Posts in category: Life Style

A few months before my 22nd birthday in April, I jokingly posted on my Instagram story, “If I don’t see 22 books on my 22nd birthday, it’s going to be so over.” Friends from all over the country sent me books they thought I would like to read or the ones they wanted me to read. I got more books than the 22 I had demanded—over 30, in fact. I’ve been getting through them slowly. Each book feels like a heart in my hands. The rest, lying in my cupboard, are my most valuable possessions.

It’s easy to judge people for stocking their homes and bookshelves with books you know they’ll never read. Last year, ‘bookshelf wealth’ dominated home decor trends, coinciding with the rise of performance culture. Many people buy books to seem smart, to display them on their shelves as proof of intellect, hoping and praying that no guest will ever be curious—or intrigued enough—to start a conversation about one. Maybe the spines of these books will be cracked someday. Maybe they won’t. Does that make an eager collector less deserving of the books in their possession than a dyed-in-the-wool reader?

To readers, books are sirens—alluring creatures that call out to the heart. Have you never experienced that moment of wonder and magic when a book hypnotises you from the other end of the store? Has a book never caught your eye in the hands of a seller at the traffic signal or in a pile at the Scholastic Book Fair? Maybe we need to start looking at books as art, to be hung up on walls like paintings or splendidly displayed like sculptures. Books like R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface and Anita Desai’s Rosarita, with covers that look like arthouse film posters and feature oil paintings, are for the discerning collector as much as they are for the dedicated reader.

I think if we’re going to be materialistic and consumerist, it might as well be about books. I’ve bought books because I saw a reel about them, because I read a quote from them on the internet, because I opened them in the bookstore and liked what I read on the page, because everybody else was reading them, because nobody else had heard of them, because they smelled nice, or simply because I liked the cover. My house is full of books—thrifted, passed around by friends and family, gifted, inherited, found and borrowed.

Of course, I can’t read all the books I buy immediately. Sometimes, life gets in the way. Sometimes, the book is too difficult to understand at that specific moment, or the subject matter is too heavy. I have stacks of unread books that I just needed to have from over the years. The Japanese have a word for this phenomenon: tsundoku. It is “the practice of buying a lot of books and keeping them in a pile because you intend to read them but have not done so yet.” Tsundoku does not stem from neglect or performance—it is an act of faith, a decision made for the imagined future self armed with the time and readiness required to read that certain book.

A new season is here, and with it, the eternal dilemma: which shoes to choose? This fall, metallic shoes take the spotlight. The whispers proclaiming the return of polka dots, shoulder pads ready to conquer every blazer, and an affinity for drama and glamour on the catwalks offer the perfect antidote to the minimalism that has dominated the last few months. It all finds its echo in a new protagonist: the metallic shoe, where techno-futuristic shine meets the unapologetic spirit of the ’80s to define a new kind of elegance.

The perfect fusion between glamour and the fascination for science fiction defined the decade of maximalism, pushing fashion into a more provocative and risky terrain. Genderless styling and chrome finishes explored the tensions between new technologies and humanity. On the runways, Thierry Mugler and Paco Rabanne revived the space age aesthetic of the 1960s, creating the ideal wardrobe for Marty McFly’s futuristic predictions. And while the fantasies of flying skateboards and hover cars didn’t quite come true, you’d probably be surprised to see that, in addition to everyone wearing Calvin Klein underwear, metallic shoe shine is still key according to Fall-Winter 2025 fashion.

The decade that danced to tunes like I Wanna Dance with Somebody and I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll is back. And although we never fail to include the synthesised sound in our most listened playlists, this time the shoes in trend for Winter 2025 invite you to move to the rhythm as it should be: with style.

Metallic high top shoes

Thierry Mugler Otoño-Invierno 1983Penske Media via Getty Images

Rabanne Otoño-Invierno 2025Umberto Fratini/Gorunway.

