Recently Taapsee Pannu was spotted spending her vacation in Russia with sister Shagun as she shared the pictures on her Instagram handle. From slaying every look whether western or Indian to the beautiful candid pictures taken on the streets of Saint Petersburg and Moscow along with an enchanting scenic beauty and sunsets in the backdrop, Taapsee Pannu’s trip had it all and we could not help but to get inspired by each look she donned.
No wonder it can be only Taapsee Pannu who could carry a saree paired with sunglasses and sports shoes on the streets of a foreign country with such pride and confidence that not only looked chic and stylish but also portrays how much she respects her traditions and loves her culture.
Taapsee Pannu opted for all cool or subtle and neutral colours and shades for all her outfits such as cream, black, white, blue in different shades such as cobalt blue, Royal blue and denims. Sunglasses was her go to accessory while exploring the beautiful and Architecture laden Cityscape specially when it was a bright sunny day. Her favourite picks were the cat eye frames.
When on vacation we all want to make sure that we wear such outfits that go with every occasion and place and take us from day to night such as from an adventurous, exciting and energetic mornings to a nice dinner or a party in one of the bars. Taapsee Pannu made sure to wear outfits that were styled in a simple manner and made her feel light, comfortable yet made her look elegant and beautiful at the same time and that is how she is able to enjoy this kick scooter ride so freely and easily.
If we look carefully we can observe how she has opted for oxidised jewellery, the jhumkas and a number of silver bangles in just one hand to balance out the simplicity and plainness of the blue waist side slit dress and also to bring a modern contrast as otherwise she can be seen wearing a simple watch to complete the look. Besides sunglasses sneakers also became part of her everyday footwear(From lace incorporated ones to a little high length) on her vacation sometimes matching it with a pair of socks but most of the times wearing it without them which is also quite trendy these days.
We all know that Taapsee Pannu has such beautiful fluffy and curly hair with light brown streaks which she can be seen flaunting on the streets of Saint Petersburg by keeping them open while sipping on her favourite cup of coffee at an outdoor restaurant. She can also be seen in a messy bun with the wind causing the extra strands of her hair on the side to softly fall on her eyebrows and cheeks or has worn a bandana style cute vintage hairband to keep the hair in place.
The black outfit seen here below is the one I personally loved the most as it gives a very different sort of a look with a slightly darker shade of lipstick than her nude lipstick shades combined with the usual subtle makeup wearing a high neck top with a traditionally mirror embroidered jacket and Wine red statement studs(earrings) for a special occasion whilst on the trip.
She also opted for different prints for sarees and tops and seamless patterns such as the polka dot pattern over a white shirt paired with jeans and a nice broad belt. The sarees were also quite lightweight.
She also gave us a quick sneak peak into one of her cute Airbnb home and a cozy loft in St. Petersburg where she can be seen wearing her comfortable night suits that are all colour and print coordinated.
lastly don’t forget to carry out your favourite sling bags along while exploring the location with all your important and necessary stuff that both Taapsee and her sister Shagun can be seen carrying with them.
How Manish Malhotra made us fall in love with each character with the beautiful breathtaking outfits adorned by them in ‘Kalank’ movie
Image courtesy of Cinema Express
After Mughal-e-Azam it was the first ever historical period movie that Manish Malhotra was working on that dwelves into two fictional worlds of Husnabad (Hindu-dominated) and Heera Mandi (Muslim-dominated). Every character was on a different dimension in the movie and that required different styling, jewellery and colour choices for Individual characters depending on what they were going through in the movie.
Outfits, colours and lighting play a major role in any movie and by outfits I mean the entire look of a person from head to toe because that is what brings the entire feel and mood of the film and connects you with the storyline. Even though being a modern designer Manish Malhotra could not make the actors and actresses wear something that a modern day attire would look like because he needs to study the script and the period in which the movie is set which in this case was Pakistan (1945-1947) and so outfits had to made in accordance to what people used to wear in those times. This required months of research and endless talks with his parents to understand more about the cuts, silhouettes and embroidery of those times.
Let’s dwelve into the costumes and jewellery of each character very closely:
MADHURI DIXIT AS BAHAAR BEGUM:
Bahaar begum lives in Heera Mandi and is an experienced Singer and Dancer. She has sartorial sensibilities which describes a lifestyle relating to a love for classic, timeless garments made with the highest level of craftsmanship, something which is flashy yet elegant and that is what makes her pick up deep colours and sometimes pastel shades. Her character embodies heavy and intricate jewellery and embroidery that reflect the legacy she comes from. she is lonely and she loves the art of dressing. Along with the intricate jewellery another very important feature of her outfits are the flowy ghagras that twirl beautifully as she would take turns while dancing.
