Are your fancy, glittery, and multiple kilo weighing Indian attires eating dust in a recluse corner in your attic?

Mine are. Funny is the fact that people never cease to add more and more of these garments to their dust-eating stock by lavishing oodles and oodles of money at the first opportunity that hops by.

This Diwali, let us not do this! Ladies and well, ladies, lend me your ears! Let us create something glamorous from our existing stock.

Meet , an entrepreneur running her own fashion boutique: Vallari, and a Radio Jockey for the AIR. Think that’s interesting? Her academic profile has more to impress. Textile designing, Diploma in HR, Triple masters in Journalism… these degrees are gloriously embedded in her résumé.

Bearing all that in mind, I visited her to steal plenty of fashion tips and tricks for a different look this Diwali.

Shweta: Usually, women, especially girls, do not like to repeat clothes that they’ve already worn. And as Diwali tends to be the biggest festival of the year, they feel all the more excited to adorn new and trendy outfits.

Me: *Excitedly* Oh yes! I’m myself waiting to go on a shopping spree!

Shweta: I suggest, wait until after this meeting. You might want to change your mind.

Me: Okaaay… I’m in anticipation of a radical mind-change.

Shweta: What we’re doing today is experimenting with the number of looks that one can create with the clothes that one already has.

Me: Sounds coooool! Before we do that, tell me about some must-haves in a girl’s closet?

A girl’s closet. Doesn’t that phrase sound like a mystical and expansive land?

Shweta: A black kurta is a must!

Any guesses where I’m heading to next?

Shweta: … And a short black dress is one that every girl should have. You can create lots of different looks with that.

Me: Oh! Item added to wish-cart!

*Enters a young girl almost as old as me.*

Shweta: Meet my niece, Dhanishta. She is playing the model for today.

Me: Let’s get her into the first costume then, shall we?

Shweta: Sure. So first what I am going to show you is a western gown. It is made out of a 16-metre cloth and accompanied with the right accessories this is perfect for a prom look.

As you can see, it’s got a boat-neck and few cuts at the torso.

Me: I love the long lingering trail of this dress.

Shweta: Next, we are going to add an embroidered golden cut-sleeve jacket to this outfit. The beauty of this jacket is that it can be put to use both as a jacket (when the hooks are left open) and as a gilet-blouse (when the hooks are fastened).

Me: You’ve designed this jacket too?

Shweta: Yes. *Makes Dhanishta wear the jacket over the gown* The western gown now becomes an ethnic Indo-western outfit. You can style your hair in a bun and wear a pair of heavy earrings to complete the look.

Me: Wow! Seriously, this is awesome.

A paisa-vasool deal. Isn’t it?

Shweta: Say bye-bye to the gown. Now I am going to show you how to experiment with a basic grey kurta.

And off went the niece-aunt duo leaving me arrested in a sense of mystery of what was about to come next.

Moments later, Dhanishta came out flaunting the ever-trendy and ever-chic disposition of a college-going girl.  

Shweta: Grey kurta with blue printed palazzos. This look can be adorned by any office going or college going woman. Team it up with some funky accessories to add a playful factor.

Me: Such a comfy laid-back look! I’ve got my eyes on that neckpiece.

Shweta: Haha! Ready for the next outfit?

Me: With bated breaths! Bring it on!

Shweta: The same grey kurta, with a bright pink and orange lehenga skirt and tassle-adorned dupatta! Also I’ve added a potli hand clutch to enhance the look.

Me: You sure are very creative! Tell me when should one flaunt this look?

Shweta: In context of Diwali, you could wear this at the time of pooja. It’s got a nice and subtle ethnic touch to it. Maybe you’re one of those rare people who go to work or to college on Diwali. So, you could come home and quickly change the blue palazzos and wear this lehenga skirt and chunni to sit for the pooja.

Me: Hahaha! Not only a fashion, but time-saving hack too!

Shweta: This is also a travelling-hack. When you travel for an event or a wedding, you surely wouldn’t want to pack your whole wardrobe. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to. So, in that case reusing the same garment creatively helps a lot!

Me: I have recently flown back from a wedding and my heart, or rather my suitcase, knows the pain of carrying too much.

Shweta: It also trims your packing-unpacking time.

Which reminds me I still have to unpack my suitcase or my mom would disown me. *Facepalm*

Me: Absolutely! So, what are you showing us next?

Shweta: Another look with the same grey kurta.

Me: Really! One more?!

Shweta: Yes!

The amount of utility derived from this grey kurta is definitely wayyy more than its monetary amount. I bet!

Shweta: Here it is paired with black cigarette pants and the jacket that we used in the earlier look. But in this case, the hooks are unfastened.

Me: Mind=Blown!

Shweta: This can be worn on Diwali when you are visiting your relatives or going for a poker-party!

Here’s a quick glance of the three looks. Who all are heading to the mall to purchase a grey kurta now?

Me: Thank you so much Shweta! I am sure the girls and the women of Jaipur will thank you as much as their pockets will thank them after capitalizing these tips!

Shweta: It is my pleasure! Also, this Diwali, solid and muted colors are in! Go for emerald green or peach, maybe.

Me: *Scribbles* Noted.

As I took my purse and notepad to leave, Shweta showed me some fabrics and clothes that she’d been working on.

Need I say I prolonged my stay?

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