10 Things To Do In And Around Jaipur

Camels decked up in beautiful colors, streets beaming with homes resembling the palace architecture, women clad in colorful sarees with a ghungat (a veil worn to cover the face), men flaunting their multi-color turbans and of course, the scorching heat – If you have experienced all of these, you are definitely in Rajasthan.

We didn’t have enough time to explore Rajasthan completely. So, we thought we would be doing two different trips. One is the short one- includes Jaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar and the other includes Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaiselmer. The first one is done in this trip and I would be planning my second one sometime next year.

Since many of you requested for this trip details on my Instagram, here I go with all the details and the things to do 😀

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Accommodation

I was exploring Booking.com and found this cute little homestay, Magpie Villa which was right in the center of  Jaipur .We stayed in Jaipur for 3 days. There are also good number of luxurious options available in Jaipur.

Budget options : Magpie Villa , Umaid Bhawan

Luxurious : Rambagh Palace

10 Things To Do In And Around Jaipur

1. Visit Amer Palace and City Palace, Jaipur

City palace is the current residence of the royal family which is in Jaipur whereas Amer Palace is the age-old residence of the royal family when Amer used to be the capital of the state.

These two palaces are a must-visit to see the architecture and mind blowing facilities that the royal family had, back in 16th century.

155-1453715009_56a5ee41a4766Amer fort

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2. Don’t forget the elephant ride in Amer fort, Jaipur

There are two ways get to the top of the Amer fort – elephant ride and vehicles. Elephant safari is something which you need to try here.

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3. Visit Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur

This fort which is situated on the top of a hill will give you an entire view of the city. This fort has a completely different architecture compared to the other forts in Jaipur. While most of the forts have intricate stone carvings, this portrays detailed paintings as well.

IMG_1029Nahargarh fort

4. Shopping in the streets near Hawa Mahal, Jaipur

Silver and Gem Jewellery is something which I loved about this market.

IMG_0784Hawa Mahal (It’s just a wall – No palace, as the name says it)

5. Taste Pyaas Kachori and Raj Kachori in Jaipur

These are really popular in Jaipur. You can snap a quick break in LMB near Hawa Mahal to taste these. If you are person with sweet tooth, then you would be enjoying the food even more 🙂

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6. Camel Ride and Rajasthani women dressing in Pushkar

Pushkar is my favorite part of the trip. You can actually witness a bit of the actual desert atmosphere in Pushkar. Since we went just before the Pushkar Camel Mela was about to start, we could see the preparations in full swing.

Also, you can try dressing up like a local for which they usually charge 100-200 bucks per person. Camel riders usually takes you to this place if you ask him 🙂

IMG_0577Pushkar ( That’s me 😀 )

7. Visit the Brahma temple and Pushkar Lake in Pushkar

This is the only temple which is built for Brahma in the world. More than the temple, I liked the Pushkar lake which is just close to the temple.

8. Shopping in Pushkar Streets

This is one more thing which I loved the most in Pushkar. Home decor and camel leather bags are the best here. I stocked up quite a lot of stuff here. Personally, I found Pushkar shopping much better and cheaper than Jaipur.

unnamed (4)Local Women In Pushkar Market

unnamed (5)Crockery in Pushkar Market

9. Take the rope-way to reach the Savitri Temple, Pushkar

More than the temple, rope-way gives a view of entire Pushkar.

10. Visit the Ajmer Darga

Ajmer was on my list mostly because of the Darga, which is extremely popular. Be prepared to witness some insane crowd 😛

PS : This Darga didn’t really appeal to me as I found it as a place where you find few locals looting money from the devotees in the name of the god (especially if you are an outsider).I personally experienced it.This is not only the case in this Darga but also, many of the temples that I have visited in recent times.

Other than that, Darga was good 🙂 If you are a foodie, then the streets outside Darga need to be explored 😀

unnamed (2)Entrance to the Darga

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Tips

  • Carry a scarf / hat to protect yourself from the sun. Otherwise, you are going to see  50 shades of tan 😛
  • Bargain a lot if you are shopping in Jaipur. Since many foreigners visit these stores, they hike up the prices (Ask for 40% of the price)
  • For camel ride in Pushkar, you can find one place where all the camels are present just near Savitri temple. However, those are a bit expensive. Bargain or you can find a cheaper option if could spot any camel on the road which is not in any group
  • Shorts are not allowed in most of these temples and Dargas. So, dress accordingly
  • Opt for tourist guides only for City palace and Amer fort. Other places don’t require one

That’s it for this blog, DM me on Instagram or email me on lavanyapulijala7@gmail.com for anymore details.

