Fashion Statement

Recently I was on a forced sabbatical from golf as the course was closed for a tournament. Not having anything more useful to do I armed myself with a pack of wafers, parked myself on the La-Z-Boy and switched on the TV. Unfortunately on weekdays, particularly during daytime, Hindi movies are dated. However, it stirred up memories of the sartorial selection of heroes over the decades. Regrettably, I realized that my dress sense too was aligned to the same fashion during that period.

When the Beatles were at their height of glory I took a picture of their jacket and had a similar one stitched by a tailor in Basavanagudi.  I then went to Old Poor House Road and got made elastic-sides boots that the quartet wore. I skipped my visits to Odeon Hair Cutting Saloon for several months and I was good to go, with matching skintight trousers.

Nevertheless, one fashion of mine that I still claim was copied by Rajesh Khanna had its origin at my engineering college in Surathkal. One day, having no clean shirt, I wore a kurta over my trousers. Imagine my surprise when a few months later I saw that Mr. Khanna had copied my style in his movie, ‘Kati Patang’ without even a by your leave.

During the seventies, the latest fashion in the US was a stretch, knitted fabric, mostly with checks that was used for either jackets or trousers. A well - meaning relative gifted me a suit length of that material. I had it stitched at a venerable tailoring house on MG Road and inaugurated it at a friend’s wedding soon after. I was wondering why everyone was giving me strange looks. It was much later that I realized that a suit with dark blue, red and white checks was normally only worn by comedians in films of that era.

By this time, it was my turn to copy Mr. Bachchan and his bell-bottom trousers. A tailor in Malleswaram aided and abetted me in this endeavour. Unfortunately, the flapping bottoms would be covered with grease after a ride on my motorcycle. Further, the realization struck that with our height difference, what looked good on the Big B was not in consonance with my physique. In fact, my wife still comments about her shock when she saw me for the first time wearing ‘bell-bots’ much before our marriage.

But one item of dress that I am still proud about my reading of the fashion movement is ties. I Realized that the width of the tie is cyclic. If you saw the villain Ajit wearing a particular tie, you could be sure that ten years later a modern day villain would wear a similar one. I have preserved five ties of varying width over the last thirty years. They have served me well during this period without anyone calling me an old fuddy-duddy.

Today, I have accepted the realities of my shape and buy only ‘comfort fit’ trousers. It would be foolish to contend with those young tyros in the movies who wear their trousers below the waistline. I am no longer in competition.