I Wear: Accessorizing Colour Blocks

Colour blocking is a trend that appeals to me on account of its drama. The sheer audacity that lets one pair purple with yellow or green and orange really sings out to the unabashed colour lover. On the other hand, it conflicts with another of my style-tendencies, viz – accessorizing. All the colour blocking I’ve seen, involves letting just the fabric colours cause impact.

This year, I’ve toned down my style considerably in terms of make-up and accessories. Lipsticks exited my drawers last year and made way for mild, nude gloss. Eye make-up was refined to a barely-there black line on the inner lower lid, years ago (any more and I look like the Indian cousin of the Addams Family). But my love of jewellery is at the root of my struggle against ‘proper’ colour-blocking. Even now, a drawer full of sundry beads, knicknacks, brooches, pins, earrings, rings, chains, necklaces, pendants and miscellaneous jewellery parts long detached from their owners call to me. I’m a great one for refurbishing old stuff (no, that’s not miserliness, that’s the legendary Cancerian tenacity). So the last category lie in wait of a rebirth that I’ll give them some day.

Anyhoo, I find I’ve been gradually embracing the trend myself, or at very least, putting up my own version of it. For starters, it can’t be a colour block for me unless there’s at least one really strong, dramatic colour. Black, white, grey and beige don’t count. Neither do brown or olive (yuck, I’d rather die than wear either of these!). And I don’t go completely accessory-bare. But I do try and ensure that the accessories blend into/complement rather than stand out from the colours.

Pink is a colour that found entry into my wardrobe really late, so deadset was I on not being a typical ‘chick’. Even then, it edged its way in through magenta and fuchsia, then salmon and baby pink is still a questionable proposition. But it colour blocks wonderfully with the navy blue of denim (not the pale blue please, that loses on non-drama grounds).

Here are two times in the past week that I’ve colour-blocked pink and blue. They’re very similar, a fact that hit me only after I saw the pics, which is why I put them together in one post. But the garments are all different, the shades of pink vary and the accessories don’t repeat.

Goa chic

Here’s the first look – meeting a friend for evening coffee at a place very close to the beach (after which I planned to actually take a walk on the sand).

The skirt is an A-line wraparound in dark blue with abstract prints. Funnily enough, it has a very Goa feel to it but it was actually bought in Janpath, New Delhi. I’m calling this a colour block since the other colours do sort of get lost in the blue. The top is a salmon pink tee-shirt that I’ve never gotten around to painting.

Breaking the monotony of the stark top is a long string of chunky glass beads, worn in two loops. These were a lucky buy at Dilli Haat several years ago and have been on the top of my favorite accessories list ever since. Matching these, are two thin bead anklets, one with a tiny bell. I don’t even remember where I bought these, (they are that old) but I have a box full of them in different colours and types.

The bag is cloth red with beige straps and white threadwork on the main bag. The button, though you can’t see it very clearly is a gigantic wooden circle embossed with an elephant motif. Goa funk again, though (again) this piece isn’t from there.

I Wear:

• Salmon pink tee-shirt: Pantaloons
• Blue A-line wraparound skirt: Janpath, New Delhi
• Cloth bag: Thailand
• Glass bead necklace: Dilli Haat, New Delhi
• Bead anklets: Streetside markets, most likely Linking Road

Grunge girl

The second look shows clearer because I was standing in better light. I was accompanying E Vestigio on some errands and we stopped to look into FabIndia. The top is FabIndia, a magenta with black pinstriped cross blouse with Chinese buttons. I’m wearing it with the AND half-trousers, earlier featured in this post.

I went even simpler with the accessories on this look. But each of them is something I’m proud of!

First of all, there’s the big fairie-on-moon medallion chain. This is from Magick, the wiccan store run by my friend, Swati Prakash.

Witches can be a lot of fun!

Now look at the bag! I’m really proud of this. This is the cloth bag that the Lavasa press kit was handed to us in. After we got back, I figured it was a nice bag, light and simple and would be a great Ideart project. I just started to paint out the logo and slogan and ended up with this.

I Wear:

• Magenta pinstriped Chinese cross-top: FabIndia
• Navy blue denim half-trousers: AND
• Purple flat sandals: Lifestyle
• Fairie-on-moon medallion & chain: Magick, Bandra
• Bag: Press kit holder from Lavasa, painted by me