Picker at Pace is Back!

Hello everyone!! It's been over 2 years I haven't written a single piece on this blog. I'm sure most of you already know that I got engaged in July 2020, right after I wrote my last article here, and since then I've been super occupied painting a new chapter in my life!

This was during the first lockdown when I met Vanshaj and chose to get married to him. I prioritised planning my wedding over fashion shoots, blog writing and building brands. To be honest, I didn't have the bandwidth to manage everything simultaneously, so yeah, the PAP blog went on halt.

I finally got married in November 2020, moved my base to Noida and resumed posting on Instagram. I also started setting up my new home, resumed working for a few clients back in Lucknow and while I was trying to balance everything, life had other plans for me. In less than 6 months of me moving away from Lucknow, in March 2021, my grandmother passed away and a month later my father passed away. So it's only my brother who's left in the family and it took me a while to let all of it sink in! With my husband and my in-laws being by my side, I finally gathered some courage to move on with life.

Nevertheless, I've missed writing and I had been thinking of resuming this blog since a few days! So like Joey said, "I'M BACK BABY!!"

In today's post, I'll be giving you a peek into some important days of my life from 2020 - my engagement and my wedding functions. Let's get started...

Our Engagement - 22.7.2020

I spoke to Vanshaj for the first time in the last week of June, met him in the first week of July and 15 days later we got engaged in the presence our families and friends in Gurugram.

We enjoyed a 4 month courtship and planned our entire wedding by ourselves with minimal help from our families. Our outfits, the venue, the decor, the food, so much! In the middle of the pandemic, when the world had limited resources to offer, we planned our wedding just like we had imagined since always - simple, minimal and just with our closest people being a part. We had 4 functions spread between Lucknow, Delhi & Gurugram.

My Mehendi - 20.11.2020 (in Lucknow)

Our Haldi - 21.11.2020 (in Delhi)

Our Youngsters Night - 21.11.2020 (in Delhi)

Our Wedding - 22.11.2020 (in Gurugram)

watch the complete wedding movie HERE

I would have never imagined a time in my life when nothing would seem more important than getting married to a guy who was an absolute stranger till a few months ago. But as they say, 'love comes in the most unexpected ways', I found mine when the world had stopped! 2020 was indeed one of the most special years of my life, and in all sadness and in health, I found my partner for life. Now, it's a crazy journey that's just begun! PS : In the upcoming blog posts, I'll be sharing details about the outfits Vanshaj & I wore for our functions / ceremonies. Until then, lots of love.

~xoxo~

Princess in the Woods

Hello my gorgeous readers! Hope y'all are in good health!

In the last few weeks, I've had a complete transition into my life, but what remains same is my passion to write everything I feel strongly about. Today's post is about the last avant-garde look I curated for you with ADITI JAGGI RASTOGI from her latest PRET COUTURE collection, along with magnificent makeup by JYOTIKA MIRPURI AROURA.

People often tend to confuse avant-garde with haute-couture but this collection displays a magical complexity of construction underneath a layer of apparent coherence. If you've checked out the previous 2 looks, you'd understand that Aditi's work straddles an interesting axis between what is considered glamorous and what is avant-garde. Even if her work can be viewed as a cerebral exercise on fiction-as-fashion, there is an inherent element of glamour in every piece!

This particular pink tulle gown is a haute-couture inspiration from the great Giambattista Valli, who's signature style is layering of the fabric in a way to give full-flounce to the pieces. I love how Aditi added her own charm to the net layering style with a satin band to secure the waist and created an even magical outfit that sets the bar for contemporary avant-garde fashion while also being relevant in a contemporary context. It's definitely a red carpet outfit, but can also be picked for special occasions like one's cocktail or reception! You can always achieve a bridal touch with makeup and accessories.

For this dramatic dress, I wore zero accessories but paired the voluminous gown with delicate nails from BUFF AND SHINY by TANYA ARORA (nail artist). My hair and makeup was all about understated beauty. Fresh, dewy skin with lots of blush and real flowers. Yes, fresh, real flowers on my face! From upgraded takes on floral nails to celebrities placing itty-bitty flowers in their hair, botanical beauty is everywhere. So, Jyotika glued real flowers from her garden around my eyes as it’s bold, different and perfect for the season. Also, doesn't hurt my face!

JMA also gave my hair an exotic rise with triple curling and pulled them back into a romantic updo leaving some strands falling on the face for the charming, princess-y feel! She says, "Beauteous makeup has pieces that are more than simple items, they are stories that allow you to speak without saying a word", and I agree with her cent percent.

This entire look is a perfect balance of saccharine and statement-making. Starting from daring ruffles, patterns, and colors to frothy, voluminous and show-stopping, think pink, sparkle and tulle; avant-garde fashion is here to stay.

Runway fashion designers show no signs of slowing down the progress that the current trend has brought. Now that you are more familiar with what avant-garde stands, I can’t wait for you to start discovering a world where freedom of expression means progress.

Don't forget to check out the mesmerising rose bouquet collection by THE TRILLION ROSES. They have added more colors and eye-appealing boxes to give you an enriching experience with premium flowers for gifting purposes.

This is one of my favourite posts on this blog, published in the last six years. If you too liked this look, do let me know in the comments below! 

PS : I love how this association with Aditi Jaggi Rastogi - Pret Couture, Jyotika Mirpuri Aroura Makeup, Buff and Shiny (Nails) by Tanya Arora, The Trillion Roses and Zeeshan Khan (photographer) has turned out. I proudly scream, "we are a happy team, doing happy work, making the world a happy place to live in."

Until next, lots of love!

~xoxo~

Wild Bloom Editorial

Hey loves, I hope you are reading this post in good health! 

