(Sorry I couldn't find images or links for all, hence had to use my words --- and lots of them!)
Stuff I'd like:
- I'd like one of those DVF wrap dresses too, please! Preferably black for me.
- I'd also like some nice sleek black boots that are rainproof one day. Aquetalia, if I ever meet one?
- Also a waterproof trench that looks dressy. Not sure about brands etc, because simply haven't met one in real life.
- A Kalakshetra sari has been a dream for a while. Based on a revivalist effort by one visionary lady, these silk sarees use a very traditional patterns and techniques, and are the designs are licensed and archived: http://www.kalakshetra.in/craft_handloom.html Each one takes at least two weavers several weeks to weave on handlooms.
- A Citizen Eco-Drive watch. I already have a Rolex, but it's an excessive and unsafe amount of bling for wearing around town on public transport, especially as gold isn't precisely my metal. A sportier classic would get more wear, I think
- I've also wanted an Orla Kiely *anything* for a while, ideally an accessory (bag, tech case, planner) rather than a garment. Love her designs.
- And does a VW Beetle or a Mini Cooper count as a fashion accessory? Because I want one purely based on the aesthetics alone!
- One of the indigo-dyed tunics that East does so very well, or one of their Indian-print coats or jackets.
-Thewa jewellery. Gold-plated silver filigree sunk into glass tablets! http://www.cohands.in/handmade.....ng=English
- Chanderi sari. A soft whisper of a fabric, warp and weft in silk and cotton, so it is breathable yet has a sheen, perfect for summer eveningwear, with golden thread used to weave in stylised botanical motifs.
What I've managed to check off the bucket list:
- Baluchari 'story sari'. These silk sarees are handwoven with intricate motifs, often involving animals and people (botanical motifs are generally more common in Indian textiles), and very often depicting an episode from mythology, the ancient Hindu epics, or local folktales. They need to use silk obtained from different kinds of silkworms (or at least, on different diets) for the warp and weft, grown in different regions of India entirely. One of these was my wedding saree --- turquoise blue on silver-grey, with fairytale motifs of princes riding winged horses, princesses getting their hair and make-up done, and the secret assignation (aka, wedding-by-mutual-consent). Love it to bits.
- Madder-dyed Koraput sari or scarf. These are handwoven using a traditional tribal technique by a small community, where each piece of fabric must be woven using a trinity of shuttles and the colour palette --- ranging from soft beige and cream to vibrant reds, dusky pinks and deep browns --- is obtained from a single vegetable dye: madder. Adding local fruits, wood ash, cow dung or iron ore to the dye results in a series of chemical reactions that changes the colour of the pigment (for the academic interest and some photos: http://www.aiacaonline.org/pdf.....tation.pdf). My scarf has little ecru fish and an ecru border set against a dark chocolate brown. The fish locally represent luck and prosperity.http://www.cohands.in/handmade.....ng=English
Kota sari. These cotton sarees are woven as a fine sheer mesh, which is ever so breezy and comfy in summer. The one I have ticks off a second and third obsession: leheriya (wave pattern) tie-dye and raw indigo. http://www.sarishop.com/mm5/me....._Code=kota
- Chikan-embroidered anything, but especially tops --- I usually have at least one in the dresser or cupboard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikan_(embroidery) This traditional form of Persian-inspired embroidery from the Mughal era is typically white on white, with botanical motifs (paisleys, creepers, trees in bloom, symmetrical evergreens); sometimes pale pastel fabrics are used, but again white thread is the norm. https://www.google.co.in/searc.....38;bih=685
- Kantha-embroidered anything --- Another dying art only recently revived, this technique of running-stitch embroidery was originally used to make thin quilts and especially baby blankets from soft worn sarees that would be kind to a baby's skin. Since these were worn fabrics, any threadbare patches were reinforced with quilting, and faded dyes or stains covered up by rural motifs of animals, birds, boats, kitchen utensils, huts and the like. Now they technique has been revived for use in garments. Mine is a large silk scarf embroidered with with several species of birds. https://www.google.co.in/searc.....38;bih=685
- Bomkai sari -- another region-specific textile, once worn only by the local aristocracy, this is a low threadcount, soft, absorbent, handloomed cotton sari, often in shades of black/grey and red/orange/pink, with a very large patterned endpiece. I have two, my favourite being grey with a flaming orange border and endpiece, which has an array of 'little girl' dolls woven into it.
- Minakari/kundan jewellery. This type of very heavily ornamented enamel jewellery often uses unfaceted gems and/or textured enamelled patterns on the surface you see as well as intricate motifs in flat multicoloured enamel on the wrong/reverse side that lie against the skin where you can't see them! I have only a couple of very simple pairs of earrings, and a pendant; no gems involved, so it's only half checked off! :-p http://www.cohands.in/handmade.....ng=English
- Bandhej scarf or sari. Very intricate motifs created by tiny tie-dye knots. I have a one very basic scarf and a 'moderate difficulty' saree. The really great pieces, like these: http://www.cohands.in/handmade.....ng=English, are expensive!
- Mud-resist prints. http://www.cohands.in/handmade.....ng=English I typically have at least one garment at all times.
- Dhakai jamdani. A muslin-like handwoven sari with stylized motifs made of floating threads that look like coloured shadows on the sheer fabric. Blue is the most prized colour, supposed to resemble the depth and clarity of wine in an etched-glass goblet. Mine's very modern in that it is a scarf and not a saree, which is not a traditional format for this textile craft.
PS: My parents got me these tiny Mikimoto pearl earrings that I wore every day as a young girl, until they quite literally fell off their stalks! (My skin oils and acids were wearing the pearls down --- they did go from round to pointy after a point!) Dad, er, fixed it with rubber cement. Then I managed to LOSE one. Heartbroken! Convinced I washed them down the shower or something, since I often did forget to remove them --- I really did wear them all the time. Dad got me a replacement pair on a trip overseas six years later. Then, rearranging furniture some 8 years after I lost that first one... we move an old cabinet and this little thing falls out --- my lost pearl! Mum's called them my lucky pearls ever since. I don't wear them daily any more, but still love them for when I just can't decide what to wear and I need to look nice. And I'm VERY careful with the pink Mikimoto pendant they got me as a Sweet 16 gift.
