Soaked in style

The rains are my favourite time of the year,especially since they mark the end of a sticky,sweaty summer when all you want to wear is a bikini and flip-flops. The monsoon is a great time to focus on fashion and a little bit of common sense is all you need to pull it off without looking like something dragged in through the cat-flap. Keep it simple,it’s a great time to dress down and indulge in a little trash-fash.

To start with,banish your jeans. Denims are monsoon fashion’s Public Enemy Number One. Wet jeans are an open invitation to all sorts of ailments,from rashes to leptospirosis. Besides,wet pants can only be forgiven on two-year-olds with leaky diapers. The new skirt shape is the bubble,perfect for dank weather as it is very short and doesn’t touch the thigh. Its high waist almost apologises for its mini length so you can wear it and still be a lady instead of a wannabe teen.

Interestingly,maxi dresses are not a faux pas either. Even though their floor-sweep hazards wetness,they dry very quickly. I recently saw Simone Singh wear one at a brunch with flat sandals and make it a picture of weather-proof elegance.

The best way to add colour to cloudy days is to try out Gucci’s colour-blocking. Team mismatched solid colours and you have a winning look. Of course,even I can’t afford a Gucci wardrobe daily so thank God for Zara’s knock-offs: a multi-coloured striped box skirt has been worn by me three times in two weeks.

Fall fashion this year is all about prints,so much so that some chicitas are teaming one print with another and making it work wonderfully. Indians love print and have many local techniques,it’s a great time to show off your craft.

A few years ago,Chanel started the mode of plastic/ PVC slippers. Almost every luxe label worth its haute leather followed: right from Gucci to Louis Vuitton to Stella McCartney. But thankfully,plastic slippers are now freely available at high-street stores. (The most fun are a Brazilian label called Melissa). Don’t worry about the quality,even the high-end ones don’t last. Please do not attempt Crocs; they are not for adults,they’re only for kids whose parents have bad taste. I especially love men who wear moccasins to work,no socks required and Indian dress codes are always flexible.

Bad hair is another one of monsoon’s tragedies,but updos don’t belong to the Sixties anymore. And Sonam Kapoor has made wispy hair the new must-have. Try an uber cool braid,like Freida Pinto in Simi Garewal’s talk show this Sunday.

Now when it pours,you can just be cool.

namratanow@gmail.com