woman’s character by the length of her dress?

Is it those who are completely fine with a guy wearing a boxer and walking on the street but who are, at the same time, not fine with a girl doing that?

Is it those who try to curb the enthusisasm of an ambitious woman?

Is it those who try to silence the voice of any outspoken woman who is trying to fight for her rights?

Is it those who judge a woman’s character if she smokes or drinks?

Is it those who make it difficult for anyone to take up any offbeat profession?

(You know, there are too many people offering you free advices!! They find interest in what you are up to than thinking about how to improve themselves!! )

Is it those who blindly assume that a girl has to compromise with her interests when she is getting married?

Is it those who feel that the guy is doing a favour to the girl while marrying by accepting huge amount of dowry?

I don’t understand the extent to which these people dictate society moral policing. Even though, there are a really brilliant set of people trying to change the perspective of this society, it is only these ill-minded people who have a larger voice in declaring what is morally right and what is absolutely wrong.

Can we change this for good?

Yours Lovingly,

A Woman who strives to stand out in the mad crowd!!

These might seem like an everyday thing and many of you might be ignoring it. But, for me, as a person who found passion in fashion blogging (an interest which is significantly different from what people do in the society my parents live in), it is really getting frustrating to think about my moves just because my parents think that my so-called well wishers open my blog / FB / Instagram and start cribbing behind my back about my clothes rather than directly questioning me.

So, to all such people who pretend to be my well-wishers rather than being one in reality, if you are reading this post, an advice may be – I guess you have a better life to deal with!! Invest time wisely, more for yourselves and probably less for others 🙂

And to all other lovely people, a sincere thanks for believing in my work. I promise to deliver much more inspiring content in fashion, travel and life 🙂

The support you guys keep showing me, could be in terms of the messages you send or the comments or likes, that’s what keep my passion and me going. Even though, I couldn’t thank you personally, I genuinely feel so grateful for your love.

If you are someone who support my thoughts or fashion or travel, do show your love by following me on Instagram if you are Instagram-friendly like me 😀 or on Facebook or may be on blog via email 🙂

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Pamper the Colors

Published on October 14, 2017 by Lavanya Pulijala1 Comment

It’s time to pamper those lovely Indian traditional colors 🙂

However, should it always be the heavy lehengas , gowns or sarees to look festive?? Absolutely not!! For all those who prefer comfort over the struggle to handle sarees or lehengas, I plan to show how you can be comfortable and festive at the same time 😀

Since many of you asked me about styling festive outfits on Instagram, here are few of my general styling tips for festive outfits :

Have one piece of your outfit (say, Dupatta or Blouse or Skirt) which grabs the attention – colorful fabric / overall embroidery / bright addons like tassels/pompoms. In this case, the rest of the outfit should be kept simple.This is something which I tried in this blog post
Use statement jewelry ( adds life to any outfit)
Own a pair of silver and colorful kolhapuris/ juttis ( Ethnic footwear saviors- These two would be enough for almost every kind of ethnic outfit)

I styled my ethnic wear using a normal crop top and dhoti pant. I picked a embroidered dupatta to add color to the outfit. Statement earrings and colorful juttis are a perfect match.

I have styled the dupatta in three different ways to give different looks, here you go 🙂

Look 1 ( Similar to front pallu)

Look 2 ( Dupatta styled like a shrug)

Look 3 ( the casual one side dupatta style)

Crop top : Splash| Dhoti Pant : West side | Juttis , Jewelry and Shades: Street Buy

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Previous post : Saree With A Twist

Saree With A Twist

Published on October 7, 2017October 7, 2017 by Lavanya Pulijala3 Comments

With festive season around the corner, there have been quite a few requests on my Instagram about some ideas on festive outfits. Well, I have two main versions of festive looks in my mind currently. One, which involves bold experimentation of the blend of fashion and tradition and the other being, the usual effortless ethnic styles which everyone could happily carry 🙂

Let me go with the first i.e experimenting with fashion in this blog post and the second one would be lined up for the next week. Stay Tuned 😀

Six yards of Indian saree allows one to create insane variety of looks, due to the flexibility and the length of the fabric. One of my previous posts showed how to style a saree with denim and this one would be another turn-around. This saree is older than me 😛 , probably 26 years, I obviously picked it from my mom’s wardrobe.

I remember I saw my granny wearing saree in a dhoti style (with the usual pallu style).I still find people in some of the remote villages wearing it in that manner. My granny is definitely a trend setter 🙂 Taking cue from her style, I styled this saree as a dhoti with a front pallu and accessorized with a wide belt to give a different look to the saree. You could also use corset belts instead of the normal ones, I didn’t have one so I wore the normal one.

As you know, silver jewellery is my best companion to slay any look- so, I used my weapon here. I used a crop top as blouse for this look 🙂

I wanted to give a crude look to my hair, so left it untouched in my usual messy and wavy texture.

If you love experimenting in a subtle way but not the bold way, here are some styling tips for the festive season 🙂

Use an off-shoulder top / crop-top as a blouse
Change your hairstyle- may be, go for a half bun
Include statement sleeves in your usual blouse patterns
Wear a long ethnic overcoat on your saree, may be something like this

Stay connected through Instagram to find out more such tips 🙂

Here goes the look 🙂

Hope you enjoyed it 🙂 Do leave your comments on this post

Saree : Mom’s saree | Jewelry : Street buy | Belt : Chemistry | Top : Tailormade | Heels : Ajio

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Previous post : Deciphering Fall Trends

Deciphering Fall Trends

Published on September 16, 2017September 16, 2017 by Lavanya Pulijala2 Comments

Fashion connoisseurs have been flooding the feed with New York fashion week trends, their experience of fashion shows, street styles and what not. New York seems to be glowing bright with this fall trends. Elf shaped heels, statement boots, bright colors, checkered blazers, over-sized sweatshirts, flared bottoms, dark florals, baseball caps, beach bags and the list is never ending. Each one had a street style statement to make. This is probably because this is the first time I paid more attention to the details of NYFW, not sure if it is the same every season.

