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Street fashion, Lahore-style
Among the first few things that you notice about the female populace of Lahore is the fact that they are highly fashion conscious. Most women in Lahore follow the whimsical dictates of international and local fashion trends tooth and nail. If patiala shalwars are in, they do not want to be caught dead in Capri pants, not even if there are a dozen of them in their wardrobes.
Besides the exaggerated account of an average Lahori gal’s fashion sensibility, the fact remains that Lahori women put their sweat and blood into looking good. Whether it’s a girls’ night out, or early morning halwa puri or just picking up a pair of sandals from Liberty, they are always dressed to kill.
In Karachi, it is fairly normal to venture out for grocery shopping in your comfortable slippers and casual home wear. Some bohemians even hit shopping malls or round-the-corner fast food places in their ghareloo shalwar kameez or faded jeans and much worn Ts. However, in Lahore, the picture is a little different. In most cases, the ladies actually dress up to go get bread from the bakery nearby. Yes, if you have Lahori blood, you’ll be wearing a trendy outfit with trendy footwear and preferably carrying a matching purse to the bakery. And currently the race seems to be to wear the shortest possible shirt over the famous patiala.
Being an amateur in this beautiful city, this scribe is still getting accustomed to the dressing norms of the ladies out on the roads. On a visit to a lace and button shop, one saw several ladies flaunting heavy gold jewellery; a phenomenon which is simply not seen on Karachi’s roads, perhaps due to the rampant looting and gunpoint snatching or due to the relatively austere mindsets. One also felt that women on Lahore’s streets, as compared to their counterparts in Karachi, are way more likely to give you a swift surgical scan to quickly gauge what clothes, shoes, jewellery and accessories you have on your person. In Karachi conversely, people usually don’t give you a second glance on the streets unless you are being weird or wearing something ultra-trendy or eye catching.
At The Forum in Karachi, you see lots of girls shopping or strolling about. Some wear casual body-hugging hipsters, bell bottoms or straight pants, others stick to the usual shalwar kameez. But at the equally trendy Defence Y Block in Lahore, you will perhaps not come across a single girl wearing anything less than trendy party-wear. The occasional western wear that you see on the roads would probably be top-notch designer stuff.
Feeding this mass wave of fashion norms is an onslaught of print and electronic media. Magazines are religiously poured over each season to get the latest in style and hemlines. Also contributing to the fashion mania is the extreme weather in Lahore. What you wear in summers usually does not last till the next season due to the scorching heat. People actually plan elaborately on what they have to wear for the next season, a trend which is now catching on in Karachi too.
The bulk of elite Lahoris prefer to venture to numerous boutiques — along the Fortress (Stadium), Defence and Liberty — to pick up designer labels. The dozens of boutiques along the Fortress offer trendy ready-to-wear informal and formal wear for as low as Rs650. Upscale boutiques like Nee Punhal and Miss Soni offer expensive designer wear ranging from Rs1,500 to Rs5,000 and onwards.
To satiate the western tastes Levis, H. Karim Buksh (HKB) and boutiques like Extra do roaring business in selling funky to sophisticated jeans, skirts, tops and accessories. In fact Extra manages to attract plenty of youngsters who want to get piercing or tattoos to fall in the very ‘cool’ slot. One wonders where the clientele sports such minimal wear, only to find out that this is the dress code for parties especially at Valentine’s Day, Halloween or the New Year’s eve if not throughout the year.
Perhaps the Lahore centric phenomenon of an extreme fashion consciousness, nurtured by a culture of splendour and opulence is finally trickling on to the general population permanently. Or perhaps it is simply keeping up with the city’s tradition of being high- spirited, feisty and ostentatious
The rage to maintain a beautiful image is not restricted to attire. Skin treatment clinics have their heyday with the elite making a beeline for Botox or laser treatments. Dozens of gyms and fitness clubs like Shapes and Body Talk are frequented, not only by the tinsel town celebs but also by the ordinary executive and even college girls. Similar is the fetish for cosmetics and the like. A visit to upscale departmental stores like HKB and Pot Pourri is a revelation, with aisles and aisles of cosmetics and toiletries to make one prettier. Imported items are displayed with so many variants to a product that it leaves one in a dilemma. No doubt, the well-stocked supermarket culture has really caught on in Lahore. To cater to the mass mania of keeping fit and being adorned, a chain of upscale ‘lifestyle pharmacies’ has recently opened up that professes to sell anti-aging, anti-stress and fitness regimes.
Those who want to save a few bucks and play around with their design creativity or simply want to replicate designer wear from fashion mags, like to venture to numerous markets in Lahore where the variety of embroidery and colour combinations to choose from is mind-boggling. The Main Market Gulberg is one of the favourites where each shop is lined with scores of outfits to suit all Lahori tastes.
