Indian summer

Many months ago fate was kind to me at one of my favourite op shops. Just as I was about to leave empty handed, one of the staff started bringing stuff out from the back room to be hung on racks around the store… and that’s when I, like an eagle with a sixth sense for traditional costumes, swooped… it must have been “clean out your wardrobe” week in various multicultural communities, as I found an Indian top with embroidery and sequins all over the front and lacing up the back (which I removed before thinking of taking this photo and was too lazy to put back in) as well as a red embroidered dress which I think is Afghan and will definitely be appearing in a later post, once I fix it… and they were both only something like $7 (which, admittedly is a bit expensive by my standards, but I’m a sucker for embroidery and beading work and anything ethnic-ky). It’s taken me ages to finally get around to altering the Indian top but after a lot of seam-shifting (no cutting involved) and trying to get the sleeves to look right, I came up with this. Not my best photo, but you get the vague idea hopefully… I would never normally consider wearing this colour but could not resist all the decoration on the front of the top, so just had to grit my teeth and go for it… I’m wearing it with earrings that cost about $1 from Bunkaya Zakkaten in Tokyo (to which I will have to devote a post some other time) and my $1 Amco pants which I have been loving during this crazy warm weather (climate change naysayers, when was the last time it got to 27 degrees in the middle of April?! Hello??!) and wondering how I ever managed without. Definitely $1 well spent.

Category : Bunkaya Zakkaten, embroidery, Indian top