The RR Girl's Must Have Clutch Essentials

Some people say our couture wooden clutches are like pieces of contemporary art, while some call them precious jewels, we at Rachana Reddy like to describe them as conversation starters. Clutches essentially are small bags without handles and straps used to carry money and personal things to a formal gathering. You literally clutch the bag in your palm, maybe that's how the name was derived in the first place.

We get a lot of inquires asking what would fit inside our clutches. Will a phone fit? Will my lipstick/mascara fit? And so on. Being highly fashionable and custom made, these artful pieces are designed in such a way that we also keep in mind the primary functionality and purpose of the product and hence cater for a little space inside the clutch to store ones basic essentials. 

So we reckon that you junk that overstuffed tote bag for an elegant Rachana Reddy clutch to a cocktail party, formal dinner or a girl’s night out! Wondering how will you fit all those “can’t survive with essentials" in our tiny clutch?! Think no more as this post, we pare it down to five absolute essentials one must carry and that will easily fit in your Rachana Reddy clutch to get you through the night in style.

1) How can you possibly set out without carrying your phone? Even though we hate to admit how our lives revolve around this gadget 24/7, this is our absolute number one essential!

2) A debit/credit card and some emergency cash is a definite must on our list. All our clutches have pretty side pockets designed specifically to store your cards and money. 

3) Nothing screams Party like a bright lipstick! Your Lip color of the night an absolute essential in your clutch for that extra touch up, once it starts to wear off after all that dancing and eating.

4) Your house/car keys.

5) An elegant mini compact/mirror always comes handy to retouch and check on your hair and make up.

Note: The RR Padma Reflection clutch featured in this post is a medium sized clutch and can easily fit 5 essentials.Smaller clutches should fit at least 3 essentials unless of course they are bulky. Remember it is all about carrying a lot of (good) attitude but the least baggage during a night out :)

3 Ways To Wear Wood

Wood is Mother Nature’s bountiful blessing to mankind, and one that provides enormously and ceaselessly to support an entire planet.

Since the beginning of time men and women from all around the world have accessorized themselves with hand crafted ornaments made out of flowers, shells, leaves and wood for traditional and religious ceremonies. It is only when the discovery of stones & metals happened that people forgot how jewellery was once upon a time crafted using organic elements. The moment you set your eyes on Rachana Reddy accessories, it is love at first sight with the predominant natural element -wood, that is used in her accessories. Her designs are simple, Indian, organic & handcrafted. It simply transports you to a surreal space where you feel close to Mother Nature & go back to your roots. 

Nature being one of Rachana Reddy’s primary inspirations also means sustainability both in process and output. At the Rachana Reddy studio we make a conscious effort to use locally sourced and reclaimable wood in a responsible way. We love the distinctive connection natural materials bring when one adorns it on themselves. It is this connection that remains supreme in her style of work. 

All of us at Rachana Reddy undoubtedly admire and appreciate anything wooden! Be it clutches, neck pieces, earrings, rings, boxes, texture & grain, and primarily anything & everything wood. And of course even woody fragrances! We aim to pass on our continued love for wood to our readers too. So if you're not sure how and with what to carry your woodyliscious accessories, we have created three ways to get you started.

Clutches: Quilted Vintage Flower Clutch by Rachana Reddy, Ornate Armor byRachana Reddy, Ornate Frame by Rachana  Reddy. 

Neck Pieces: Kalee Bib by Rachana Reddy, Fringe Moon by RachanaReddy, Woody Assymetric by Rachana Reddy.

Shoes: Diane Von Furstenberg Opal Wedge Sandal Rose Garden Leather, Lanvin Stacked Heel in Camel & Beige, Giusseppe Zanotti Design Open Pump.

Clutches, neck pieces and shoes are essential accessories no girl can do without! Keeping in mind these basic accessories we have created a look under each accessory category. The simplest and best way to team up wooden accessories is to work around plain and structured garments. Clean cuts, color blocking, solid colors, monochromatic and minimalistic garments work well as they become a sort of canvas for these couture accessories, which are absolute art pieces and conversation starters! 

Shoes: There’s nothing quite sexy as a pair of stunning stilettos and when the heels are made out of wood we literally go gaga here at Rachana Reddy! Stand apart from the crowd in a pair of gorgeous artsy wooden stilettos. Let the focus be on the shoes, throw on a structured dress in a solid hue, minimal or no jewellery for a fuss free work wear/formal look. We highly recommend Diane Von Furstenberg Opal Wedge Sandal's! 

Clutches: As the sun sets, say hello to understated metallic’s! For a formal dinner party carry a stunning vintage wooden clutch with intricate ornate motifs, a feminine sheer dress, elegant stilettos and delicate jewellery. Ornate Frame by Rachana Reddy is what we swear by for a classic - chic look.

