Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Guest Post: An Indian Childhood

Remember my guest post at Tot-a-Style? Well, it's Totstylist Sangita, the blogger behind the lovely unique blog, who is writing today's post for SHP.

I met Sangita a few months ago when she was visiting NY for a trade show and it has been a slew of emails exchanged ever since :) Liking her as much as I do, very happy to have her over at SHP today!

Over to Sangita.....
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This guest post for SHP has been long overdue and thanks to the always accommodating Divya, I took my time to get this out and over here. It's a little feature on a few kidswear brands that have been inspired by the rich and glorious wealth of the Indian subcontinent. I hope you enjoy reading this little post, which is probably a little different than what you would see here on SHP, but it's art and design nevertheless!

Featuring a line of special occasion dresses for little girls between the ages of 2 and 6, Minor Edition or ME is the baby of designer Ipshita Chatterjee. The line showcases a combination of color, imagination and creativity in one package.


I love the fact that Ipshita's dresses have a lovely old world feel about them, almost like they are customized for you! I literally grew up in couture luxury, my mom sewed almost my childhood clothes and I know I didn't appreciate it then but I sure do now!!

Masala baby, Dipali Patwa's venture is a sheer joy and delight to anyone who appreciates color and vibrance. They offer a range from 6 months to 6 years of bold, fun and carefree line of clothes that includes dresses, skirts, tunics, hoodies, pants, tees, bodysuits and shirts. There is a distinct Indian flair with true international design sensibilities.


You can most definitely feel the Indian vibe through their colorful site filled with fuschia, turmeric, peacock feathers...takes me to the India of my dreams every time I visit the site.


Cupcakes and Pastries
staying true to their name are dresses that can be worn to afternoon mother-daughter tea parties where tea, cookies, candies and cupcakes & pastries are served! The perfect little attire for an afternoon make -believe party!


Inshi Khanna, the creative visionary behind the label draws her inspiration from her travels, from nature, from architecture and gives us this magical collection. Like most moms she started out designing with her daughter in mind, now you know something crafted with so much love can only be perfect!

Bouton kids by Rekha Iyer Marchand is a very contemporary and crisp brand. Each piece is hand finished using only natural fabrics in cotton, silk or wool. The collection is only limited-edition and includes reversible, quilted jackets lined with flannel, beautiful dresses, tops, tunics, trousers, shirts and nightwear, that are versatile enough to be worn all year round..


I love the earthiness of this collection and the very laid back silhouettes. One can easily tell that Rekha has put in a lot of thought into the comfort factor for her collection, something that works well with both kids and their parents.

Chakra for kids started by Bindu Kasinadhuni and Sara Hignite is based on the traditional Indian concept of Chakra, "the circle of life - always revolving, always in flux - emanating joy and hope."


Chakra offers an eco friendly clothing line for kids with modern silhouettes and color palettes. They infuse the traditional process of block printing with contemporary styling to create a one of a kind collection. Be on the lookout for this gorgeous line soon to be seen on a very popular flash sale site!!

SAMA Baby
, founded in 2006 by Shivani Gupta, Anita Gupta, and Neha Gupta, is an eco-friendly and organically sustainable company for like-minded consumers. SAMA which means balance, calmness and serenity in Sanskrit encompasses what SAMA baby is all about. They create fun, fashionable and luxurious products which include clothes and blankets for babies and kids.


Ode, is the newest addition to this bandwagon of Indian inspired kids wear brands. Started by two sisters Roopa and Amisha, the collection pays homage to their little hometown in India, Ode.


This collection uses color like it is going out of fashion capturing and bottling this essence of India in their magical and fun collection that is sure to bring a smile on the faces of kids and parents alike.

On a parting note I must add how exciting it is to see more and more entrepreneurs of Indian origin adding their two cents to the big wide world of fashion and style, There is vast amount of Indian textile wealth that is slowing getting its due diligence in the fashion foray.

***All photos courtesy of respective brands featured here*** 
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Ok folks- I'm off to San Fransisco for some much needed R&R, much needed time spent with my favorite cousins and of course to meet Sangita again :)

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Lovely post...wow..the entrepeuners are doing such a great job...makes my fingers itch to start sewing again..

Emreen said...

Gorgeous finds... Love all the pieces of 'Cupcakes and pastries' , 'Masala Baby' ...!!

Emreen said...

Divya,Happy journey and Have a great time with family and friends ... !!

nishaslifestyle.blogspot.com said...

very pretty...thx a lot to be shared here...got my models 4r my lil baby...u ve got such a nice creative blog...

GB said...

I want some of those clothes for myself! :)Great post, Sangita!



Divs, enjoy your (well-deserved!) vacay....

Rashmie @ MommyLabs said...

What a lovely post, Sangita! All these designers/entrepreneurs have created their own style and identity that is so singularly striking! Love them all. Especially loved the reversible quilted jackets by Bouton kids!

India has such a varied and versatile tradition in textile. It's only fair that Indian textile and fashion designers create their mark in the global fashion map.

Rachana Saurabh said...

Great Post Divya..
Be safe & Take care

Anonymous said...

OMG (thankfully my younger teenager does not read my messages) these are the cutest ever dresses. Reminds me of what I wore when I was that age!!!! Cannot wait to be ajji. All this parenthood is over blown. Make me a grandmother, I demand!!!!!!!!

My3

A Sunny Yellow Window said...

These are very different from the usual mothercares and mom-n-me stores! NICE, 'tis a much-awaited refreshing change..
Liked all, especially Masala Baby and Bouton Kids.

Shanthi said...

Lovely post Sangita and have a good break Divya.

UDD said...

hey Sangita, so i can see your research is on!!! how nice!!! i love cup cakes and pastries!!!! oh so so adorable the children!!!

Samanth said...

More posts please!!

Ipshita Chatterjee said...

Thank you so much for showcasing Minor Edition in your guest post Sangita. Love all the other collections too. Hope the Indian fabrics get the accolades it deserves in childrens fashion.

Please do find me on twitter @minor_edition Would love to connect with you.

nanditark said...

love the kiddies...........lovely pics ---smily and cheery faces...!!!


http://nanditark-lifeiscrafty.blogspot.com/