Wrap of Luxury

What next,ask fashion makers. Before they came up with something,a humble wrap crept out of the backs of stores and found itself on the arms (or backs) of many. The shawl,the wrap or the stole is going to be everywhere this winter,whether we’re ready for it or not.

I first saw it on a woman in a queue at Mumbai airport’s immigration. It was a silver and grey monogrammed Louis Vuitton shawl. What a wonderful thing to fly with,I thought. Your handbag or shoes are often kicked under the seats,so why settle for the allergy-inducing fleeces the airline offers you (in a pseudo-sanitised plastic packet at that)? I couldn’t get my eyes off it and thought about it every day for the next few weeks.

Then yesterday,on a whim and in my home shorts,in the midst of the hottest month in Mumbai’s calendar,I traipsed to the Louis Vuitton store at the Taj Mahal hotel. I walked past the delicious red bags from their new Rouge Fauviste line and asked the shop girl where the shawls were. In a corner,behind the lounge sofas,were five beautiful pieces (including the silver one). I debated between the very glamorous navy and a rich dark chocolate and chose the latter. It was quieter. And expensive.

Unlike many shawls,the LV shawl is a square,not a rectangle,to be folded into a triangle and then worn. It looks so simple and elegant I wondered why no one thought of it before. The shawls,soft and warm in silk and cashmere,have been at their stores forever,but have just decided to creep out of anonymity. That’s the wonderful thing about real style,it doesn’t have to announce its arrival.

I threw it over my black tunic and trousers to dinner at night and was greeted by my host with two kisses instead of one. The icy climate control of Wasabi made me grateful for my fuzzy companion. In the lobby of the hotel,I received admiring glances from several women thinking,‘A monogrammed shawl,that’s new.’ Strangely it wasn’t,the shawls have been around and gone unnoticed for too long. I haven’t seen the Stephen Sprouse one on anyone,even though the store had none.

I came home and did something unusual. I crept into my son’s bed and covered him with it. I did it because the shawl whispered a very important word to me: nonchalance. (namratanow@gmail.com)