This movie mainly highlighted the four characters of Zafar(Varun Dhawan), Roop (Alia Bhatt),Dev Chaudhary(Aditya Roy Kapoor) and Satya(Sonakshi Sinha) because their lives were going through different phases and Madhuri Dixit’s character was mostly running on the same track except for the last part of the film where all her bad memories were revived and she was in pain and being a dance and music teacher was more prominently shown in the songs.
Her look in the song ‘Ghar More Pardesiya’ was the one where she was seen wearing a pastel pink and blue Pakistani Gharara which is quite flowy at the bottom and has been paired with short full- sleeved kameez/kurti and a dupatta tucked on the shoulders with an ornate pin taken in a U- shape on the front in such a way that it does not hinder the beautiful repeated gold print on the pastel pink base. There is also a lot of use of different types of embroideries including the Zari-Zardozi to accentuate the look of the Gharara and the bold border of the dupatta and the kurti. Also the intricate version to Bahaar Begum’s ghararas and shararas has been given by incorporating a bit of a Sozni, Kashmiri and Persian touch. Her makeup has been done in such a way that makes her look much more experienced and mature whereas Alia Bhatt’s character as Roop has been shown as a young face with a subtle and muted makeup.
Talking about the jewellery of both Alia Bhatt and Madhuri Dixit in this particular song ,as mentioned earlier Bahaar Begum’s character played by Madhuri Dixit always wears rich jewellery and over here her look has been completed with gold Rani haar embellished with Kundan and Pearls, heavy Chandbalis, Maang tika and adding to it the beautiful ornate rings or hathphool and heavy gold bangles. She has kept braided hair and a beautiful juda pin attached with her earrings through a number of strings which is called Maharani juda pin and is an exceptional accessory. On the other if we look at Alia Bhatt in the same song she also has braided hair and an ornate pin attached in the middle of her hair at the back but the jewellery is very minimalistic involving some Chandbalis and an ornate ring in on hand and gold bangles in both hands. The neck has been kept empty to draw focus towards the beautiful embroidered neckline of the short kurti that Roop (Alia Bhatt) is wearing. There is also a small bindi on Alia Bhatt’s forehead because she is now married to Dev Chaudhary whereas Bahaar Begum remained unmarried throughout her life, so there is not bindi on her forehead.
Image courtesy of Pinterest.com
One could also observe a lot of threadwork embroidery in Alia Bhatt’s kurti as well as in Dev Chaudhary’s(Aditya Roy Kapoor) sherwanis and kurta which is mainly Kashmiri threadwork or cotton silk threadwork embroidery that gives it a sophisticated and a royal look. Also Alia Bhatt’s outfit has the use of Chantily lace on the sleeve border with embroidery because during those times this was very trendy.
ADITYA ROY KAPOOR AS DEV CHAUDHARY
Bahaar Begum in the song ‘First class’
This song was the one where there is a depiction of two parallel worlds of Zafar on one hand and Roop getting married to Dev Chaudhary and we are introduced to the place of Heera Mandi and the people living there as well as their lifestyle and we suddenly see Madhuri Dixit coming out from the place where she teaches singing and dancing. As you can see the frame consists of Bahaar Begum( Madhuri Dixit) in the center in a deep red ghagra with full sleeved choli covered with butta block print design. There is a lot of old world gold embroidery all over the ghagra and floor length heavy dupatta taken over her head with nazakata. The way her fingers are holding the dupatta from one end gives the feel of how women were shown in the miniature paintings. The crisscross hathphool has been designed in such a way that it covers the entire hand. Also to complete the look has been paired a heavy passa jewellery and Chandbalis. There is also a grand old world setting behind her,the big doors and pillars.
Also in this movie Kiara Advani’s special appearance was seen and one of her major outfits out of the few she was made to wear was in this particular song itself when she was dancing with Zafar(Varun Dhawan) where she is wearing a deep pink brocade v-neckline full-sleeved blouse and a beautiful embroidered white lehenga with contrasting bottle green dupatta paired with matching green passa jewellery, polki Chandbali earrings , Maang tika and a very heavy ornate hathphool.
Initially Roop has been shown running behind a kite in her hometown in Rajasthan. she was a young and free girl roaming from one place to another. So as you can see she has her hair open flying in the air beautifully and throughout the movie there was a subtle makeup and because Alia Bhatt’s character goes through different phases . Initially there is also this romantic phase where we see her in more lighter shades and pastels but then there is a more intense phase where she picks up deeper shades. This outfit for instance was intentionally created to look like a typical Rajasthani ghagra Choli with bright coloured borders, mirror work, swatches of famous Rajasthani embroidered bright pieces lined at different places to support the brownish ghagra choli paired with set of oxidised jewellery consisting of Maang tika and jhumkas famous in Rajasthan.
