Category: The P&P Project

A little bad taste is like a nice dash of paprika.*


I have never been one for make-up. As a woman of certain age and many vices, that perhaps shouldn’t be said so lightly (Hello concealer!), but it’s never been me. A bit of kohl, a dash of gloss and am ready for my big (any) moment really… I’d rather do color with my clothes/shoes/bags, and a mean mango margarita should the occasion present itself. However, lately that’s changed. Of course it did, you know it did, else this post wouldn’t be getting anywhere.

I find myself smitten by a very dramatic lip color, fuchsia. Against my skin tone, it absolutely pops. It’s loud, it’s gaudy and with all things slightly ugly, it’s arresting. I call it hooker-chic and damnit, am owning it!

And like me, Payal’s found her color du jour which happens to be orange. She’d write a (love) sonnet if she could. Oh the joys of color. Anyway, we are giddy like the girl who got to Barneys Warehouse Sale first. And before you go all jaded on us with a refrain of it’s sad really that a lipstick has you writing this… May I remind you, it’s so bloody fun!

Next, stop-in-your-tracks red for me, and a purple/black hell-yeah-this-will-make-you-stop-in-your tracks lippie for Payal. Gots to live a little, no?

* Dorothy Parker is it. Go google her if you don’t believe me.

Payal is wearing YSL’s Rouge Volupte Lipstick #14 Orange Shiver
Priyanka is wearing YSL’s Rouge Pur Couture #7 Le Fuchsia

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Heard Of Edith?


Two of my favorite Grace Kelly moments, the Rear Window and To Catch A Thief had costumes designed by Edith Head. If you haven’t seen them already, you ought to.

Edith Head, a languages ((Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan) teacher started off as a sketch artist and went on to become one of the leading costume designers of her time. During her career, she won eight Oscars, was nominated all of thirty-five times and created some major cinematic-fashion moments.

Edith Head (Far Left) And Grace Kelly In ‘Rear Window‘ (Centre, Far Right)


Grace Kelly In ‘To Catch A Thief

An understated and restrained designer, she shot to fame with the “sarong dress” that Dorothy Lamar wore in The Hurricane and a mink-lined (the times were different then) gown that Ginger Rogers wore in Lady In The Dark. In her career, she dressed some of the biggest movie-stars of the time like Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Gloria Swanson, Rita Hayworth and Tippi Hedren among others. Edith had long working relationships with actresses and directors and in fact worked on many Hitchcock films… When Alfred Hitchcock moved from Paramount to Universal, so did she.

Of course, she had her share of controversies but none that took away from the beautiful ensembles she created for the movies she worked in.

L To R: Bette Davis In ‘All About Eve‘, Elizabeth Taylor In ‘A Place In The Sun‘, Doris Day In ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much‘, Anne Baxter In ‘The Ten Commandments‘ And Kim Novak In ‘Vertigo

Edith Head had this signature look, bangs, a tight chignon and round glasses. She never took those glasses off! And if you care for trivia… She at first wore ’em to see how clothes would look in a black-and-movie, later they just became a part of the persona. What’s that, more trivia you say… Fine, did you know in the animated movie The Incredibles, Edna was modeled on Edith Head? 🙂

Edna, The Incredibles

And seriously, if you haven’t seen Rear Window and To Catch A Thief, go see it now.

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The Classics


Fashion and movies have gone hand-in-hand, sometimes to have given us icons and at others, iconic moments…

I have always loved the black-white-and-grey of movies as well as the effusive Eastman color. And all that came with it. Impeccable style being one. Katherine Hepburn, Liz taylor, Dorris Day, Grace Kelly, they all had IT but that’s for a follow-up post… For now though, here are some of my favorite snapshots of Audrey Hepburn movies that her friend and designer of choice Hubert Givenchy played a leading role in.

Sabrina (a movie I love) was the movie it all began with, the association between Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn. The strapless ball-gown that Audrey wears in the movie after returning from Paris was designed by the Couturier and is one of my favorites. He later went on to design most of her costumes… A fortuitous meeting during the course of a shoot that led to a lifelong association and friendship between a soon-to-become style icon and a then young couturier!

