Past few weeks have been pretty action packed for me. I was away in India for about ten days sans my kids. It was a very emotional trip for me and I am glad that I managed to achieve what I set out for. Now back in London and gearing up for Diwali. Diwali calls for a festive Indian wardrobe and sometimes London doesn’t offer you many choices when it comes to shopping for your Indian wardrobe. I feel that what we have on offer here is very different from my personal taste and liking. But now that I have discovered Jyoti Chandhok label, I feel reassured that good Indian design can now be easily accessible in London. Jyoti’s studio in suburbs of North London is a storehouse of intricate hand embroidery and luxurious fabrics. She stocks ready to wear range and takes custom orders too. I was spoilt for choices when I visited her to choose my festive outfit for Diwali to feature on the blog.
I choose this maroon velvet lehenga with a wide gotta border. As Jyoti says it’s a ‘suchha border’, meaning pure gotta made from real gold threads as opposed to machine made gotta which uses metal threads as substitute. The velvet in the outfit gives it a very regal look and is apt for a winter festive event. I am wearing the lehenga with a beautiful gold embroidered blouse and matching maroon dupatta. Also wearing jewellery which I picked up from Khan Market during my trip to India.
For this blog shoot I have collaborated with a talented photographer mum
Joelene Davis. You can find her on Instagarm here
Joelene has done a brilliant job and has truly captured the essence of this outfit. Moving forward I will try and do more theme based shoots and capture fashion stories in beautiful surroundings.
Diwali is on 11th November and I wish you all a very prosperous Diwali. I know it is a working day but do try and take half day or sneak out early to enjoy this lovely festival with family and friends.
Lehenga : Jyoti Chandhok
Shoes , Jewellery – personal collection