Ethnic Elan On Indian Streets

Street fashion, the quirky ethnic way!

The street style is something that has and forever will, remain in vogue. Come to think of it when was the last time you spared two minutes thinking about the relevance of the same? What is after all so immortal about street fashion? The answer to this has forever hovered around us, waiting to be acknowledged.

Street fashion is that variant of style which essentially is not born out of any recognized designer’s psyche and seldom does it come with the burden of inhibitions. It is something that evolves out of one’s own comfort arena, is nurtured with one’s own creative capacity and is immensely influenced by the milieu that one is subjected to. It is this intimate relationship that an individual has with his or her street style, is what makes this trend so inevitable, denying to go out of vogue ever; this is simply owing to the fact that street fashion is something, an individual can have ownership of, since one way or the other it is also largely an impersonation of one’s persona.

In the light of the above elucidation, since street style is heavily influenced by one’s surrounding, it is but obvious that Indian Street Style is bound to reflect the ‘desi’ spirit that we all live by. In fact, Indian streets continuously reflect our women’s love for handloom fabrics through the most classic albeit comfortable attires like the kurtis, the cotton aligarh, the cotton salwar suits, sarees etc. However, no matter how elegant they seems, the classics forever run the risk of turning mundane after a point of time. Below, therefore are 5 suggestions of giving your everyday Indian street style a tinge of quirk, yet the ethnic way!

1) Daddy’s Girl- As much as we love our dads, lets fall in love with their shirts too. Find those easy breezy lose khadi shirts from your dad’s wardrobe, that he is tired of wearing and make astute use of it. Wear the shirt as an oversized kurti and team it up with ripped denims, harems or even patiala pants. If you aren’t satisfied with the quirk yet, add a statement neckpiece to the look. Carry oversized totes, wear desi sandals for this look and you are all good to go!

2) Hang on there- Don’t let go of your old man’s shirt any soon; hang on! Discard the pants from the above look and wear that same shirt now as a shirt dress. If the shirt seems too lose, wear your most simple belt around the waist. Go all quirky with statement junk jewelry and maybe a nice desi sling to compliment it. Wear oxford shoes to break the all Indian monotony and rock the entire attire. This look can also be accomplished with medium length kurtis from your wardrobe.

Kritika Khurana – Fashion Blogger

3) MAXImum Ease– Street style evolves out a lot from the need for comfort and ease. Come to think of it, who wants to be elaborately dressed around the clock, everyday? Thus slip into those pretty mono colour khadi maxi dresses, in immense vogue these days. Without being an ounce more elaborate simply add a contrasting khadi scarf around the neck for your desi quirk. Walk feeling all easy breezy albeit the Indian ethnic way!

Urmi Daga – Fashion Blogger

4) Twirling in pretty prints – One can never go wrong with traditional Indian prints like the Ikkat or the Kalamkari. These prints looks stunning and settles like the second skin on one’s body. As much as these fabrics are adorned in form of sarees or wrap-around skirts, break this traditional cycle. Search midi-skirts made out of these fabrics, team it up with a plain light colored shirt and canvas shoes. Carry a funky leather backpack to complete the look. Since these traditional Indian prints are quite bold, try and keep everything else for this look minimalistic, such that the prints get the deserving attention!

Ikat Skirt by The Loom

5) Bring back the Bandhani- Let’s take a trip down the memory lane. Remember those colouful bandhani dupattas that we received as presents while growing up from every known person who visited Gujarat or Rajasthan? How long has it been that you have used one? In fact, why a dupatta? Ever considered wearing a Bandhani kaftan? Kaftans are a perfect choice for your street style since they are extremely comfortable to be worn albeit looks exquisite too. Further, when made out of the traditional Indian bandhani fabric, the kaftan is bound to add just the optimum amount of quirk to your entire look. Team it up with distressed denims, plain denims and kolhapuri sandals- wa-lah, you are ready to rock the streets!

Silk Kaftan with Bandhani by The Loom

Image Sources-

1. https://www.pinterest.com
2. https://twitter.com/kritikakhurana
3. https://www.instagram.com
4. http://theloom.in

By – Roshni Sen