I Wear: Streetsmart Colour

It’s no big secret that I love bright colours. Drama is my middle name and my personal style spells it out in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS. The weather (among other things) tends to impact my mood and you can usually tell with reasonable accuracy, how I’m feeling inside by the colour of the sky. So the dull greys and browns of a Mumbai monsoon play such havoc on my humour, that I need plenty of cheerful colour to give me a reason to smile.

My usual preference of course, is for natural fabrics because of how comfortable they are. Synthetic fabrics like nylon, polyester etc are scratchy on the skin and unaccountably warm to wear. On the upside, they don’t crease or fade and they dry quickly. Perfect for a Mumbai monsoon! Like any good Mumbaiker, I have a stash of monsoonwear that’s been accumulating for years since it will probably never tear or wear out. Most of these pieces exit my wardrobe only because they’ve driven me crazy to the point of distraction by how durable they are. There is of course, also the fact that they always seem to fit better than any of the natural fabrics because of their stretchiness and their firmness in holding shape. Still, the lack of comfort keeps them from becoming a bigger part of my wardrobe. As it is, the only synthetic fabric pieces I own have loose necklines or are flowy rather than fitted to allow for some ventilation.

On this rather rainy (and *sigh* depressing) weekend, I had to step out for chores, general out-of-house-mood-lifting-walk and other things. I suited up as follows:

First of all, a bright fuchsia peasant top with puffed sleeves, an embroidered yoke, a tie-up at the throat and bunched-up waist. I like this one because it’s relatively airy, especially when I knot the tie loosely. The ends of the tie are really long and hang down to the waist even after knotting, thus saving me from little-schoolgirl-type (ick!) bows. It is a feminine style but the bold colour saves it from erring into diabetic.

I wore these with a pair of trusty blue denim capris. I know denim is hardly practical for this weather (it takes sooo long to dry!) but I needed something that wouldn’t show splashes and in which I could park my butt on less-than-fancy places too. The pair is actually at that odd length (which Neha calls pseud for some reason) but I rolled them up as far as they’d go, which was my knees. Much better, methinx. Less BTM (behenji-turns-mod), more practical girl-next-door.

And now the piece de resistance (*ahem* note use of pseud French words)! This glittery zari pouch is from another of my many Connaught Place rambles. Back when I bought it, I knew it was too small to carry as a handbag but I fell in love with the bright embroidery anyway. These past few years, it has been home to my deck of Arabian Nights tarot cards. (I thought the colours made it mighty appropriate). But on this dreary day, I needed something more than fuchsia to pull me out of the monsoon funk so I picked out this pouch and strung it cross-ways. The handle is a thin black thread and the bag is small square that just about fits in a mobile phone, a small wallet and a handkerchief. What else do I need?

If this wasn’t enough colour, I decided to push it OTT with my trusty yellow darlings. And to give my mood a pair of literal wings, my new pair of silver bird earrings, a gift from mum:

So here’s my look! I didn’t exactly turn heads in my bright ensemble but I felt a helluva lot better! (With the poor visibility afforded by these rains, I’m probably safer from being run over because of these blinding colours!)

I Wear:

• Fuchsia pink top: Lokhandwala market
• Blue denim capris: Levis
• Yellow moccasins: Catwalk
• Zari pouch: Connaught Place, New Delhi
• Silver bird earrings: FabIndia

If you liked them cheery yellow shoes, also see them walk in Brown Girl In The Rain and The Boheme At Kala Ghoda.