In the 80s, Thierry Mugler began to build a discourse on the female body, not as a delicate entity, but as a real armor. His silhouettes with sharp shoulders, wasp waists and metallic finishes looked like something out of another planet. A futuristic glamour twist that redefined sensuality on the catwalk. His vision transformed the infallible boots by presenting them in a metallic finish, making them the most avant-garde bet of the fall season. This model dares to elevate any outfit, a bet that Rabanne also shares , by pairing them with long, wrap-around coats to break out with style and attitude.

Sharp-toed metallic shoes

Emanuel Ungaru Otoño-Invierno 2025Sygma/Getty Images

Lutz Huelle Otoño-Invierno 2025Lutz Huelle/Gorunway.

Emanuel Ungaro, known for his vibrant colours and exuberant romanticism, went for metallic hues in looks that, from head to toe, expressed the power of the chrome finish. As for footwear, heels with a classic silhouette and pointed toe accompanied the drama of tight-fitting strapless dresses, emblematic of his refined sensuality. Their contemporary translation by Lutz Huelle is reflected in looser, more relaxed falls, intoning a more restrained elegance.

Metallic ankle strap pumps

Thierry Mugler Primavera-Verano 1986Penske Media via Getty Images

Conner Ives Otoño-Invierno 2025Daniele Oberrauch/Gorunway.

Their name reflects their distinctive silhouette: with a heel and a fit that wraps around the ankles. Thus, metallic shoes become the accessory that exudes an undeniable sensuality, evoking the references of the 80s and those catwalks that began to experiment with exposure and structure. A similar version reappeared this season at Conner Ives, with adjustable straps and an ankle buckle. Thus, this type of footwear is once again positioning itself as a key piece to achieve high-impact looks, with an avant-garde spirit and a dazzling sensuality.

Metallic heeled shoes

Dior Otoño-Invierno 1983Sygma/Getty Images

CPlus Series Otoño-Invierno 2025CPlus Series/Gorunway.

For decades, the classic pumps, with a slim heel and a solid colour, have been the ideal choice to dress elegantly for any occasion. Whether paired with sequinned or ruffled dresses, as in Dior’s 1980s collection, or paired with polka dot tights and leather skirts, their original mission remains intact: to go with everything.

Metallic slingback shoes

Yves Saint Laurent Primavera-Verano 1989Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Simkhai Otoño-Invierno 2025Umberto Fratini/Gorunway.

Meanwhile, Yves Saint Laurent‘s runway, in the heyday of structured shoulder pads, favoured the beauty of opulence in draping and flowing cuts, pairing ball gowns with dark tights and metallic shoes. In her modern version, Simkhai goes for a coordinated look with a pleated mini skirt layered over a below-the-hip jacket in earthy green tones that pair perfectly with silver slingback shoes, which balance the ensemble with the same timeless elegance.

This story first appeared on Vogue.mx.

Accept where you are at, Pisces. The middle ground between polarities is often considered grey, but this is the very space that helps you connect with yourself and others in the most non-judgmental manner. This is the day to make yourself a priority—sleep in, take some time off, get interested in your diet and do a lot more. What can some fresh air and a change of scene not do for you, Aries? Whatever you have been struggling with—be it that pressing headache, that irresistible urge to eat junk, or simply the never-ending flow of coffee, or anything else, your guides are here to remind you to get a grip on things. You may be over a bridge, emotionally or metaphorically, in your life, and your guides remind you that perhaps it’s best to let stagnant waters flow. Not only is it good for your health, but it also will boost your relationships and vitality in life. Whatever is happening for you or with you right now, remember that it is meant to be precisely this. What keeps you up is not the quantum of all that needs to be checked, but it is the sheer pressure you put on your shoulders to get it right, even before you begin trying. Libra, back off a bit and go spend some time in nature—a park, a pet, get home some fresh flowers, intentionally drink some water, feel the morning sun kissing your skin. Become present with what surrounds you now.

Read on for what the stars have in store for you, and make sure you check out your sun, moon and rising signs for the complete picture.

What can some fresh air and a change of scene not do for you, Aries? Whatever you have been struggling with—be it that pressing headache, that irresistible urge to eat junk, or simply the never-ending flow of coffee, or anything else, your guides are here to remind you to get a grip on things. Whoever you have been consulting—be it your therapist, your GP, or simply a friend’s home remedies or advice, it is time to get a second opinion from someone else who knows their stuff and can help you solve this from the outside. Consider their viewpoints a little and then expect massive shifts to occur.

