Fashion Flashback at the Lakme Fashion Week

This fashion week, I almost went via a different direction when picking a theme for my outfits, but the sudden surge of videos all over social media especially those from Cut Video and Mode video, that I religiously follow, with their 100 years of fashion/beauty (be it Indian or Italian) suddenly inspired me to do my own little fashion throwback to some of the glorious decades we've had, in fashion.
Since a major part of what I wear is influenced by the tunes I'm listening to, and the kind of mood it sets me into, I associated each outfit with a particular song from that decade and had that in mind when I created my entire outfit. While I did want to be as accurate as I could, I also didn't want to seem like I stepped out of a time capsule, and went for a more modern take on each look.

So each day, I tried to capture my looks, so that I could share them all here eventually. While it seemed like it went well for the first 2-3 decades, since we always made time to take a few pictures here and there, the weekend was so jam-packed that I had to shoot my last decade in the worst lighting, hence the haziness. But nevertheless, the outfit still shows well enough. To get into the mood and if you wish to listen to my selected songs for each decade, click on the caption for each decade and you'll be directed to a video (and I totally recommend this!). Enjoy and do let me know what's your favourite decade to impersonate and live out!

BUTTONS AND BOWS {FORTIES}

The concept: Depending on location and wealth, women belonged to the glamourous end or working class, with the former wearing jewels and animal skins and fur pieces while the latter wore minimal and more matronly and comfortable clothing.

Key fashion pieces & moments: Midi skirts, gloves, corsages, flat shoes, introduction of pants for women, boxy jackets and chemise dresses with cinched in waists

Noteworthy designers: Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior and Anne Klein | Fashion icons: Katherine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis and Lucille Ball

Kicking off the first day with the 40's in a very typical outfit, post world war; a blouse with a mid length skirt. When putting this one together, I was very adamant about finding a pussy bow blouse which I luckily managed to almost a week before fashion week began. As luck would have had it, I found the skirt in the same department store, and coincidentally, the whole look was so damn perfect with my Dinah Shore song, since it had both, very visible buttons on my skirt and a bow on my blouse. I call that a very big win!

The forties did have shorter hair, as most women put their's up a lot. I used silver foil to curl up my hair and left it overnight, to get these heatless curls when I opened them in the morning. I added a small hint of a side puff and swept all of my hair to one side, and had it pinned back. With a handy satchel-like bag and my brogues, I was good to go and channeled my almost vintage self. 

Blouse: Van Heusen | Skirt: 109°F | Bag: c/o Persunmall | Shoes: thrifted from Hill Road

THAT'S AMORE {FIFTIES}

Channeling the 50's: This era was a suburban housewife's dream. In a conservative society where women were treated as commodities and the focus was on sex appeal, the look was flirty and feminine in real life as well as all print ads. Pin-up girls suddenly a popular culture, post the war time.

Key fashion pieces & moments: Cinched-in waists, poodle skirts, fitted bustier-like bodices, pencil skirts, subtle prints, trousers with side zippers and dark lips

Noteworthy designers: Pierre Cardin, Hubert de Givenchy and Cristobel Balenciaga | Fashion icons: Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot.

I was very excited and could not wait for my fifties outfit. A website sent over a dress, that I picked specially for this decade, but alas, the size seemed a little too small and there's was no way I could have worn it. So I had to dig into my wardrobe and conjure up this outfit. So say hello to my self-designed dress that's over 4-5 years old already with some lovely fabric I found at Satya Paul then. While it was a full circular dress, it didn't exactly have the volume I wanted it to have. So I wore another skirt as an underskirt that had a buckram lining that made the dress have some life when I walked.

When it came to my hair, I went for the small puff on the opposite side as compared to the forties, and made my curls a lot more loose as compared to the previous tight ones. With the most minimal jewelry, just a tiny watch, I wore my pumps and carried a structured bag that matched the dress pretty well. Everything about this look felt very "amore" to me as I tried to go a little on the pin-up side, while channeling a bit of Dita Von Teese as well.

Dress: Tailored | Pumps: Zara | Bag: c/o StalkBuyLove | Watch : borrowed from my grandmother

SUGAR SUGAR {SIXTIES}

The concept: Minimal and chic. After the revolution, women adopted mini skirts and flaunting skin was suddenly in vogue. Psychedelic prints and boots (popularised by Nancy Sinatra) were a uniform and the hair was big and voluminous.  

Key fashion pieces & moments: Mini skirts, shift dresses, tapered capri pants, exaggerated eye make-up and straight hair with bangs.

Noteworthy designers: Emilio Pucci, Mary Quant and Yves Saint Laurent | Fashion icons: Jane Birkin, Twiggy, Nancy Sinatra and Jacqueline Kennedy

In most of my daily life, I do feel very sixties already. I'm a major fan of shift dresses as they are so easy to wear and also are very flattering, especially when I feel like I'm on one of my "fat days". So instead of picking one of the many shifts from my wardrobe already (and I really have too many of them) I decided to get a new one and keeping The Archies in mind, I searched for a very sweet "sugary" piece and found this pastel printed one. While the length seemed a little longer than the usual sixties pieces, instead of altering it, I rather liked the length and let it stay the same.

For my hair, I knew exactly what I wanted, but I didn't possess the same kind of skill set to make it happen. The puff that I tried, was un-puffed the minute I reached the hotel. So that was a waste. But, to my rescue, the My Glamm team re-did my hair and give me a wonderful puff that stayed on till the time I got home at 11 pm, as well as some glam gold glitter nails. With a white bag and sneakers (I actually had some cute heels for this outfit, but my feet still felt deformed from the pumps from the fifties, so I had to give it a rest) and a dash of fuchsia lipstick and winged liner, I was sixties-ready. I also have to say, this was one of the most comfiest outfits so far, since there were no heels or no poky buckram linings to inflict any kind of pain on me.