Image courtesy of Pinterest, Vogue.in and Bollywood Hungama
These images depict Alia Bhatt’s iconic wedding look where she can be seen wearing a breathtaking deep red bridal lehenga with gold colour intricate embroidery, a netted dupatta taken over her head with embroidery accentuating the border and to add to the look the jewellery consisting of the Antique gold choker necklace embellished with Pearls and Rubies, Mathapatti, Hathphool, Chandbalis, Nath and 5-lehera set with intricate Kundan and pearl carvings.
On normal days she would have a very simple look with a subtle makeup, Chandbalis, gold bangles and Bindi to complete the look. Her freedom was snatched and therefore there was a change from open hair to braided hair, jewellery choices for her character were also changed, she had to put a veil over her head except for sometimes when she would visit Heera mandi, the place that made her happy whenever she visited.
The first incident when Roop and Zafar encounter each other and talk,there was a sudden change in Alia Bhatt’s costume colours to a more deeper Red away from the pastels.In this film Red colour has been a dominant one and represents both hatred and love.Also there was the red concrete floor and zafar’s hands were also covered with a red cloth all supporting and celebrating the occasion of love.
And then there was the bull fighting scene where again Roop wore full deep red attire with a full sleeved salwaar and gharara and there were Maroon tents all over the place and to support the overall scenerio few people in the background were also made to wear red outfits.This all marks the symbol of love of Roop amd hate of zafar growing towards each other initially.
Image courtesy of Charmboard and Pinterest.com
This particular bottle green sharara is also one of the outfits that I loved and we got to see a different look of Alia Bhatt with the hair turned into a bun and jewellery including a gold choker set embellished with kundan and pearls and Chandbalis. The sharara is paired with usual fitted satin silk short kurti having one-fourth sleeves There is also this very Kashmiri and old world embroidery reminiscent of Persia that could also be observed in various outfits throughout the movie. In the movie overall the colour palette is very muted and understated except for few special occasions. The outfits have been made believable to what were used in those times. cotton, vegetable dyes, chikankari, mulmul and net has been used.
SONAKSHI SINHA AS SATYA CHAUDHARY
there is not much to her character as she was going to die because of cancer but allover she was shown in very lighter shades with minimal jewellery maybe a simple gold chain and some jhumkas or Chandbalis. She is always shown in a saree with a high collar blouse and bell sleeves sometimes with a lace at the corner of the sleeves and there is only one flamboyant red saree in the entire movie that we see her in because that’s the only occasion she attends.
Image courtesy of Charmboard and Vogue.in
when I talk about men there is not much detailing, just some differences have been created in terms of how royal and elegant Dev Chaudhary(Aditya Roy Kapoor) and Balraj Chaudhary (Sanjay Dutt) have to be made to look as compared to Varun Dhawan or Kunal Khemu in the movie and so their outfits are rich on threadwork and high collars and in office or on regular days Dev Chaudhary can be seen wearing a kurta pyjama with sometimes a Nehru jacket on top of the same or a contrasting colour, Gold kadha in right hand, well dressed hair and proper shaving done as oppose to Varun Dhawan’s long hair and no shaved beard. On the other hand Zafar (Varun Dhawan) would be shown as a typical Muslim character wearing a Pathani Kurta Pyjama, Kajal Under the eyes, Ears pierced and wearing a tabeez around his neck.
VARUN DHAWAN AS ZAFAR
Image courtesy of Charm board
The main focus point of Balraj Chaudhary(Sanjay Dutt’s) Outfits were the rich Persian embroidered shawls
In the last scene all the protesting Muslims were seen wearing Muslim caps and blue outfits. The main characters were mostly wearing white as a symbol of end of life for some and love for others. Also there were darker settings to portray intense fighting scenes properly.
All the things listed down here have been create with a lot of research don eon personal level by watching a 3 hour long movie and making self observations as well as referring to some vogue interviews of Manish Malhotra to know more about the facts.
hope you like it! let me know in the comments you favourite look from the movie
Sheath silhouette is a type of silhouette that fits close to the body throughout from top to bottom sometimes with a little nibbed in waist thus, accentuating the curves of the body.This type of Silhouette extends to the hem usually till the mid-thighs or mid-calf.It is known as sheath because it resembles the functioning of a cover of a knife or a sword that remains closely sticked to the knife or sword that is kept inside it.The popularity of the modern day sheath silhouette has been dedicated to the famous designer Paul Poiret who began creating form fitting dresses that gave freedom to open from the confining corsets and had slits for easy movement.