Here goes the list of trends

1. Bright Colors

This trend is evident across all the days of NYFW and I am already in love with it.People started making statement using one bright color , mostly – orange, pink, green, yolk yellow (Prabal Gurung’s show).

2. Plaid Blazers/Trousers

Plaid blazers, plaid wide legged trousers and plaid dresses are among the most popular trends.

3. High Waist Denim Bell-Bottoms

Especially, frayed bell bottoms are an eye-catcher for this season

4. Elf Shaped Heels/Flats

These heels are among my most favorite fall trends and I am literally waiting for such heels to be launched in India as I couldn’t find any such one online as of now.

5. Waist Belt Bag

Not among something I would like but yeah, it’s among the top list of fall trends.

6. Statement Boots

Printed, red, denim and thigh high boots – Yes Please 🙂

7. Bamboo Bags

One more thing that I am totally in love with ❤

8. Statement Sleeves

Just one top with statement sleeves and a simple denim is enough to make you look fashionable even on a lazy day

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Photos Sourced from New York Instagram accounts

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Tulle On Focus

Published on July 14, 2017July 30, 2017 by Lavanya Pulijala1 Comment

Soft and fine-net fabric ,versatile enough to be styled as a dress or skirt or top is being embraced by most of the fashion enthusiasts.The fabric is known as tulle and this tulle trend, I should say, brought out the creativity of styling a dress with jeans.

Wondering how one could wear a dress with jeans !!!

Styling a dress with jeans gives a complete different and refreshing look.Comfort and fashion go hand in hand. This trend can be aced if you could remember a few things before you style:

Monochrome dresses(body-hugging dresses), mini dresses don’t go well with jeans (strict ‘NO”)
Midi skater flowy dresses would be the most apt choice
Slim fit jeans preferred over boyfriend jeans

In this look, I have paired a midi tulle dress with torn-jeans, a simple white top, and sneakers.I prefer to have simple earrings for this look but I choose to go with a bunch of pearl bracelets so that they sync with my white sneakers.

Here goes the look 😀

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Modern Indian Woman- #Look101

Published on April 27, 2017June 4, 2017 by Lavanya PulijalaLeave a comment

If you are one of those who follows me on Instagram, then you might have already had an idea about this post.If you are not sure what I am talking about, then it’s all about this month blog posts.Inline with my earlier blog post of Indo-western look , I am going to blog about my current modern-ethnic favorites which reflect the essence of a ” Modern Indian Woman”

There are going to be three such look-books which will be up on my blog during the course of this month, each focusing on bringing out a particular aspect of Indian woman nature in the outfit.I am trying to put forth looks keeping in mind the current trends and retaining the Indian flavor in the outfits.

#LOOK101

This look is trying to bring out the simplicity aspect of Indian Women.The outfit is colorful supporting our Indian ethnic theme and it was styled in a simple manner with minimum accessories, indicating simplicity.

Here goes the look-Hope you like it 🙂

Dress – Lil Flea Festival 2017-Vastra by Milonee | Kolhapuris – Bandra | Wallet – Global Desi | Earrings – Westside | Ring – All India Exhibition,Hyderabad

Stay tuned to my blog if you are interested in kicking up that Indo-western fashion appetite of yours or follow me here for more styling updates 🙂 🙂

Photos by Rahul Kongala

HUES OF WHITE

Published on April 8, 2017April 22, 2017 by Lavanya PulijalaLeave a comment

If you are one among those who categorize white shirt as a casual outfit option, then this post would definitely change your stance on that opinion.All I would like to convey here is that white shirt is versatile enough to be apt for any occasion if you style it on point.

I would be giving some styling gyaan on three basic looks which I believe would be helpful for you 🙂

The age-old classic combo of white shirt, blue denim : It looks absolutely elegant but isn’t it boring to carry the same look all the while?!! Well, you can bring a completely different perspective to the look by going for colorful juttis (Ditch those high heels, I wonder how one feels comfortable in stilettos though ) , a messy updo and handmade tassel earrings.Trust me, it is going to work 🙂

Office wear : I agree that you need to be formal.Keeping that in mind, what could be done? There is a lot of scope : Tie around a beautiful neutral color tassel scarf around your neck or just tag along a grey colored kimono/linen jacket and match it with the bottom or just layer the white shirt over a plain neutral colored camisole.

Yeah, I heard you girls 🙂 The party look – Add a pop of a bright color like red or burgundy or yellow or royal blue to the outfit.If you are wondering how to do that, then the answer is accessories and makeup.Accessories could be a good pair of heels flaunting that bright color, a scarf, a pretty sling bag or clutch, statement earrings or neck piece.

Current trend of easy, breezy and sporty look flaunting those sneakers is what I have experimented with this time.It could be considered as an option for parties as well, if you are someone like me who hates dancing in uncomfortable bodycons or high heels.I choose a white on white look, paired the shirt with a pleated white skirt and a white choker, and maintained the monotony of white. However, I broke that monotony with a bright red tinge with my cap and lip color.Also, this could be your go-to summer look as well.Here goes the look 🙂