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Revive Style

fashion, design and old world charm

Instagram in Lockdown

Musing

12th September 2020

This is a post about the ways in which my Instagram activity has changed in, with and because of the pandemic.⠀
⠀

The Posting – Slowing down. When I had a much smaller audience, I was super zealous to ‘get there’ with a hectic overdrive of two to three fresh posts everyday. Man, we had some chaos energy pre-2020. Now, I only post fresh content when I truly have a meaningful idea that I want to share, something that I’m excited about and have stewed over for days. Earlier, I’d style, click, edit, post all in one go. Enjoying the process of styling, editing, researching, and practicing quality over quantity is my motto now – with an exception of impromptu moments or throwbacks. Thank god for throwbacks. ⠀
⠀

The Commenting – Absolutely no criticism intended, this is a highly subjective personal choice. Our priorities change with our positions, and this is me practicing frugality with very low energy reserves given the situation we’re in. Please don’t take this as advice, just a personal anecdote. I cannot comment on posts just for the sake of engagement favours or having comments back on mine, not anymore. I know, the new algorithm sucks for beginner creators. I do my invisible fairy things of DMing the work of small businesses to a person who’s actually looking to buy, or recommending another blogger to a collaboration that I am unable to do, things which nobody knows I’m doing but I’m doing! There was a time when I’d comment on upto thirty accounts a day, I was sucked into the vortex of the engagement game. When you comment on someone’s work for the sake of it, it shows. And the inauthenticity of it drains me! If I comment on your picture, it’s only because I was truly moved. Even if I Like your picture, I TRULY enjoyed it, because I actually go to my ‘Posts You’ve Liked’ section to revisit stuff. Thus, I’m careful about Likes. For me, what’s the difference between Instagram and those painful pre-Covid family gatherings where your cheeks hurt from fake smiling for hours if I’m expending all my energy in obligatory commenting to keep up a facade? Social media is also energy exchange, and when it’s deeply enmeshed with your business – as it is for me – it can tire you out and overwhelm you very much. I’ve consciously decided to try to share more posts to my story from other content creators if I super like something I see. It feels great when it’s done for me, and I want to do this too for posts I truly resonate with!⠀
⠀

The Aesthetic – Foregoing the ‘look of the feed,’ leaning in to ‘individual post authenticity.’ I’ve begun to notice that we have so much more interaction and connection with a single post that we scroll past them, than we do with how someone’s entire feed looks. I know some hugely successful accounts that don’t have a very perfect, cohesive and aesthetic feed, and the reason behind their success is focusing on putting something REAL out there. In this time that we’re living in, we have truly begun resonating with, relating to, and seeking authenticity much more than hyper-glossy aspirational feeds that our comparatively mindless pre-Covid life idealized. I love the asymmetry of your exposed white grids, your random doggo pictures, your unfiltered pictures, your unglamorous homewear, your lockdown cooking, your oversharing of mental health troubles even. Instagram has become real, and real-er, and I’m living for it. ⠀
⠀

The Moolah – Refusing collaborations I don’t vibe with and gifts that I don’t need. I speak of the good and evil in this rather chaotic, unorganised and yet booming business of monetised Instagram accounts in India today in this post and the one right after it. Do visit for some personal experience anecdotes about working with brands as an influencer.
⠀

The Following – I follow lesser and lesser brands, my ‘following’ has dropped from 800 to about 400 accounts, which is also way too much more than the ten or so accounts I actually see on my feed everyday. I just ‘Save’ the work of IG brands to a folder so I remember them when I need to shop, this helps keep it super organized and makes their products unforgettable. Besides, I get too tempted to spend all my money if they’re constantly on my feed, my wallet is especially slippery when the wine goes in.⠀
⠀

The Messaging – I take my time to respond to most DMs because it’s simply an unfair expectation to expect somebody to be online 24×7, isn’t it? This morning, I read an article by Pramod Pathak in The Speaking Tree which very impactfully mentioned how the ‘right to disconnect‘ as a formal legal legislation is necessary in these times. I could not agree more. What feels illegal but isn’t? Simply being human and feeling too overwhelmed to text people back, but scrolling anyway. I only actually reply to two or three people on my DM a day who happen to be my real life loved ones. I spend a lot of energy replying to sale enquiries, I see all of my messages though, and know that I’m always smiling, sending love and good vibes to those of you who drop in simply to say something kind. I do not send good vibes to DMs that should have been a Google search. And if you’re an unknown man sending me sleazy texts, thank you for the entertainment my girlfriends and I are having with your screenshots on our Zoom cocktail hour.⠀
⠀

The Sareeing – I try to drape sarees for my online class days, although it’s difficult because they’re early in the morning – and how will I enjoy the one perk of video lectures, i.e literally tumbling out of bed thirty minutes before class and still being able to be a good teacher, if I have to wake up way earlier and get sareeing as if I’m going to physical school? I’m noticing a lot of saree bloggers talk about how they just don’t feel like draping a saree for Instagram pictures anymore. I see you, I hear you, I feel you. We all have phases, I suppose, and spending a lot of energy in sareeing everyday just for a picture is something I’m just not feeling right now – I’d rather cook or paint or read or just lay around in my comfy homewear. But the occasional days when I do it, they’re precious and much more intensely enjoyed!⠀

 

The Themes – WE HAVE SO MANY HASHTAG THEMES. It’s crazy how many I see tagged on a single post, and I respect how much patience and effort some of you put in to tag and keep track of so many. I think we should now have a forum where all the hundreds of blogger generated themes are reported so that we know what the hell is going on and when. I love witnessing all the creative ideas, and I can attest from experience that having a successful theme can work beautifully for growing your blog! Themes are healthy and beautiful curations, but I hope we all recognize that not everybody is on the same wavelength of content creation during this lockdown. I run themes, I notice others’ themes, but I would hate it if we attach a heavy sense of obligation to these movements. I’d never imply or make you feel like you ‘have to’ take part in a theme I run, nor hold a grudge if you couldn’t. I wouldn’t even ask you why you didn’t take part, to be honest. Creativity is beautiful when it’s allowed to ebb and flow. In a lockdown and global pandemic, we’re all coping differently and life is wildly throwing things at us every month. Uncertainty is everywhere. For some, there is comfort, escape and respite in dressing up for the ‘gram and participating in all the themes they can. That feels beautiful and makes you feel less isolated, indeed. For some, being off the hook with having to ‘show up’ for the ‘gram, and focusing on how they can cope best with their day-to-day reality brings comfort. For all of us, both these moods co-exist, both these moods come and go at their own will. We’re ever changing, ever evolving, dynamic beings and it’s okay to allow ourselves, and others, to be this. We can’t tell someone else how they should be coping, or expect that our coping mechanism must be theirs too.

The DND Mode – I haven’t kept my Instagram notifications on in years, I’d truly go crazy if I did. I keep my phone on DND most of the day, so that I’m consuming notifications and information only when I choose to. We forget boundaries too easily in this increasingly digital world, and I find it deeply unsettling and even disheartening when I see people on Instagram apologise for not posting, not having come online or not being active on the ‘gram for a few days or a few themes. Since when is showing up on a digital application made of not even dust but pixels more important, serious, and obligatory than showing up for your living, breathing self in your real life? What about showing up for your own mental health by using your technology as and when you please, irrespective of what other people on there are thinking? Why are the real world space-and-time things we’re doing in this fragile, temporary human existence that we’re born into now called an ‘escape’ from the ‘gram – an electronic arrangement of our own creation? Why are we apologising to an invisible audience that is also, quite rightfully, focused on their own lives and are the least affected by our absence from this application? It REALLY boggles the mind.

The Whole Space – Seeing the world shut down has made me see the uncertainty of human life and the resilience of our spirit so much more than ever before. One thought often comes to my mind: What if, someday, Instagram shuts down? Like TikTok just did, for us at least. All this seriousness, self-importance, stress, strategy, what is it for? I’m getting too existential, sorry haha. But, I really want to focus on writing more blog posts henceforth, because my blog – where you are right now – is my prime real estate on the internet. It’s my space, rightfully mine. Instagram is borrowed space. It can all disappear someday and I would feel very sad if it did. But, I never want to lose out on being connected to you, my beautiful and ever-so-supportive audience, and having you come over here to this website to visit my content as often as I can is a practice I’d love to cultivate!

