The Style Mavens

This style-obsessed Class 11 student of Modern School is loaded in logos — $90 Topshop jacket picked up from a recent vacation at Singapore,Steve Madden shoes and a chic tunic by newbie UK label LALL London that the designer Gurdeep Lall graciously sent her to “review”. She loves to play dressing up but trusses herself only in high fashion labels. The latest update on the blog shows the schoolgirl togged out in a parrot print Motel Camilla dress,a sequinned boyfriend slouch blazer inspired by Rachel Bilson (American actor of OC fame),a Kazo belt and United Nude neon-green pumps. It is a look more suitable for New York streets than the terrace at her Noida home. “A fashion blog is honest — it inspires one and doesn’t dictate,” says Khosla. She agrees she’s not really an “academic person”. “I am okay at grades,” says Khosla. But she has also invented the word fabulosity.

Khosla is one of the bloggers who’s making news with her ramblings on her sense of style and the goings-on in fashion,and pictures of her latest finds . So far,she has 250 followers with about 500 daily hits. “My style is very contemporary,not high-street. I shop heavily online,from Net-a-Porter,and don’t scrounge around thrift stores,” says Khosla. Of late,she has emerged as a trend-spotter. Motel,Pleasure Doing Business,Lena Erziak,Lorick New York,Tuleste Market,MaxStudio,Mash NY,1986 and United Nude are some of the international labels that she reviews for and the girl even managed to snap an invite to the Zara launch at Select Citywalk. “Reviewing is the fun part of the job. But I generally do that for little-known labels,” says Khosla. Fabblab.blogspot.com is a great place to find young designers.

Internationally,bloggers are fashion’s new elite,snapping front-row invites,sitting alongside the icy Anna Wintour and WAG queen Victoria Beckham and having photo moments with designer Yohji Yamamoto. In India,the scene is still nascent. Says Rinyaokhan Jajo,fashion insider: “In India,there’s not much happening in fashion blogging. Today,it is mostly marketing.”

Vir Shete,an 18-year-old hair and make-up artist cum stylist from Mumbai,is one such blogger who welcomes all positive attention. His blog virshete.wordpress.com,started in February,documents the latest in hair and make-up. He dresses up in styles ranging from classic to goth glam and colour play. He also lists a beauty regimen and a guide to “live your eyeliner,breathe your lipstick”. “For me,it’s more than a blog,it’s my portfolio so that my work can be seen by others. This is how I market myself,” says Shete,a self-trained stylist,known for his androgynous style. His blog features five looks including the Victoria Beckhamesque evening walk look with the pooch,kitted in a neon pink shirt,belted blue shorts and high-waisted trousers. Shete’s style has attracted an army of fans. “Sometimes my style comes across as a little strange. Maybe it is because people are not so out there as they are abroad,” says Shete,one of the few sartorially evolved guys.

Amid the highfalutin noise of fashion,there is a shy blogger too,who loves to cover her face on her blog. But there is nothing coy about her style. Esther Fanai,a 21-year-old Mizo girl studying English at Miranda House,reads Homer by the day and blogs about “grey pieces on top of grey pieces” with an oversized bow by the night. Fanai’s wardrobe is simply put together — like cutesy ankle-length peach socks with a skirt. She often scrounges stuff from Sarojini Nagar,but in her nine-month-old blog,she often preps them up with sharp accessorising.

“I like blogging about fashion but I am not planning any career in this field. I plan to pursue higher studies,” says Fanai,whose younger sister Annie clicks her photos. Check out her blog lahlahishere. blogspot.com for some fun dressing.