What do your clothes say about you?
Fashion
By Nikhil Bhagat

WHAT would you say about someone who lives in her jeans and T-shirts, has denim shirt tied around her hips and to complete the look, has big pendants worn around black strings and wears huge, big-heeled slippers?

Your answer is obvious: she couldn’t care about fashion.

Clearly, the old saying, that "you cannot judge a book by its cover" does not hold good any longer. In a world that is getting increasingly fashion-conscious, the way we dress speaks louder about who we are and what we are about than any other means of communication.

Consider this: you meet someone who looks perfect, all neat and tidy in her pastel chamois satin saree, accessorised with a classic watch and a string of pearls around her neck... She wears either gold or glass bangles in the exact shade of her saree.

You would say that this woman has arrived — that she is completely in touch with what she is and does not go out of the way to flaunt it. She is proud to be an Indian and wears the saree with dignity. She does not get swayed by changing trends and takes her pick with restraint.

Contrast this with someone who wears her extremely low-waisted jeans or tiny lycra skirts in bright florescent colours, choosing the same shades, fabric and patterns as she saw at the last college social. This woman is obviously searching for easy acceptability.

The complete western look betray qualities of one who is not a leader and will blindly follow trends. She tends to give up on things without much deliberation and doesn’t get over-attached to objects, people or places.

The good thing about this person is that she will also move on, leaving behind all the waste from the past. When an older woman dresses like that, she is trying to hang on to her youth. And this, as we know, just doesn’t work.

Between these two extremes of the classy and the hep are a whole range of intermediate looks that fashion writers have classified as sporty, flirty, ethnic chic, casual and so on. Here’s a quick run down on what each signifies:

Sporty: Her wardrobe is like being in uniform in track pants and T-shirts. She wears her sneakers all day and loafers by night. She will wear her jerseys and jackets with hoods and her workout clothes will be in the back seat of the car.

Flirty: She wears cute twin sets with cropped trousers, pastel coloured blouses in soft fabrics or dresses in fresh, floral prints. Frosted lipstick completes the look.

Ethnic chic: She looks like a goddess, brimming with culture, colour and creativity. It’s there in her well-defined kohl-lined eyes, the huge red bindi on her forehead, tribal or folk hand-crafted jewellery and hand-woven fabrics. Designer clothes are just not her thing.

Casual: She is a simple dresser, refusing to get into anything elaborate. Cottons are her thing. She often wears skirts or trousers in plain colours with buttoned-down shirts. Bright colours aren’t big with her, but pays extra attention to her nice big bag and good shoes.

Studied casual: She may belong to the category of the casual dresser, but this lady is a class by herself. One look at her and you would know the ‘casualness’ is a studied mix ‘n’ match of separates. She wears light colours and sports a non-clingy silhouette.

Western classic: She wears coordinates. She is the one with the classic watch, perfectly manicured hands, matching jacket, shoes and bag. She always looks like she has just stepped out of a salon. It wouldn’t be beyond her to be wearing stockings in summer.

Come-hither look: Anything that brings home the attention and she’s got it. Her silhouette is perfectly fitted, whether she has the body for it or not. Tight, bright, short and low, transparent fabrics and loud jewellery... these are a few of her favourite things in life.

In order to let your dressing talk for you, it might help striking the right balance between these so-called set styles that make you feel good.

Remember, there is no right way to dress. So if you feel good in what you wear, you would automatically look good. (MF)