Thrifted: Sarojini Nagar Market + Delhi, India

India was an amazing place full of sounds, smells, flavors, and sights. Ever millisecond was a cacaophony of sensory overload. I have trouble describing our trip because it's impossible to give an adequate snapshot of the range of emotions I felt just being there. I thought this feeling of not finding the words would subside once I had time to really digest our trip, but I still feel the same way weeks later. Much like being in New Delhi itself I guess I'll just have to jump in.

Mr. Thrifter and I travel quite a bit these days and we aren't overwhelmed by much, but India was the closest I've come to being like..."Kay, I'm gonna need a break from this trip".

 

If you know me, you know that I'm a pretty easy going person. You may even say you know me as shy or passive. In India there was no time for any of passive me. There was no time for me to be meek at all. From crossing the street to queing for the train, or bargaining for a ride every step had to be a bold one.

While bargaining is something I'm learning to do as I travel, Mr. Thrifter is already good at it. In fact he's really good at it everywhere we go. He engages in this sort of dance easily and by the end we have what we came for and he and the sales person are laughing or chatting about something entirely different.

One market that gave me lots of practice in the art of bargaining was Sarojini Nagar market in New Delhi.

 Much like many of the markets in the world this one was full of beautiful vendors and shops of every kind. New and 2nd hand, handmade and export rejects all layed out in winding capital "I" shaped corridors. Everyone is trying to show you something, but after a while you know to kind of stroll and focus on what it is you want. Touch anything and you best believe someone is going to swoop in and try to sell it to you. If you've ever worked on commission at the mall, it's like what we learned in training but a bit more aggressive with the selling tactics. Lol! You learn to be firm but respectful in your "No" and walk away when you are no longer interested.

So that 150 Indian Rupees sign is about $2.25 USD and the 450 sign about $6.70 USD... just to give you an idea of where some of the prices were.

For times sake I'll run down the list of pieces I purchased and save the rest for a future post!

This dress was nearly new without the tags and I believe that it was probably a factory defect or export surplus piece like many of the pieces hanging up. I saw the bright red print under a few denim dresses and I had to have it. There's a blue dye spot just before the hem, and after some barging for just $1.50 I could not refuse. The best part about this tunic dress is that it has pockets! Here I styled it with the oversized woven clutch from shop Thriftionary.

This black and white oversized dress is going to be my aesthetic all summer. I've been wearing oversized and loose fitting things for the past year and a half. I think since we began moving around so much traveling in sneakers and casual loose fitting clothing has been my M.O. 

I've already worn this dress 3 times with jeans. 

Mr. Thrifter and I both wanted this men's shirt, we decided to buy the largest size and see if it shrinks down. lol! I tend to shop in the men's section more and more these days, so we don't mind sharing.

The pop of red on the fold-down collar and the inside of the sleeves caught my eye. 

I nearly forgot about this top because I wear it so often!

This is what I'm wearing today by the way. I've styled the lotus flower top with my necklace from Rokus jewelry. Remember me shooting for them?

These next  3 skirts were from a vendor selling all handmade skirts made from fabric scraps. You could tell these were made pretty quickly, and had little fabric and sewing imperfections but I actually really liked that about them. No two skirts were exactly the same! I think I spent the most time at this booth because every skirt was so hard to put down. 

I love little details and the fact that each skirt had a unique lining made of different scrap material made me smile. It's the little things man...

I styled this white eyelet prairie skirt with the concho leather belt from Thriftionary and the purple leather fringe jacket. Festival season is upon us ya'll! 

I'm so glad I bought this skirt because now It's my favorite. The black strip is a velvet clipping and the top stretch band is a navy waistband from a pair of sweats. So cool. You know I love a good upcycled piece. I styled it here with my favorite necklace and a raglan tee–which I live in these days. 

How cute are the joggers? They are made by a brand that is sold almost exclusively in Oman. These will be gifted because they are just a bit small.

At another market in Delhi–I'm blanking on the name–we purchased a few pieces of art. This is the most we've ever purchased on a trip. Typically when we travel we don't buy much at all; we like to pack light. 

When you travel you will see some of the same art and crafts over and over. In India we found a few art stalls selling the same pieces. While that may seem strange I found it quite cool! The art is meaningful and doesn't lose its value in my eyes because the same deities and significant symbols are being represented in similar ways. That's what gives it life and meaning. In each painting you knew what was being represented, but the brush and pen strokes were so unique. I love that. Anyway these are the Madhubani paintings that we purchased. One of them depicting Shiva and Parvati or Ardhanarishvara and another Radha krishna rasleela/ "Dance of Love". 

