MarketPlace: Handwork of India

The other day I was contacted by a company called MarketPlace: Handwork of India with the offer to review one of their products.  I had never heard of this company so I did a little research and they’re pretty amazing.  They are a nonprofit Alternative Trade and Development Organization that works with 480 women artisans around Mumbai, India, to produce clothing and home décor items showcasing authentic techniques such as hand batik, ikat and hand embroidery.

The women work in supportive, non-exploitative work environments in the form of 14 cooperatives around Mumbai, which the women organize and manage.  And, addition to the much needed employment, MarketPlace works in conjunction with another nonprofit organization in Mumbai, SHARE, to provide social programs to the artisans.  And the women in turn use their own social program, Social Action, to get involved in their communities, tackling everything from garbage collection to domestic abuse.  

So, yeah, pretty amazing.

And so are the items they produce.  Like the Majuli Tunic:

Here is a close-up of the hand printed pattern and the hand embroidery at the yoke:

I don’t wear a lot of purple, but I love the dusty plum of the tunic.  And I love that the embroidery inspired me to pair the tunic with a mustard scarf:

Really, what's not to love about a company that empowers women and inspires the wearing of mustard?!  That's right, nothing.

To share in the love and learn more about MarketPlace: Handwork of India, please visit them here.

And have a Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Black on Black on Black

The lovely Fashionista Next Door has challenged us to wear all black as part of Style Me Friday.  And y'all?  This was crazy hard for me.

That's right, I had trouble putting together leggings and a tunic.

The thing is, I don't wear black from head-to-toe.  I pretty much have to have a pop of color; scarf, earrings, something.  Or something shiny.  I had to force myself to back away from my Foxxy Anubis brooch this morning.

However, I (sometimes) like a good challenge so I bit the bullet and resisted the urge to add color or shine, depending instead on different textures to (hopefully) add interest to my monochromatic look.

I, apparently, also wanted to show how it was possible to wear head-to-toe black and not look sleek and cool.

But, enough about my enduring fluffiness.  Let's get back to the texture:

Yes, my sweater is texturally interesting.  And yes, I do have to make that face when providing a close-up of this tunic. Rules is rules, folks.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

My Thighs Hate It

… but the rest of me loves it.  “It” being my new-to-me vintage tunic:

 

I do love it, but my thighs seriously hate it.  In fact, I can’t even button it all the way to the bottom without them threatening to Hulk out.  But, that’s okay, I just wore it over leggings with the bottom two buttons undone and my thighs stopped yelling about being suffocated in polyester.  They are so dramatic.

In addition to the tunic (vintage, gifted) and leggings (Target), I also wore boots (Enzo Angolini “Saylem” via Nordstrom) and another lady-tie (silk Brooks Brothers via St. Vincent Depaul).  Because it’s International Lady-Tie Week.  Okay, it’s not, but it should be.  Perhaps the next time my thighs are at the UN attempting to get recognized as an independent republic, I’ll float the idea past the General Assembly.  I can't imagine any country not supporting that proposal.

Enough about the lady-tie though, let’s get back to the tunic.  The fact of the matter is; I wasn’t going to allow my pouty, secessionist thighs to ruin this tunic for me.  I love this thing.  I love the crazy print:

And I love how it came to end up in my closet.   

This tunic was originally purchased by my fabulous friend, Jeanne, when we were shopping together at Vintage by the Pound.  I didn’t fight her for it because she was a guest in my city, but I did cast a lot of covetous looks in her direction.  And then, the other day, she mailed it to me out of the blue!  Needless to say, I was thrilled and Jeanne is awesome.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!  And Happy International Lady-Tie Week!

Gracey

The World’s Tallest Third Grader

Today I am dressed like the world’s tallest third grader:

I didn’t do it on purpose (I like to think I’d never infantilize myself on purpose).  It’s just that the shirt (vintage via Goodwill) and pants (Target) happened to be next to each other on my laundry chair (the chair that holds the overflow of clean laundry from my laundry basket) so I threw them on this morning. 

But I like it.  Yes, I would have worn this as a third grader but I’m not embarrassed to be wearing it now.  It’s bright and happy and cozy and involves my favorite pants, ankle-strap flats (Hive & Honey via Piperlime) and a neon necklace (Target).  

 

I tell you what, Friends; third graders might be on to something.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Exact Target cords

Similar plaid shirt (plus, standard)

Ankle strap flats

Neon yellow necklace

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Day 3: Birthday Cake and Hobbit Thoughts

Day 3 of my Birthday Extravaganza-Fest was definitely more low-key than Days 1 and 2.  There were no sequins, no feathers, no champagne and only a minimum of fire.  But, there was cake (yay, cake!) and there were thoughts on hobbits (yay, hobbits!).

The low-key nature of Day 3 meant, of course, a low-key outfit:

Especially since I had to go to work – yes, they made me work during my Birthday Extravangaza-Palooza; can you believe that?!  I wore jeggings (Bandolino), a striped tunic (Old Navy) layered under a caramel sweater (Goodwill) and riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom).  I also wore my new glasses, from Firmoo, but I'll post more on that later.

After work, I had dinner with my family and I had cake.  This was my cake:

The candles are a joke; I'm not 33.

It was a homemade chocolate Bundt cake drizzled with white and milk chocolate and it was delicious.

And, after cake, my brother-in-law and my nephew took me to see The Hobbit.  Here are my thoughts:

1. Aw, the Shire.  I still totally want to live there.
2. Wow, someone spent a LOT of time styling those dwarves’ head suits.
3. That lead dwarf is sort of sexy, you know, for a dwarf. 
4.  Orcs are gross. 
5.  Was Saruman reallyalways such an ass? 
6.  What’s with all the slapstick comedy? 
7.  Yes, but whywere the stone giants fighting? 
8.  The Gollum scenes were pretty great. 
9.  Orcs are gross. 
10.  Not bad, Peter Jackson, not bad.

What about you Reader Friends?  Have you seen The Hobbit yet?  Any thoughts?  None?  Well, then how about any thoughts/comments on cake?

Happy Friday, Everyone! 

Gracey

Green With Envy?

Nope.  I’m just green with poor photography skills.  Unfortunately, I had to take these photos inside and I had to take them myself (the horror!), so the end result is green Gracey in a cute outfit:

Now let’s talk about the cute outfit, shall we?  It looks like pants and a tunic, but it's actually a dress over pants.  See?

The dress is obviously too long to be worn over pants, but I didn’t want to wear it alone as the holiday party I was attending was in a bowling alley.  A nice bowling alley, but still, a bowling alley.  So, I belted the dress with a skinny belt and then pulled it up to hang over the belt, creating a sort of blouson effect.  Et voila, my dress is now a tunic:

In addition to the dress-as-tunic (vintage via Goodwill) and cropped pants (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom), I also wore leopard pumps (Merona “Maye” via Target): 

Merona "Maye" pumps - Image via target.com

I finished off the look with a vintage gold clutch (Goodwill), a couple of vintage bangles (Red Fox Vintage) and my black mini-bubble necklace: 

And there you have it, what I wore for my holiday party.  What about about you Reader Friends?  Are you attending any holiday parties this year?  If so, what are you wearing?!

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Gracey