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Rakhi Bhatnagar|Ethical Fashion Lifestyle + DIY Styling

@surreal_styles

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Post-Cancer conscious Fashion🌿
Draping stories Decolonizing minds
Handloom♥️USA🇺🇸CA🇨🇦IN🇮🇳
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(Search ‘Ananta’ www.femantraa.com to buy, ships USA / Canada only)
Let’s Unwrap the History of Wrap Skirts!

Episode 17 of my Style & Discover – Incredible Indian Handloom Legacy features one of the most universal and ancestral styles in global fashion: the wrap skirt.

But this isn’t just any wrap skirt.
It’s recycled from a damaged saree — not into a gown, not a dress, but into yet another unstitched, fluid marvel that honors our roots while reducing waste.

💫 No lining, maximum drape
🌿 Zero excess, full expression
💃 Made to fit my changing waist and made to twirl

While the world celebrates the “boho skirt” as a 70s trend, let’s rewind the real story.

📚 Where did “Boho” come from?

“Boho” is short for bohemian — a 19th-century French term used to describe Romani communities (often wrongly called “gypsies”) who were thought to have come from Bohemia, in present-day Czech Republic. Their free-spirited clothing — long, flared skirts, layered jewelry, embroidery — inspired Western “boho” fashion.

But guess what?
Many of those so-called boho skirts were ghagras and wrap skirts exported from Indian artisan communities — stripped of their origin, sold without the story.

This skirt isn’t a trend.
It’s a tribute — to the hands, the history, and the heritage that made it.

❤️ Save this post if you love conscious fashion
📽️ Watch the reel to see how I’ve styled it
💬 Share in comments: Did you know lehenga began as a wrap? #reclaimwithsurrealstyles 🌱👍🏽

#StyleAndDiscover #SareeToSkirt #WrapSkirtNotBoho #ReclaimedFashion #IndianHandloomLegacy #Femantraa #SlowFashionIndia #DesiWrapChronicles #ConsciousFashionMovement #UpcycledWithLove #decolonizefashion taken in Sustainable Fashion by @surreal_styles

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a year ago

Are you still stitching a fall on every saree without questioning why? Let’s rethink this default practice.

Styling a pure silk chiffon leheriya saree @femantraa today!

A saree fall—a strip of fabric stitched to the inner hem—was never part of ancient Indian draping traditions. It came much later, during colonial times, to support the structured Nivi style. But somewhere along the line, we started blindly applying it to every fabric, every weave.

The truth?
Most handloom sarees, silks, cottons, and even synthetics with woven borders don’t need a fall.
And contrary to popular belief, your pleats won’t fly away—when draped properly, they hold and layer beautifully.

Adding unnecessary falls adds waste, restricts styling flexibility, and contributes to overproduction.
Let’s stop stitching waste into our sarees. Use your common sense, not just conditioning.

✨ I’ve draped sarees for years—styled them, danced in them, turned them into dresses—and I rarely use a fall.
And nothing’s ever fallen apart. 😉

#SareeNotSari #SareeFallMyth #FallFreeSaree #SustainableDraping #SlowFashionIndia #ConsciousCloset #HandloomLove #IndianWeaves #SustainableSaree #ReclaimTheDrape #DesiSustainableStyle #MinimalistEthnic #DrapeFree #MindfulDraping #UnlearnAndRelearn #SareeRevolution #TraditionWithChoice #ecofashionindia taken in Sustainable Fashion by @surreal_styles

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a year ago

They told us tradition was stitched. We believed it.

But the saree wasn’t born with a blouse and petticoat—it evolved from unstitched, fluid grace: antariya, uttariya, and stanapatta.
What we now call “proper” was once imposed.
What we label “bold” was once our norm.

Today I wear both—
➡️ The version they taught us to call “modest”
➡️ And the version they erased and labeled “rebellious”

Because true heritage is not about conforming—
It’s about remembering.

I’m draped in a pure linen saree that breathes freedom—handwoven and sustainably made, available via @femantraa .
This look is completed with a handmade statement neckpiece, customized to reflect my unapologetic roots by @ekas_solelyforbeautifulsouls .

✨ Let this reel remind you:
You don’t have to choose between elegance and authenticity. You are both.

🔁 Save this for the next time someone says “that’s not traditional.”
🗣️ Comment below—what does decolonized dressing mean to you?

