Posts in category: Life Style

For those interested in a tasteful wedding without too much flash and bang, this heritage family-run property offers the perfect mix of quiet charm and refined elegance, paired with bespoke dining destinations and renowned local boutiques and jewellery stores. Trust the team to tailor a wedding celebration after your heart, whether it’s a sit-down dinner for 100 guests featuring classic Rajasthani delicacies or a large meet-and-greet at the majestic Amarbagh ballroom.

SAMODE PALACE, JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN

Everything about this 16th-century palace hotel, just 45 kms from Jaipur, speaks restrained glamour. It remains one of the finest examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture; its vintage charm preserved in hand-painted murals, bougainvillea-fringed courtyards and terrace gazebos. Sheesh Mahal is the crown jewel, featuring hundreds of hand-cut mirrors, jewel-toned glass work and delicate frescoes—an apt setting for that one big reception you want after a quick court wedding, ending in a spectacular display of fireworks.

STORII BY ITC HOTELS MOIRA RIVIERA, GOA

Delicate lace is everywhere right now, adding a soft edge to everything from daywear to evening looks. From silken boxer shorts to lace-adorned camisole tops, lingerie dressing was one of the summer trends that had the biggest impact on how people actually got dressed. Rather than the shock factor of clickbait naked dressing, this underwear-as-outerwear mood is more romantic and vintage-inspired – think gossamer-thin tanks and lace-adorned bloomers that look like they’ve been unearthed from a trunk in Portobello, rather than a Valentine’s Day gift. Brands like Chloé, Givenchy, Miu Miu and Saint Laurent are continuing to stick to this “undone” styling for autumn/winter 2025, with lace trims poking out from ankle-skimming coats and knitwear.

With New York and Copenhagen Fashion Weeks behind us, we have ample material for how to style this look in a modern way. Instead of heavy lace, it’s all about subtle touches and detailing that you’d typically find with lingerie – a delicate trim along the hemline of a skirt or framing a neckline. In New York, the fashion set has largely stuck to a monochrome colour palette, with artful layering of asymmetric tanks over slip skirts, camisoles tucked into tailored trousers or skirts layered over jeans.

To stop it looking like you are wearing pyjamas, it’s best to keep the rest polished and considered, whether with the addition of tailoring or elegant accessories. Keep it looking day appropriate by avoiding anything else too revealing or lingerie-inspired – this is all about subtlety, rather than anything too suggestive. A pair of simple high-waisted jeans, for example, would work better than tight leather trousers.

Vogue’s associate fashion director Madeline Fass mastered this balance at New York Fashion Week in a black pencil skirt with white delicate lace trim by Beaufille with vintage Celine heels and a crew-neck top. Beaufille is a brand that has perfected this modern approach to lace, with monochrome tailoring spliced with a flash of white lace – keeping the overall silhouette simple and minimalist stops it from tipping into bridal or Victoriana territory.

Asymmetric camisole + lace-trim slip skirt:

Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

Zara – Asymmetric Lace Dress

Rixo – Stassie Satin Midi-Skirt

Net-A-Porter – Stella Leather Mary Jane Ballet Flats

Lace camisole + checked shirt + tailored trousers:

Valentina Valdinoci

COS – Checked Flannel Shirt

Massimo Dutti – Wool Trousers

& Other Stories – Leather Bowling Bag

Lace-trim skirt + crew-neck knit:

Francesca Babbi

H&M – Fine-Knit Cashmere Jumper

Beaufille – Miuccia Skirt

Essen The Label – The Perfect Pump Black

Gucci – Gucci Giglio Small Tote Bag

Lace-trim dress + trousers + pendant necklace:

Francesca Babbi

Zara – Combined Lace Camisole Dress

& Other Stories – Press Crease Trousers

COS – Hammered Pendant Necklace

Selfridges – Giio Leather Loafers

Lace skirt + jeans + shirt:

Valentina Valdinoci

Allsaints -Tiered Lace Midi-Skirt

Net-A-Porter Relaxed Jeans

Dune – Harness Leather Biker Boots

Shop more lace pieces:

Net-A-Porter – Obelia Corded Lace-Trimmed Silk- Satin Midi-Dress

Net-A-Porter – Kira Corded Lace-Trimmed Silk- Satin Camisole

Mango – Satin Camisole Dress

Intimissimi – Silk Slip with Lace Isert Detail

Net-A-Porter – Kira Corded Lace-Trimmed Silk- Satin Camisole

Intimissimi – Silk Shorts with Lace

This story first appeared on Vogue.co.uk.

