IMPERFECTLY PERFECT...

I was at Suhani Pitte's store in Hyderabad last week and as I was trying on a choker, the sales lady interrupted me to say "Madam, this would look good on a long necked woman." I found myself thinking " yes, I know, but??? At my second stop, the clothing store "Elahe", I was about to decide on an Anamika Khanna saree when the sales person placed a 5 inch sandal in front of me. When I gave her a questioning look, she quickly informed me " Madam, the real look of this saree comes when you add that extra 5 inch". So I stood there and wondered about people like me who are just about 5 feet tall and have a short neck. Are we meant to be neglected? Is looking good only a tall person's prerogative?

And at times like this, my favorite lines from Christina Aguilera's song "Beautiful" come to mind.

I am beautiful no matter what they say, I am beautiful in every single way, oh no- you don't bring me down today.........

And as we celebrate WOMEN this month , I want to tell all my readers that it's okay to be imperfect, it's okay to have laugh lines, crow's feet and grey hair. What's important is to embrace these imperfections gracefully and be happy in one's skin. Height, weight and skin color are all trivial and what actually matters in the long run is a positive attitude, a good heart and self confidence!!

Every year, I religiously follow "Lakme Fashion Week" and last year, I absolutely loved the work of an emerging designer called Yogesh Chowdhary. He took the 80s famous arcade game PAC-MAN and the most common item in it called PAC -DOTS and turned them into a stylish clothing line called "SURENDRI", named after the his mother, meaning the beautiful one.

I waited for this quirky collection to come out and was quite thrilled when I bought my first Surendri saree. I loved the clash of patterns, the bursts of color and the craziness that I got to see in Surendri. With so many prints, colors and textures going on in one saree, it was so "imperfectly perfect" that it had to be featured on Sage&Slingback. When I was looking for a location to shoot this post, the first thing that came to my mind was my favorite store "Anthropologie". 

I knew that it would do complete justice to the mood and theme of this post. When I contacted the manager of the Anthropologie store at the Geneva Commons mall, they were more than willing to help out. 

So one winter morning, my dear friend Vandana and I headed to Anthropologie for this shoot and as you can see, she captured the mood so effortlessly, thus making it a fun post!

If you are an 80's kid you will surely be familiar with the Pac-man print (it looks like a pizza with a missing slice) which was also a big part of the pop culture then.

Yogesh Chowdhary at the Lakme Winter Fashion week 2012.

You will love Surendri if you have an adventurous taste in fashion and love to experiment.

Simple lines, clean finish and fit and vibrant, playful colors make "Surendri" a must have.

A "Knit sweater top" in place of a regular blouse adds an interesting twist to this saree.

The silhouettes in the collection range from separates like skirts, tee-shirts, trousers, jackets, trenches and blouses to swimsuits and saris. Knits & Chanderis are combined with techniques like block and digital printing.

The distressed look & the many print concept of Anthropologie blends so easily with the "SURENDRI" line.

This post was styled keeping the carefree & the quirky look of "SURENDRI" in mind. A classic "Balenciaga" handbag and a few enamel bangles were thrown in for that extra splash of color.

Fun Unlimited - with Vandana Rao.