Who takes the fashion cake?

Tonight is Fashion's Night Out in New York City, a celebration of fashion of sorts started in 2009 on this day by American Vogue editor and the high priestess of fashion Anna Wintour.

Those of you who are new to this concept, let me give you a brief introduction. The stock market debacle of 2008 saw many fat cat bankers losing their jobs or cut in income or just getting plain scared by the crumbling market around them which resulted in a slump in sales of luxury goodies, you know the stuff no one needs, but everyone wants. That must have affected Vogue's revenue from endless pages of advertising. To remedy the situation and to encourage people to come out and have fun with fashion by spending some dough, Ms. Wintour came up with the idea of Fashion's Night Out.

On this day, if you shop in any NYC store worth its salt, you get some kind of free gift, small and insignificant gifts, but fun nevertheless. There are also designer pop-up shops in Bryant Park where you can buy stuff which is not in stores yet. Some major stores host famous DJs, singers and you can get your picture taken with them. Also, some Victoria's Secret models show up at their flagship stores where you can get your picture taken with the likes of Alessandra Ambrosio or Miranda Kerr etc. Overall, a fun night for New York fashionistas. The tradition has also spread across the globe with most of the major cities in the world joining in the fun and festivities. I was checking online, Mumbai has few events planned for tonight, which considering India time is almost 11 hours ahead of me, is going on now or over may be. If any of you attended, please do share the details.

Now fashion in India is a relatively new industry. Ten years ago, the brands people never heard of or dreamt of buying, are hawking their goods in India now. With economic prosperity has come a sense of dressing more chic, more to the international standard. Gone are the days when Gap and Old navy used to be the hallmark of cool in KJo movies (KKHH anyone?). Now KJo's characters sport Birkin bags worth $20,000! Imagine, a freaking school girl with a Birkin! Only KJo can come up with such an idea. Anyway, our fashionistas have stepped up their games. Compare their pictures; say about 7 years ago, and now! Everyone worth their salt in Bollywood has the following: a Birkin or Birkins, a stylist, Jimmy Choos, Chanel quilted bag and that omnipresent Bottega Veneta basket weave knot clutch. Now who, among these fashionistas, armed with the latest 'it' whatever, gets your approval as the fairest of them all? Now now, it’s not a competition about skin color, otherwise Kalki will win hands down; being the white girl she is :-)

This is about who brings her A game when it comes to style worth swooning over? Sonam Kapoor, you say? Let’s have a look, shall we? The names I mention below are in no particular order, meaning the person I discuss first is not necessarily numero uno.

1. Vidya Balan:

She is not your typical fashionista. But she has style. She has a style of her own. After some disastrous styling in some of her movies and getting snarky remarks about her fashion sense from almost everyone in Bollywood, Vidya changed her fashion game. She adopted a saree only with hair cascading down on her shoulder look which suits her to a T. There is an element of inspiration from Rekha here, with the way she wears her hair, over all she has made this look her own. Now Vidya's name conjures up images of fabulous Sabya sarees worth drooling over. Well done lady.

2. Deepika Padukone:

It was not admiration at first sight for this gal, but turns out it was admiration after all. Oh, who am I kidding, I am trying to paraphrase an SATC 2 line here, by substituting 'love' with 'admiration', but it does not have the same effect. Anyway, when I first saw Deepika on screen, she was mesmerizing of course in her vintage avatar, but her real life fashion game was weak. Her fashion shoots meh, her appearances yawn inspiring. But something changed down the line. Since last year, she has been giving one inspiring look after another. With that body, she can get away with a garbage bag worn with a belt. But of course it’s delightful to see Dips bring out her full potential by going high fashion. Her magazine shoots have also improved; she is giving edgier, sexier looks. Now, does Dips have a style of her own? What comes to mind when you think of how to dress like Deepika? Turns out she has a type. It’s either denim micro shorts with ganji or slim ankle length pants with button down shirts. I prefer the slim pant/shirt look. There is something sexy about both men/women wearing button downs tucked into jeans/pants with a simple belt. Gets my vote every time.

