"How to shop, what to shop and where to shop"- Two bits by Raksha Singh!

Winters and the festive season are one of our favourite combos and so is dressing up for both! As the nippy air makes us long for cozy shawls and hot chocolate by bonfires, we are scouring our wardrobes in search for festive dresses that we can dare step out in the cold.

An image and brand consultant by profession, Raksha loves to conquer mountains and projects alike! She expresses her love for slow-mindful dressing through her grooming classes in style and fashion while also teaching the newbies the art that sustainable dressing is.

Sipping on our coffees virtually we stir up our conversation with thrilling tales from her Everest base camp trek and move to mindful shopping.

Q. How do you decide the what to shop and where to shop from? Are you brand loyal or you place product first?

A slow shopper by the rule, I turn my choices around my wardrobe needs first, and then around a brand. I do have a few favourite brands, Nomad being one of those. Once I decide on what to purchase as my wardrobe dictates, I look for that product in the brands I follow. Thanks to social media, it's easy to keep track of a brand's ethos and approaches.

I am very particular about what touches my skin, so fabric is the key, then comes detailing. Another very important thing to understand while shopping is how it is produced. As I am growing I am leaning towards supporting small businesses which have an open-kitchen philosophy. I like to know about them to be able to invest in their products. This gives me (as a customer) a sense of belonging even before I've made my purchase.

Cherry on the top is if the brand is open to customisations.

For I think every one loves a personal touch, and handmade is unique in that sense!

These are the things that often make me turn my purchase around the brand.

Q. What is your relationship with the clothes you wear?

Since childhood I have had a story to tell with each garment I had or wore. It could be an anecdote that went like, the last time I wore this I went to an amusement park or my Naani knit this sweater or a scarf that my cousin borrowed and never gave back. Clothes are related deeply with memories for me and are more of a sentiment.

My fashion choices evolve with my experience curve. I now look at fabric quality if I like a design and then the stitch and fall and evaluate it’s feasibility of being a long term wardrobe staple.

I like a bit of Yang in my clothing in terms of structure, fused effortlessly with the Yin element in fabric & colour.

Q. You picked very Christmassy green & red coloured looks, tell us more?

I picked these two Christmas candy colours because they are in themselves a statement! Thus making dressing up fuss-free & minimal.

The Savani mulberry silk saree is straight out of a dream. While draping it when I looked at myself I felt powerfully beautiful and I haven’t felt this strongly about clothing in a very long time. I think this saree can make any woman feel like a goddess. Handwoven silk being a rich fabric, styling it with a pashmina or an overcoat will make one instant winter festive ready!

It's forest green hue paired with trinkets and jewels makes it more enchanting for me in this season!

The Roshi red kurta pants fit me beautifully. The fine handwoven fabric in bold colours makes one ready for the season's festivities just with a pair of earrings or a minimal bauble. Naani'ki earrings added to my joy in this case.

The floral handmade buttons add such a freshness!! Minimal flowery design is a treat to the eyes.

This suit set is simply perfect.

Nomad knows how to make you fall in love with Indian clothing with the fine chanderis, shimmery tissue and opulent handwoven silks - all while delivering exceptional fit and quality.

“I think shopping is a journey, from thought to action, from interaction with the fabric to styling it in different ways for different occasions, it is a saga of looking at your best while creating memories! How can it not be important?
It is important but the need of the hour is that it also be slow, long-term and keeping in mind the climate footprint of any product's journey! We love looking beautiful and so does our planet!”

So readers we guess its time to let the 'Devil wears Prada' in us come alive but with a little thought into what we shop, how we shop anddd, where we shop!!!!