|
How
to be cool in the rains and make a short-sleeved statement
 Are
you one of those people who recoil with horror at the
very thought of stepping out in the rain? Well don't
let a silly thing like that dampen your style. With
just a few guidelines and appropriate armour to shield
you from your fearful enemy, you can feel free to splurge
and give the frogs a complex!
Dress
down
If you were planning to wear your spanking new Levi's
to that party you've been waiting for all week, but
the heavens suddenly decide to open their floodgates
on you, be sure of one thing. By the time you get to
that party, your brand new jeans are going to be anything
but spanking!
Monsoon is the season to pack away all your denims and
corduroys and other such healthy babies of fashion.
"What you want to hunt down are your cottons and
other light fabrics, you know, something that would
dry up easily," suggests Clayton Miranda, a designer
at Chemistry, in Mumbai. And what should you be wearing?
"Loose, floppy dresses and knee-length tiered skirts
are what's hot for the ladies this season and loose
Capri's for both guys and girls."
Wear
your attitude
And if you thought girls have a bigger variety to choose
from, you couldn't be more wrong! Thanks to the age
of the metrosexual male, experimenting with all kinds
of fashion statements has become the norm. "Light
colours are definitely what's in for men this season.
Nowadays, guys are going in for pink polo t-shirts,
and pyjamas rather than jeans. They're lighter and more
practical in this gloomy weather," says model and
store owner, Kashif Sheikh.
Hair
Care
"Keep it natural!" that's what Aleena Jetha,
a hairstylist at Shehnaz Herbal, Bandstand, has to say.
"The wavy look is back. I wouldn't recommend hair
straightening; it has an unnatural look to it."
And what about all those hair products you've gotten
so addicted to? "The best bet is to stay away from
hair products in the rains. The high humidity in the
air simply doesn't 'gel' well with hair products, if
you know what I mean. Oils and gels don't make a very
pleasant concoction when fused with water. But if you
really have to, then use products like a leave-in conditioner,
or an anti-frizz serum like 'Osis' from Shwarzkopf,
to enhance the natural look
Feet for the Rains
Slip into trendy sneakers and sandals. Avoid leather
boots and heals. "If you can manage to get a hold
of them, Jelly Bean sandals(Campers) are the most ideal
for the rains, " says Clayton.
Short-Sleeved
Shirts-Nerdy but Nice
If you thought short-sleeved shirts were a thing of
the past and not to be taken seriously, you better brace
yourself as they are making a huge comeback in the fashion
scenario, and how! Be it natty-dressing indie rockers
like Green Day lead singer, Billie Joe, and Beck; or
fashion icons like Brad Pitt, or closer home, Aamir
Khan, everyone seems to be falling prey to the invisible
sleeved shirt. And in a world where what drives men's
fashion is the urge to emulate, just as nerdy retro-inspired
glasses have become a fashion staple, the shirt is rolling
up its invisible sleeves to get into the fashion fray.
What used to be the Dilbert of menswear has now taken
on a whole new dimension in fashion; and young and fashionable
men's designers like Suneet Verma, Vikram Phadnis, Umesh
Jivnani, Kawaljeet and Arjun Khanna see the short-sleeved
dress shirt as an indispensable part of 2006.
"I think they're really looking cool again,"
says Arjun Khanna, "raw-edged half sleeves with
trendy, funky prints are in: checks with patch-work,
checks with appliqué; the cuts are straighter,
suggesting a more fitted look. As for colour, anything
goes: Blues, aqua, beige, even pink."
But one thing to keep in mind-if you're planning to
go short this season, the cardinal rule of short-sleeved
dress shirts: You can't have a belly! These kinds of
shirts work best when they are offset by a trim physique
and tailoring to match. Nowadays, designers have also
worked to sex up the shirt a little bit. In the past,
the sleeves, shortened versions of long sleeves, were
big and blowsy. But now, much to the delight of the
gym by-products of today, the arms have been trimmed
to show off those sexy bicep curves, and the torso cut
close to the body for a sharper fit. What's interesting
is that short-sleeved shirts are almost as expensive
to produce as normal shirts, so they are not cheap.
Yet men expect to pay much less for them.
The shirts look best neat, trim and freshly starched,
like it's right out of the box. And if they're worn
with just the right amount of irony, that means with
an old school tie (you can go for a skinny solid or
pin stripes), tucked into a pair of neat trousers, (khakis
or slacks, not jeans), and of course, thick, black glasses,
that's enough to set a few heads turning in your direction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