You are guarded. Your angels and guides are fiercely protecting you and insisting that you keep up with your path and choices. Aquarius, as long as your ideas and thoughts are not bound by malice or hate or manipulation, you will always vibe high and what happens when you vibe high? You become untouchable, at least for the most part. You’re ready to stop chasing, Cancer. You are ready to take on challenging paths and journeys, but you are no longer willing to beg and plead for the world to tag along, agree or validate you. This sense of inner self-worth has not come easy; however, it also needs you to keep cherishing what matters to you—your ideas, your goals, your personal power, your insights and visions. A new wave is incoming, Scorpio. A collaborative one, where you not only ride the wave, but also have fun doing so. You’ve been sailing solo for a long, long time and truth be told, you thought it was never-ending. But your angels and guides come in to ask you—are you really willing to allow support to enter your life? Are you willing to give love, relationships, life and everything in between an honest shot? What if your material challenges, if any, were simply because of your blinker-focus on I-must-do-it-alone? You can decorate past baggage all you want, Taurus; however, the one thing that will continue to remain is the fact that baggage still remains baggage. Wandering like a nomad through life may or may not have been your choice, but what to carry forward and what to leave behind is. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine feeling free of these expectations, past failures, bitterness, resentment and so much more—doesn’t it feel light and airy?

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.

Work through your shadows, Aries. Everything that shines bright, remember, it always casts a shadow and the brighter the light, the darker the shadow. Now let this analogy sink in, only to remind you in your darkest hours that you are not to run away from your shadows but learn to work with them. Perhaps you could look at them as your reality-checkers that ensure you consistently ask yourself time and again if you are aligned and emerging from a space of authenticity or dwindling away with the winds.

That said, complaining about fonts or ratios isn’t trivial or merely an aesthetic gripe. When Instagram unexpectedly takes something away and adds something new, it’s upsetting because it feels like more than a simple interface change. It shakes the stage on which our lives are performed. It reminds us who really holds the reins, making it clear that a multinational technology company is toying with us, just because it can. The real reason Instagram keeps reshaping itself is to pull us in with new features and tools, giving us endless excuses to scroll longer and keep watching. Each feature is insidiously engineered to keep us absorbed and to stoke constant FOMO. The illusion of connection masks the fact that these additions rarely bring anything meaningful.

And yet, despite all this stimulation, all we really want is to genuinely connect with each other. In the post-pandemic era, the thrill of being online has worn off; the novelty of digital intimacy has faded, buried under gimmicky updates and cheap tricks. What largely remains is performance, posturing and metrics we cannot seem to escape. With every upgrade, we are offered more ways to get a quick dopamine hit. But none of them provide give what we really crave—a genuine way to connect that we had before.

As life for many becomes heavier year after year, we long for simpler times. The grass always looks greener in our old Instagram posts. Maybe it’s not just the square photos we miss. We miss an era when the internet was smaller, sillier, cosier, less performative. When the internet felt like home. The real point isn’t the loss of a font or the changing ratios, but the fact that our lives are so deeply entwined with an app that can no longer meaningfully serve us.

This is the paradox: we are growing to resent Instagram, yet leaving feels impossible, because so much of our life is tied to it. So we keep logging in, like we’re trapped in a nasty situationship. We swear we’ve had enough, but we are unable to actually walk away. It keeps changing to manipulate us into deeper engagement, but in the process, it erodes the very thing we came for. Instagram is the bad boyfriend we want to quit. We complain, we threaten to leave, but we still stay. Maybe one day, we’ll finally end it for good.

Nita Ambani has long championed the marriage of Indian craft with global high jewellery, and this look was no exception. At the premiere of The Ba***ds of Bollywood, Ambani stepped out in a Manish Malhotra jade green lamé sari, a fabric whose use of metallic threads (like gold or silver) gives it a reflective and shimmering surface. The piece was further elevated with a Chantilly lace blouse, which was adorned with Swarovski crystals, balancing old-world craftsmanship with modern couture fluidity.