Cosmic tip: As you begin doing what feels right for you and helps you from within, your energy levels begin to soar.

Instead of becoming the master of escape, sit still with this situation for just a little bit, Taurus. Watch what you have been consuming—mentally, energetically, physically, emotionally, even in your diet. How much of it has enlivened you, and how much has felt like a momentary hit? Your heart may lie someplace, and your head may tell you that you need to go elsewhere, and this is not the time to stress out and run away. It is your time to sit still and detangle this ball of wool, then get up and get going.

This week’s best beauty lineup served two distinct energies: the richness of tradition and sleek minimalism. Across weddings and promotions, skin stayed plush and lit from within, eyes were sculpted and bronzer took centre stage.

Janhvi Kapoor’s ensemble was a love letter to Indian craft. Her beauty look paired a luminous, softly bronzed base that caught light without being overly dewy, while the shades of pink from her outfit extended to her eyes with fine shimmer along the lash line. Fanned out lashes and boldly kohl-rimmed eyes brought out the best of her features.

Ananya Panday’s OTT glow is the perfect way to make a statement. With slicked-back hair braided neatly down the back and brushed-up brows, her look centred on glassy skin and subtle contouring. The gleam across her collarbones and temples is clearly the star of this show.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu chose precision with a sharp, bronzed look. Her sculpted waves framed a flawless satin base with brown tones brushing the lids and beige, barely-there glossy lips.

Rakul Preet Singh’s hair, styled in soft waves, fell fluidly around a flawless base, just enough blush to add an understated glow and MLBB lips. The pared-back blush and brushed brows worked in tandem to give her that “expensive-skin” finish.

Banita Sandhu gave us a sneak peek into her everyday makeup that consists of close to no base and brown winged eyeliner. A hint of sun-kissed blush blurred into a petal-pink lip, complemented by natural henna and nude nails on her hand. It’s a moment that feels lived-in rather than constructed.

Bhumi Pednekkar, on the other hand, leaned fully into drama. Her embellished lehenga met its match in tonal eyeshadow, sculpted cheeks and a berry-toned matte lip. The slick hair drew focus to the structure of her makeup: rich and beautifully composed.

“As a kid, even though I loved my culture, I pushed it away because I didn’t feel very connected to it, but seeing the way other desi people here embrace it really inspired me. Once I accepted that part of myself, it just kept coming out—and now, implementing my culture in my outfits has become a big part of my style,” says New York–based stylist Humza Syed. He regularly wears his hoodies and blazers with polki and sapphire necklaces paired with large kundan-set rings on his fingers. “What I love wearing more than anything is a nath. It’s become my staple piece.”

For Portugal-based Zahra Omarji, founder of slow-fashion brand Designation, Indian maximalist jewellery became a way to play. “I started experimenting after my wedding, I had all this jewellery
that I thought I’d never wear again.” Her pared-down wardrobe, intentionally curated to avoid overconsumption, serves as the perfect canvas for her heritage, with accents like an oxidised
silver choker with dangling beads and layered silver waist chains worn over an asymmetric white tank with a ruched midi skirt.

Blending South Asian and European fashion is by no means a novel idea. Neighbourhood aunties have worn their salwar kameez with Reebok sneakers since time immemorial. But Indo-Western fusion, the one on couture runways, worked off the similarities in the two cultures. You take the fluid drape of the sari, the ease of an evening gown and you have something new but still familiar. The ‘desi baddie’ aesthetic is based on contrast, a conscious subversion of expectations rooted in cultural pride. A meenakari hasli on a fitted tank top, paired with baggy blue jeans and embroidered juttis, should look out of place, but that element of surprise, the push and pull between cultures, is what makes it work. It’s ingenious, it’s loud, it’s perfect.

Blazer, STAPLE. Orbit Waltz skirt, KGL. Bar ring, Neemal ring, Third Eye ring, ROMA NARSHINGHANI. Shae ring, ANATINA. Pashmina hathphool, Chand Saaj gemstone choker, AMAMA. Boondi bead choker, ZIDDI.

