Fashion Forward

Hello my dear Ritz readers, I hope you had a joyous Deepavali! I’m Priyanka Acharya, your resident ABCD who’s always looking to combine the best of Indian and American cultures, from food to fashion and everything in between.

This month I’m talking about the pros and cons of three fashion trends that are currently dominating your IG feeds and party scenes.

In the West, the fashion-forward excitedly anticipates the Fall/Winter season, when they can accessorize with chic coats and boots galore. But what happens in a city like Chennai where there aren’t really seasons per say, but varying levels of hot and sultry? We may never be able to don faux fur and cozy knits, but a slight drop in temperature over these next couple months will allow us to mix up our looks a bit.

TREND #1

DRAMATIC SLEEVES

Off-shoulder and cold-shoulder tops held strong for a couple of years, but now they give way to a variety of interesting long sleeves. Girly tiered ruffles, funky puffy shoulders, elegant bell sleeves that evoke kimono vibes, all of these are an upgrade from a classic button-down blouse.

PROS:

1. These tops are casual enough for daytime wear whether it’s for work or the school run, but funky enough to put that pep in your step. Wear them with jeans or trousers, layer a couple of necklaces, and you’re done!

2. These next few months make up the only stretch we Chennaites get to wear long sleeves and synthetic fabrics without sweating buckets. For us, this is as close to winter wear as it gets.

3. Don’t you love it when a trend happens to be modest? No fiddling with bra straps or wearing a shawl to leave the house in front of disapproving elders. Bonus--you can skip some waxing appointments too!

CONS: