Eastern Passage - On trips to India and Bangladesh, the novelist Nell Freudenberger struggled with what to wear—and what kind of woman she wanted to be.

I was 22 when I first went to India. In the late ’90s, the hippie trail from Agra to Jaipur to Rishikesh was still full of backpackers. Germans, Israelis, and Australians traversed the country in elephant-printed harem pants and Buddhist prayer beads, indulging in banana-pancake breakfasts and cannabis-laced bhang lassis. My boyfriend—a serious student of the subcontinent, equipped with maps, train tables, and a prestigious fellowship—planned to do India differently. We would dress respectfully, live on a local budget—less than $5 a day—and see places other backpackers missed. When we bought cannabis, it was from a farmer in a Himalayan village where they grew the world-famous Malana cream. We were two recent Harvard graduates in India, and we were all about doing our homework.
Young people may be known for taking risks, but often that rebellion has a conventional shape. Looking back, our pretensions to authenticity were just another set of rules. One thing my American boyfriend felt strongly about was Indian clothing on white women, which he considered not only culturally insensitive but unattractive. This presented me with a problem, since the shorts and T-shirts left over from my LA adolescence were too revealing, especially in the off-the-beatentrack architectural sites we liked to visit.
I opted instead for long skirts and short-sleeve blouses, modest but impractical for a hike or overnight train. Once, traveling second class from Gwalior to Agra, we almost missed our stop; when the conductor bellowed Agra, Agra, Agra, we rushed to the exit and leapt from the moving train. He made it fine, but in my ankle-length skirt and platform sandals, carrying a backpack half the length of my body, I stumbled and fell on the platform. When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers. In my attempt to fit in, I’d wound up the most foolish kind of spectacle.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2024-Ausgabe von Vogue US.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2024-Ausgabe von Vogue US.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
ON THE NOSE
The liquid rhinoplasty has been growing in popularity, offering more natural and subtle effects. Would it work for me? asks Alice Gregory.

Down by the Sea
A family with deep roots on Long Island thought they knew what they wanted from a house perched between the ocean and the bay. What they got was much more. By Chloe Schama. Photographed by Simon Upton.

SALAD DAYS
Hamish Bowles reflects on Keith McNally's life and career as one of the defining figures of downtown New York's dining culture.

COMING INTO FOCUS
The fracturing of attention may be one of the defining ailments of our era. What can we do to get it back?

State of Wonder
Becoming a mother changed Hailey Bieber—her routine, her body, her marriage, her inner life. She opens up to Alessandra Codinha about adapting to all of it, looking ahead, and shutting out the noise. Photographed by Mikael Jansson.

HONEY PLOT
The golden salve has many beauty benefits.

BODY OF WORK
On the eve of a major retrospective in Paris, Rick Owens talks with Sally Singer about mortality, belonging, legacy—and the kindness and gentleness he hopes his work embodies.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
A new generation of skin-care devices promises results previously limited to the dermatologist' office. But, asks Mattie Kahn, do they work?

WHEN CATHERINE MET MIUCCIA
Two extraordinary leading ladies collaborate on an upcycled Miu Miu collection.

Quick Study
With the high-wire, hilarious Sorry, Baby, a debut film set in academia, writer, director, and actor Eva Victor has leaped into the spotlight. Jen Wang meets a creative force to be reckoned with. Photographed by Tierney Gearon.