Eina’s silver collection and (above) Sanjukta in a Gauri Bajoria creation. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

Silver jewellery has become a first choice for many, scoring over the expensive yellow option. And when the fare on offer is as tempting as Eina Ahluwalia’s Breathing Space collection, it is no surprise.

Tucked away in the comfort of her home, her sterling silver pieces are really a breath of fresh air. Aiming to bring to Calcutta designs currently in vogue in Italy, Eina — who also retails from Ogaan, Little India, Kali, Aura, Darbari and Raaya’s — is displaying her brand new stock till May 8.

The collection (some her own designs, while others are sourced from other suppliers) is divided into Traditions, Contemporary, Rocks, Antique, Atlantis and Collectors Items.

While minakari neckpieces, silver anklets, jhumkas and kundan jewellery set in silver from Rajasthan and dokra-style earrings from Orissa make up the Antique range, hand-carved pendants and bracelets constitute Traditions.

Young women might find it difficult to resist the temptation to pick up pendants made of melted silver and beaten silver and neckpieces made of tiny bits of silver strung together. Hoops in interesting designs and hasli-neckpieces are also worth a look.

Rocks is a line of earrings and pendants embellished with semi-precious stones like amethyst, peridot, moonstone, wood jasper, rhodoscrosite and black star, set in sterling silver.

Also on sale are pendants fashioned out of fossils and anklets from the Rabari tribals of Kutch.

The pieces, priced Rs 350 onwards, may get tarnished, but the young designer has a few tips to keep them shining. For one, always keep silver jewellery wrapped in butter paper or cotton. While getting dressed, be careful not to spray perfumes on the metal. And when tarnish does set in, polish it with toothpaste or any scouring powder.

Summer buds

The 23-year-old designer, Gauri Bajoria, launched her spring-summer collection, Flower Power, on Monday.

Floral prints and motifs rule her range. Targeted at young women who like to dress trendy, Gauri was “inspired by the 60s pop culture”. Skirts with flounces and double skirts dominate while kaftan and poncho-type tops with huge flowers sewn or printed on them in bright colours complete the look.

Ribbons ranging from fluorescent yellow to elegant peaches and creams add some frill and flounce to most of the skirts. While the printed georgette skirts have a generous sprinkling of daisies in aqua and blue, the two-tone micro fibre that she has used for her tops have been jazzed up with resham, badla and threadwork.

Fine voiles and crushed cottons make up some of the simpler skirts with less detailing. The long Mexican skirts have been thrown in “keeping in mind conservative Calcutta buyers”. Georgette saris with sequins and resham are also part of the collection.

While the cuts are clean, some of the embellishments did not work that well.

Good news on the retail front, too. On till May 23, Westside has a summer carnival in store to keep kids happy during the summer holidays. Every weekend, there is a line up of jugglers, musicians, clowns, magicians, puppeteers, hair-braiders and face-painters to entertain the children as parents shop. There are also some tempting offers on children’s clothes.

More designs are coming Calcutta’s way on Wednesday. Pritam Panda is launching his label Prakshi formally, at Tantra’s latest edition of Midnight Fashion, 10 pm onwards.

The show is being put up especially for his “select clients”, and saris and lehngas will share the bar-top ramp with hot pants and bra tops, the young designer promises.