What to wear, when and where

Otara Chandiram, CEO of ODEL (Pvt.) Ltd.: 

"Flowers are worn everywhere, this season. Beautifully crafted fabric flowers in your hair, around your neck as a choker, on your wrist, even on shoes and of course, on clothes. This time, however, it is not the chintzy patterns that should be your choice, but more of the exotic looking blooms, from the realistic to the abstract, as seen in many a designer collection this season.

"Taking the boredom out of dressing is the widespread presence of slashing, trashing and the general defacing of clothing or accessory. Suddenly anyone with style is ripping and crumbling their most precious items of clothing. Fitted t'shirts are cut in the centre to form an uneven opening at the neck. Also flooding the catwalk are jeans that are frayed, ripped, torn and patched. 

"Other obvious trends include the return of the mini, especially in denims, again dark, faded, dyed, studded or covered in patches. 

"For accessories, there is nothing more abundant than the belt. They range from being as wide as seven inches to as narrow as a few centimetres. They can be made from fabric, ribbons, leather or metal and are often printed or studded with crystals and metals." 

Purnima Abeyratne of Inspirations:

"The styles considered 'in' are mainly a combination of the late sixties and the early seventies. Bell bottoms, especially white bellbottoms are in. And gathers, frills, flowers mainly rosebuds are in vogue.

"Colours are mainly focused on shades of pink, black and white. Black and white prints, vibrant shades, geometrical and abstract patterns too have made a comeback. Halter necks and cutaway sleeves have also reappeared on the catwalk.

"Cold-shouldered tops with long bell sleeves worn together with bellbottoms are back. For the past three years, the hippie look has been influencing the top designers and that is still very much a part of fashionable clothing even now. Handkerchief skirts were part of last year's collection and are slowly fading out. But the length of skirts still remains immediately below or above the knee or at a three quarter length.

"When it comes to bridal wear, it's good-bye lace and hello thread work. The colours in vogue at the moment for the retinue are cornflower blues and antique gold." 
Fashion: it influences our choices and our lives, though we may little like to admit it. Step out for any public event and take a look around. The clothing, hair, makeup, and accessories people are sporting do look different to the styles we saw when the millennium dawned. Every season brings with it new trends and while we in Sri Lanka do not embrace them with such fervour as young people in the fashion conscious West do, we are not immune to them. Take for instance, the handkerchief skirt. So terribly 'in' last December, it seems to be an absolute 'no no' this season. So how do we determine what's in and what's not? Randi Goonetilleke and Ruwanthi Herat Gunaratne found out what some of the experts in the fashion industry had to say about the current trends. 

Michael Wijesuriya:

"Dark colours are 'in', especially black, silver and mauve. Little straps and strapless dresses are mostly in fashion with a touch of elegance and femininity. The main emphasis as I see it is simplicity, for even the accessories are extremely simple. The younger generation especially, stick to accessories like plain studs and bead chains. 

"Beads and silver are in. Choose very simple stuff to match the dress. Even brides instead of the usual 'hath malé' opt for a simpler single chain.

"And for evening wear, the younger generation seems to prefer simple, elegant dresses which are either backless or strapless. The bustier type tops too are back in a big way.

"For bridals, again the accent is on femininity and simplicity. There's a lot of white and shades of blue. After the millennium, lilac and silver were very much in vogue and they're still not completely 'out' as yet."

Hair flair

'Hair care is becoming the focus now, with more and more people interested in what is best for the improvement of their hair. 

'Straightening is definitely on the way out. Taking its place is the blown look or soft perms. Natural movement is being given pride of place. Highlighting is out, but colouring one's whole head especially in hues of reds and browns is 'in' especially among us Asians.

'The most practical length for hair as I see it, is up to the bustline. With this length, there are no limits as to what you can achieve. 

'The refined and elegant look is here to stay. Wild is not in but there is a hint of excitement. 

'There's no special style that is in vogue, it's all about what would suit the wearer best. Conditioning is extremely important for the wellbeing of your hair. 

'For men, the gelled look which was part of last season is out. The formal look is also out, but in its place, just like the ladies' haircuts, is a soft, natural look. 

'Considering make-up, once again the natural look is back, with brown lip liners worn together with both natural colours and lip gloss - lots of gloss.' 

Tips

*The sun can cause a great amount of damage to the hair, so conditioning is very important 

*Don't go with the flow, decide exactly what would look best on you. 

The KESS hairdressers had this to say, 

'There's no particular style that we can think of, but everything should be done to enhance your natural looks. Curly hair is absolute fun. Ideally even if certain styles are in vogue one should not opt for them until you know for certain that they would suit you. The way we see it, fashion trends change on an everyday basis but, if it doesn't look good on you what's the point in adapting it!' 

Tips

*Do not brush or comb your hair, simply wet your hair in the morning and run your fingers through your hair. 

*Do not shampoo your hair everyday, once a week would do - but always remember to condition. 

Ramani Fernando of Ramani Fernando Salons:

'In my opinion there is no particular style that is 'in'. While some wear their hair short, some still do prefer it long. Colour in the hair is still quite 'in'. Most people go in for browns, copper based colours and streaks of blonde. 

'Natural curls are extremely trendy at the moment, but that doesn't mean that straight hair is out. Straight hair has been around for some time and it looks like it will be around longer. The fact is that trends take time to sink into our society and when they do it takes longer to let go! A lot of texture is coming into hair styles.

'Considering men's haircuts, again we're looking at a lot of texture. The spiky look is back, and so is the waxed or gelled back effect. The formal partings are gone. 

'Make-up is based on the natural look, but deep reds too are here. This again depends on the personality of the wearer since it's only some who can carry it off. Browns are still quite trendy. 

'Eyes play a very important role in today's makeup - so go for a lot of focus on the eyes and also a lot of glitter. Body glitter has been around for some time and doesn't seem to vacate the spot. Other types of body jewellery are also in. 

'Our brides are now going in for pastel shades for their retinue. The antique golds that were a hit some months ago are still very much to be seen. Whilst they tend to keep the bridals very traditional, both the going-away and homecoming saree are growing all the more daring. Amongst the jackets that they prefer are the backless and bustier types.