Has your relationship with Instagram changed over the course of this lockdown? Please enrich my post with your experiences in comments! You can choose to comment right here, or go back to my post on Instagram to share your mind food. Thank you!

 

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Oorja Makkad

Blogger | Designer
Millennial Sareephile
Indian Textile Aficionado

Musing on fashion, handicraft, sustainability narratives, cruelty-free beauty and eclectically homegrown design. Find me on Instagram @oorja.revivestyle.

#HANDCRAFTEDISBEAUTIFUL

Social Me

INSTAGRAM

oorja.revivestyle

Repost @talktantratome: "If I can’t be naked, th Repost @talktantratome: "If I can’t be naked, then I’ll dress in reflection of my highest self. 👸🏼 

There were those that insinuated I should feel guilty or shameful for indulging in luxe fabric & jewelry - some lineages preach a monastic and unembellished life as the purest path towards enlightenment. 🧘🏼‍♀️ 

I don’t buy it. 🙃

In the same way, I don’t prescribe to the renunciation of s.x, plant medicines, and flavorful foods. 💃 

Of course there can be ego and shadow in all the above, but with intention, the greatest pleasures in life are also portals to epic expansion 🚀

In the latest episode of the podcast, I chat with @oorja.revivestyle - Oorja is a style icon and stunning soul… also a sustainable fashion designer and blogger based in Mumbai, India 🇮🇳 

Leola and Oorja discuss the current landscape of tantra and spirituality in her community of Bombay. Oorja shares her perspective of living an artful life - using  clothing and other adornments as ways to express oneself. Oorja and Leola provide suggestions and rituals to the listener for embodying one's highest self. 💎 

Catch it on Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, or link in bio 😘"
This is a conversation on all things divine femini This is a conversation on all things divine feminine, the intersection of sustainable fashion, spirituality and sensuality:
- self adornment as a spiritual ritual and act of self-love
- how romantic love, erotica, self-adornment and bhakti (divine devotion) used to come together as one continuum in ancient Indian culture and the Shringara rasa in Indian art
- lots of artisan, handicraft and textile talk, and how indian textiles are inherently sacred and imbued with creative life force energy
- rising above and discarding the fear of judgement from others when you wear what feels good to you
- overcoming patriarchal shame we were taught to carry around the female body as an act of self-love
- conscious, sustainable fashion as a tool for spiritual healing, self-empowerment and embodying the divine feminine inside you

 and more 🤍

Leola is a soul-beautiful and inspirational Dakini and sacred intimacy mentor whose content is a treasure trove of so much to learn from! She is a source of insightful Tantric learnings in a modern-day format.

I'm so honoured that I got invited on the very podcast that had been my favourite source of sacred sensuality content for the past many weeks! The synchronicity 😍✨❤️ 

As applies to all conversations and learnings of this nature, this isn't a conversation to agree or disagree, nor advice to follow to the T. 

A lot of you message me on Instagram asking how to feel more comfortable in wearing what you want and releasing shame, hurt or bad feelings when someone judges you for enjoying your feminity/sensuality in your fashion choices or even in your lifestyle. There is an entire conversation around this journey of growing through the fear of being shamed or judged for what you wear as a woman in this podcast ❤️

Listen with an open mind, take what resonates, make it your own. Ignore what you don't align with.

Listen to @talktantratome's episode with me on Spotify, Apple, YouTube or her link in bio and do share your feedback that I'd be most honoured to hear! ❤️
🌲 🌲
Ajrakh, but make it the exact vibe of 5 o'clock Da Ajrakh, but make it the exact vibe of 5 o'clock Darjeeling Muscatel, angel cake, dainty floral porcelain and finger sandwiches in the the hills 🏞️🌷🫖

(I felt so very @the_stylewali in this romantic, Victorian-esque dress, she's in fact the first person I thought of when I was about to buy this)

A gorgeous, gorgeous Ajrakh (handblocked, naturally dyed craft tradition) dress from @tasveeronline, and mules from @thecaistore
posh en kashidakari | fleurs en passementerie 🌷 posh en kashidakari | fleurs en passementerie 🌷🌹(flowers, Kashmiri 'Kashidakari' embroidery, shawl | flowers, French 'passementerie' ribbon embroidery, thrifted vintage turtleneck)
summertime and the livin's easy 🌼 summertime and the livin's easy 🌼
Repost from @ingita_roshan: "Oorjafied/ Oorjascued Repost from @ingita_roshan: "Oorjafied/ Oorjascued. This is an appreciation post for Oorja @oorja.revivestyle .  An instagrammer I admire for her well researched, thought provoking , articulated posts which integrate art, culture, history, design elements and purpose. There is so much that I have unlearned through her writings but today will talk about two learnings.

