‘Retro Elegance’ in Blouses

With the focus on prints and embroidery, there hasn’t been much innovation in blouse cuts and fits. The most abiding style, however, continues to be the one with half-sleeves and boat-neck, and perhaps, a bit of sparkling embroidery playing creative hide and seek, says Anita Arora

THEY are calling it ‘retro elegance’ — a term that salvages the trashy chic of yesteryear to celebrate the female form with simple, graceful blouses. The surfeit of exposure with the choli-ke-peeche kind of teasers is clearly behind us.

In their place are two distinct trends. One is the western-influenced, fully covered, tailored look that can be combined with both sarees and skirts with equal ease. The other is the purely Indian, profusely embellished, backless or sleeveless cholis that go best with ethnic outfits like ghagras and lehngas.

It is the second variety that continues to grab media attention because it looks sexy and gorgeous on a good body. Romancing the blouse, for designers, has always meant experimenting with the embroidery, front clasps, string lacing at the back and so on.

The sleeves, cut of the neck, length and fit of the garment come to play in greater measure while working on the western numbers. And here, there have been some significant styles that are already showing up on Indian ramps.

The most obvious and, consequently, popular ones come in the parade of polite day clothes with their broad blazers and pants or sober, over-the-knee skirts we see everywhere. In fact, many corporate houses and hotels are increasingly adopting these for their front-desk staff.

The blouse here comes with all its fresh, puff-sleeved charm worn with a neat, tight skirt or trousers in a contrasting shade. For casual wear, the blouses could range from chalk white with black scalloping to flowery prints and embroidery on pale haze organza.

These styles are making designers reinvent the way to dress women long married to jackets and trousers. The classic is, of course, the tailored suit or the liquid satin gown worn with a heavily embroidered stole or dupatta for added drama.

Then there are the styles that fuse the savage with the romantic. It could be a tribal theme, with dark brown leather, wooden beading and metallic accessories. On the softer side, there could be flower embroidery in popular mauve and rose pink.

On a more adventurous level, there are designers for whom the blouse becomes a canvas to draw lines, paint dots and get into mad mixes of geometric, eccentric, romantic and ethnic styles. Faded flowers, coloured squares and black-and-white rectangles form part of this eclectic range.

With the focus on prints and embroidery, there hasn’t been much innovation on the cuts and fits. The most abiding style however, continues to be the boat-neck, half-sleeved garment with perhaps, a bit of sparkling embroidery playing creative hide and seek. Experimenting with blended weaves in geometric shapes is just as common for designers as working with crushed polyester and corrugated poplin.

Net and lace are also showing up, especially in blouses with those famous three-quarter sleeves of the sixties. But lace (even if it is imported) when used for the full blouse can be impractical as it tends to sag at the wrong places. Besides, women need a perfect figure to carry a lace blouse comfortably.

Brocade and velvet blouses demand minimum innovation, but again, it is the finish and fit that demand extra attention as hooks and buttons can be untidily attached. Some designers are, however, converting these into sequined over-shirts, which are more in the nature of jackets than proper blouses.

Then there are the sheer satin silk blouses, usually teamed with sarees. They are also available as separates, but with more emphasis on detailing and extravagant embellishments. Ideal for an evening out, these are both classy and elegant.

But ultimately, it is the skimpy backless choli that commands maximum attention. Dyed in bright colours with natural dyes, these come in a variety of new fabrics and textures without losing out on their sensuous appeal and rustic charm.

Little wonder, the backless choli is the most popular ceremonial and festive wear for Indian women. (MF)