Assam Tribune, The

October is when I do all my khaddar shopping. Khaddar as in the English adaptation – khadi — and a fabric that became synonymous with Mahatma Gandhi’s clarion call for independence. I was in a different town, it was pouring and I was done with my purchase and on no whim asked a young lady at a plush khadi store on the origins of this rich heritage fabric and how it is made. She looked nonplussed and dashed to the senior lady at another counter who came rushing to explain its benefits — it will...

If ever there was proof that power packing is a survival skill, it’s this footloose work trip. As I hop from one city to the next town with just a tote and two-wheeler capacious backpack (not available anymore and the brand knows not that if it is upgraded with just another set of 360-degree wheels, it could beat just about all in the market!), I also realise that retail indulgence should be steered clear of! But we women cannot be shopping-proofed, so all ye happy trippers, before you kit out...

Are you cheugy or do you ooze drip? All that Gen Z argot has its own set of challenges, and add to it the overwhelming need to attain the right fit check. And no, we are not talking sizing issues here! A vibe check, truth be told, is not just by the zoomers. Whether you are a baby boomer, a millennial, a senior screenager, or a soigne from the silent generation, the need to look good, wear the best, is usually a given. For some, however, this could translate into peer pressure and a lot more...

The skies aren’t done pouring yet and the festal feel’s all around us. Sawan or the season of Shravan has commenced a week or two earlier, people are at their fasting best, the markets abuzz with glittering rakhis and stores raining discounts, although it is as of now the annual monsoon meltdown. Do you fall prey to marketing tactics that promise freebies with every purchase or two? What about the online seducers that pop up on every page you browse, any game you play or simply reels that...

Pelting rain some days, canicular heat the other, the weather is all hues! And the in-between oppressive clagginess makes many feel unfit. Clothes feel sticky, the make-up runs, beards feel itchy, hands and feet clammy. It can’t be all that bad! Work needs to be done, and in spite of all the trappings to beat the heat and rain, the step out of the home or office is often inescapable. And when the air is all steamy and stifling, wearing the right fabrics can make all the difference. Man, woman or...

Time was when air travel had just that touch of glamour. Time is when the influence of influencers—be it a film or cricket star or just about any other celeb that the paparazzi is summoned to catch ‘em ostensibly unawares as they get off their car or enter any airport in any part of the country—is all pervading. We mango people follow them through our social media accounts (mostly) and lap up whatever they wear. A rather recent coinage is ‘airport fashion’. At least in India. It is the K-Pops...

When it rains, it pours and when it suns, it’s a blistering, sweltering energy-sapper. Staying cool is all one wants, more so when there’s any commute to be dealt with. The best fabric I am rooting for this season is mul. Soft, featherlight and airy, be it shirts, kurtas or saris, the block prints in summery hues are to die for. If not mul, then there’s linen, khadi, cotton, taant, chiffon, all kinds of handwovens from the various states, singling out kota and chanderi sans the lining which is a...

Repair, reuse, recycle — these are mantras the world is beginning to wake up to. These principles, I am sure, must have evolved with humankind from the time we learnt to cover our body but gradually forgotten as advancement set in. But as earth chokes on the air, land, water pollution wreaked on it by various industry segments, including fashion, it is time we hark back to those practices. Across the globe, policies are being developed or brought out to support this, with the responsibility also...

Summer’s knocking hard. The socks are off, almost. What styles your feet when the sun’s a-blistering? Sliders, clogs, platforms, peep-toe slingbacks, flip-flops, thong sandals, pointe shoes, peep-toe ties, ankle ties, mules, toe-loop sandals, pointed shoes? Or, are you a ballerina, Mary Jane and sneaker girl? When it comes to playing footsie, remember comfort must be top priority. Size is a given. Anything that’s tight and bites is a definite no, no matter what the promise is — “will stretch...

So men, how do you make your sartorial choices? While the Boomer is rather content in the regular shirt-tee-shorts-trousers-jeans-jacket-coat, it is the Generation X, Y (millennials), Z that’s really leading the change. While the Boomer has mostly clung on to monos in black, white, blue and brown, GenX onwards have been more experimental be it colours, cuts, prints and even accessories. No hard and fast rule there. If an individual has an innate sense of style, fashion speaks in the sharply...