One, is to own your body, love your body........ Unapologetically!! During the 70s and 80s,(while I was growing up) young girls were conditioned to associate shame with their bodies....So much so that one wouldn't know many things about their own bodies, one wouldn't learn to be perceptive about their bodies, one would neglect health.

Second, is to understand and own your feminine energy.  How it ebbs and flows with the movements of the planets, the procession of the seasons, the moons and tides, our own internal cycles of menstruation, the events around us. How it impacts our experience and expressions. How we learn to become aware of these various patterns and their impact on us and work more consciously with rather than against or in spite of them. How we should be open towards this  energy, rather than shut down to it. 

Today being the eve of Mahashivaratri, it's the most apt day to align your feminine energy with that of cosmic energy. Happy Mahashivratri to All!

Jewellery by @zeel_vidhi_creation
and @gulabo_by_invoguenaari

Blazer custom stitched by @steellifestyle"

#FeelsLikeReviveStyle
----------------------
I am deeply grateful for @ingita_roshan Ji's post here, and her consistent support through years of Revive.Style. So humbled, honoured, and grateful for these words, and feeling SO empowered about my work and my purpose because of everything she shared here. Big love to you 🖤
🌱 just sayin' 🌱 just sayin'
🌚🖤 new moon, new me 🌚🖤 new moon, new me
@proseterity is the first time I've purchased an i @proseterity is the first time I've purchased an independent, homegrown magazine, and it was a captivating read all the way through 🌻 This issue, 'On Mediocrity' called out to me when I came across it at a pop-up, maybe because of all the recent panini-fuelled inner-journeying surrounding the idea of allowing oneself mediocrity as a part of creative growth. I read it cover to cover in one sitting, every little nugget of writing was evocative and deliciously unputdownable. Precious and delightful in parts, insightful all the way through. 

I recently found out they're showcasing their wares at a Zine fest in Candies, Bandra this weekend from 1st April to 3rd April, alongside several other magazines from independent publishers. Its an event I'm eager to attend, should I find a chance to make it there 🌻

I wish you guys a wonderful journey ahead of curating the brain food and inspiration you do with your 'zine!
floral dress again 🌹❤️ from the lovely home floral dress again 🌹❤️ from the lovely homegrown small biz @the_clothingfactory (purchased)
brb wearing rosé hand-me-downs and being romantic brb wearing rosé hand-me-downs and being romantic 🌹❤️
On Styling Witchy Vibes with Jewellery 🌚 I love On Styling Witchy Vibes with Jewellery 🌚 I love layering a mix of vintage, precious, symbolic, botanical, nature-inspired and crystal based pieces for a jewellery arrangement that feels like channeling some sorceress magic. 

Its quite easy to curate a jewellery mix that gives witchy vibes, my favourite - a most obvious choice - is metaphysical crystals and semi-precious healing stones in the form of pendants or bracelets. I love the angular crystal wand pendants that look like a protection talisman! If you believe in/practice crystal healing like I do, I love wearing a black tourmaline for energetic protection at all times. Not only does it keep me centered and balancing oversensitivity to external negativity, it looks so mysteriously sexy with its jagged, deep black texture 🖤

There's more ways to channel witchy in your jewellery: Think vintage pendants such as in the first picture. Cute amulets, lockets, touches of pearl ropes, or those old-timey pendants that open to reveal a secret storage inside where you can store some herbs, a photograph, or a little letter!

