Power Mother + Daughter, Shanti + Shivani

When we shot our holiday campaign in New York where we caught up with one of our models, Shivani, and her mother, Shanti. The mother and daughter are Canadian, but Shani is original from Trinidad, and they shared with us how they inspire each other ever day..

What do you love about your mom?

Shivani: I love that my mom is a really hard worker. She calls me a lot, which for some kids might be annoying and maybe it was when I was younger but now that I am older, I appreciate it more.

What do you love about your daughter?

Shanti: She’s kind and loving, caring and generous.

What do you love about the holiday season and do you have any traditions as a family.

Shivani: What I love about the holidays is that it’s cold. We are from Toronto, and I love to bundle up. We have a very large family; I love that we get together and have big dinners. It’s nice that everyone has time off and you aren’t thinking about work.

Shanti: I love that I get to see my children and grandchildren and we have dinners and spend time together.

You are from Trinidad, are there any Trinidadian traditions?

Shivani: we have a drink called Sorrel that is made from a plant. We also have rum cake. We also have a specific kind of music called Parang, which is Christmas music specifically from the Caribbean. There is another drink called Ponche de Crème which is alcoholic and peanut-y.

How do you show your mom you love her?

Shivani: Our running joke is whenever I ask her what she wants for her birthday or Mother’s Day, she will say, I just want love and respect.

Shanti: Money doesn’t buy that.

Shivani: How I show her love is what she asks, show her love and respect, which is what I do because that is what she asks for.

How has it been working with your daughter today?

Shanti: The experiences is very valuable since I have never been to a shoot before. Also, she always says how the days are long, and it’s really tiring for her and now I appreciate how much she loves it.

Are holidays big in your family?

Shanti: We love having everyone close and together.

Shivani: Our family is very close. My cousins are my best friends. We grew up like that. They were my first friends. But yes, holidays are big and we are hoping this year we can do something big again. It was weird the last two years. It’s cool. A potluck, it’s fun. It’s bizarre that other people don’t have big Christmas things. I know others’ holidays are more intimate, but I can’t imagine it another way.

How do you like to dress for the holidays?

Shivani: I don’t really wear a lot of color on an everyday basis, but the holidays are a fun time to do without trying so hard. The black dress was a big blazer which is so in right now and chic. I could even wear it as a jacket if I didn’t want to wear as dress which is nice for the holidays as well as an office party. I think WHBM has classic chic beautiful pieces you can own for a really long time.

Power of Love, what does it mean to you?

Shivani: I view sacrifice as a power of love. As an immigrant you see that with a lot of your family. And so much of what I have is because of their sacrifice.

Shanti: Working hard to making sure my children reach their goal in life. This is very satisfactory to my husband and I.

Shivani: I feel like you would say communication is the power of love since you communicate a lot. I see the difference between the parents who don’t do that. People think I talk to my parents too much, “you talk to them three times a day- that is a lot!” But I don’t think I will ever regret that time. So, for you, communication is love

Shanti: If I wake up in the morning and I don’t hear from her or my son, I text them around 9 or 10 and they respond, I am ok, even if they are busy.

Shivani: Yes, she has to make sure we are alive every day.

WHBM thoughts…

Shanti: What I love about WHBM is that I can shop there, and my daughter can shop there. I love the pants and black top I wore today. With the flowy sleeves, they were nice. The sweater was cozy for Canadian winters.