#DecolonizeTheDrape #LinenSareeLove #SustainableFashion #HandmadeJewelry #ReclaimTheDrape #SareeNotSorry #EthicalIndianWear #DesiAndProud #IndianFashionRevolution #sareestyling taken in Slow Fashion by @surreal_styles

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a year ago

Untaught = Unvalued. 🌿
From global fashion adopting our silhouettes to millions embracing Ayurveda, the world is running toward what we’ve known for centuries. Meanwhile, we’re swapping living heritage for fast-fashion convenience.
We can’t pass down what we don’t live in our daily routines.
Are we leading by example, or just lecturing?

#indianculture #globalfashion #southasian #consciousconsumerism #decolonize by @surreal_styles

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a day ago

Anarkali or Angarkha transformation to lehenga/Ghagra. Paired with a chiffon saree as your choli cum dupatta .. lots of 2 in 1 packed here! A great unique Navratri outfit is ready! Plus a few tips to choose an anarkali suit for longevity and versatility! (The kutch dori choli and dupatta is from femantraa.com- comment “choli” for a link in dm)

Do you choose tight fitting or loose fitting clothes ? Let me know ..

#decolonizefashion #navratrioutfit #anarkalilove #creativeindians vedicwisdom by @surreal_styles

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3 days ago

Nine days. Nine colors. Ninety years of textile waste?

If we choose to look beyond the nine-color trend designed for consumerism, we discover the real meaning of this festival: that divinity isn’t found in nine new outfits, but in nine days of consciousness to connect with our inner Shakti. Nine trending colors won’t connect you to the Goddess, and nine days of textile waste certainly won’t impress Her either.
This festive season, choose consciously to repeat and restyle your closet. If there is a piece sitting in your wardrobe that you haven’t worn because you were waiting for the right occasion, now is the time to show it the festive light.
Here, I’m styling a pure cotton Bandhani ghagra layered adaptively with a lightweight cotton Kalamkari saree and topped with a Kutch embroidered dori jacket. It’s light, comfortable, minimal, yet deeply festive—finished with statement jhumkas and accessories! (You can find more draping ideas saved on my page under the “Navratri Drapes” highlight).
Wearing one cloth nine ways—or combining your treasured pieces into new, unexpected draping systems—is infinitely more powerful than wearing nine new outfits once.
What treasured pieces are sitting in your wardrobe waiting to be reimagined this Navratri? Are you restyling or repeating this year? Let me know in the comments! 👇

#navratrichaniyacholi #navratrilook #consciousfashion #indianfestivewear #navratristyle by @surreal_styles

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6 days ago

“That’s just how society works.”
How convenient.
For centuries, Indian men traded dhotis, tilaks, and traditional drapes for Western trousers and suits. Meanwhile, women were left carrying the heavy, policed burden of “preserving culture”—in Victorian blouses and modesty norms forced on us by colonizers.
Today:
• Shirtless gym GRWM video by a man? Praise.
• Yoga in a traditional dhoti drape by a woman? Shame.
Culture was meant to belong to both of us. But somewhere along the line, men dropped it, and women were left holding the cage.
Do not mistake being burdened for being honored.

Which part of this double standard frustrates you the most? Share below. 👇

#patriarchy #IndianCulture #GenderEquity #stopsexualviolence by @surreal_styles

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8 days ago

Did you know one of India’s most iconic historic textiles was engineered specifically as a structural workaround for a religious law? 🧵✨
In this episode of Style & Discover, we trace the brilliant lineage of Indian hybrid cotton-silk weaves (Sico)—from the gossamer grids of Chanderi, Maheshwari, and Kota Doria to the intricate interlocked joins of Gadwal and Ilkal.
But Mashru stands in a class of its own.
Derived from the Sanskrit Misry (mixture) and the Arabic Mashru (‘permitted’), this 16th-century Mughal-era innovation separated fibers instead of blending them. To observe religious codes prohibiting pure silk against the skin, weavers engineered a satin-weave architecture that pushed silk to the lustrous outer face while keeping soft, breathable cotton against the body.
When you pair Mashru with Ajrakh hand-block printing, something remarkable happens. Traditional Ajrakh requires a 16-step process of repeated resist-dyeing, mordanting, and river washing. While pure silk can warp under this physical strain, Mashru’s heavy cotton backing provides the exact structural stability needed to hold crisp, vibrant geometric motifs without dulling the surface sheen.
To honor this legacy, we created Ubhayatā—a zero-waste, modular Ajrakh-Mashru Choga. Fully reversible and body-neutral, it transforms from a sweeping overlayer into a long kurti, a short top, or two standalone stoles.
Two living craft traditions from one region. Zero fabric waste. Endless ways to drape.
💬Comnent “choga” to explore the Ubhayatā collection.
📌 Save this reel to keep this piece of textile history in your archive! Share with a textile lover!