Jewellery with motifs and symbols from the natural world is another gorgeous way to style witchy, I love my silver flower rings for this especially. Flowers, leaves, sun, moon, stars, even creatures like serpents or fish. All witchcraft and magic is deeply tied to the natural world, after all, so symbols that connect to nature are a beautiful visual aesthetic to add to this mood. I'd go one step ahead and wear actual flowers in resin-pressed botanical jewellery, love around a preserved piece of nature 🌷

For me, enjoying witchy jewellery has never been about going out and buying new things, but restyling and seeing what I already have in new ways! Putting things together as though I'm using jewellery to make a cute little witchy vibe moodboard on my body, in ways that speak to me uniquely 🌚 

Do you like witchy jewellery? How do you style it to achieve that Hecate-blessed vibe? Share in comments 🧙
cute clothes from my closet are coming to @thriveo cute clothes from my closet are coming to @thriveonthrifting, happy thrifting 🌸🛍️
The easiest things you'll ever do? Here's some: 1 The easiest things you'll ever do? Here's some:

1) Did you know that Starbucks in India (@starbucksindia has officially begun B.Y.O.T = Bring Your Own Tumbler? You can now take a small step to save water + reduce paper cup trash by bringing your own mug or tumbler to Starbucks. They will discount Rs 10 from your bill for it! I verified this from a placard displayed at a Starbucks near me 

2) It's easy and handy to make a thin, foldable cotton cloth bag a mandatory part of your handbag at all times. Or as a standard item in your car. You will need it, most of us are likely to buy items when we step out of the house, and it helps to remember that every piece of plastic ever made is still on earth. It ain't going anywhere for thousands of years. Do we want to add to this? Nah.

3) Another item that does not take too much space but will make a WORLD of difference in the plastic waste you generate monthly and yearly - the straw. There's plenty options to buy reusable straws in steel, bamboo and other materials. I've heard a lot of people complain about how commercial paper straws feel icky because they melt in your mouth, and I agree! Why not have your own straw and eliminate the trash generated by constant paper straw use as well?

4) Carrying a water bottle is easy, safe and eliminates several kilograms of plastic waste generated by constant bottle buying. You'd be surprised to know how many malls, restaurants and cafés will happily refill your bottle if you run out. The amount of plastic bottles we discard is FAR more than what current innovations - such as research on fungi that degrades plastic - are capable of successfully recycling. We're only adding to the burden.

These were four totally easy, totally doable by dummies steps to a sustainable lifestyle. And everything else in that image is truly valuable - and will pay off! The degradation of our planet is a serious issue, with consequences that will be faced immediately by us and our offspring! What are some of these that you already do? Share your tips 🌼

Image Via @langerchenofficial, thank you for sharing this gold!
give me all the pomegranate block prints in the wo give me all the pomegranate block prints in the world
my personality type is manic pisces dream girl my personality type is manic pisces dream girl
As respect, fairness and gratitude to our paid col As respect, fairness and gratitude to our paid collaboration partners, Revive.Style maintains that the 'Invite Collaborator' tag on Reels and Posts will only be used exclusively for our paid collaborations. We are always transparent - sponsored gifts, also, are declared in caption and the brand is tagged consistently. I always go above and beyond to highlight sponsored gifts in a manner often exceeding the gift-givers expectations. We all have our own ways of expressing gratitude.

If I am your customer, your friend, or you sent me a gift from your brand, you know I am most grateful to experience your creation and I mention it everywhere I can, but please understand that it goes against my policies to use this Collaborator feature outside of my paid work. If this doesn't sit right with you, I encourage you to find a different page or creator who is more aligned with your desires instead of convincing, negotiating or arguing with us about reframing our values. 

I want to say this:

Revive.Style feels an immense amount of gratitude towards all the businesses that keep our business going, by entering paid collaborations with us to promote sustainable, slow design. We get to provide inspiration and ethical brand discovery for the greater good - our audience here discovers beautiful craft to support. At the same time, we also get to uplift these brands by generating more sales for them and supporting every artisan and worker in their chain. 

And, as if all this weren't joyous and magical enough, we even get to experience a most potent magic - getting paid fairly, abundantly, rightfully for doing this work. 

I won't pretend that I, as a creative following their calling, doesn't want or need money. Honestly, I'm not an "I just love my art, I don't need money or recognition" artist/designer/creator anymore. I love money and I believe in asking for it, expecting it, deserving it. Money is golden, vital life force energy and, to me, one of the most lovely validations for someone's creativity. In having this policy, we express our gratitude to those who support us financially. Not calling it a right or wrong way, just our way.

Thank you and love 🤍
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fashion, design and old world charm

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