The last post has been enormously viewed by you readers and it's an overwhelming feeling to see the traffic on the blog. My team and I are extremely thankful to you for loving the post so much. Today, I've got yet another edit from the Avant-Garde series in collaboration with international fashion designer ADITI JAGGI RASTOGI along with celebrity makeup artist JYOTIKA MIRPURI AROURA.

Today's look is a dedication to the editorial fashion industry, where it's all about creating drama in our outfits and telling a story through all the garments we wear. For the story to be coherent, the different items must be in dialogue with one another, whether we choose to play on contrasting cuts, complementing accessories, or contiguous lines of tailoring, and that's where Aditi came into the picture when I first discussed the idea of doing innovation fashion with her.

We decided to artfully compose this beautiful maroon flower top which is a twisted drape in textured silk, made skilfully by cutting and crafting several layers of fabric. It's a tube on the back that can be tied, and the huge flower in the front that'll surely make some eyes pop. We started with a mood board that helped us put together the entire outfit where we opted to pair this gorgeous top with plain white pants and sequinned heels!

Avant-garde and editorial fashion is about innovating through chaos and I learnt this from the fabulous HMUA (hair and makeup artist) Jyotika Mirpuri Aroura. She explains, "The body is our canvas and any flattering makeup or elaborate hairdos we incorporate in the styling should convey a story." Hence, we decide to go really quirky with our look. The geometry favours on my face with a splash of colors till my neck. Every color plays its part, even the bold yellow lips, that add a friendly touch to the candies popped in my hair. Jyotika becomes super enthusiastic when it comes to editorial looks and that's one reason she twisted my hair into a spiral to match the twisted drape on my body.

Since this is a very colorful, angular and clean look, we thought of not adding much jewellery or anything in-between, except for these fashion nail extensions that give the entire look the much needed glam. These are a must-have for every female who likes to don pretty nails but cannot keep up with manicures. Nail artist TANYA ARORA provides sets of quirky nail extensions that can be easily applied and removed. You can check out the entire range at BUFF and SHINY.

I hope you now have a fair idea of what is avant-garde and editorial fashion. These are elegant but out-of-the-box looks we see in magazines. Editorial work is all about experimenting and being creative, so don’t be afraid to try new things. If you do decide to make a statement with your make up, mix up your textures as they photograph beautifully and further enhance the look of the skin!

Before I end, please take a look at the stunning roses below, sent to me by THE TRILLION ROSES. They have a wide range from square boxes to round ones, heart shaped and more! You can choose to add your favourite colored roses in it and order to send a box of love to your dear ones. Spreading positivity never runs out of fashion, eh?

Photographed by : ZEESHAN KHAN

If you liked this post, do drop a comment below and let me know. Until next, lots of love!

~xoxo~

Dressing Avant-Garde at BMW Lucknow

Hey stunners, I hope y'all are doing good! I know these times are unexpected and extremely tough for many. It's been over 3 months that I've personally been locked in my house and all that I've done during this time is Eat, Sleep, Netflix Repeat!

However, one good thing that happened meanwhile is that I got time to re-evaluate this blog and think of some avant-garde ideas. And, now that we're discussing 'Avant-Garde', let me present to you a heads-turner in this post, in collaboration with ADITI JAGGI RASTOGI - PRET and COUTURE, and celebrity makeup artist JYOTIKA MIRPURI AROURA.

I was introduced to this term about 2 years back and I realised many people choose to wear avant-garde clothes because they want to break free from daily expectations. Just like I want to define myself outside the social norms that dictate how I should decorate and clothe my body. Hence, Aditi and I thought of up-doing our fashion quotient and creating a fabulous piece to don! We took inspiration from high fashion staccato art done by various designers in the last couple of years and experimented with variety of fabrics, cuts, textures and accessories.

This neon green outfit is super chic and can be worn for a cocktail night, or a reception party, or any grand occasion one could think of. I paired the outfit with white cross strap heels from SHEIN. On the other hand, I love how the green fabric blossoms (fabric craft - fabric origami) were used not only on the dress but on my hair as well. Jyotika indeed did a fabulous job with my hair using the magazine paper fans in line with these blossoms. For my makeup, we kept it funky yet pretty, making the colors pop on a canvass. Jyotika just picked all my favourite colors from the rainbow and painted my face, and we loved how it turned out. 

My perfectly done nail extensions by TANYA ARORA also give an edge to the whole look. These are so easy to apply and remove (just stick them on your nails using peel-off stickers and you're done). You can get your set from BUFF and SHINY.

Now, this look wouldn't have come out as grand as it appears if it weren't for BMW to let me use the new BMW series 3 (GT) Gran Turismo. This car is a stature defined through its muscularity combined with the flowing roof line of classic coupes. Precise contours and expressively sculptured surfaces from a fascinating interplay of light and shade. It's a versatile character full of ideas and destinations; with is sporty design, its exciting dynamics and its generous space, the BMW - series 3 Gran Turismo brings together an unique vehicle concept. Now, who wouldn't want to drive this beauty? If you're in Lucknow, buy your BMW GT from BMW Speed Motorwagen - Chinhat.

Lastly, you see these beautiful roses from THE TRILLION ROSES. These are such fine piece of art! Roses symbolise love, humility, innocence, friendship and joy. You can order premium rose bouquets from The Trillion Roses instagram & make your loved ones feel special. They've got quite a variety!

All these photographs have been clicked and edited by ZEESHAN KHAN - who is definitely my favourite in the city. He is a wedding and fashion photographer and I love every bit of work he does!

The entire idea behind this look was to distract ourselves from the pandemic thoughts and our monotonous lifestyle. We went as crazy as we could to crawl out of the Covid fear. If you liked this post, do share it on your social media handles with your friends and family. I'd also like to read your feedback so don't hesitate in dropping a quick comment below. Until next, lots of love!

~xoxo~