Attire and the Attitude

Attire and Attitude!

Barring few alphabets here and there, they practically are the same. Sides of the same coin. Rather should we say that they are part of the same equation? If one is there the other automatically has to be. Do you remember that cute advertisement for Vodafone? A cute bulldog puppy follows his child master wherever he goes. The catching phrase was,” Our network follows you wherever you go!” Attitude and attire is that inseparable duo!

So if you have attitude, attire comes automatically with it, depending on what the attitude is! Vice a versa when you dress up, even dress down, it’s your way, to tell the world your attitude, in bold capital letters!

Let’s not talk about the circle where attire is THE attitude, where your shade of lipstick, or purse on your hands for females, and Rolex on your wrist and Hush puppies on your feet for males are worn always to make a statement. Though I was not surprised, as I was never too much bothered about such ‘Statement’s, but it definitely came as an eye-opener. In his latest blog, a high society circle snob, [Strictly not to offend but definitely in my personal opinion] famous column writer and journo, Veer Sanghavi, commented that " In Fine dining restaurants, you are seated according to your attire. And the staff is trained to recognize the telltale signs, to do so. As of now, as everybody is casually dressed they are asked to go further and look for other finer details. Starting from the perfume you are wearing to diamonds (of course) to other accessories like Android or I Phone, your signature shoes, even belts will take you to the sanctum sanctorum, inner special room, otherwise, you are made to sit with other plebeians!

At the same time, Vice a versa might not be true. Casually, or simplistically dressed person might not be that simple. Remember the one who was most casually dressed but changed the destiny of India with his complex political manoeuvring!

Coming from a big overgrown village that pretended to be a city, even in those days Pune, to Mumbai, the vast cauldron of a potpourri of different cultures was huge for me. Practically a cultural shock. Why the world, on the entire fashion map of India, even Maharashtra, Pune never counted, does not count even now. To true inner circle Puneri, fashion really never existed. If you change your shirt from stripes to checks, it was a BOLD step and your fashion ended there but if colour went somewhere near the faint shade of PINK it was fashion explosion. I remember as teenagers we had to be after our parents to allow us to get trousers stitched in Bell Bottom style, a rage in those days, but our counterparts in Mumbai even in those were way ahead of us. I remember I was thoroughly enthralled to see a girl in ‘Lungi’ in Pune, many months after it made its show in Mumbai as if my long-cherished wish has been fulfilled.’

And now I was in Mumbai, in my own self, trying my hand at the latest. And yes I was successful on many such fronts.

My trousers used to be so well stitched that they were borrowed by colleagues to wear on special occasions. At around the same time, I had joined regular gym. I was a pet of the owner Mr Pathre because he could transform me from ‘Single Fasli’ 45 kgs, to well-cut 65 kgs, a better-looking version of myself. He used to be after me, ‘It’s time to wear good T-shirts Doctor, if you have it, show it, [Of course I was not going to flaunt the nonexistent 6 packs!]. Maybe not many are aware, but in the same period, I tried my hand at modelling too. With only 3 photographs I had approached many advertisement bureaus. Results were though not encouraging but surprising. Many had called me back with a portfolio! I did not even know the meaning of the portfolio then. Famous Male model of 4 squares in those days, Sunil Bhutani was co hostelier. What he told, was definitely beyond me, for absolute lack of funds. Well, known photographers, like Gautam Rajyadhyaksha used to charge in 10s of thousands for single portfolio, in those days but if the Midas touches you, there was no looking back was the dictum! I could not go anywhere near him! Nonetheless, the local photographer who photo shot me, displayed them in the front showcase, for months thereafter!

But I do have that die-hard attitude. To many, this came as arrogance. But it helped me a lot. I was ridiculed in my childhood for my thin, almost feminine voice. Once while chatting away at the street corner with a friend, a total stranger came to me and said, “Kid, you have a nice lilting voice, why don’t you go for voice training?” Financial conditions at home? Ughs. So right from the early days, I was denied many chances. But once I was in Mumbai? 
In this regard too I made my point by getting selected for Akashwani Mumbai by none other than Mr Purushottam Darvhekar a stalwart of Marathi theatre and by none other than infant terrible of Marathi arts scene Mr Vinay Apte for Mumbai Doordarshan. And that gave me the attitude which won me a prize in impromptu singing competition

Similarly I did drastic changes in my attire with attitude. No more staid clerkish sober outfits for me. I must stand out in the crowd of equals and not 10 levels below me. And believe me, I got noticed. I was a best-dressed consultant wherever I practised. And my patients accepted it too. Many complimented me openly for my dress sense. So much so that one of my sons-in-law, who incidentally knows fashion as he is editor of a famous newspaper, commented “Shashikaka ‘You just swag!” By then I did not know even the meaning of ‘What’s Swag?’ It turned out, ‘A person who has keen fashion sense and confidence in his style! And makes a statement with every outfit.’

But this was not Pune. The swagger in Mumbai was outrageously dressed in Pune. Again the sides of the same coin. Attitude, who cares!