Bombai Fashion !

Mumbai. Padded shoulders, pastel colors, high waisted skirts, crop

tops, bouffants. 1980’s? Nah, 2013! Retro is back! And I’m loving it.

Attire deemed passé is now rocking the clubs and party scenes. What

ruled the wardrobe of our Dimple Kapadias and Juhi Chawlas is now

back with a bang. The elegant and only-for-the-wealthy bouffant

now has a done-to-death but still stylish sister in 2013. The padded

shoulders? Well they just add that extra bit of oomph to our already

glamorous Zara and Burberry jackets. And what can I say about those

cloth hairbands tied up in a bow on one side. Is Rihanna enough?

Now that reminds of red lipstick. Red lipstick never really went out of

sight but was always reserved for the age matured. Now every Teena,

Meena, Deena flaunts it. Ofcourse EVERY Sindhi or Punjabi wedding

is incomplete without a Sheela Aunty or Reshma Aunty blinding

and temporarily damaging the eyesight of the weddingees with her

jewels and BRIGHT red lips. (Weddingees = wedding attendees)

 College girls work their midi tops (a little longer than crop tops)

in such a way that, that atrociously conservative principle and

watchman don’t catch a glimpse of their tum tums but that cute boy

does.

The voluptuous bodies of the 80’s and 90’s that flaunted high waisted

skirts and crop tops are doing it again(though slightly toned now). 3

years ago, girls flaunting this trend would make them cower in regret

and prone to a helluva stares. To party go-ers in Mumbai now, it is

more accepted. Palazzos and elephant/giant pants have infiltrated

the streets of Mumbai, every fashionably conscious girl owns a pair.

And every weight wary aunty owns two (The high waist one hides

the flab, you see.) Girls in Mumbai have become more conscious

with their appearance regularly taking inspiration from the bevy of

fashion magazines now available at their local baniya. Give grace.

That’s that for western . Now for Indian. Sonam Kapoor, Vidya

Balan. Need I say anymore? We Indian girls have our fair share of

inspiration for traditional wear. Be it copying Vidya’s Sabyasachi sari

or Alia Bhatt’s ‘Radha’ lehenga. We all know the tricks of the trade.

Google them a couple of times, pick up similar fabric from thy local

fabric shop. Take a printout of the Bollywood star in her outfit to

the tailor. And voila! Commonnn girls, we’ve all done this at some

point of our lives. Or not, cos you have discovered a (not very Tarun

Tahiliani priced) Indian designer who customizes and designs clothes

only for you.

Our maang tikkas and hand harnesses have taken over fashion

websites and music festivals. Indian inspired attire is all over the

place! Every Mumbai girl is now fashion conscious, striving to look

her best even on the streets. Be it inspiration from the runways or

Bollywood we’ve got the best of it all. (Except – Forever21 USA,

please start shipping to India?)

Hey there Milan, Paris, LA? There’s a city bubbling with sugar, spice

and everything nice on the other side of the world. I think you’ve got

competition.

                                                                                                                      By

                                                                                              Sanjana Khanna for Fashionalized