Instagram.com/manishmalhotra05

The jewels carried the narrative forward. What caught the eye was the ultra-rare Paraíba tourmaline necklace by Glenn Spiro, a floral masterpiece centred on one of the world’s rarest gemstones. First discovered in Brazil in the late 1980s, Paraíbas are prized for their vivid, electric blue-green hue—caused by traces of copper—and remain among the most valuable coloured stones in the world. This particular creation was heightened with heart-shaped diamonds mounted in sculptural turquoise titanium, fusing rarity with craftsmanship.

The diamonds in the studs in her ears, slender bracelet on her wrist and solitaire on her ring finger brought her jewellery selection to a sparkling conclusion.

Her hair was styled into a soft, voluminous blowout, side-parted and brushed into gentle waves that framed her face. Makeup was kept classic: softly defined brows, kohl-rimmed eyes with fluttery lashes and a natural pink lip. It tied back to the overall theme: timeless with a modern touch. The finishing detail came in her nails: long, almond-shaped and perfectly manicured in a soft ballerina pink.

The current season has found its voice in a blend of iconic dresses and contemporary flair, with each look capturing a distinct interpretation of glamour. From Genelia Deshmukh’s edgy leather co-ord to Esha Gupta’s molten-gold sari, the week’s looks combined texture and statement-making detail.

The Gucci archival vault opened for global ambassador Alia Bhatt as she attended the series premiere of The Ba***ds of Bollywood in an ivory slip from Tom Ford for Gucci fall/winter 1996. Styled by Rhea Kapoor, the gown had panels of side cut-outs and a gold-buckle belt that gave the satin a hard, modern edge, while the white Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag read like a punctuation mark. Her hair was pulled into a taut bun and makeup was bronzed and dewy. Tiffany & Co gold hoops and cuff completed Alia Bhatt’s look.

Janhvi Kapoor reiterated why florals have become an integral part of her styling DNA in a blush-pink lehenga from Manish Malhotra’s Inaya line, which balanced volume with sheer vintage lace. A heavily embellished bralette-style blouse met an embroidered skirt with floral appliqués and pearls, while a matching dupatta animated the silhouette. Her hair was left loose and natural and a pair of drop earrings kept her look youthful and twirl-ready.

There’s a bar of soap in my bathroom that needs more attention than I do. It’s wrapped in wool—not packaged, wrapped. Vaguely damp, even when it hasn’t been used. It was gifted to me as an all-in-one ritual: a bar of soap with a built-in exfoliator. No plastic, no mess. Good for the planet, better for me. It smells like a damp sweater. I blow-dried it once and that felt like crossing a line.

It sits on the bathroom counter like a metaphor I haven’t worked through. Something that promised simplicity and delivered maintenance. The soap wasn’t the problem. It just made the others easier to see—the dry brush that hurts more than it helps; the cold plunge that reduces inflammation but increases the likelihood of a panic attack halfway through. Self-care was supposed to be the soft part of wellness rituals—the bubble bath, not the boot camp.

Wellness is about discipline and effort. A willingness to do something slightly unpleasant in the name of feeling better—eventually.

Zap your cheekbones with a microcurrent wand. Sit on your bed wearing a red-light mask like a sad house plant, hoping for less pigmentation and more purpose. Swish turmeric and coconut oil in your mouth at 9 am and try not to swallow it or throw up.

You’re trying to keep up with people munching pumpkin seeds for their skin, quitting sugar to stabilise hormones and mastering new barre routines—seemingly all at once. Staying ‘well’ and healthy is meant to be a practice, something you build like a muscle. But at this point, it’s starting to get sore—without the lymphatic drainage massage.

My grandmother’s favourite kadha was a herbal concoction that tasted like liquid potpourri. You couldn’t leave the table until you emptied the glass of brown-something that promised to make you better while making you feel worse. No routines or check-ins, just the authority of a woman who convinced my extremely picky and stubborn father to start his
day by eating a raw baby bhindi.

It wasn’t wellness or self-care. It was doing what you were told by someone who believed it would make you better. As adults we choose our discomfort—packaged, priced and delivered via next-day shipping.