Perhaps the Lahore centric phenomenon of an extreme fashion consciousness, nurtured by a culture of splendour and opulence — fuelled by the Mughal, Sikh and British rulers and patronised by the refined courtesans of yore — is finally trickling on to the general population permanently. Or perhaps it is simply keeping up with the city’s tradition of being high-spirited, feisty and ostentatious. Whatever the reason, street fashion in Lahore is sure to keep you engaged for hours on end with its colour, style and zest.
The British Raj left behind many legacies in the subcontinent, some noble and others not quite so. Mall Road is one of the quintessential legacies of the British Raj to the major cities of British India. Visionary planners that they undoubtedly were, the colonial rulers wanted to build a chief artery in each major city that would be the hub of business, trade and commerce. No wonder we still have Mall Roads in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Murree, Peshawar, etc.
Mall Road in Lahore — better known as the ‘Maal’ — is a splendid tutorial on the past glory of Lahore for sightseers new to the city. It not only has magnificent pieces of architecture on either side, but also a broad green belt in the middle, huge trees, lovely flowers and abundant grass, pleasantly refreshing when one drives pass.
Mall Road starts on one end from the Post Master General’s Office which is situated at the cross section of Lower Mall and the Mall roads.
Food Street is so well lit at night that it gives the impression of a carnival going on. And it is nothing short of a culinary carnival all year round. From mouthwatering ‘nihari’ to succulent fish, the choices for gluttony are endless
Further down the road towards the Mall is the Nasir Bagh or the Gol Bagh on either side, as the Mall was constructed through it. An old cannon is placed at a roundabout near Nasir Bagh called the Bhangian di tope. Interestingly, people engaged with making artillery were called bhangis.
The Town Hall, now called Jinnah Hall, is another magnificent sentinel of the British era with beautiful arches. It is now home to the offices of the Lahore Municipality Corporation. Further down the road, the Punjab University old campus lies to the left and the National College of Arts (NCA) on the right. Especially at night all these well-maintained buildings appear mesmerising with their luminous windows. The Lahore National Museum, right next to the NCA, has a grand entrance supported by huge columns that make visitors feel diminutive. It is an excellent repository of the country’s treasures and heritage of yore.
The famous Tollinton Market building on the Mall was what the Empress Market is to Karachi; a hub of grocery shopping. On its rear side was another portion that was a market for birds. Up until a few years ago, there was a huge public outcry when the Tollinton Market building was going to be razed for it was in a weary condition. Bowing to pressure, the administration decided to have the building restored to its original splendor. Today the Tollinton Market building is a treat to watch with its sloping green roof and white columns, beautifully illuminated in the night.
Next to Tollinton Market is the famous Anarkali intersecting Mall Road. On the left side is the New Anarkali Market that joins up to the Lohari gate of the walled portion of the old city. Near it is the tomb of the famous emperor Qutubuddin Aibak on the Aibak Road. On the right side of the Mall is Old Anarkali which is now the tantalising Food Street. This street is so well lit at night that it gives the impression of a carnival going on. And it is nothing short of a culinary carnival all year round. From mouthwatering nihari to succulent fish, the choices for gluttony are endless.
Further across the road is the YMCA Hall that also has the famous Pak Tea House close by. This tea house was once frequented by the literati of Lahore. Writers, poets, artists and painters sat down for numerous rounds of tea and shared their collective musing. Ironically, the Pak Tea House was also going to be razed into a tyre repair shop as it was not earning enough revenues. It is for now a lonesome reminder of literary culture’s demise in the country.
The General Post Office building on the Mall is imposingly grand with its distinctly British architecture. The grandeur of the G.P.O. reflects the priority the colonial rulers gave to correspondence and it is sad how other avenues of communication have slowly faded the good old post office’s worth. For now the building stands as a proud reminiscence of the Mall.
More majestic buildings follow like the High Court buildings surrounded by lush trees that must be a good several decades old. The State Bank Building is also housed on the Mall near the High Courts followed by the Ganga Ram Trust Building named after the Hindu philanthropist who gave the city several institutions of public utility. The Dayal Singh Trust Building on the grand artery is named after a Sikh philanthropist who built a library and a college for the city as well.
The other ‘must visits’ on Mall Road for a tourist are the Lahore Zoo and the Alhamra Arts Council. The latter is always abuzz with various theatre performances and art exhibitions to suit the tastes of all classes. The massive Governor House on the Mall is devoid of extra security contingents. In fact one can see the grand chandelier lit up at night on one of the entrances too. Upper Mall Road is even more exclusive with hotels, Lahore Gymkhana, the Aitchison College and the Quaid-i-Azam Library with the Bagh-i-Jinnah (previously called the Lawrence Garden). The Gulistan-i-Fatima in the Jinnah Park has a beautiful monument of Fatima Jinnah’s sculpture set amongst fountains and Greek columns that makes for a fabulous sight at night.
The road finally makes a grand stop at the Fortress Stadium which is a favourite hangout of Lahoris for a night out with its numerous restaurants, boutiques and fun areas for children.—A.Z
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