 This last painting was one I just had to have. Honestly don't know very much about it but I love the female energy, the balance and how it's monochromatic but very detailed.

I hope you guys enjoyed this long post. I will try to think of ways I can share my travels with you. 

I need so much time to digest my trips before I can really share, but I'll find a way. 

We just got back from Accra, Ghana and I'm still reeling. Hope to share soon! 

Have a great weekend ya'll!

Oh, use my link to book your next Airbnb stay in Delhi or anywhere else! 

New Thriftionary Things + No More Boxes...

Hey guys!

I've been super busy with photography this last year and a half. By that I mean thinking of it more as a business than something I just love to do. Making that transition is more difficult than it seems, but I'm getting there. You probably remember me shooting for The Foreign Archives a couple years ago in New York. Lately I've been doing all kinds of fun shoots (and I've even started teaching a class).

From travel photography...

(Marrakech, Morocco)

(Essaouira, Morocco)

(London, United Kingdom)

...to portraits...

 to kids fashion shoots..

...and everything in between.

            

Its been quite a whirlwind

I think the most challenging thing thus far is figuring out how all of the things I'm passionate about can fit together in life and here on Thriftionary.

Since middle school I've felt like my interests couldn't be compartmentalized in the implicit ways that we are taught to "box things".  So, I gave up trying to pack things into nice neat little boxes. Anyway I say all that to say I'd love to share more of what I'm doing with you guys...if you're down!

I've been posting most of my shoots on my personal FB page and just setting it to "global". But, I just made a photography page recently. You can check it out here. And my personal photography website here.

I've been thinking of adding a travel and photography component to Thriftionary. 

It just seems to make sense because so much of what I do involves those things. Making that leap is something I've been thinking about for a while, so maybe its time to do it. What do you think?

What are you thinking of switching up in the new year?  

Summer 2014 adventure!

Hi guys! The last time I blogged I believe we were in the process of getting rid of (almost) everything we own. As you might remember, Mr. Thrifter and I moved across the pond this summer to London. We're still settling in, but we are feeling pretty at home these days. We've already had some friends from the States come visit us last week! (woo-hoo!)
Here are a few quick snapshots from the summer move....

*1000 degrees
Arizona is on my list of future vacation spots in the states. Believe it or not, in the 100+ degree dry heat I had an amazing experience. I knew Arizona was beautiful but I had no idea just how gorgeous.
The orangey-sandy dirt, ginormous knotty cacti, the grand mountains, and humbling heat--Arizona was a dream. Did I mention there was a haboob our last day there?! Yeah a giant dust storm, followed by the craziest spidery lightning I've ever seen. People told us we were crazy to go in the middle of the summer, but we don't regret it at all!

*Iceland jet laggy
Before we touched down in London we had a day layover in in Reykjavik, Iceland only to realize that we absolutely have to go back. We spent the morning being jet lagged and the following day strolling through the streets, trying some foods, and visiting small shops and restaurants. Super relaxing. Also-can I say, a lot of the houses were actually shaped like the triangle-on-rectangle ones we drew as kids? Anyway, next time we are going to take a longer trip to experience Iceland's great outdoors!

*home sweet home
London has been so good to us thusfar. Trying to take everything in at once is exhausting, so I've been taking everything one day at a time. I'm finding that London is a lot like New York. It's a big city but a bit slower, a tinge grey-er, more sprawled, but still very lively! Everything is old, but in a charming way--mostly. The fruit & veg markets, the small fridges, the heaters, the blocks, the butchers, the buildings, the mail, the shops that "specialize" in things.  I love our neighborhood. It's super diverse, and most people are really friendly. Oh! We went to Notting Hill Carnival. I don't like crowds, but it was well worth feeling a little anxious at times for the experience.

(Notting Hill Carnival)

(canal house boats)

(Portabello Road Market)

There are a few more photos from our summer on instagram @thriftionary

Lately I've been getting my photography website together. You can check out what how it's lookin'
so far here: armandacolsonphotography. I also linked up tumblr to it here. I'm looking forward to doing more product photography and portraits soon! I love the way blogging and thrifting bring some of my favorite activities together. Anyway, I will keep you all posted.
Can we talk about the fact that it's well into fall already?! Time flies!