I’ve been suffering from cultural whiplash watching what once felt inconvenient become aspirational. Everything we once did out of obligation or superstition is rebranded as biohacking with protocols scrubbed of stains, stripped of memory and sold back to us as a lifestyle. The discomfort is there, reframed as self-optimisation.

Chettinad jewellery finds mention as a literary protagonist as early as the second century CE. In the earliest Tamil epic, Silappatikaram, which historians theorise was composed sometime between then and the fifth century, Kannagi and Kovalan’s lives are thrown into disarray because of an anklet. This fateful bauble was said to be studded with rubies and caused the downfall of Madurai’s king. While the epic, with its themes of love, rejection, good vs evil and theology, is intriguing enough for any literature or history enthusiast, jewellery designer Meenu Subbiah couldn’t help but focus on the ruby-studded anklet. “This shows that as early as the second century, the mercantile Nagarathar or Chettiar community travelled widely and brought back rare natural gemstones,” she says.

While Subbiah built her brand over the past few decades by blending Chettinad jewellery with modern influences, she couldn’t find any well-documented account that did justice to the fascinating and layered history of how the region’s distinct style came to be.

“For Chettinad, we have great documentation for mansions, cuisine and textiles, but not much for Chettinad jewellery, which is understood in multiple ways.”

When Subbiah began to bridge this gap through a well-researched book, she realised there could be another way to introduce the world to the staggering legacy of the Nagarathars and their jewellery. And, thus, Pettagam was birthed.

You think you’ve made the wrong choice? Leo! No, you haven’t. Each choice and every decision leads you to either your next steps or a new learning—so tell me, how is it wrong? Yes, it may have cost you some peace of mind, some money or even drained your energy and health in different ways; however, it is all leading you to a point of balance, equilibrium and rediscovering yourself. You asked for justice, you asked for balance, you asked for deliverance, and it is being served.

Cosmic tip: Bring your focus to the simple pleasures of life to rake in the bigger blessings.

Thinking about the old days, thinking about the happier times and thinking about all that was, Virgo? Well, in hindsight, everything may feel better than it is presently; however, you are here at the brink of a fresh breath of life. You are here to romanticise your life, relationships, and worldview once again. You are here, at this point, to dive deep into the depths of your soul and rediscover who you truly are. Virgo, you may feel driven to achieve your goals, but you also want to strike that balance. And this is your rebirth.

Cosmic tip: What is life if not a mix of a little bit of everything in just the dose you like?.

Your fears, your shadows, your uncertainties and your overthinking mind may be leading you to this place where you live with a perpetual headache, Libra, and hey, while yes, we get it—when there is so much happening, it is easy to get lost in the flow of things. However, this may be your time to simply rest your sword, Lib. To harness that inner strength, what you need is to keep your inner spark alive. To water that innocent, naive thoughtform that tells you—your goals are possible if you believe in the m, so that you can find the courage to act upon them.

Cosmic tip: New waves of energy, ideas, and inspirations await.

You are building something, Scorpio, and you have held the vision for it—for a long time. Now here is the thing—your manifestations have arrived, and you may feel like you are crumbling under the pressure to get it all sorted, organised, or even raise your head to see the sun. From there being a complete lull to your table being full of options, you have come a long way. Now your job is to pick what you intuitively feel drawn to—not what looks good on paper, not what you logically can conjure. But what your gut tells you. You hold the trump cards in your hand. Play your game wisely.

Focus on your breath today, Sag. Sure, there is a lot for you to do and check off your list; however, it all needs to be done with full presence and it is your breath that connects you to the breath of the cosmos and keeps you alive. So be mindful of staying well oxygenated throughout the day, no matter the pressure valves that dangle upon your head. This will not only help you turn on your inner light but also help you shine bright like a diamond. It’s time you let your gifts come into the spotlight.

Cosmic tip: Cherish your sacredness and let your gifts come to the fore.

Also read:

Aries September 18, 2025

Taurus September 18, 2025

Gemini September 18, 2025

Cancer September 18, 2025

Leo September 18, 2025

Virgo September 18, 2025

Libra September 18, 2025

Scorpio September 18, 2025

Capricorn September 18, 2025

Aquarius September 18, 2025

Pisces September 18, 2025