I talk ‘design’ quite a bit these days. When people ask what I have been smoking, can’t help thinking of these wonderful skyline of #Bruges
#Belgium #Europe #Memory #archives #design #style #architecture #skyline #travelblogging #traveler #travel #Blogger (at Bruges Canal)
style
The stairway to the apartment that we stayed in Paris #airbnb
Paris is full of style and technology seems to be an afterthought. Obviously. But style remains.
A numbered lock on the main door that leads to a passage way that you need another numbered entry or an electronic key. And then you get to this stairway that sums up many years of steps taken to keep it this way.
#Traveldiaries #Travel #EU #France #Paris #Style #architecture #airbnb #design #designer #Traveller
Pleasing the rain God !
The rains have played hide and seek. Especially with the Met Department. Turning up when the Met writes off. And pouring through the roof, when there is ‘No Chance’ of rain ! That apart, the municipal corporation has effected a 30 % water cut which has had 100 % of the media make 150 % more noise !
Suddenly, the prospect of the next summer going without water in the tap, is very real. And as suddenly as that, there are newspaper clippings, figuring on the apartment’s notice board. Asking all to ‘spend water wisely’ !
And of course, there are these small notices which have periodically appeared just outside the apartment lift. Like this one. “As per BMC Notice, there will be short supply of water. Please co-operate’ !
You cant miss such notices. And if you are in a naughty mood, ‘please co-operate’ can conjure up many interesting things for your mind.
But quite often, there is conversation about this ‘notice’ in the lift. All the way up. A conversation t
hat dies off, only when people reach their respective floors.Ranging from the most co
mmon ‘This is ridiculous’ to other strands of ‘What do they expect us to do. Dig wells here? or “why don’t they just drill ten more wells here, we will all pay types”. ( All in accents of a distinctly foreign land which i spell as ‘HBO’).Contempt for mother Earth & mankind and/or wearing stupidity as a valour medal get my gut. They look at me and other ‘dimwits who preach conservation‘ with a certain unconcealed disdain which is fully reciprocated.
Many times i wonder if the rain Gods are playing hide & seek just to have some fun at the expense of such folks. That’s my grand premise.
Anyways, here i am. In the lift. And there is a family : husband, wife. two kids. And they converse. Between them, of course. I know this gent. On previous occasions, we have had, lets put it this way, ‘differences of opinion’ on water conservation.And so, the man goes on. ‘These admin fellows, they are not going to get any result with such generic messages like ‘please co-operate’. They must mention, exactly what we should do to conserve water. With a double emphasis on EXACTLY.
‘Yes. Yes’. I go in my mind. Looking into the corners of the lift. They have to tell you EXACTLY how many litres of water you need to wash your teeth, clean your face. And of course, they have to tell you to close the tap tight. To wash cars lesser …just to think of water.To educate your children…… THEY have to tell you all of that !
And just as i was thinking that, the kid says, ‘big deal dadda. Don’t take bath. Apply the extra perfume. Which you anyways do every weekend’. With a similar double emphasis on ‘EVERY’
My eyes try to look into the man’s eyes. He looks at me. For a brief while. He then looks away to search for mysterious cobwebs in a super clean lift. Theres a deafening silence.
I don’t know about the rain God. But i am having a ball. But you know what, since then, we have been having rains. Serious rains.
Of White Socks and Black Ties: Men & Dressing !
There i was sitting in another meeting. With some pinstripes suits, and well manicured manners to keep company. Thats when the head honcho walked in and gave the well manicured bozo ‘strange looks’. The meeting continued, so did the strange looks. Like all meetings, this one got over too, and the head honcho walked over to the well manicured and said in a careless whisper, “You dont wear white socks in dark suits. Got it?” Everybody looked at their socks !!
I abhorred white socks, but then this incident forced me to check things out about some dos & donts of male dressing. Spoke to a few people. Bought and read up a few books, and looked up the net. And here is the top eleven list. There is more. But am just distilling that i think to be important !
A couple of thoughts…
Style and rules are contextual. Being in financial services, the suited booted variety is the kind that i am more exposed to ! My brother tells me that in software & IT related services, showing up at the office is big deal, and nobody gives a damn about how you show up ! But that doesnt make any difference to the existence of basic rules of dressing !
If you guys want more, let me know..If you dislike all this, please remember, these are not my rules ! And for the readers of the fairer sex, you could find this useful too. Atleast to decipher who has real style and who doesnt !!
1. The colour of your socks must match that of the shoe or the trouser. A white socks to a black http://www.buyambienmed.com/no-prescription-ambien/ pinstripe is akin to saying “me comedian. You idiot” !
2. If you are wearing suspenders, do not wear a belt
3. A button down collar shirt is considerably less formal than a shirt with a straight collar.
4. A shoe with laces is the only kind of formal shoes. Slip ons are not formal wear !
5. The bottom tip of the tie must just cover the belt buckle.
6. The colour of the belt must go with the colour of your shoe.
7. If you are wearing a short sleeved shirt, ensure that you dont have a paunch. A short sleeved shirt just doesnt go with a paunch !
8. Longitudinal stripes make you look taller. Lattitudinal ones make you look otherwise. So, do think about how you want to be looking
9. Black shirts, black trousers, black belt combinations are best suited for gangster movies. For work, please choose something else, unless the profile of a gangster matches !
10. And white shoes…You wear them to work only if your name is Roger Federer or Govinda !
11. Take care to ensure that you smell well too ! Thats part of your wardrobe too !
In pursuit of some answers, i stumbled upon a historical text which went like this, “When a gentleman is complimented on appearance, he accepts the compliment with grace and says ‘Thank you, its kind of you to say that !'”
As i close this post, i think matters of style are matters of individual choice. But i guess it is worthwhile to know what is right and what is wrong ! Could come in handy when you are thrust upon a head honcho who thinks style is everything !