Fashionable festivities

The annual harvest festival is just round the corner. As the city gears up for thanksgiving festival in keeping with millenniums-old traditions, any festival brings with it great deal of joy and fervour, and when we say joy, inevitably, part and parcel of it is how you dress up to keep the spirit up.

Sruthi Ashwin Shekher, actor Ashwin Shekher’s wife, who runs a boutique called Aadambharaa talks about how she is a trendsetter this Pongal.

“We are looking to support hand-made products and have launched a collection ‘Margazhi’, as a tribute to the acclaimed music season. It incorporates a few handcrafted motifs including  lotus. We encourage hand-painted motifs and hand-embroidery on handloom silk saris.’

If you’re wondering what to wear, Sruthi has a suggestion for you.

 “We have done a lot of contrast. If you’re wearing a bright sari, you can opt for the same shade for your blouse. We do a lot of bright colour outfits.”

Lavanya Shivshankar, the co-owner of ‘Swa’ which is also owned by Manik, says, “People still opt for the traditional. A lot of youngsters constantly want to hark back to the olden times and ask for Pattu pavadai and Dhavani. “

But there is a slight twist to the tradition being incorporated by Lavanya and Manik. She says, “Dhavani  which generally comes in  gorgette or silk fabric  has been replaced by the Kalamkari style. Our approach is a plain skirt-blouse complementing a vibrant and loud Kalamkari Dhavani.”

Mathangi Srinivasamurti of Weddings and Marigolds studio says, “Crop tops with skirts are in among the young people. Jackets blouses for sarees are popular among the 30 plus age group, and layering of outfits on formal occasions has also been a trend these days.”