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Yellow dress : West Side| Black Kurti & Skirt : Myntra | Juttis , Jewelry & Leather Bag :  Street Buy | Black Legging : Lyra | White shirt : Shein | Boho bag : Krafted with happiness | Belt : Forever21 | Dupatta : Biswa Bangla

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Photos by Durga Pulijala (Mom 😀 )

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Previous post : Pamper the Colors

 

Pamper the Colors

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)

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Look 2 ( Dupatta styled like a shrug)

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Look 3 ( the casual one side dupatta style)

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

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Photos by Sampath Kumar

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Previous post : Saree With A Twist

Deciphering Fall Trends

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).

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2. Plaid Blazers/Trousers

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

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3. High Waist Denim Bell-Bottoms

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

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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.

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5. Waist Belt Bag

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

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6. Statement Boots

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

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7. Bamboo Bags

One more thing that I am totally in love with ❤

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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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Previous post : Attention!! It’s Ruffles Time

 

 

Attention!! It’s Ruffles Time

If you are one of those who want to make a fashion statement by not overdoing things, by just keeping it simple, then the current ruffles trend is your savior.

Even though it is the current trend, its origin in fashion industry dates back to the 15th century when ruffles around the neckline became a prominent fashion choice among most of the elite women.Fabric is manipulated in a wavy pattern to form ruffles. As many say, it’s the same old fashion that has come back into picture now.

If you are wondering how to style those ruffle patterned clothes, then I am here to help you out with some styling tips 🙂

Ruffles come in varying sizes.It’s better to stick to particular size range of ruffle based on your body type.

  • A top with huge wavy ruffles around the neck looks perfect for women with broad shoulders and less bust. Ruffles divert the attention towards them, so it’s better that women with slightly heavier upper body go for tiny ruffles gathered in a pretty way to improvise their neckline

 

  • A ruffled skirt might have ruffles placed at different positions.Based on the position of ruffles and the shape of your body at that position, you need to choose the skirt.Ruffles divert attention to them due to their wavy structure.If the ruffles are placed in a position where that particular part of your body is slightly heavy, it highlights that part of your body and makes it look even more bulky.So, make your choice accordingly

I have created one look with a ruffled midi skirt and paired it with a cutout crop top. Accessorized  with a statement ear cuff and basic heels.

Hope you like the look as much as I love creating it 🙂

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 Skirt : Zara | Earrings : Koovs | Bracelets : Accessorize | Top : Stalkbuylove | Heels : Zara | bag : Shein

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Photos by Sampath Kumar

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Previous post : Trek to Andharban

My Own Tales!! QnA

This blog post is definitely going to be quite different from other posts. I am going to answer the questions that many of you have asked me on Instagram and Facebook.

Going to be as precise as I can 🙂

Here we go!!

Are you planning to have a career in fashion blogging in future?

Absolutely 🙂  Fashion genuinely interests me. It has always been fun to play around with fashion to create new looks. Styling is definitely something that I would look forward to make a career in.

When did you feel that you have interest in fashion?

It all started as a challenge during my engineering which later started slowly turning into my interest.There is a friend of mine who claimed that I had a very bad sense of dressing.That’s when it started, I took it as a challenge to prove him wrong ( Thanks to him 😀 ) I started observing people everywhere ( I used to even watch movies for the sole purpose of checking out the costumes) . The kind of trends that people are following, how they are styling accessories and how I could improve my style. Observation is the best teacher. But my interest took an important turn when I stepped into Bombay for my job where I have started seeing colleagues and other people around having incredible sense of styling.I started trying new trends and avoided sticking to the monotonous dressing. Slowly, a couple of my friends ( Ganesh, Sampath)  and my mom started encouraging me to start blogging in fashion as I show insane interest in it.That’s how the blog started 🙂

The most craziest thing you have done so far

22 hrs of Goa road trip, getting almost caught by police (3 times in the same day) , the most scariest midnight ride through a secluded road in the woods (not even a dog was present :/ ), deciding to extend the trip for one more day when we were actually leaving Goa and finally, ending up in a very gruesome road accident ( where  I didn’t realize that our car was twirling for the first two twirls because I was busy sleeping 😛 ), meeting an important person in life – All this happened in just four days of our Goa trip.