Audrey Hepburn In Givenchy In The Movie Sabrina

Audrey Hepburn’s understated style and quiet sophistication/elegance remain uncontested. You haven’t forgotten the opening sequence of the movie Breakfast At Tiffany’s, have you? Givenchy and she, the dream-team!

Audrey Hepburn In Givenchy In The Movie Breakfast At Tiffany’s

And speaking of movies I love… Funny Face. Love it so much.

The all black look of Hepburn’s (from the movie) in cropped pants, black top and ballet flats inspired so many looks and was instantly memorable. Remember the Gap ad?

But, what I really loved were those Givenchy gowns. Swoon. The Givenchy wedding dress that she wears towards the end of the movie was just plain something else!

If you haven’t seen the movie, you must. In fact, go on and see all three (again)… so fun. I know I want to.

Audrey Hepburn In Givenchy In The Movie Funny Face

I will leave you with this really fun clip and even more fun song from Funny Face… Pay attention to the lyrics, it’s bound to make you smile.

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“I’m homeless! I’ll be a bag lady! A Fendi bag lady, but a bag lady!!”*


No words have rung truer, not in my case at least. No sirriee. Some women invest in jewelry, I buy bags. My hard-earned cash. My choice. I don’t ask why you need that diamond that could direct a lost shuttle in space home, do I? So anyway, I buy bags. You know, heady but ‘drink responsibly’ kind of “buy bags”. Not a closet full of Birkins that’d shame Anu Deewan kind of “buy bags”, but enough to worry my parents, sister, husband, assorted friends and my personal banker.

The Sales Associate at Neiman Marcus loves me though. And the way the lady at Barneys lights up on seeing me is positively romantic. Even my husband doesn’t look at me like that. Not even on our wedding day. Well, he did this one time when our credit card statement came way under the average. In lieu of full disclosure though, I was laid up in bed with a sprained knee and was too groggy from the pain meds to shop online. No, those two months I will never get back.

You know how people remember their first kiss, first crush, first date, first love, first cigarette, the time their cherry popped, the first cigarette after their cherry popped (what, I like saying “cherry popped”!)… I have memories like those too. Those and the analogies I can quite easily (and disturbingly) draw between them and my bags. Really. Not kidding.

My first bag that I spent some major cash on (“major cash”, ha!! Oh you naïve, naïve, naïve me of past) was a Kate Spade. Sloppy and awkward, yes, just like a first kiss. It doesn’t come out of my closet any more, nor does it send a tingle down my spine, but it still does hold that warm place. Just like that furtive, awkward first kiss.

Oh, and in a moment of weakness I actually once owned a Fendi monogram. You read that right, a monogram. We all like to date those boys that our moms warned us against at least once don’t we? And it wasn’t long before Ebay met my Fendi Zucca. Good riddance to bad monogram I say.

I equate my red Chanel 2.55 to, you know, “cherry popping”! It was lust at first sight and there was nothing virginal about what I was feeling. And the somber Knot to the calm and satisfied feeling that comes from a looong drag (of a cigarette) that comes after, you know what!

There are bags that make me feel cheerful, impulsive and fun. Bags that make me feel feminine, soft and flirty. Bags that make me feel serious, powerful and ballsy. Shallow you say? But that’s just the whole point. It’s shallow and easy but it’s just one of those things that sing to me. On the days when you feel all bloat-ey and pms-ey, there’s just that perky arm candy (think Rahul Khanna, but as your favorite bag) to be had around the corner. And for days, when getting out of bed is a chore and all you want to do is lounge in a soft tee and well-worn pair of denims, there’s that handy bag again to perk up the look. Thank God for the multi-billion dollar bag industry.

So many more stories to tell. For now though, a prayer.

Are you there God? It’s me, Priyanka. I’d like *current object of obsession* bag, in that *current object of obsession* color please. Thank you.**

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* Title from Sex and the City.
** That was a part-personal, part-fictional account, meant to be fun. Something to keep in mind.

Photo Credit: Polyvore

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