Wardrobe 'Essentials'!

 

I think most of you would be completely toppled by the title and think that I have done a severe personality makeover in 2015.  I mean since when did I start writing fashion posts on this blog?!

Of course, there is nothing wrong or bad in following the latest fashion trends, understand the jargon, and writing posts about it. In fact, I also am a regular reader of some Bollywood-centric fashion and style blogs. They do make a genuinely good read, and have added infinitely to my fashion- related glossary. How on earth would I otherwise know the trend of 'crop-tops', know the "arm-candies' like Birkin, and know what colors are 'teal' and 'tangerine'?

So yes, I do read these blogs, and usually leave the whole thing as a light general knowledge-increasing exercise. Anybody, who has met me in real life will agree that I am one of the most lazy dressers, and my outfits are usually screaming comfort rather than fashion or trend. It is due to this, that posts like 'Top  5 (or whatever) Wardrobe Essentials" never cease to amuse me.

So, first of all, WHO decides that these items are essentials or must-haves in anybody's wardrobe?
 I personally feel that each person's dressing style is different and it is shaped like that for some particular reasons. These reasons are not generalized, and hence, no style can be generalized. I have a friend who wears short dresses and tank tops with such an ease, that I envy her sometimes.  But she had been a real professional model, and hence that's pretty much a given.  My mother wears Sarees with an amazing grace and style, and always always looks very classy in a Saree. Well, she belongs to the generation that wore Saree regularly, plus she is a professor so again, sort of a dress-code. So, point is these styles evolved for some specific reasons, and couldn't be generalized.

More importantly, dressing should be a reflection of your personality, your society, and your geography. When I stayed in Mumbai and then Chennai, all I wore were cotton Kurtas, easy to breathe in. I have friends staying all over in the U.S. and wearing brilliant leather clothes, which definitely would have killed me in Chennai. SO imbibing some sense of local weather is a must, if nothing else.

Additionally, one often wears clothes for 'societal propriety'. Do not get me wrong here. I am all for staying in Tshirt and loose pants all my life. But most people do bother about this propriety and choose their clothes. So, a black suit for reception, a Saree for a wedding, Jeans and Tshirt for restaurant visit and a simpler Salwar-Kurta for a pooja.
Considering that the 'social propreity' changes from society to society, so do the choices for clothes, and so do the wardrobe 'essentials'.

Now tell me, how the hell is a 'little black dress'  a wardrobe essential for very single woman across the globe? How relevant and practical, let alone 'essential' is it for an Arabian woman or an Indian sub-urban woman?
I do not have one, I know several  women who do not have one, and yet they are called classy and stylish. 
Wouldn't the list change based on the personality, the society, the geography, the season, the age, the profession and many more things? In this sense, I would say Kurtas are more versatile, Jeans more functional, and Saree, the most timeless one.  

Think about these things when you decide about your wardrobe. THINK. 
Do not blindfold and run behind the random 'essentials', listed by someone who is completely clueless about these factors.

SO my list of wardrobe essentials?
1. Comfortable clothes
2. Comfortable footwear
3. My independent thought in choosing clothes
4. Confidence
5. And a Big smile to carry it all :)

Make yours too. Have a fabulous, classy and relevant 2015!