Also although there is nothing as what particular type of dress would suit your body because it all depends on how well you appreciate yourself and the grace with which you carry yourself wearing anything you like. But still this type of a very fitted dress goes well usually on a very curvy or an hourglass shaped body.
7. Straight column silhouette
Image courtesy of pinterest.com
Straight column silhouettes are those that usually appear like rectangular in shape and are in a straight outline.This type of a rectangular shape is formed because these silhouettes have almost the same size for the bust ,waist and hem as someone wears them which means that these dresses will not be too fitted to your body and will rather look boxy providing some breathing space to your body specially during hot summer weather.
8. Shift dresses
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
A shift dress silhouette is quite similar to the straight column silhouettes as they too have almost the same size for the bust,waist and hem however they are a little different, they drop down the shoulder and have a dart near the bust which are folds or tucks coming to a point and sewn into the fabric to take in ease and provide shape to a garment,also known as the dressmaker’s punctuation marks and their location usually varies.
The shift dresses started out in 1920s as a popular silhouette for the flappers-women in those times that went against the social norms since it provided the correct match for a dress that provided them with the freedom from the usual corsets and other confining garments that women used to wear and since the concept of flappers started out as part of a movement that wanted to show that women can do everything that men can do and they are free birds so this type of comfortable short dresses suited their purpose.
Fashion designer and stylist Coco Chanel was the first person to however design a comfortable and easy to wear shift silhouette as an alternative to the uncomfortable and torturous edwardian silhouette and later in the 1960s and 70s it became even more popular as a comfortable choice for women like Audrey Hepburn and continues to be worn even today by some of the most famous women like Michelle Obama.
9. Asymmetrical silhouette
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Asymmetrical silhouette dresses are simply those that come in varying styles and shapes but which have a diagonal hemline that is the bottom line of the garment and justifies the name asymmetrical because a diagonal hemline creates the illusion of an unbalanced dress that is not equal from both the sides.
10. Egg-shaped silhouette
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Egg shaped silhouette are those that as the name suggests resembles an oval shaped look like an egg and to achieve this dresses with these silhouettes generally come with a fitted top and bottom but a loose and bulging out middle part.This type of silhouette might not be a popular choice among people but we get to notice them on the ramp in fashion shows sometimes.
Silhouettes basically refer to the outer shape of a garment or in other words the outer line and look.Different types of Silhouettes can help in emphasizing and altering the natural body shape of a women in different ways. Always remember that a female silhouette is defined by the woman wearing the garment.One has to think about how they want the female body to be changed or altered by the clothing and silhouette created.for example- a high waist full skirt creates the illusion of a slimmer waist and larger hips.
In fashion design silhouettes play a major role and before coming down to the very details of the collection the designer has to make sure to decide first how he/she wants the silhouette to look like and all that not just depends on the body shape of the model who is wearing it but also on the theme and the storyline of the collection because each silhouette gives us a different sort of a look and feel.
Image courtesy of pinterest from fashion-flats.com
Types of female silhouettes
1. A-line silhouette
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A-line silhouettes mainly refers to the silhouettes that are found in skirts,coats and dresses and are narrow at the shoulder for dresses and coats with a fitted feminine curve near the waist and narrow at the waist for skirts and then flares out smoothly outwards towards the hem representing the capital letter A.
The term A-line was first coined by Christian Dior in 1955.During world War 2 in France women were forced to give up silk and other pricey materials and adopt simpler garments ,but as the war ended February 12,1947 saw Christian Dior restore a beautiful,harmonious idea of femininity to women who had been ravaged by the poor standards of living and he came up with the silhouette that changed the course of fashion history what came to be known as the ” New Look”.This new trend enjoyed popularity around the globe and gave a new freedom to the women post war in the 1940s and early 1950s. However,after some time he realised that a change was needed in the type of Silhouettes he was creating away from the nibbed-in waists and hour glass Silhouettes of the new look and so Christian Dior labeled his collections of 1954 and 1955 after the names of the letters H,Y and A because the shape of these letters would come across in our minds as we look at his collections.
2. Trapeze silhouette
Image courtesy of Buro. Singapore
Trapeze silhouette features dresses that have a fitted shoulder line and tops that are fitted near the bust and flares out right from there towards the hemline like an A-line silhouette but with a much wider hem giving a more boxy look. Trapeze dresses usually end above the knees.Trapeze tops can be either available in the form of a cut-sleeves tank top or have cape sleeves.Also 3/4 and long sleeves with either a flares like bell sleeves or a flared fabric that billows before fitting at the elbow looks great with a trapeze silhouette top.