Neck pieces: Bring out your bohemian side by sporting a statement wooden neckpiece. Palazzos, maxi dresses, long skirts, braids, bangles, bracelets, sandals and all things bohemian & hippie undoubtedly will transform you into one. But we at Rachana Reddy believe in simplicity! We will break down the bohemian look and give you what we call the Boho - Chic look! Plain maxi dress in a solid hue, strappy sandals, edgy jewellery (hand cuff) and complete the look by wearing a statement wooden neck piece. Fringe Moon by Rachana Reddy is a must have to get the look right! 

*Design Plagiarism Alert*

A serious case of shameful & offensive plagiarism! 

While doing an extensive research and development exercise at our design studio for an upcoming collection we came across images of similar looking wooden clutch bags. For a split second the awful distinction didn't strike us as we were so engrossed & excited about our upcoming collection and thought it would be a previous collection done for some other retail outlet by us.  But a second closer look at the images, and to our astonishment we realized that someone has blatantly copied our designs and concepts. Imagine the amount of resemblance, that we thought it was our clutch bag at first!! Shocked and curious to know who were these people who were trying to shamelessly & fearlessly copy our work, we researched some more and found out that a brand called: AH bags by Ayesha Hussain (from Lahore, Pakistan ) were responsible for this daring unethical offense.

In a state of shock and disgust we are now trying to figure out how to go about this and take severe action, since we are still a young company. I hope our post creates awareness for other young designers in the business and also for people who buy designer products, that supporting plagiarism is a complete no – no and also indulging in the same!

When you copy someone’s work, their language, their style – you are copying a piece of their unique brand identity for which they are known in the market and are out rightly assaulting their years' worth of hard work. It is someone else's sweat and blood. A lot of work, thought and passion has gone into each of our designs and is totally unacceptable when an ignorant designer claims ownership to our intellectual property! In this case it’s a distasteful copy of many of our products! I request all of you to come together and support us against the fight for plagiarism and also spread the news. Any suggestions of how we should tackle this issue are most welcome. 

Do check out the links below:

1) http://bit.ly/ZRnmVY   2) http://bit.ly/Y1xfCR

Introducing Neckpieces : Sneak peeking

Truth of life - One can never have too many accessories .
Being exclusively an accessories designer and having always given more priority to accessories in my wardrobe too, it was a natural creative urge to explore more with their design.
Two years of creating clutches and bags for my label has been challenging and creatively gratifying.While they have become my signature, I will continue to build on it.This year will see an addition of a small line of edgily elegant neck pieces in our signature combination of materials and with a new inclusion of metal.
These babies are getting set to be launched at the Wills India fashion week next month.Excited!

WerQ that clutch

Our clutches in distinct combinations of wood,leather and silk have(to my absolute delight) been bestowed upon the title 'conversation starters'.Since they have so much to say ,I believe the best way to accessorize them is to build the outfit or look around the clutch.

Here are some of my favorite go-to stylish looks with our signature clutches for holiday ,work ,and evening!

Holiday look #1:
 Rocking the maxi and color block trend with the Holi clutch

Holiday look #2 : 

Maxi fever still on with the Wings of Freedom clutch.

Holiday look #3:

Headed to the beach? 

Here's a 'beach chic' look with the Padma clutch

Work look #1 :

Subtle and sophisticated with pastel outfit and
 Floret Envy clutch bag.

Work look #2

Add a dash of fun with this polka dot shirt
 and orange Envy clutch .

Evening look #1

Pair the Krishna clutch with a royal blue sequin dress 
keeping all other accessories neutral .

Evening look #2

For a fun,easy night out carry the Free Spirit clutch

with bright trousers and sequin top.

Evening look #3

A more formal yet a cheerful look with the Studded Flap clutch.

The Indian Song

Karen Knorr's Photographic(whimisical) art has been around for sometime but I wanted to share few of my personal favorites from her series 'Indian song'.These four images never fail to entrance me into a magical world of nostalgia,mythology and surrealism. I find them visually charged with stunning elements,patterns and colors.The relationship here between nature and culture is intriguing.

The series is said to be inspired by the myths & fables of northern India and was shot in some of the most stunning palaces, mansions, or mausoleums of India. Apart from being artiscially evocative,they are meant to highlight caste, femininity and its relationship with the animal world.The series has been aptly referred to as the Panchatantra of the 21st century.

 

The Gatekeeper, Zanana, Samode Palace

 

The Maharaja's Apartment, Udaipur City Palace

 

 

Flight to Freedom, Durbar Hall, Dungarpur

 

A Place like Amaravati, Udaipur City Palace, Udaipur

Images: www.Karenknorr.com