Shift: Jabong (Miss Bennett) | Shoes and bracelets : Dubai | Bag: c/o StalkBuyLove | Neckpiece: Hill Road | Sunnies : Barcelona

DANCING QUEEN {SEVENTIES}

The concept: Carefree- hippy and bohemian vibes mixed with long and lean silhouettes. Dance routines influenced clothes as the disco era dawned. Androgyny was such a common occurrence, that women started wearing suits and men wore platform shoes.

Key fashion pieces & moments: Jumpsuits, wrap-dresses, floppy hats, maxi dresses, bell bottoms and platform shoes.  

Noteworthy designers: Diane Von Furstenberg, Missoni and Halston | Fashion icons: Farah Fawcett, Cher, Faye Dunaway and Stevie Nicks

I was a fan of this outfit before I even put it together, since I was already in a seventies state of mind for the past month, thanks to the musical impressions of Tame Impala, and I was really feeling all things with fringe and long maxi lengths. During the course of the day, I was asked by several people/friends who inquired "who I was wearing" to which I proudly listed out my thrifty, commercial non-designer pieces. I was completely transfixed by a maxi dress from Mango, and while it seemed like a bit of a splurge for a regular day dress, I managed to lay my hands on this maxi that cost a mere fraction and went well with a recently bought fringe kimono from another commercial brand.
Probably the only expensive things on me, were my platforms (Guess) and my bag (Steve Madden) but then again, the shoes were from a major sale in Dubai and were a complete steal, as for the bag, that was the results of a gift voucher. Once again, I kept it minimal in terms of jewelry and added just one neck piece. With loose S-curls, which seemed like a modern version of the Farah Fawcett swept off look I had in mind and very minimal make-up, (all courtesy of Tigi) I was ready to be a seventies girl.

 Maxi dress: Jabong (Magnetic Designs) | Fringe kimono: Max Fashion | Platforms: Guess | Fringe bag: c/o Steve Madden | neckpiece: c/o AddOns | Sunnies: Aldo

I LOVE ROCK 'N' ROLL {EIGHTIES}

The concept: Influenced by pop culture, colour and bright accessories thrived and were in an abundance. The silhouettes got bigger and more absurd and pushed all boundaries.

Key fashion pieces & moments: Parachute pants, turtle neck sweaters, contrast coloured work-wear, neon accessories and acid wash.

Noteworthy designers: John Paul Gaultier, Giorgio Armani and Vivienne Westwood  | Fashion icons: Madonna, Grace Jones, Jane Fonda and Blondie

Last but not the least, is the eighties where fashion seemed to have gone on steroids for most parts of it. I almost skipped this decade and decided to do only four, because I was stumped, really. I didn't want to go all cliched and wear a tutu skirt with a tee, neither did I want to go all sequins and glam. So this time I really went for some musical influence and stumbled across one of my favourite tracks of all time (you'll always catch me singing karoake to this one). So instead of going the Joan Jett way with leather, I decided to do a double denim one instead, with two acid wash pieces which contributed well to the eighties. 

Picking up on the trendy sneakers from that time as well as the neon influence, I accessorized. Since this was the last day of fashion week, I absolutely had no patience to do anything special to my hair and I just let it hang the way it wanted to, still injected with the products from the seventies hair-do. Luckily, it behaved very very well, and I complimented several times on my hair alone. 

 Denim jacket: New Yorker | Denims and bracelet: Forever 21 | Tee: Bangkok | Neon bag: Pieces | Sneakers: Puma

Need inspiration to deck yourself out in any of these decades, get inspired from my Pinterest board of the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and the 80's

40'S and 50's photographed by Amena of Fashionopolis | 70's and 80's photographed by Leo of Stylefile.

Links à la Mode, September 24

• Affordorable: My Glasses Endeavour & Idea of Beauty
• Al-Balsam Life: Al-Balsam Life’s New York Fashion Week Picks {in pictures}
• Between The Racks: 10 Tips to Scoring Big on Poshmark
• Bookish & Belle: Minimalist Style Icons Part 01 | Bloggers
• Chaos Theory Fashion: Diana Couture | New York Fashion Week
• Color Me Sassy: 2 Years of Blog! My Journey as a Blogger
• Eliser of Life: Quick Guide to Autumn/Winter 2015 Trends
• Fashion Moriarty: Review | McQueen the Play
• GirlsTalkToBoys: Outfit Round-Up
• Happy. Pretty. Sweet.: Inspired by The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• Head2Heels: Fashion Flashback at the Lakme Fashion Week
• Hey Just Jei: Ethical vs. Sustainable Fashion | All the Definitions You Need to Know
• I’m a Norbyah: Bette and Minnie | A Tale of Two Coats
• Les Assorties: The Many Guises of a Young Fashion Stylist
• Purushu Arie: What if Kanye’s VMA 2015 Speech was About Yeezy Collection at NYFW
• Rain of Peonies: NYFW Highlights
• Reasons to Dress: The Gift of Confidence | Meet DressMavens.com
• Supple Chic: A FoolProof Outfit Formula that Works EveryTime | Fall Fashion
• Tales of Two: 90’s Baby… The Flared Denims are Back!
• We Are Ready Made: Feminist Manifesto

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