Move over, trousers.

I 've never till date, worn a suit. Thats right, Not even a skirt suit for that matter! Its not because I dont like it, but I've never really had to wear one. Which is probably why I love wearing blazers with jeans.If youve read my older posts, you guys would know that I hate trousers. I only have ONE pair of trousers in my closet and I dont think I'll find another one as good as that.
Anyway, I love the idea of a smart blazer over a casual tee and skinny jeans. Not only is is chic, It's also very comfortable and practical for my working environment. Coloured jeans work too, but sometimes, it can come off as tacky, if you cant carry off the look well. So to start off, I suggest you work with a black blazer, some light wash skinny jenas and a linen mix tee. Once you've mastered the art of breezing into a room with your no- nonsense look, explore the different lengths of blazers you can work with and even colours!
Yellow- black and white, Navy- coral and white, Purple- powder pink and grey, etc etc. Just remember to not go over board with colour as it might look ridiculous to work.Unless you're Katy Perry, who can make everything work.

TSCT tip: Try rolling up or rolling in your skinny jeans when wearing pointed toe pumps. It's very Victoria Beckham-ish.

Tee: Camaieu, Bag and Blazer: Mango, Jeans:Hobbs, Shoes:Dune

Meet The Crew

Sometimes it takes about 20 shots to get 8 great ones for the blog and here's the team responsible for everything that takes place behind the scenes and how far I've come.

Everything may look nice and rosy on the website, but it takes hours to cover a shoot and if weren't for these guys, I'd be no where!

The Senior Photographer is also my sister, as you can tell by surname. She covers all the photo shoots on weekdays, if we decide on a post or any product related shoots.

Suaad, who's also my best friend covers all weekend shoots, when we decide on far- away locations and more "themed" posts . Muji is the location planner and usually coordinates with the photographers on sets for the weekends. Location shoots are only done once or twice a week, where we actually drive off to a place that may have caught our attention.

Apart from the team that I work with on a regular basis, Sarika is the substitute photographer, who covers all location shoots while I've driven the others up the wall. And say hello to the newest member of the crew, Gautam, who's currently under training and who rarely smiles when the lens is focused on him.

You guys should love them before you love me :)

Are you going to make it ?

 Sometimes life puts you in situations that are unexpected. Situations that you aren't familiar with and situations that make you feel insecure and unsure of yourselves.Situations that scare the daylights out of you and make you wonder why you've been put in a place that you never wanted to be in. And when finally you've started to accept it and  you've convinced yourself that it's okay to be scared and that you're strong enough to over come those challenges, life throws in a little extra heat. A little more to shake you, a little more to break you. Now at such a point when you feel like you're going to break down completely, remember that nothing is impossible if you've got the drive in you to turn the situation around. Learn to overcome hurdles, learn to perfect something that you've never done before. Learn to stay strong , focused and determined and remember that if you haven't achieved what you have to yet, at least you're closer to it than you were yesterday.

And lets just leave it at that for today's notes. I'm going to make it. Are you?

The Indo- Western Ratio.

As much as I love Indian wear, I rarely get the chance to go all out and dress up in ethnic wear. So I try and work with versatile Indian pieces like a heavy bordered skirt , an embroidered dupatta or a kurta and incorporate it into my daily outfits.
Take this skirt for example. I paired it with a crop top and to add definition to my waistline, I hitched the skirt up so I don't look like a rectangle and can still show off some curves while I move around. I've added in red suede kitten heels with a pointed toe to sit with the midi skirt. A modern satin over-sized clutch and antique Indian Jewelry pieces look great against the dark color and high neckline of the top.
You can even wear a similar skirt with a strappy vest and a denim jacket over it . The idea is to be creative, but still keeping a good balance between the two extremes.
I also love wearing heavy embroidered dupattas as shawls with jeans and flats on a casual day. Some over-sized sunnies ,a messy top knot and a classy tote and you can pull off an effortless look in a matter of minutes!
P.S: See a similar post from one of my older posts here.

The SHIRT

You may think that a crisp shirt would only suit a working environment but think again. These days, you need to wear a shirt as casually as you would a t shirt to be on trend! A shirt is the most versatile piece of garment that anyone can own.
Here are a few ways you can sport a clean shirt in different ways:

The work shirt: Tailored crisp shirt tucked into pencil skirts or trousers and kitten keels.

The dinner shirt: Dark colored shirt tucked into a sequinned mini skirt, killer heels and wild hair! Don't forget to undo the first two buttons for a more relaxed look.

The holiday shirt: Semi crushed, open buttons worn over a bright tank and denim shorts with flip-flops.

The casual shirt: Tucked into a fun skirt, sleeves pushed up and strappy sandals for a more casual-chic look. Something like the images supporting this post.

The wild child: Only for the daring- Peek a boo bustier, shirt ends tied into a knot over the navel with a mini skirt/ hot pants with knee high boots. P.S, you must be able to pull off this look with an edge , else you give off a completely different vibe!

I'm all about cotton shirts this season and I'm extremely picky about the fit! Remember it's the fit that makes or breaks you.
Until the next post ( which is my favorite ) , lots of hugs. Ciao for now.

Shirt: Camaieu, Skirt: Zara, Shoes: French Connection, Cuff & Necklace: Macy's, Bag: Furla

Fully Fledged Summer.

I'm not sure about you guys, but I personally prefer prints and textures over solids any day! Which is why I decided to welcome summer 2014 with florals and neon! I used to hate neon as it makes me look darker. Yep. Neon makes dusky women darker so unless that's what you're going for, try wearing the color in moderation. I've started accepting neon over the last year and my hate for neon completely vanished when I chanced upon these gorgeous loafers from Zara! Ever since, I've tried to wear neon in moderation . For example look for neon in subtle prints or details on a dress . Accessories work too- choose from necklaces , bags or even shoes to add a bit of "POP" and stand out from the crowd!
Show me how you guys wear NEON by tagging @askthestylecouncil on Instagram with the hashtag #thestylecounciltaash and get a chance to win nothing , but hey, at least we're sharing ideas :)

On another note, I'm totally crushing on Zayn Malik. Yes. I know, I sound so 16. But - it's always nice to be young at heart!
Until the next post, x's and o's !

Blouse, Dress( hitched up) : HM, Leggings and Shoes: Zara, Bag : Monsoon Accessorize, Hand accessories: Mango, Camaieu, Accessorize.

What's on my dressing table?

Here's a look at my dressing table. Fun fact about my dressing table: It's about 10 years old. Yes. this bad boy has n number of  scratches, chips, nail polish stains and nail polish remover stains on it. And guess what? I'm not planning on replacing it anytime soon. Vintage? I think so! :D

Summer calling.

As we enjoy the last few days of good weather, I'm trying to sort out my 2014 Summer must-have list. So far I have the color white and lightweight jersey t-shirts.
A breathable, lightweight tee in quality fabric is a must have for summer. Think linen - mix and viscose tees. They're so comfortable and can be layered up easily.I'm  more of a skirt gal and I only save shorts for vacations so I'm not going to add shorts to my list unfortunately. Yes, you can all boo me now.

Moving on, I love the combination of a light color and khaki. Khaki is one of my personal favorite summer colors apart from white, tan and denim blue.I paired this lightweight tee with my favorite khaki skirt and threw on a waterfall cardigan to a casual brunch date with my girlfriends last week. This is a good example of my lazy-day outfit.(Lazy days include Saturday afternoons and Sundays).

Tee: Hobbs, Skirt:Camaieu, Cardigan: Mango, Shoes: Kenneth Cole, Bag: Monsoon Accessorize