Your favorite fashion icons/bloggers 

Among bloggers, my current favorites are Kritika Khurana, Chriselle lim, Divya. Sonam Kapoor’s fashion , Sanam Ratansi and Devki ‘s styling is something I admire the most.

How do you find something that brings happiness to you?

Happiness is a relative term.What brings happiness to you might not bring happiness to me.Few people find happiness in small things while few don’t. It all depends on how you perceive the things that come your way.

How can you be sure that something will continue to bring happiness for the rest of your life?

I believe that this was asked in terms of deciding something as your passion, continuing with it and later not liking it. Atleast, in my case, it is my confidence that I can style differently that is currently keeping me going. Regarding being sure that it would continue to give me happiness – I am not sure but currently, I am just believing my interest in fashion.If it doesn’t bring me happiness later, I will explore other options 🙂

Luxurious villa having a wardrobe filled with top brands  or a beach house surrounded by serene surroundings?

Definitely, a beach house 😀

It’s great that your parents have agreed for modelling.How did you convince them?

Guys, this is not modelling. I don’t aspire to become one either. Even some of my peers ( leave alone my orthodox relatives) don’t understand the difference between modelling and fashion blogging (#facepalm). Modelling is where, a model dresses up to showcase someone’s creation of fashion( A model need not have any own sense of fashion/styling and most importantly, they don’t style their own looks).What I am trying to do is blogging about fashion to explain the ways of styling  and I am trying to convey it through images so that people understand.

One thing I hate the most

Diplomacy

What makes people attractive?

Confidence

What is one hobby that you plan to pick up?

Learn new language

All time favorite fashion trend?

Denim and a loose tee

 

I have received too many questions and I tried to answer most of them.If I have missed anything here, I am going to DM my answers on Instagram.

Thanks for the love guys 🙂

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Previous post : Wardrobe Revamp

 

 

 

Wardrobe Revamp

Now that the wedding season is around, I guess most of you might be bored of wearing the same old lehengas or sarees. We might not always want to spend a fortune on buying new outfits for each occasion. It would be best if we know how to use our wardrobe staples to give a different look to those classic lehengas or sarees and to accessories as well.

Few styling tips  that might help you :

  • Use that white shirt to pair it with a bright lehenga
  • Use a plain off-shoulder top(black/white) as a blouse to your classic saree
  • While using the staples, ensure that the shirt or top is plain.Avoid fussy prints.
  • Use any heavy earring as maang tikka
  • Pick that sleek chains that you have and wear them as waist chains

Here is one look that I put together using a white shirt and my old lehanga skirt.I paired it with a beads chain, a septum ring and a earring which I used as maang tikka.

Hope you like it 🙂

Shirt : Topshop | Lehenga : Dadar Handloom Store | Maang tikka : Studio Voyilla | Heels : Zara | Clutch : Sillklane store

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Photos by Sampath Kumar 

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Previous post : Tulle On Focus

 

 

Wild In Green

It’s all about the greens, cut-outs and head-scarfs. The wildness captured in the background brings the shades of green into focus. Pairing a maxi with different accessories gives unique looks every time.

Head scarf and long shrug are my weapons for this look-book apart from the usual maxi look.The contrast color of the head scarf gave a bohemian vibe while the shrug seemed to add a semi-formal touch to the outfit.Each of these accessories accentuated the look of the maxi.As you know, when I try western wear,I prefer statement jewellery. In this case, I picked statement earrings and kept it simple with no neck-piece.

