Guns N' Roses need no introduction, it would be a travesty for us to even attempt one, because if you do not know who they are, you probably wouldn't enjoy this blog post :P .... quite frankly speaking, this is a fan post of a legend who hates to be photographed, has confessed to having an emotional development of a 2 year old, who freaks out often with the world around him ... but has one of the most memorable and distinctive voices in rock history ... which has transformed his gut wrenchingly powerful lyrics into ballads that connect with generations old and new ..... When we first heard that GN'R was coming to India on their maiden tour, we wondered what it would be like to see a GN'R without Slash, a GN'R fronted by an aging Axl, and a GN'R that most of us prefer to acknowledge from the pre Chinese Democracy days .... but then all those old memories of singing with Axl on our numerous milestones in life ...... to our lovesick "So if you want to love me, Then darlin' don't refrain" ... to "where do we go now, where do we go" .... to our lil bit wiser "Said woman take it slow, It'll work itself out fine, All we need is just a little patience" .... to our guilt tripping days of "Don't you cry tonight, I still love you baby" ... set us off on a quest to get the requisite permissions needed to cover the old Axl Rose with his new line up !!!

Axl Rose, Guns N Roses, Live in India December 2012, Delhistyleblog

It's close to miiiiidnight .... something evil's lurkin' in the daaark .. (hiccup) ... under the moooooonlight ... You see a sight that almost stops your hearrrrrt .... You try to screeeeeamm ..... But terror takes the sound before you make it ..... You start to freeeeezzze ...... As horror looks you right between the eyes, You're paralyyyzed ..... 'Cause this is thrillerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ...... Thriller night ... And no one's gonna save you From the beast about to strike ...... You know it's thrillerrrrrrrrrrrrr .... Thriller night .... You're fighting for your life Inside a .... Killer .... Thriller ....toniiiiiiiiiightttttt .... wohooo ... (hiccup) You hear the doooooor slam .... And realize there's nowhere left to ruuunn ... (hiccup) ... You feel the coooold hand ... And wonder if you'll ever see the suuunn .... You close your eyyyyes .... And hope that this is just ima-gi-nation ... Girrrrrl, but all the whiiiile .... You hear a creature creepin' up behiiiiindd .... You're outta time .... 'Cause this is thrillerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ..... Thriller night ... There ain't no second chance .... to fight the thing with the forty eyyyyes, girl .... Thrillerrrrrrrrrrrrr ... woohooo ..... Thriller night .... You're fighting for your life Inside a ...... killer ...... Thriller tonightttttt

As a wardrobe staple, the red jacket is probably one of the happiest mood lifters among classics .... it is versatile, glam, chic, funky, young , peppy and works with an astounding number of colour combinations !!! Almost all of us, have bought a red jacket or sweater sometime or the other and have worn it till the colour faded or handed it down to a younger cousin or sibling as a rite of passage :) ... Recently D hauled out her old little red jacket as the Delhi weather turned colder ... and S decided to take it along to test the winter afternoon light in a neighbourhood park .... S often does that to D when D least expects it !! ... meaning .... unkempt hair (who has the time to maintain super groomed hair at all times duh) ... zero makeup (there is something about a super expensive camera that demands a modicum of grooming and make up, it is sacrilege to face a Canon 5D Mark 3 with the same attitude as a self clicking camera phone :p) ... well to cut a long story short ... S convinced D ... D put on her favourite Chanel red lipstick ... spritzed on some Diorissimo ( S’s fav perfume) ... borrowed S’s Marc Jacobs sunnies to hide the dark circles and sacrificed herself as a guinea pig !!

Dita Von Teese, burlesque queen, fashion icon, glamorous media darling ... and the most authentic reincarnation of old Hollywood glamour in our times ..... with her red lips, jet black dyed hair, porcelain skin and hour glass figure (the tiniest celebrity waist possible!) ... was in India, as global brand ambassador of Cointreau, the liqueur brand. Holding aloft a martini glass of “Cointreau Sutra”, Cointreau’s cocktail tribute to India, she gushed over her maiden visit to India, seeing the Taj Mahal, and her absolute fascination for the Indian sari.

