Recently, someone I know announced she was selling her very extensive wardrobe since she was moving countries. Her new tiny apartment had no space for saris or the voluminous skirts and glittering bustiers she’d acquired over the years from an array of Indian designers. Her nicely worded SMS invited us for a sale, to see if there’s something we’d like. I happened to mention it to a couple of friends who were dumbstruck (read, horrified). ‘Why not give them away’, sermonised one, disapprovingly. ‘Who sells their clothes,’ asked another in a tone of withering scorn. To begin with, it would be a little weird to donate a heavily sequined outfit to Mother Teresa’s charity. It’s too tackily reminiscent of the proverbial, let them eat cake. Besides, designer clothes are expensive. I can understand not wanting to part with them without something in return. And if you can sell an AC, a car, an X Box, a fridge and a phone, why not clothes which in this specific case might have cost more? The sale though, was far from a grand success because Indians of a particular vintage are squeamish about second-hand clothing. It’s a cultural thing. Traditionally, new clothes are worn on festivals such as Eid and Diwali. Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and fertility is welcomed on the first day of Diwali week. Dhanteras is also the most auspicious day for shopping in the year (obviously, something new). It’s no wonder then that we attach a huge premium on pristine things, even to our own economic detriment. Contrast this with the fashion capitals of the world, London and Paris, which are overrun with good value boutiques full of great second-hand designs that don’t cost the earth. The trendiest people shop here and it’s actually considered quite cool to let it slip that you found a used bargain in Camden Town. In India, it’s a well-known fact that a new car depreciates in value by up to 30 per cent the minute it’s driven out of the showroom. Similarly, if you own a newly constructed apartment in south Delhi and rent it out — it becomes really tough selling it six months later because buyers want to move into an unused place. However, a younger generation of Indians seem aware that the glow from a new purchase fades very fast and have fewer qualms about renting personal items. The website www.swishlist.in goes with the tagline: Rent it, Rock it, Return it. You can hire a Rohit Bal sari for Rs 2,500 for two days, delivered to your doorstep. (The rack rate for purchase is Rs 54,000.) Similarly www.vintagedesi.com sells second-hand salwar kameezes, saris and costume jewellery and you can even pawn your own stuff here by sending them two photographs of the item. The whole idea of ownership has changed in a world constantly threatened by an economic crisis. Entire nations are looking for new ways to make money and ways to save it as well. Besides, over-consumption has huge environmental consequences. Even if it isn’t about saving the planet, it’s great that people are thinking tangentially, about the expensive and mostly useless items cluttering all our cupboards. Intuitively, we all know that all the stuff we accumulate isn’t going to make us happier; now that there are options to rent it’s really true that with fewer possessions, life can still be big. hutkayfilms@gmail.com