Here goes the look !! Hope you enjoy it 🙂

 Maxi: Ajio | Earrings : HnM | Bracelets : Accessorize and lifestyle | Shrug : Ajio | Heels : Carlton London | Scarf : Street buy

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Photos by Swetha Movva – Do follow her for unconventional photography

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Previous post : 7 Wardrobe Must-Haves This Season

 

7 Wadrobe Must-Haves This Season

Now that it’s time for the end of season sale, it is better to be on a look-out for some specific trends to refresh your wardrobe.Here goes top seven among my list of must-haves :

1.  Tulle Dress/ Skirt

This soft net fabric trend is totally comfortable and would be so perfect for a brunch, beach vacation, or even as an airport look, when you pair the tulle dress with jeans.Forever 21 and Zara has good collection of tulle dresses or skirts.

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2.   Embriodery Tops/ Dresses/ Jeans

Embriodery is everywhere and who doesn’t love colorful embriodery? Almost spring/ summer collection of all stores have something related to embriodery.

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3.  Paper bag Skirt/ Pants

I am totally in love with this trend.It’s perfect to go with croptops or bodysuits.Pretty isn’t it? You might not find it at all stores, you need to go on hunt for these 🙂

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4. Striped Dress

It is so versatile among all these trends.Be it, work, beach, brunch, hangout, long drive or damn thing, you can just count on these.You can find these almost in all the stores.Stripes with embriodery is a hot trend.Be on look-out for it.

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5. Caption Tee

An oversized tshirt is always a comfortable option.When a caption adds to it, it gives a chill vibe.These are easily available too.

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6.   Mules

They are super comfortable and fashionable as well, considering that these are either block heels or flats.Go, bag on these 🙂

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7.  Metallic Oxfords

Metallics have now become almost a staple which can be styled with jeans or skirt or any kind of ethnic wear.Sonam kapoor is an absolute inspiration to style these oxfords.

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Previous post : East Meets West

East Meets West

Intricate fashion details of East combined with the never ending and super comfortable denim craze of West kick the fusion fashion up a notch. Silver jewellery, handloom clothing have always been my obsession and the challenge lies in bringing a completely unique look to the same old staples.

Spot me anywhere and anytime outside, you will see me slouching in an old pair of jeans and a XL tshirt. When your dearest saviour serves to ease your Indian outfit, that’s an impeccable combination.

I choose to play around with my favourite vegetable-dyed handloom saree, kalamkari blouse, and my jet black jeans. When it is handloom, it is silver jewellery that comes to the rescue to give that Indian vibe.Do you agree?

Here goes ” East meets West ” series 🙂

Saree : BiswaBangla | Blouse : Tailormade | Accesories : Streetbuy | Denim : Lifestyle stores | Heels : Metro

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Photos by Swetha Movva – Do follow her for unconventional photography

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Previous post : 5 Online Shopping Websites For Every Fashion Girl

 

5 Online Shopping Websites For Every Fashion Girl

Are you one of those who is lazy to step out for shopping?

Then, Online Shopping comes to your rescue.The myriad range of options to choose from, infinite trends, and amazing offers summarise the entire experience.Well, all you need to know is the websites that you can completely count on. Here goes the list of few such websites which I am currently crushing on.

1.   AJIO

Who doesn’t love when latest trends and quality go hand in hand? Also, it is definitely going to be budget shopping. I personally love their fusion and western collection.Shop it here

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2.   KOOVS

If you want to shop for quirky and basic collection along with accesories, then Koovs is the right choice.Some of the brands are exclusively present only on Koovs.Quality is something you need to check based on product details before ordering.Shop here.

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3.   SHEIN

Well, this is an American shopping site known for its affordable and fashionable clothing.I love their accesories and lingerie collection as well.Only things that you need to worry about are international duty, returns, and delivery duration.Shop here.

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4.   JABONG

My go-to shopping site for footwear and dresses is Jabong.It is slightly expensive than Amazon and Flipkart but it would totally depend on the brand you choose.Shop here.

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5.   MYNTRA

When it comes to skirts and ethnic collection, I prefer Myntra. Basic ethnic and fusion collection is good but it would be better if you know the brands you want. Otherwise you end up scrolling the entire day for the right dress (owing to its huge collection 😛 ).Shop here.

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These are my best-loved websites, if you have any other good suggestions, do let me know 🙂

I will be doing another post on my favourite brands as well.Watch this space for more such interesting posts.

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Previous post : #Look103