Coco Chanel once said .... “A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future.” .... “Perfume puts the finishing touch to elegance - a detail that subtly underscores the look, an invisible extra that completes a woman's personality. Without it there is something missing" said Gianni Versace .... You get our drift here :) ... both the fashion stalwarts quoted above reiterates the one item of every person’s wardrobe which is a absolute necessity ... unless you fancy yourself a cave dweller and stay miles away from polite society .... in which case you wouldn’t be reading this blog anyway :) .... In the evolution of civilization ... health, cleanliness and hygiene, religion, bathing rituals and perfumes are all interlinked through the ages ... In fact, the origin of the word 'perfume' comes from the Latin 'per fumum' meaning "through smoke" ... as the first rituals of worship consisted of burning fragrant plant matter as incense which conveyed prayers through smoke to the Gods !!

Fashion is a game for the fickle ... trends come and go from season to season ... but there are some that transcends the ephemeral merry go round of fashion media diktats ... like wearing red during the Christmas season .... the little black dress for all seasons ... the pretty paisleys from our Indian heritage that we wear year after year ... generation after generation ... or animal prints that never seem to go out of style !! There is a certain oomph about leopard prints in particular that makes it an eternal staple of a fashionistas closet . Vogue ... the ultimate fashion bible, has chronicled leopard print as a style statement , on its covers no less, ..... since 1939 !! Have a look at the covers we have rounded up from 1939 to 2011 !!

The name is Bond .... James Bond and he is licensed to thrill since he first appeared on the big screen in Dr. No (1962). What can you really say about a fictional character who is introduced to us on film through the view of a gun barrel !!! .... and a musical theme that is dramatic dangerous and full of suspense ! .... No matter your level of Cinephilia (passionate interest in cinema) ... there is hardly anyone living on this planet (who has access to electricity) .... who has never heard of James Bond, 007, licensed to kill super spy .... or cannot recognize the distinctive tune that announces a Bond moment ! This year is the 50th anniversary of the movie franchise, based on the fictional character created by British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953.

Enrique Iglesias. The name is enough as an introduction .... he is one celeb about whom you can safely say ... "the question is not who knows him, But who doesn't know him ?" .... this Grammy winning Latin heart throb pop phenomenon is one of the biggest pop, latin, EDM (electronic dance music ) artist ever ... known as much for his bedroom voice as his bedroom face and body (heheh women lust for him and their men loathe his effect on their women ;) ... his main inspirations in his spectacular career has been Woman, Friendship, Loneliness and Love .... now if thats not the ultimate cocktail of everything youthful and seductive haha ... every woman from Delhi to Rio wants the romance that is Enrique .... wants the sensitivity and sincerity of his voice and eyes ... wants that perfectly honed body that jumps, runs and dances with supermanic stamina on stage .... wants the fabulous lover in his music videos ... and deliriously wants that bedroom voice to serenade them in their ears !!

Enrique Iglesias on the cover of his latest single Finally Found You

Manish Malhotra SS 2013 Mijwan Sonnets in Fabric



Nida Mahmood SS 2013

For those of us who attended Nida Mahmood's Spring Summer 2013 collection "Sapna Cinema"  on day 5 of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week SS 13 ... we were plunged into 15 odd minutes of technicolor dreams dreamt in the mental landscape of Nida's vivid imagination....... First came the Masks, ...... a psychedelic mixture of masquerade masks from Venice ..... to Indian green Kathakali face masks, ........ Goddess Kali masks,  Nazar Battus ( a Nazar (eye) Battu is an icon, charm bracelet, tattoo, face mask or other object or pattern used in North India and Pakistan to ward-off the evil eye ) .... to the dragon masks of China and Bhutan .... it was stunning ... it was surreal .... it was very Alexander McQueen as in it was edgy, fetishtic and dramatic beyond a person's imagination !

Imagine a fashion show runway ... with LED screens showing the story of a garment from start to finish ..... and then Shammi Kapoor ( an Indian/Bollywood film idol from the 1960's) serenading on screen with the super hit Bollywood song " Baar Baar dekho, Hazaar baar dekho, ke dekhne ki cheez hai hamara dilruba " ( Glance again and again, glance a thousand times, because my sweetheart is worth looking at ) .... there is smoke on the runway ... and Tango dancers wearing sarees doing the Cha Cha to "baar baar dekho" come out of the smoke curtain ... the mood is set for the swinging sixties .... and needless to say ... everyone in the audience with a drop of Indian blood in their veins ... are instantly singing and cheering on the models sashaying down in free flowing and elegant silhouettes !! We were spellbound by the extravaganza .... the music and the clothes seamlessly came together in the most fitting finale to Wills India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 !