⁠ ⁠#TextileHistory⁠ ⁠#IndianHandlooms⁠⁠ ⁠#kutchcrafts #⁠ZeroWasteFashion #indiantextiles by @surreal_styles

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11 days ago

Handcrafted in Rajasthan using traditional “Khambadiya” patchwork techniques, these runners recycle old sarees to weave history and rich colors straight into your home! 🪔✨

Instead of leaving them on the dining table, I’ve repurposed them as:

🦚A dramatic wall backdrop for a cozy lower seating lounge 🛋️
🦚 An instant festive sofa back cover 🌟
🦚 Pooja decor

You can also use them as Statement headrest & hallway wall decor! Why not re-use your home decor pieces creatively this season? Which of these non-traditional ideas is your favorite? Tell me in the comments! 👇

#zerowasteliving #vintagetextiles #sustainableinterior #festivehomedecor #saynotoplastics by @surreal_styles

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12 days ago

There is a strange paradox in how we treat women’s bodies. We spend half our lives conditioned to see our breasts as objects of shame, to be hidden and blend into modesty—only to be told that losing a breast to cancer is the ultimate tragedy to our womanhood.

Going from a heavy, uncomfortable 36DD/E to having complete agency over my chest has been pure liberation. No underwires digging in, no struggling with rigid clothing sizes, no societal rules. I can choose a smaller size, go flat, or walk out the door braless—and I have never felt lighter or happier in my own skin.

To anyone facing surgery or navigating life post-mastectomy: Rejoice- You are gaining total ownership of your story—and your wardrobe. ✨

⁠ ⁠#LifeAfterMastectomy⁠ ⁠#BodyNeutrality⁠ ⁠#ReclaimYourBody⁠ ⁠#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth⁠ ⁠#SurvivorStories⁠ ⁠WomenEmpowerment⁠ by @surreal_styles

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15 days ago

Cotton isn’t a summer-only fabric—that idea is pure colonial amnesia. 🧵✨(Draping a Kala cotton saree with a cotton quilted dhuniya jacket)

Here is what 7,000 years of our kapaas/ textile engineering actually looks like:
• Not one weave, but a spectrum: Spun fine for monsoon humidity, spun thick into heavy khaddar for winter, or stuffed raw into quilted razais by dhuniyas.
• Built on native resilience: Rain-fed kapaas like Kala cotton (historically Wagad/Sakala) thrives without pesticides, naturally engineered for climate extremes.
• Systematic erasure: Desi cotton dropped from 97% of India’s crops at independence to just 3% today as mill-standard long staples and synthetics took over.

Our desi kapaas was engineered for all 12 months. It’s time to unlearn the synthetic standard and understand our textiles.

Are you layering your cottons this winter?

#KalaCotton #DesiKapaas #DecolonizeFashion #SlowFashion #TextileHistory HandloomLove WinterHandlooms ZeroWasteFashion by @surreal_styles

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18 days ago

Modern fashion forces our bodies to fit into rigid, stitched boxes, but indigenous garment architecture has always known better. Bahurupa set at Kosha vasas collection is an invitation to decolonize your wardrobe and return to clothing that respects your form.
While the Reel above breaks down the structural genius of the Assamese-inspired Mekhela loop, the textile alchemy happening on the surface is equally powerful. Pure, plant-based modal acts as a fluid, breathable canvas for complex Ajrakh block-printing. By relying on Nashpal (pomegranate rind), turmeric, and indigo, the fabric is treated entirely with botanical dyes. This means zero harsh synthetics absorbing into your skin or running off into our water systems.
Because both the modular skirt and the short kurti are completely reversible, you aren’t just adding a piece to your closet—you are unlocking a highly versatile, shape-shifting capsule wardrobe. It is designed for traveling light, honoring your body’s daily fluctuations, and investing in zero-waste craftsmanship.
Drop ‘BAHURUPA’ in the comments and I’ll send you the direct link to explore the modular set.
🌍 P.S. @femantraa is now offering seamless flat-rate domestic shipping across the UK alongside our regular delivery throughout the US and Canada! Explore at Www.femantraa.com
#DecolonizeFashion #SustainableStyle #CapsuleWardrobe #SlowFashionUK #ZeroWasteFashion EthicalStyle BodyNeutralFashion ConsciousClothing SustainableFashionBlogger AjrakhPrint TextileHistory MindfulCloset CanadianSmallBusiness UKEthicalFashion by @surreal_styles

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20 days ago