Tags: Brown Women, Creators, Gift Guide, Holidays
Back by popular demand, our Kajal Gift Guide is here to save you from going empty-handed to your office gift exchange!
We’re so excited to share with you some of our favorite artists and goods from this year. Everything listed below is designed, made, and sold by South Asian women around the world. It’s a good time to support brown creators and show community with your dollar.
For the eco-warrior: Anuk Pajama
These ridiculously cool kurta pajame are made with eco-friendly fabrics and feature coconut shell buttons (no plastic here!). Can be bought as separates or as a whole outfit, each piece Anuk makes is lush, beautifully dyed, and comfy as hell. $50-$140 AUD
For the krystal kween: Eshq Rock Shop
This Etsy shop sells one-of-a-kind pieces handmade in India. Each ring, bracelet, and necklace boasts gorgeous gemstones. There is no wrong choice among their vast (and constantly updated) collection. $24-$135
For your favorite brown girl: Alvina Bokhari’s Brown Girl T-shirt
100% cotton and 200% adorable, Alvina Bokhari’s tshirt promises to empower anyone who wears it. Celebrate brownness with this sweet shirt. $27
For the revolutionary: Harakaat Apparel
Harakaat Apparel is a Kajal favorite not only for their amazing handicraft work but for their beautiful ability to adapt classic styles to modern tastes. They take custom orders and everything is painted for individual customers. $80-120
For the fashion week fanatic: Badaam
Everything Badaam makes is *sigh* so beautiful. They’re the ones behind your day-wear dream sari. Priyanka Kaul has a vision and she’s definitely succeeding. No one would ever turn their nose at a Badaam gift. $185-$700 AUD
For the world-traveler: Needle Town
Classic, Pakistani embroidery work but on tote bags! Needle Town makes the old styles extremely wearable with their unique designs and dedication to tradition. £6-55
For the eclectic: Dilrani Kaur
Custom kicks, geometric earrings, hand-painted art, there’s nothing Dilrani Kaur can’t make. She mixes and matches looks, vacillates between old and new, to create something you’ve never seen before. $33-400
For the budding novelist: Hi Wildflower
Hi Wildflower, founded by author of Bright Lines Tanwi Nandini Islam, is a meditation on the confluence of the natural and the lyrical. Every name for her lines of perfumes, candles, lipsticks, and nail polish is selected for what it invokes. The scents and colors are truly unique. Gift to the friend who has a penchant for long texts and poetic emails. $14-90
For the romantic: Noorvana
Gorgeous, wearable, and handmade, Noorvana’s designs are in a word: romantic. They exude comfort and almost always include a flirtations show of skin. Crochet reborn for this new era. £50-220
For everyone: Hatecopy’s New Book Trust No Aunty
Didi Hatecopy has come through again with her brilliant book Trust No Aunty! Through brilliant illustrations and her characteristic brand of humor, she gives an in-depth look at the trials and tribulations of being a brown girl in the diaspora. $13.40 on Amazon