Life is a bit back to normal now that Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week SS 2013 has concluded. We are still in Fashion Week hangover, but have managed to finally tackle all the amazing amount of pics and info we have gathered. This week you will see us sharing all the lovely moments we were privileged to witness during fash week :)

On the last day (day 5 ) of WIFW, the biggest show was no doubt the Grand Finale show of the House of Ritu Kumar. The show was in two parts, LABEL - the pret collection and COUTURE.

The show was fabulous and lavish beyond imagination ... and the music excellently chosen ... non indian music for LABEL and bollywood music for COUTURE ..... words are really superfluous as you will see ... here is a compilation of the clothes and music ... this post is for her pret (ready to wear) line . The playlist on You Tube is here : ( http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi1bGONYdT_tFqNKEXhF3OJG33yqLvs2Y )

We have been writing about Wills India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 which is going on now at Pragati Maidan, Delhi. It has been quite a long journey in a very few days. Our personal lives are on hold, our eyes are saturated by the most creative images possible, watching all those Runway shows, non stop ... our feet hurts, body aches, we have a severe sleep deficit ... but i guess its the same with all the wonderful people who are part of this wonderful universe, temporarily created at Hall number 18. We bloggers are now a recognised part of the larger Media community, and at the end of the day, the point of connection is not Fashion, the shows and our professional lives, its basic human connections like .... "yaar kiske paas ciggy hai ?" ( friends, who has any ciggarettes left ? ) .... " gum hain kya kisi ke paas " ? ( who has chewing gum here ) .... " yaar koi mint hi dede" ( give me a mint atleast, if you don't have gum ) ... " dinner pass le liya " ? ( have you collected your dinner coupon ? ( given to the media by FDCI/ WLS ... coz hacks don't have time to go out of venue for dinner : )  ...... You may not remember the names of all in the Media Pit/ and rows ... but the faces have become so familiar !!! ... ( Familiar (adjective): Well known from long or close association :) 

Dimpy Kapur ( D) and Shima Ahmad ( S )

Hello people this is  Day 2 of Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 ... and its a fast post ... we are going to put up lots of exclusives later ... just enjoy the show from our eyes in a jiffy now :)


am:pm by Ankur & Priyanka Modi


The Mayan Maze : Known is a drop, the unknown is an Ocean. Deep in the rainforests of Mesoamerica, lies the perfect maze. Enchanted by the Mayans, he who entered the maze, and solved his way to the other end, would be the one to attain true and absolute enlightenment.  To him, all of life’s secrets would uncover, with him, the supreme source of energy would connect, to him, all unknown, will be known. This season, for Spring Summer 2013, the designers draw inspiration from this ancient civilization, imprinting an entire collection with hints of its myths and mystique. - Press Release

Chanel number 19 Gabrielle lipstick





"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous." ― Coco Chanel


Gabrielle "Coco" Bonheur Chanel, born August 19, 1883. This style icon needs no introduction, Chanel was to fashion, what Marilyn Monroe was to Hollywood ... each transcended their career, beyond fashion and acting, to a stratosphere so rarefied .... that for generations after them, there can be no other to compare. Both wore their hair short, Chanel was dark haired with a slim boyish figure and tanned skin, and Monroe the ultimate blonde bombshell with a hourglass figure and peaches and cream skin. And both wore red lipstick !! which is the subject of our blogpost.

Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes. 

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" - The Beatles



We are picturing ourselves with tangerine trees and marmalade skies alright peeps ... ORANGE is backkk !!! No no, we don't mean the fruit (this is not a food blog) ... we mean the colour orange in all its beautiful range, from just orange, tangerine, marmalade, pumpkin, saffron, salmon, coral, carrot, titian, ginger , halloween, flame, ochre, marigold to mandarin amber ... all shades of orange that showed up on the catwalks of Spring/Summer 2013 from New York to Paris !!

Most people (including us) do not really follow make up trends as dictated by any fashion event. We do what is most comfortable to us in our day to day lives. In India, kajal (black kohl) is the most common make up item if any, next to the Bindi (gotta digress here a little bit for our non-indian friends and readers, peeps! bindis are worn by both married and single women :) A stylish lady might wear mascara, eye liner and lipstick. But most other paraphernalia like blusher, foundation, concealer are only worn in air conditioned lives or special occassions. Thankfully, we in India happen to have lots of special occassions, we love celebrations of every kind, and we love to dress up :D

The make up trend for Spring and Summer 2013 is glowing fresh skin, nails are nude all the way (beige or flesh toned), freckles and beauty spots are on display, with pale neon or candy colours to create a pretty doll !! Antoni & Alison showed their smokey eyes in neon, Maria Grachvogel hints of blush and palest peach, PPQ candy lips, Moschino oasis green eyes, Erdem neon orange on inner lips!