Trapeze silhouette look quite similar to the above discussed A-line.The reason being that after the death of the Great fashion designer Christian Dior his label was handled by the designer Yves Saint laurent and in conjuction with Dior’s A-line collections inspired by the idea Yves saint Laurent introduced the trapeze line in the spring of 1958.
3.bell shaped or ball gown silhouette
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Bell shaped or ball gown silhouettes are those that are fitted at the bodice(till the waistline)and flare out to the hem like a big bell.These can come either in the form of a bell shaped dress or as a full length ball gown popularly worn by women in Christian culture on their special day.These ball gowns flare beautifully till the floor and this type of look in the gown usually comes when layers of a fine fabric or frills of crinoline fabric are placed under the gown. These are also often paired with a beautiful elongated cape of the same structure.
4. Trumpet silhouette
Image courtesy of Best for BrideImage courtesy of eDressit
Trumpet silhouette as seen in the images above comes in varied forms from dress to sleeves and is named so because it definitely resembles the shape of a trumpet and just like a trumpet this silhouette hugs the body and has a straight bodice down the waistline and the hips and starts flaring out near the mid-thighs resembling the flared out part of the trumpet from where the sound comes out. It is the most popular silhouette for sleek wedding gowns that remains clinged to the body and the flare also doesn’t widen much but remains restricted close to the legs of the woman wearing it.
5. Mermaid silhouette
Image courtesy of LiveAbout
Trumpet and mermaid silhouettes are almost similar to each other the only difference between them is the kind of fit they both have and the flare.Trumpet silhouettes usually starts flaring out near the mid-thighs whereas the mermaid silhouette dresses starts flaring out at or below the knees thereby giving the appearance of a mermaid tail at the bottom and justifies the name mermaid silhouette.
This is just the part 1 of types of Silhouettes there are many more types that exists so stick to the next few blogs to know more…
In layman’s language according to me fashion is a form of communication. It is like storytelling with a story full of fabulous colour combinations,patterns,silhouettes and most importantly self-expression.It is what you want people to see and get meaning out of it,what you want to tell through your clothes.Even people who say they don’t care what they wear choose clothes every morning that says a lot about them and how they feel that day. So it is nothing but a joy of wearing something that makes you feel beautiful or in control.
How important is fashion in our society?
Throughout the ages fashion has been an integral part of our society and culture.As the human world developed so did the practice of clothing and what people developed out of different materials to wear.Fashion has now become a new way of creating different perceptions in the minds of the audience thus bringing out various social issues into the limelight.Young designers consider it important to change the social mindsets of the people through their collections mainly the ones that are showcased on the ramp where adrogynous or gender-fluid collections can be one such example.
Infact not just young designers but if we look back into some of the key moments of famous designers such as Coco Chanel,she has played a major role in revolutionizing the way women would wear their garments.thus,helping them say goodbye to the days of corsets and other confining garments and offering them comfortable sailor shirts and wider-leg pants instead and all of these designs were nothing but a borrowing element of menswear.
Also 1920s saw another path breaking trend set by the trailblazer Coco Chanel -the little black dress.No one could have ever thought that black,a colour generally associated with mourning in different cultures could be soo chic for evening wear.
Image courtesy What To Wear Post
How has gender-neutrality in fashion changed the perspective of men and women?
It is only recently that gender-neutral fashion has come out to become a really popular trend these days. Unless otherwise nowadays the upcoming young men and women are much more aware about what they should wear and seek mainly comfort in style in whatever they wear.This is the reason why women these days don’t mind stealing styles from men’s wardrobe and vice-versa. This is how actually boyfriend jeans also became so popular because it was meant for women taking inspiration from menswear.
After observing that the society now wants to liberate themselves from the categorization of masculine and feminine in dresses,the designers also started taking it as an opportunity to create something different and experimental and that is when they came up with the idea of Adrogyny fashion.Often involving basic,boxy and conceptual pieces in a wider range of sizes to canvas a larger number of bodies,the gender neutral fashion movement signals easier dressing for all and more room for self-expression,where wearers are not bound by gender constraints.
KEYTAKEAWAYS
1) Develop your own unique way of styling your outfits.Adopt trends in a way that make you feel ‘you’ and comfortable.
2)You can pick up boxy and comfortable dress and use belts to give it a feminine look at the waist or leave it like that and even pair it with sneakers for a casual and trendy spring/summer outfit specially when staying at home in these pandemic days.
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