Clothes, Clothes, Clothes!!

Not only am I obsessed with mehndi, but I can't seem to get enough of all things India - it's music, food and textiles. Over the last several years I've amassed quite a large collection of vintage and second-hand kurtas and salwar kameez suits. There are 4 Goodwills in my area, and it's become quite an adventure to find a top in a store, and hunt for the matching dupatta or pants. Unfortunately, many of the items are separated, and I rarely find a complete set, but when I do, it's really exciting.
I seem to have a talent for finding some really beautiful items very inexpensively. All of the items I've found fit me, and I wear many of them regularly to work. And the best part - none of these items cost more than $12.99 and the majority were between $2.50 -$6.99!

This was my first find... My favorite color and it's silk, hand-beaded and was just $7.50! Marked 50% off in the Halloween section!
And soon after, this silk beauty - the crystals and beadwork are really amazing, also $7.50:

Here is one of my favorite embroidered ones... I found the top last week for just $5, and then found the pants yesterday! It's silk and appears brand new:

Another beautiful embroidered one, and I have tan and teal pants to match:

These two I found with the tags still attached - one was $5 and the other, $2.50!


You can't tell from the picture, but the detail is all crystals and metal-wrapped thread.
This one I wear a lot, it has gold sequins throughout, and the matching pants are ombré - from maroon to orange. Also looks great with black churidar leggings:

My daughter loves these two:


This one I almost didn't buy, as the top has a strange, off-center design on it and the shape isn't in style, but it's silk and the pants match a lot of my other tops. I decided to do a Moroccan detail in paint around the neckline:

This one is really beautiful - I love the gold embroidery and the fabric itself is eyelet!

This has hand-beaded designs and a retro collar with a neat asymmetrical hemline:

This is one of my splurges (a birthday present to myself!) - $50 from www.didiswardrobe.com - it has the matching sleeves which I'm going to attach. The pants are skinny, churidar style and have purple beadwork at the ankle, and the dupatta (scarf) is dip-dyed purple to blue, with gold embroidery around the edges. Perfect for a Sangeet or the mehndi party before a wedding! I love it!!

Many of these I have used to decorate my henna studio!