TSCT collaborates with Daily Tribune

As some of you may already know, I now have a weekly style column in a local newspaper, Daily Tribune. 2 Articles have already been published and the third will be out the next Sunday.

As a lot of you send me emails and Facebook messages on style tips or general questions on clothing where to purchase etc, I thought this would be a great opportunity to answer some of your questions! So simply leave your comments or email me on topics that you’ll like to discuss and I can schedule this in my articles.

Below is the link to the E version of the paper! Happy Reading , and watch out for my column every Sunday.

Ashwathy Shyamkumar for Daily Tribune

Baby Blues

 While our team finished shooting for this look and I  was browsing through the contact sheets for image selection, I realized I didn't love these metallic snakeskin pumps with the otherwise pale color palette of my look.I always prefer pairing my pastels with neutral colors and I don't know why I even picked these metallic pumps. Nude would work better or even pink, which reminds me, I don't have many pink shoes in my closet. Tsk.
Moving on, my eldest sister is here with her 3 adorable children and I love how noisy the house has become with all the high pitched howls, nursery- rhyme singing and the occasional shouting. And even though my darling niece thought it would be fun to sweep the floor with my make up brushes and use my Dior hydra cream as an all-over body moisturizer, I love her to bits and cannot image the thought of parting with her and my two nephews again.  Of course I'm going to miss my sister too and what's even worse is my second sister will move out of the country for good soon, too.
Sigh. I've been blue and I need new shoes.

Jeans- Dickenson Jeans, HOBBS,  Bag- Mango, Bracelets- Monsoon Accessorize, Blouse- Miss Selfridge, Shoes- Dune

Heel Talk

 I usually save my sky high heels for special occasions or events, as I personally feel that wearing really tall shoes during a normal day can make a person quite sluggish. Stepping out in a pair of six inches for a lunch date is ok if it’s going to last a couple of hours, but not longer.Yes, it can make you feel tall and confident but walking around them for more than 5 hours when yyou'vegot errands to run can make you look quite uncomfortable. I’ve seen this in the mall many times- women, some I even know or used to know- shopping in un- attractive platform pumps and wobbling around the stores, looking quite out of place and walking like a new born calf. When sometimes I want to buy them a decent pair of heels that were made for walking, other times I like to watch the calf wobble around trying to somehow make it through the crowded mall.

Investing in block heels, mid-heeled shoes are not only stylish and on trend, bur also very practical. I personally love blocked heel sandals at the moment for casual work days and pointed pumps in the office or structured pointed toe flats when I’m running around the mall. These not only make you look great, but also get you through the day with minimal foot cramps and strain.

On another note, I recently styled a set of looks for Devji for their latest campaign which I’m super excited to share. You’ll have to wait a few more weeks until I can publish there, but I promise they’re worth the wait!

Bag, Top and Jeans: Mango, Kimono Jacket: Quiz, Shoes: Zara

The much awaited...

So as promised back in February, Here are a few images from my sister's wedding! The entire theme was ivory, gold and purple all based around the bride's favorite color.
The event was beautifully planned and taken care of by the amazing wedding planners at APSHAR. From location, to the food , from intricate floral decor pieces to the cake, all were arranged by the planners after my sister had given them an idea of what her dream wedding was to look like. Needless to say, everything ended up spectacular on the big day and exactly what my sister wanted!
Moving on, let's forward back to my DIY Bridal Veil post from February. Below is an image of how the veil looked on the bride. Double layer, floor length tulle in Ivory and french lace trimmings! Easily an heirloom piece, me thinks!

I have wedding fever at the moment .Sigh.

Bridal Gown: Rosa Clara, Veil: Handmade. Hair and Makeup: Lavish 

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 :)