Recession Chic

Don8217;t bring the drab meltdown mood to your clothes.

Here is the designers8217; guide to look trendy even when the economy is not looking good

David Abraham of Abraham and Thakore:
Don8217;t bring the drab meltdown mood to your clothes. The optimistic thing to do now is to go in for cheerful dressing, as if nothing has happened. Bring out the classy items from the wardrobe and choose colours like black, dull-gold, coffee and toffee with dull metallic glints that can give a rich and luxurious look even without accessories. Similarly, for our autumn-winter collection, we have worked with baroque influences on a muted-colour palette.

Zubair Kirmani:
Go, mix and match items of clothing to get the perfect look. The ideal thing to do is buy one designer item, like a pair of trousers or a skirt, and then team it with everyday items from the wardrobe. Colours go a long way in defining your dressing sensibility. Invest in safe colours like charcoal-grey, ivory and maroon that can hold its own beyond a single season. Focus on visually rich looking accessories, like mufflers, caps, bangles, which can make you look simple, yet classy.

Anupamaa Dayal:
Recession hardly means dressing down. What it does imply, instead, is to cut out whimsical shopping. Buy one item of clothing, but make sure it is of the best quality. Trans-seasonal dressing is going to be big in a way, since the ideal way to deal with the situation is to buy clothing which is not seasonal. Buy a dress which you can also wear in summer, but team it up with a polo neck sweater, leggings or skinny jeans, and accessories like a dressy shawl or stole. This way you8217;ll have a compact wardrobe, but you8217;ll still be dressed for the season. I am not particularly fond of classic styles of dressing, unless it8217;s pepped up with imaginative accents. For my autumn-winter collection, I have been careful to keep the silhouettes slim because you cannot go in for a layered look if any one item is bulky.

Varun Bahl:
Even though recession might not affect trousseau expenses, you can exercise moderation in your everyday wardrobe. Go for basic clothing, which you can team up with a lot of other accents. Bring back black. Invest in a lot of blacks, since it is one colour that can be worn in many different ways, for both casual and formal occasions. You can go in for bright accessories 8212; bright belts, colourful bags and shoes. These will lend warmth to the entire look.

Paromita Chakrabarti

Paromita Chakrabarti is Senior Associate Editor at the The Indian Express. She is a key member of the National Editorial and Opinion desk and writes on books and literature, gender discourse, workplace policies and contemporary socio-cultural trends. Professional Profile With a career spanning over 20 years, her work is characterized by a "deep culture" approach—examining how literature, gender, and social policy intersect with contemporary life. Specialization: Books and publishing, gender discourse (specifically workplace dynamics), and modern socio-cultural trends. Editorial Role: She curates the literary coverage for the paper, overseeing reviews, author profiles, and long-form features on global literary awards. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent writing highlights a blend of literary expertise and sharp social commentary: 1. Literary Coverage & Nobel/Booker Awards "2025 Nobel Prize in Literature | Hungarian master of apocalypse" (Oct 10, 2025): An in-depth analysis of László Krasznahorkai’s win, exploring his themes of despair and grace. "Everything you need to know about the Booker Prize 2025" (Nov 10, 2025): A comprehensive guide to the history and top contenders of the year. "Katie Kitamura's Audition turns life into a stage" (Nov 8, 2025): A review of the novel’s exploration of self-recognition and performance. 2. Gender & Workplace Policy "Karnataka’s menstrual leave policy: The problem isn’t periods. It’s that workplaces are built for men" (Oct 13, 2025): A viral opinion piece arguing that modern workplace patterns are calibrated to male biology, making women's rights feel like "concessions." "Best of Both Sides: For women’s cricket, it’s 1978, not 1983" (Nov 7, 2025): A piece on how the yardstick of men's cricket cannot accurately measure the revolution in the women's game. 3. Social Trends & Childhood Crisis "The kids are not alright: An unprecedented crisis is brewing in schools and homes" (Nov 23, 2025): Writing as the Opinions Editor, she analyzed how rising competition and digital overload are overwhelming children. 4. Author Interviews & Profiles "Fame is another kind of loneliness: Kiran Desai on her Booker-shortlisted novel" (Sept 23, 2025): An interview regarding The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. "Once you’ve had a rocky and unsafe childhood, you can’t trust safety: Arundhati Roy" (Aug 30, 2025): A profile on Roy’s recent reflections on personal and political violence. Signature Beats Gender Lens: She frequently critiques the "borrowed terms" on which women navigate pregnancy, menstruation, and caregiving in the corporate world. Book Reviews: Her reviews often draw parallels between literature and other media, such as comparing Richard Osman’s The Impossible Fortune to the series Only Murders in the Building (Oct 25, 2025). ... Read More