WTF IS “HEALING CIRCLE CHIC”?

No more skinny jeans and tight waistbands. These days I prefer to let it all hang out, with some healing circle chic … Main image: Francis Catania

In my favorite drop-crotch pants

Skinny jeans, RIP. It’s official, the long-time reign of spray-on skinnies is officially ovah. Having been gradually edged out over the past few seasons, recent strolls around my hood in Williamsburg show the pendulum has finally swung. Long live the mom jean! And my belly, for one, is breathing a HUGE sigh of relief.

I actually stepped away from skinny jeans in a major way after I launched The Numinous, and began a deeper investigation of the modern spirituality scene. As a fashion writer in London, I’d amassed quite a collection—spray-on drainpipes by All Saints, hip-hugging micro flares by MiH, at least five pairs by J Brand. And peeling them off at the end of the day sometimes felt like being released from a Victorian corset. I actually think my skinny jeans habit might also have been a contributing factor to ongoing digestive issues during that period. For real!

But as days in high-pressure editorial meetings and nights spent trawling the celebrity party circuit gave way to Full Moon circles and sound bath sessions, more and more often the skinnies were relegated to the back of my wardrobe. Drainpipe denim and gong healing workshops do not make for happy bedfellows. As anybody who’s tried sitting cross-legged for extended periods in a pair of size 27 Cheap Mondays will know!

Free People Full Moon Ritual Ruby Warrington The Numinous
Rocking some Healing Circle Chic at at Full Moon ritual for Free People

Instead, I found myself seeking out clothing for my bottom half that allowed ample room for movement. For deep belly pranayama breathing. And which would not mean spending an entire Zen Buddhist meditation workshop trying to detach from thoughts about the pain of stiff denim cutting into my abdomen, hips, or the creases behind my knees. What I have come to term: healing circle chic.

My go-to look these days is a variation on yoga pants + sharp-shouldered blazer x chunky leather shoe situation (my friend Gabby Bernstein once coined my look “rock n roll yogi”!). But truth be told, even the yoga pants can get to feel kind of restrictive. As for the thong panties they require, let’s not even go there. My actual fave is a pair of drop-crotch Indian pants, with a loosely elasticated waistband positioned somewhere low down on my hips. Ahhhhhhh.

All the better for “letting it all hang out”—in a physical and an emotional sense. Because what I’ve also come to realize is, the more energy spent angsting over a waistband that feels too tight, the less headspace for deep and meaningful conversations with your higher self. The kind of conversations that are pretty much a non-negotiable for living your most cosmically aligned, high vibe life. Those loose-flowing robes favored by all the religious gurus? I totally get it now!

Celine SS17 The Numinous Ruby Warrington Healing Circle Chic
Celine SS17

Other faves for summer ’17 will be bias-cut slip dresses (for curves without the corset effect), kaftans (of course), and billowing outsize shirts, a lá Celine (above). Anything without a waistband, basically! (Which is ironic, btw, since also switching to a plant-based diet as part of my “spiritual awakening” means my stomach has never been flatter). And yes, of course I still do denim. In fact, I recently found a pair of vintage Levis mom jeans reckon I could sit for a 10-day silent Vipassana in.

This article has been adapted from an article that ran as part of Ruby’s Style Goddess column on Horoscope.com

MATERIAL GIRL, MYSTICAL WORLD: SHIVA ROSE

Meet Shiva Rose, Earth mother and holistic creatrix, and discover the fashion and beauty finds that rock her Mystical world…

Shiva Rose of The Local Rose featured on The Numinous

“We escaped Iran when I was ten years old, one cold winter night as the country was in the throes of a bloody revolution. We traveled to Germany, then London and finally to California, where my mother and her family is from. We settled in LA.”

So speaks actress, activist and curator Shiva Rose, whose lifestyle blog and online store The Local Rose celebrates her local community of artisan makers and mystics. And it was going from “a childhood nurtured on imagination and nature to life as a refugee,” that in fact fueled her passion for fashion and paved the way for her current incarnation as a woman dedicated to promoting a holistic, healthy and authentic lifestyle.

“I was a bit shy and awkward, and the trauma of escaping a revolution didn’t help. My refuge and escape from this reality was immersing myself in what I loved best, which was old European/Hollywood films and great books. I fell in love with story telling and being told stories,” she says. “I feel today I do this with each product I create and curate. The story behind the power of the ingredients rules me.”

Shiva Rose currently lives with her two daughters, Colette Blu, 19 and Charlotte Rumi, 10, in the Santa Monica Mountains, where the family is virtually self-sufficient. In itself an important part of her evolution as a woman.

“I feel like I have only become an adult in the last five years. There have been immense challenges and yet I have so much strength now that things that I couldn’t even dream of doing a few years ago are a welcome treat now. Things like fighting off a pack of coyotes that are trying to get my chickens by the light of the moon in my garden!”

The most vital lesson of all on her life path, however; “is that i have finally realized no one is going to make me happy unless I am happy, content and fulfilled on my own.”

Here’s a peek into the Mystical World of Shiva Rose, Earth Mama and Material Girl.

:: MATERIAL GIRL ::

My label
“Clothes designed and made by my community like Awave/Awake and Rachel Craven.”

awave awake fall 2015 collection shiva rose for the numinous
Awave Awake Fall 2015 collection

My shoes
“Celine on a fancy day. Hand made moccasins most days.”

manitobah handmade moccasins shiva rose for The Numinous
Manitobah handmade moccasins, $149

My scent
“Faith Essential Oil (on my site shop) or Rose oil from Amma.”

Essential Faith oil from the local rose featured on The Numinous
Essential Faith Oil, $65

My jewels
“Tantric pearls worn through meditation to soak up the high vibrations.”

tantric meditation pearls shiva rose featured on The Numinous
Tantric Meditation Pearls, $595, Nine Treasures

My pampering
“Daily evening goddess baths with my handmade Moon Rose Salts and then my Nectar Body Oil.”

rose moon sea salt bath salts from the local rose featured on The Numinous
Rose Moon Sea Salts, $50, The Local Rose

My home
“Minimal astral treehouse!”

My food
“Organic and hand picked from my garden ~ fresh salads and fruit crumble with raw cream.”

organic garden salad shiva rose The Numinous

:: MYSTICAL WORLD ::

My Awakening
“I awake before my children and creatures so I can have a few cups of Living Tea in meditative silence. If I am bending time that day, I will do a few Kundalini sets.”

My sign
“Aquarius with a Scorpio Moon, thus the dance between light and dark.”

My mantra
“Wahe Guru” and “I am Love.”

My guru
“Mama Earth and Father Sky.”

My reading
“So much to devour and learn. At the moment Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams; books on bee keeping, and The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy.”

My transformation
“So many, I’m always evolving and transforming ~ but the most recent when I got divorced 7 years ago, and my life broke apart and then open.”

My mission
“To raise compassionate daughters, to walk in beauty every day, to be a custodian of Mama Earth.”

Read more about Shiva Rose and shop her collections at Thelocalrose.com

Shiva Rose of The Local Rose featured on The Numinous