T O P L I N E - Surekha Kadapa-Bose ( Courtesy - BTW Magazine)

Dancing In The Rains

MEN and women can now wear short, smart, colourful rain attire to office, college, parties or to anybody’s home without causing offence

IT was a day of torrential rains in mid 1980’s when my roommate Leslie at YWCA hostel near Regal Cinema decided to board a bus to the Lintas advertising agency office, which was then located in Express Towers at Nariman Point. Nothing wrong with it except that Leslie under an ankle length black raincoat was almost naked!

Under the raincoat, she was dressed only in boxer shorts, a blouse and carried her jeans in a plastic bag to be put on in the office cloakroom. Twenty years ago it was a taboo to walk into office, college or even on road in such short attire.

When the bus conductor asked her to take off the raincoat as the water on it was troubling other passengers, she nearly choked. The only thing she could do was to get off the bus at the next stop and walk a couple of hundred meters to her office in pouring rain.

Things have changed. Men and women can now wear short, smart, colourful rain attire to office, college, parties or to anybody’s home without causing offence.

Previously rainwear meant only nylons, synthetics, or drip-dry clothes - in short, very uninteresting attire. Today, anything goes. Clothes can be as long or as short depending on your dress sense.

You can be as colourful as you want in the Wandering Minstrels collections of designer Nikasha Tawadey, Sisley Water Collection from the Zodiac group, short classy dresses by Park Avenue Woman and several others.

Nikasha has hues of onion pink, burnt orange, organic indigo, sindhuri red, sea green, beige and earthy tones used with different blends of fabrics in silk, jamdani, Lurex, innovative mix of kutchi and kantha work, satin, chiffon, georgette and viscose silk.

She also has con temporary backless angrakhas tunics, crisp jackets, short dresses, skirts, blouses, and coats. They make up fabulous chic office and party wear.

Park Avenue Woman has six key colour palettes - whites, pastels, khaki, greys, nautical and ever popular black and white. The collection has specially engineered Lycra-based suits, jackets and pants to suit any weather.

Crafted to be feminine, almost sensual in mood, this distinctive range includes velveteen jackets, pants, skirts, satin blouses, bustiers and fine knitwear. You can step out of your car with élan, holding an equally colourful classy designer umbrella, with delicate thongs on your feet and make an immediate impact on any of your opponent in your office.

The Sisley Water collection has impeccable white and subtle pale tones with unexpected contrasts in passion red or ocean blue. A woman can flaunt soft slacks and Bermudas (capris), casual skirts for day wear (college and office) chiffon cocktail dresses (reaching just bellow the knees), minimal coats with lacquer-red belts, faux-leather short jackets and shirt-styled jackets. A man can dress with “instinctive” elegance: white or blue suits, cotton windcheaters or jackets or go for Bermudas.

If you are a college girl and do not have the kind of money these dresses cost, go for denim capris. They come in many colours - blue, black, brown, khaki, with or without embroidery and embellishments. Alternatively, you can go for colourful vegetable dyed needle pleated cotton skirts reaching just above your ankle. Team with broad belts and chunky jewellery and you will be ready for any rainy day in Mumbai.

To make the apparel look dressy, girls can team with long large beady necklaces, broad wooden bangles, colourful cloth or denim belts, chunky jewellery and, of course, brilliant coloured rain footwear. Men can look rakish by winding a scarf around the neck on a loosely buttoned shirt, open toed footwear.

If you are on a budget, visit the ‘fashion streets’ near Metro cinema, Colaba Causeways, Linking Road market in Bandra and you can still look rain drenched trendy person.

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A Nikasha Tawadey creation

From Sisley Earth collection

A Nikasha Tawadey creation

From Sisley Water collection

From the Park Avenue collectional