A profusion of busy prints, staid three-piece concoctions of silk, lawn and chiffon, and shirts smothered with embroideries awaits you in clothes outlets. But if you feel you have been there, worn that and you would like to move on to more interesting clothes, there are more exciting alternatives. You could steer far away from typically pretty clothes and still be fashion-savvy. The typically pretty apparel with its predilection for flora and fauna, pastels, tassels and sequins may be pleasing to the eye, but is not as memorable or statement-making as something that is more your individual style.

This season, you could opt for individualism. Make a splash with wild colours, well-conceived prints and interesting accessories. Don’t blend in with the crowd. It’s a sartorial rule that always, always works … for summer and beyond.

A WHITE SUMMER

Stock up on immaculate, crispy all-whites because there’s no better classic summer statement. The simple white kurta is an eternal favourite and there are many more options in the high street to help you stock up for your white summer. The latest Spring/Summer range at Gulabo features myriad all-white tunics — cowled at the neck, oversized with asymmetric hemlines and drop-shouldered, buttoned-down shirts. At Daaman, a range of white tunics are available, with minimal embroideries as well as baggy kaftans. Generation invariably has a collection of all-white shalwar kameezes and will bring out chikan outfits as the summer wears on. Designer Sanam Chaudhri’s spring line is choc-a-bloc with all-whites — ‘antique white’ chikan shirts and lacy numbers for dressier occasions.

Instead of being a fashion victim, create and wear your individual style

There are so many more options that are going to be trickling into the market throughout the long summer, for white never fails. White is also a refreshing break from the three-piece jigsaw puzzle of prints that now masquerade as ‘summer lawn’. The floral jungle with a menagerie of animals trooping through it, in its varied forms, jumbled together and tasselled and appliquéd, are perhaps too busy to please the eye. Turn away from them, even if the lawn TVC’s and billboards tell you otherwise, and ‘go white’.

A DASH OF NEON

For those of you with a predilection for colour, latch on to funky neon hues to amp up your wardrobe. At Milan Fashion Week recently, Prada paraded fluorescent neon clothes, layered one over the other, making dishevelled yet plausible sartorial statements. Looking beyond apparel, the Marc Jacob’s show at New York Fashion Week this spring put forward cutting-edge, neon-coloured hair. And in Jeremy Scott’s show, also at New York Fashion Week, kitschy bubblegum-coloured hair was matched with popping eyeshades.

Neon — bright, ebullient, eye-catching — is always a standout; dyed into hair or worn as makeup by the bold, or simply adding oomph with a bag, stole, shoes or clothes. At Sublime by Sara, Sara Shahid’s fashion-forward boutique in Lahore, the neons come alive with yellow kurtas and with eye-popping shocking pinks, crimsons and tangerines. It’s the easiest way to step into a vibrant, colourful summer.  

GO LONG!

According to Kamiar Rokni, the Design Director at high-street brand Sapphire, we’re living in the age of ‘anything goes’. This basically means that you can delve into a varied range of silhouettes and can look great — as long as you understand what suits your body type.

However, one has noticed that the short shirt is slowly fading out with long, fitted shirts taking over. According to Safinaz Munir of Sana Safinaz, the looks in their upcoming summer lawn catalogue mostly feature straight long shirts, paired with simmered shalwars and sleek, straight pants. “The slightly short shirt is still prevalent because it’s convenient and easy to wear,” she says. “But since last year, we have been pushing forward the sleek, long silhouette because it looks very elegant.”

It is certainly a smarter option than the short fitted shirt which hardly ever suits the Pakistani body type.

SUMMER-SAVVY SHOES

Come summer, one also needs to indulge in breathable, comfy shoes and handmade leather sandals and slip-ons that make a savvy statement. Markets like Uzma Centre in Karachi and Lahore’s Liberty get thronged by kohatis, chappals and khussas while the high street improvises with quirkier details. The enterprising shoe brand Chapter 13, where hand embroideries run rampant, has enticingly titled its upcoming summer collection ‘Aquatic treasures’. Tassels, pipes and beads wind about shoes in summery pinks and blues and seashells, starfish and seahorses entwine in turquoise blues and shocking pinks.

A word to the wise: Truck art-inspired shoes may still be available ubiquitously but, as pretty as they are, it’s time to give them a wide berth. Why blend in with a generic design when there are cooler options in the market? And why be typically pretty when you can aim for the extraordinary?

Clockwise from left: an ensemble by Ego; footwear by Chapter 13; an outfit by Ego; from Gulabo’s all-white collection

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 4th, 2018