If you’re looking for an easygoing place where lunch hour leads to desserts and evening cocktails, this new spot might fit the bill. At Grammie, the focus is on ingredient-led cooking and European-forward techniques in a pleasant setting where you can grab a meal with friends for a spirited brunch-turned-unhurried meal. The menu lists fire-roasted black cod, octopus karaage, baked brie, prawn and crab garlic rice and pistachio tiramisu, among other eclectic plates with a focus on fire cooking, while the cocktail program, Ponté, offers elevated pours.

Address: Ground Floor, Sangam Courtyard, G01/G02, Major Somnath Marg, KD Colony, Sector 9, Rama Krishna Puram, New Delhi. Tel: 09218078401

Mr. Button

From commanding the cosmos to wishing upon shooting stars to simply surrendering to the tidal cosmic ways—Pisces, you may have felt like you’ve been on quite a roller coaster ride. And while you may have steadfastly held through it all, are you now tired of the lull? Breathe. Celebrate your tiny wins one at a time, Taurus, and create room for nurturing, happiness and an easy way of life. You are no longer trapped or bound by anything, and whatever you choose leads you onto a better space in life. Let your creativity, ideas and curiosity take the front seat while you let your chains and limitations hold back a little. Something may have felt suspended mid-air, and this is not because the cosmos wasn’t ready for you, Scorpio. It was because you weren’t. Your guides have a very clear message for you today—something you could mull over the weekend—your work, your passion, your ethos are not meant to be respected by the world. The first form of respect must come from within you, a nd the world will clearly reflect it in all you do.

Read on for what the stars have in store for you, and make sure you check out your sun, moon and rising signs for the complete picture.

Aries, you are not stuck anymore! The cosmos turns the light back green, the traffic begins to move, and you find your way forward. Take the wooden staircase and go up towards your goals—what your guides mean is that rely on old school ways of getting going with things. Instead of innovation, try out traditional, tried and tested methodologies to climb up the ladder. There is light at the end of this tunnel, and you can see it clearly. Your task is to make your way through to it, no matter what it takes.

Cosmic tip: Romanticise your life a bit and take the time to stroll your way to greatness.

Celebrate your tiny wins one at a time, Taurus, and create room for nurturing, happiness and an easy way of life. You are no longer trapped or bound by anything, and whatever you choose leads you onto a better space in life. Let your creativity, ideas and curiosity take the front seat while you let your chains and limitations hold back a little. You realise, this weekend, that life is a little less about rules and a little more about how you choose to live it.

Cosmic tip: When you are busy having fun, building your core, immerse yourself fully in it.

Done working and holding your guard? Gem, it may be time to weigh your options and really crusade your way through life, choosing only the lighthearted and uplifting moments to house themselves in your heart. The rest? Do what you must and move on. This is not to say cut off from the world. Your message today emphasises keeping what serves you and filtering the rest through so that you can make wise choices that lead you to lasting health, happiness and stability.

If one thread ran through the week in fashion, it was texture. From mirror work and coin embroidery to silk organza and hand-cut florals, surface played protagonist, ensuring each ensemble was layered in craft and tactility in new ways.

Rashmika Mandanna arrived in a mocha-toned sari by Tarun Tahiliani, marked by a fine bead and pearl border that edged the drape and pallu. The blouse, with a halter neckline fastened with strings of stones, featured sequins and zardozi work in floral motifs. The fluid drape in silk-satin fell in soft folds, while a string of diamonds coiled around her ears like a cuff. Her beauty choices featured a wavy side part, wispy lashes and a matte pink lip that completed the look.

Leaning heavily into craftsmanship, Ananya Panday’s look, styled by Priyanka Kapadia, in a Mayyur Girotra lehenga was rich in tones of yellow and blue, and hand-embroidered with mirror work and resham florals. Kapadia paired it with a mustard yellow blouse worked in botanical motifs, its cropped fit defining the waist against the gilded, cobalt-toned expanse below. Polki and meenakari jewellery by Golecha—an emerald-and-pink necklace, earrings, earcuff and a matching bangle set—extended the festive overtones, while makeup stayed radiant with a dewy base, centre-parted hair pulled back in a braid and a small bindi.

