Street is where the style is!

It was Scott Schumanrsquos The Sartorialist in 2005 that made people sit up and take notice of the street style culture around the world Schumanrsquos approach was unique mdash he photographed the most unusually dressed people on the streets of Paris Rome and the United States Soon after many such blogs mushroomed all over the web each with their unique sense of individuality and presentation The effect was so strong that even newspapers and various other magazines dedicated a special section to lsquostreet stylersquo in their daily columns The best of street style captured on their respective blogs by Manou Samidha Sharma and Karishma Rajani The Indian Mix In India Manou a fashion design graduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology wasnrsquot even aware of who Scott Schuman was He photographed everyone from the common man the daily officegoer to even the street beggar for his blog mdash wwwwearboutwordpresscom that was started in 2010 ldquoI was in Dharamshala for a couple of years where I noticed a wide range of welldressed people They were not necessarily fashion followers or brandconscious but normal people who wore a lot of colourful outfits That triggered my interest in people and the way they present themselves I had no idea about the street style blogs that were famous abroadrdquo His artistic content and sharp pictures won him accolades in the western media Everybody from The Guardian to the New Yorker rated his blog among the lsquoThe top 15 blogsrsquo from around the world But Manou dismisses his popularity with modesty ldquoI am very lucky and honoured that such stalwarts are taking interest in my work Honestly I didnrsquot even know the concept of street style fashion There are still so many people in India that donrsquot know about my blog or my work Though street style is evident in India it is not very wellknownrdquou00a0he explains People who are spotted on the streets donrsquot necessarily have to wear brands A unique mix and match of clothes and colour make them stand out from the rest Quirk it up Though India is still at a very nascent stage in terms of a concrete street style there is a strong cultural sense in peoplersquos sartorial choices Manou admits ldquoI think we are very lucky as a nation to have a strong cultural sense which comes across in a way a person dresses up I get attracted to the overall look it can be completely puttogether or totally unkempt It depends on how confidently a person carries himselfrdquo For another street style blogger Karishma Rajani of wwwpurplepeeptoescom it is the unique sense of individuality that a person incorporates in his attire Widely known for photographing the bohemians in the bylanes of Mumbai Rajani believes that it is all about the personality of a person that attracts her to them ldquoIt is not always about highend brands I gravitate towards people who wear something unique It can be a jacket over a neon saree a statement bindi or even a simple white kurta It is always that one thing in the entire ensemble that makes them stand apartrdquo Showcasing Individuality Street style is not always about following trends Sure a welldressed person does exude a lot of confidence but such things are widely subjective Samidha Sharma of wwwstreetstyleindiablogspotin does feel that though India can never compete with its global counterparts it is the sheer honesty of bloggers who make an effort to start from the beginning She says ldquoOne canrsquot really pick out one uniform way of describing street style However I think with affordable brands such as Forever 21 and Zara the Indian fashion scene is changing Fashion in a way has become more democratisedrdquo Though many fashion critics including the acclaimed fashion writer Suzy Menkes have openly argued about the quality of such selftaught bloggers the huge popularity of such unique concepts cannot be ignored Rajani agrees ldquoBlogging is one thing spotting people on the streets is quite another I think itrsquos a moment of absolute inspiration It is about creative involvement with people and their culturerdquo