Ladylike luxe. Lovely, as always.

I’m totally obsessed with the new Hermès campaign featuring Indian model Lakshmi Menon. Last week I wrote a post detailing my minor freakout over on Nirali Magazine’s blog, The Daily. I’ve since found images of the rest of the campaign and updated the post. See it all at Nirali Magazine.

I know, I know, I should just start an entire new category devoted just to Rachel Roy. I shall resist. I shall, however, share with you the pre-fall 2007 collection that is now available for view on her site. (Along with Pre-Spring 2008… my, my Ms. Roy you’ve been a busy girl.)

I can’t deal with looking at next spring’s clothes right now but I am feeling kind of sheepish to admit I am already thinking about the fall. I am newly obsessed with dresses and the dresses shown for Rachel Roy’s Pre-Fall are kind of perfect. My favorite from the selects above is the Karolina Trench. A girl can dream…

Rachel Roy’s Spring 2007 collection is so delightful. I noticed all the lovely yellows and just had to post it. Lots of ladylike details, beautiful pleating and ruffling. I love this designer so much more with every new collection she does.

I know, I know, I’ve been seriously neglecting this… work has been utterly crazy this month. But, anticipate more posts in the upcoming week as Olympus Fashion Week begins in New York. I currently am thoroughly enjoying Ms. Spinach’s coverage of the recent India Fashion Week. So hard to get great photos of those shows here and she has done us all a great service by snapping some fab pics of great stuff she saw coming down the runway. Part One is currently up, I look forward to the rest. Have a great weekend!

Malini Murjani’s handbags are quite beautiful. The ones at ShopBop are simply designed with soft leather and chain handles. Malini Murjani also has designed some bags featuring unlikely materials such as agate and unusual finishes on the leather as seen on her official website. Very pretty accessories.

Neha posted on Sepia Mutiny about finding designer Rashmi Varma. So glad she did! Oh lord the clothes are so gorgeous. Modern western clothes utilizing the traditional types of hand embroidery and embellishment found in India. Gorgeous stuff. I’m off to a wedding in Dallas… be back Sunday. Have a lovely week.

The trailer for Mira Nair’s The Namesake is out and it’s making me so excited. The film is based on the book by the same name by acclaimed writer Jhumpa Lahiri. The movie stars the amazing Tabu as well as Kal Penn and deals with the identity issues that a boy (Penn) has who grows up in America with a Russian name in an Indian household. See Penn’s blog, which was written during the shooting of The Namesake, here.

Tiffany of Good Indian Girls Do Design! was so incredibly sweet. (With a teriffic name for her company!) Her work is hand screenprinted and has a great graphic feel. She had displayed a line of notecards which use retro Indian superhero characters in great offbeat color combinations. Pictured above are her Bug notecards and her Colors of India cards both of which use fantastic patterns and punchy graphic elements. Fantastic work.

Despite major roadblocks in production, Deepa Mehta’s Water is completed and slated for release in theatres this month. The story is about Hindu widows who live together in a “Widow House” in Varanasi during the time of Gandhi’s liberation of India. Widespread protests erupted in India, almost halting the filming of the production. Undeterred, filming was completed in Sri Lanka. So excited to see this.

Swati Argade is a trained dancer in Indian Classical Dance (holler!) and started out designing her own costumes, keeping in mind comfort and ease of movement. Her clothes are not fussy and the fabrics and cuts look so soft and comfortable. Totally feeling the trench coat. Then again, you know I’m a sucker for a good trench.

Shop.Style.com is featuring items from IndoMix, a NoLiTa boutique which carries an exclusive selection of current pieces from top Indian designers. Style.com’s IndoMix store offers a selection of items available for purchase online including looks from Payal Singhal, Rehane Kundan, JJ Valaya, and Malini Ramani. See more about IndoMix here at Nirali. Shop more IndoMix here.