This is the first time we are doing an accessories post. When we set out to cover London Fashion Week S/S 2013, we thought of this post as a single blog post. However when we collated our material, it was too much to put up in one post itself. Our friend Wikipedia says : " A fashion accessory is an item which is used to contribute, in a secondary manner, to the wearer's outfit. " God, we never realize how much we accessorize in our daily wear do we ? Sunglasses, hats, bangles, bracelets, jewellery, tie, bows, belts, watches and the list is endless. Take a look at a page from our LFW notebook, and you will understand why it is impossible to cover everything in one blog post :)

London Fashion Week is one of the Big Four (http://www.delhistyleblog.com/2012/09/fashion-week-decoded.html ) in the international fashion calender. It is as much known for its avant - garde cutting edge fashion presentations as its street style. Some of the most creatively dressed people hang around the central courtyard of Somerset House (home to London Fashion Week, ( http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/).

D was working as a volunteer/dresser for the Spring/Summer 2013 show held from 14th to 18th September 2012. In between work as a crew, she captured few shots at Somerset house, with her Iphone, S and C were thoroughly missed, as S had to leave London on work after the first day ( therefore excuse the poor quality of pics) ! However, we are looking forward to attending Autumn/Winter 2013 in February, but this time, as Delhi Style Blog :D. Half of the photo credits also goes to Sally Gray, Creative Designer (www.sallygraycreative.com/ ). Sally is from New Zealand, D's friend and batchmate from London College of Fashion ( this is a shout out to you Sally, hope you are enjoying Amsterdam :)

For some truly great professional shots, you might want to check this link (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151161162199851.471883.96845044850&type=1 )

So without much ado, here goes !! ( btw, all pics are the property of DSB, donot copy or download without permission please, you might ask us nicely for reuse though :)




Gotta start with a DSB official photo :p ... ( for the record, D doesnt like it, too bad :)

DSB went to London Fashion Week held from 14 to 18 September at Somerset House, London. Back home in Delhi, many of our friends and family saw the facebook updates and were curious to know what the show is all about. So DSB decided to explain Fashion Week in our own way. This post explains the Fashion Week calender around the world in layman's language, hope you find it relevant :)

Delhi has been experiencing great weather for the last few months thanks to the rainy season. In this part of the world we call it the Monsoons - the four month rainy season from June to September, which brings down the soaring temperatures of an Indian summer. For the positive thinking population (no we are not trying to be trite, but rain logged streets and other pedestrian miseries can be enjoyed by the negative peeps through the newspapers) , so to continue, for the happy peeps rainy days are a happy treat indeed !!

September 7th was Vogue's Fashion's Night Out (http://www.vogue.in/Fno ) at Emporio Mall, Delhi (http://web.dlfemporio.com/ ). We decided to attend and requested the company of two very good friends, for an evening of retail therapy, on the condition they allow us to style and shoot them for the blog. They happily agreed ( Disclaimer : we are not cheapskates, its just that professional models intimidate us, and D is camera shy, so !!) We had a super fun evening as you can see below !!

Hello People, this is our first Blog Post. It has taken forever for us to start this, but finally, after days of procrastination, with mental labour pains worser than anticipated, just like that, without much ado, here it is :)



The Story behind Us
( this is more for our happy memories than your curiosity level :P )




D was studying in London while on leave from work. By the time she came back , she decided she wanted to be a stylist and tried for an internship (without pay) with many experienced names in Delhi but no one gave a chance ! ("They" who shall not be named, thank you for refusing free labour, :D )
Then D thought about starting a blog ( best way to showcase your creativity without begging someone for a chance ). She asked her best friend Google and realised that you need a good writer ( duh! what is that? can we just write the way we talk ? ), a good researcher ( our BFF Google ), all those adjectives that scares a person from having fun ( disciplined, committed, devoted, persevering, patient, responsible yadda yadda ), and a great photographer ! Well D knew Google, talked a lot ( incessantly as some mean people say), hates adjectives (so defining!) and knows the most interesting photographer on her planet !!



                                                  this is S

S a shutterbug by choice and traveller by profession, soon discovered her love for photography before she could even afford a camera. Lucky to have walked the most famous streets around the world, S found her best companion in C (aka Canon 5D Mark 3). That marked the begining of a steaming love affair between S and C and since then there has been no looking back! Together they captured memories, moments, people and places. Life was good, it was just them and the beautiful world waiting to get captured by their eyes ........