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| Saturday, July 26, 2003 |
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As Sakshi Mehta, an 18-year-old puts it. "At our age, we like change and so it is important there’s new look every season. For instance, long skirts were very much ‘ in’ during the last season. This year they are at the back of the shelves. Embroidered jeans with colourful tops have taken over. Top that with a wrist band or an arm band and you have a great thing going!" "Fashion trends in
colleges have a mind of their own," adds Ruchira Tyagi, another
undergraduate in a Mumbai college. "I wouldn’t be caught dead
wearing what those girls wore in that college flick Ishq Vishq.
And what’s shown on the ramps these days is just as unwearable." |
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For boys, coloured singlets, track pants and Doc Martins have made way for short, body-fitting T-Shirts, three-quarter trousers and slip-ons. "I’ d advise a guy to wear a singlet showing off his arms and biceps only if he wants to commit social suicide,"says Payal Chopra, an aspiring fashion designer.
Elaborates, 19-year-old Rajiv Sharma, an arts student: "Guy’s fashion this year has placed more emphasis on the comfort aspect. Show-off fads like singlets are passe, but more practical three-fourths and drawstrings are in vogue." "Guys need not wear tracks to college just to prove they have an athletic bent," adds Anil Dongre, a classmate. "And Doc Martins, please! Sports shoes or casual slip-ons would work much better. For me, the best part about the look this season is that I haven’t had to buy a single new thing. Everything from the back of my closet fits right in." Significantly, in the absence of advice from professional designers on casual wear for young adults, college kids count heavily on the opinion (and in effect, approval) of classmates of the opposite sex for their style options. Quite clearly, the effort is to impress rather than copy. Not surprisingly then that boys are knowledgeable about what their girlfriends look good in, and vice versa. As Rajiv explains, getting into details on women’s footwear: " High heels just don’t excite any more. Flats and V-Shaped slippers are very comfortable and with it. So what, if they don’t help girls with their heights at all!" Likewise, Sakshi offers some hot fashion tips to boys that could be an eye-opener to a Tarun Tahiliani or a Hemant Trevedi: "Accessories add their own flavour to guy’s fashion. From finger rings and funky chains to brass-buckled belts and watches, there are many ways you can make a fashion statement, so long as you know how to carry yourself. The trick is to not appear overdressed. Another significant aspect is the emphasis on androgynous styles, influenced by western street fashion. Black rules supreme in T-Shirts and trousers, spaghetti straps and skirts, tank tops and embroidered jeans.... even in belts and footwear, both for boys and girls. Many would attribute this to increased exposure to international fashion trends through television, books, lifestyle journals and, of course, movies. But at the core of it all, lies the spirit of self-assertion—to defy established, run-of-the-mill styles of grown-ups, and to discover a new idiom celebrating the spirit of youth. Cost and comfort are factors that come later. —MF Photos: Parvesh
Chauhan |
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COLLEGE
kids have become increasingly individualistic in their sartorial
tastes. They could not care much for what Bollywood starlets wear on
screen, nor are they concerned about the latest styles on display in
ramp shows. But they are extremely aware of seasons and silhouettes
and the look that suits them best.
On a more serious note,
she adds: "What’s more in vogue is the fitted T-Shirt with
three- fourth-long sleeves while three-quarters for trousers seem
pretty chilled out as well. Short kurtas seem cool for
evening wear, but if they are being worn only to cover up some flab
underneath, then that’s a complete letdown!"