She likes Swiss cows, Kate Moss, & shampoos that smell like chocolate; has a scary obsession with the color black, and thinks the fact that animals can “talk” to each other is cool; would wear a Manish Arora dress to her future kids’ open house; prefers late nights; doesn’t watch TV, doesn’t read newspapers – gets all her news & entertainment from Twitter; loves cupcakes, and Lykke Li’s Until we bleed; loves Murakami, Mohsin Hamid, and her childhood favourite Roald Dahl; is a stationery nerd, a part-time business management teacher, and her life’s wish is to own a zoo.
Ria Jaiswal, 22.
Why do you want to own a zoo?
Because I’ve always wanted a dolphin, a horse, an elephant, and an orca. So I guess the zoo would be the best way to have them. It’ll be more of a natural park.
And why an orca?
Once, when I was in 6th, I wrote a report on orcas for some competition on Discovery channel & ever since I’ve wanted one.
What happened to the competition? Did you get anything?
Nooo. It turned out to be a report writing thing where selected kids from the 5th/6th grade had to do a research on something…anything they liked, and submit a report on what they saw, what they thought, what they’d do, & stuff like that. God knows what they did with those reports, but everyone got a certificate of thanks.
How would you describe your style?
I like minimalist fashion but it’s not an everyday thing for me. In the photo..I really like the skirt. I think it’s the first proper high-waist skirt I owned. And I like that it’s body-con and navy+ it’s super comfortable!! Clothes I buy usually depend on my mood. I try to pick up a few various styles, so I’m not really restricted to one kind of “look” but I’m super finicky about the fits. I think I have to like the fit to really buy anything.
Now, I’d say, my style is becoming a lot more experimental. I make an effort to try out newer things, materials, etc…maybe leather, prints, dresses..more structured garments. I think I’d possibly, eventually, like to describe it as classy and experimental. Maybe like Alexa Chung with a mix of Emmanuelle Alt.
Can you cook? Where do you like to eat/hang out?
Not really, but I can make yum prawn curry and some chicken starters.
I love crepes at Suzette. I recently came across Fellas in Khar; I love it because it has all this health food. I also love Busaba & Asia 7 at Palladium. Hang out usually at Chai-Coffee, WTF in Versova, Blue Frog, & Prithvi Theatre.
Websites you check when you wake up
Twitter. Facebook. Gmail. In that order.
Magazines/blogs you read
GQ & CN Traveler. I’ve started reading Grazia a lot..it seems more approachable. Also, I used to buy every single issue of 17; had all issues except 3. Recently my mom gave all the 17s away as they were apparently eating up space.
Blogs..Oona’s blog before she discontinued, Fab-blab occasionally, Lovestruckcow, Fashiontoast, and The Dandy Project.
Work experience
My first job was an internship at an advertising agency during college. It was too random…would sit and do practically nothing all day. Then followed a corporate PR job. Best work experience was this 3 month long internship at GQ as a styling intern.
Top – Mango|Skirt- some random store in Australia|Bag – Forever 21|Footwear – Habit store, Colaba Causeway
Any mild OCDs?
I used to be a complete neat freak when I was in school. Now, not so much. But if I’ve left something in a particular way and someone messes it up, I get slightly annoyed, and sometimes I HAVE TO put it back to how it was.
Also, I hate wet feet and hands; have to always dry them. And if anyone around me has wet feet/hands..it bugs me.
Ria also hates peas and plain milk, is currently dying to order Murakami’s 1Q84, and in September she’s off to LCF to do her Masters in Fashion Entrepreneurship.