Arindam Chatterjee doesn’t believe in burdening his viewers with his own artistic intentions or sources of inspiration. “Drawing with a certain motive is one way of making art,” shares the artist, “But there’s another way, that’s like life itself, as KG Subramanyan put it.” The works on show at Emami Art, created over a decade-long period, have developed from his own observations and contemplations, essayed in oil, ink, watercolour, charcoal, dry pastel and acrylic. Chatterjee lets his canvas guide him as he freely improvises. He hopes that his viewers will take away their own interpretations of his work, layered as they are with meaning and material. Visitors to the gallery can also delve into the fifth edition of Imaginarium, a group showcase that brings together ten emerging artists whose work engages with the fleeting nature of contemporary life.

Both shows are on view at Emami Art, Kolkata from 7th November to 24th December 2025

The Geometry of Ash by Anju Dodiya at Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai

Anju Dodiya’s new body of work is best described as ‘emotional theatre’. Comprising large-scale, colour-infused fabric panels, alongside a collection of works on paper, she creates a sometimes-playful, sometimes-haunting rendition of the disquiet mind. Layered with both material and meaning, each work represents a deeper narrative rooted in ancestry, the environment and a sense of introspection. “Anju speaks of stillness not as passivity, but as resistance,” writes Anish Gawande in the exhibition catalogue, “In an age of urgency, of constant outrage and digital noise, her paintings compel us to pause… offering space for reflection when space itself feels endangered.”

In astrological parlance, Mercury retrograde is one of the most notorious celestial events as Mercury is considered a troublemaker, a provocateur, a no-gooder. So when the planet enters the last retrograde of 2025 from November 9 to November 29, the question inevitably arises: Are we in for good or bad?

Jetteke van Lexmond, co-founder of the Moonsisters and their lunar calendar, gives the all-clear. “November is a month of deceleration: a sacred in-between space where time itself seems to breathe. It’s as if the universe is gently pressing the pause button before we enter winter,” she says.

Mercury retrograde shakes up old beliefs

When Mercury goes retrograde on November 9, it does so “first in the fiery, yearning sign of Sagittarius (until November 19) and then in mysterious, transformative Scorpio (from November 19 to 29),” van Lexmond says. This retrograde reminds us that the truth no longer reveals itself outside of us, but wants to be heard from within. “What we thought we knew is being revised. What we feel is refined,” the moon expert adds. “Old beliefs may be shaken—not to confuse us, but to make room for deeper knowledge.”

During the last retrograde of the year, Mercury slows down the rhythm of thought and language. Van Lexmond reveals, “We are invited to turn inwards, to the silent source from which words arise. Here, in the stillness of the mind, we can feel what we really want to say. Not to speak in order to answer, but to make a connection. Not to listen to understand, but to feel what remains unspoken.”

During Mercury retrograde, you are confronted with the unspoken

The weeks following the start and end of Mercury retrograde will revolve around “visions, truth and inner light, but also about rethinking the essentials behind our words and reconnecting with them,” says the moon expert. “It is the silence of the soul that now speaks louder than the voice of the world,” she adds.

Mercury retrograde in the sign of Sagittarius is now prompting us to question our previous convictions. Or as van Lexmond puts it: “Where do we speak out of fear and where out of trust?” Under the influence of Scorpio, this energy dives even deeper in the second half of Mercury retrograde. “We are confronted with the hidden levels of communication—the unspoken emotions, the words that have never been said but can still be felt between the lines.” It is a time of purification through language, of rediscovering the magic that lies in honest expression. If we really listen, we can finally hear what has always been there: the voice of the soul whispering: ‘The truth is here’.”

This article first appeared on Vogue.de

Also read:

The Mercury retrograde on March 14 will bring chaos, but also clarity. Here’s what to do

The super full moon on November 5 will have the most intense effect on these four zodiac signs

Mercury goes retrograde on July 18. Here’s how you can make the most of this time