3. Kangana Ranaut:

I hope I got her last name correctly, I don't want to be yelled at like some poor air hostess, he he.. ;-)
Okay, this gal's got fashion. I have read somewhere that Kangana does not beg designers and stylists to lend her some clothes for events, rather carefully chooses and buys her own fancy clothing. Good for you lady, good for you. You can pass them down the line to your daughter, if you have one someday or twenty years down the line visit the clothes and reminiscence about the memories attached to each of them. Kangana, of course, has given edgy performances and edgier looks since basically she started in the industry. Kudos. I really love some of the looks she has given over the years, the Burberry gown in the picture here being one of them. So, how to dress like Kangana? I don't know. Some sexy frock? A Birkin? I cannot define her style. Now, that's a bit of a downer really.

4. Sonam Kapoor:

Ah, Sonam Kapoor.. Do you know if you search 'Bollywood Fashionista' in google image, it’s overwhelmingly Sonam everywhere? So, is she the undisputed queen of fashionistas in Bollywood? Hold on lady, I am a tough judge. Sonam has definitely given some amazing looks over the years, ever since she ditched that dowdy salwar/choti get up she had going on for 'Sawariyaa' promos and brought her A+ fashion game to public. I first noticed her in magazine shoots. Her shoots are ALWAYS amazing; she is a very good model. I am not judging her acting here, that's a separate story. Her last year's Cannes look in that Jean Paul Gaultier gown was great, I loved it. However, I hated most of her looks in this year’s Cannes. Yes, Sonam wears some major couture, gives us more yay looks than nay, lives for fashion and probably has access to every stylist and designer's closet in India, as evident from the Dior India boss lending some major frocks for Sonam's vanity project 'Aisha'. The question is, is Sonam a true fashion icon? In the manner of, say, Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly? Sadly, no. Sonam plays the fashion game very well. But she has no signature style of her own. She is all over the place. Audrey Hepburn's name conjures of images of LBDs, Givenchy gowns and kitten heels. Sonam's name brings to mind an exhausting parade of couture, one having no relation with other. How to dress like Sonam Kapoor? I don't know. A mega player in Bollywood fashion scene, but not an icon.

5. Rekha:

What is she doing on this list, you say? Well, Rekha's never been known for being a fashionista. But I thought its worth giving her a shout out here considering she has such a quirky OTT fashion sense and she sticks to it. Those heavy Kanji varams, an entire store's worth of gold jewelry, sindoor in maang, thaila purse. It’s pure Rekha. I can see why Vidya is inspired by her.

6. Twinkle Khanna:

Twinkle is not a fashion risk taker, but she has a decent enough style file. I love her glamorous but wearable frocks, her array of fancy bags and her emerald drop earrings which she sports often. Combined with a quiet grace and great hair inherited from her glam mama, Twinkle is a fashionista, alright.

7. Kalki:

I have not really followed much of Kalki's looks, but whatever I have seen, it’s adorable. Combined with her charming smile and quirky looks, she does bring something to the plate.

8. Karishma Kapoor:

Thank God the nineties are way behind us. A time of hideous fashion, one saw a young Karishma taking a deep plunge into it with her bushy eyebrows, puffy sleeves and overall hideous fashion choices. But all's well that ends well. Karishma today is the picture of polished elegance. I love her clean lines and unfussy looks. May be I am a bit biased because my dressing sense is very similar to Karishama’s, but no one can deny that Karishma Kapoor of today is a chic chic fashionista.

9. Shilpa Shetty.

Shilpa might be out of the glam scene for a while now with a new baby and all; let’s not forget that Shilpa has given us some beautiful looks over the years. A victim of the hideous nineties, she emerged as a butterfly from the cocoon of ugly clothing post ‘Dhadkan’. The 2000s saw her transform into a sophisticated fashionista draped in those beautiful, soft Donna Karan silk jersey dresses. In fact Shilpa wears Donna Karan better than the model in the DKNY advert. With her hair blow dried to perfection and a body rivaling the best of the best, she is the original silk jersey dress draped girl with a fab blow dry. In fact, she does it better than the Duchess of Cambridge.

10. Dia Mirza

Sweet, adorable, beautiful. These are the adjectives that describe Dia’s look perfectly. You can always count on her sporting a cute little frock, with beaded necklace and subtle make up. The frock aficionado in me delights at each Dia sighting. Though she is not a fashion risk taker, she knows what works for her and sticks to it. May be not a mega fashion player like Sonam, but I love most of her looks.

11. Sameera Reddy

Fashion was not always her forte. She has been around for years, though one hardly recalls her any commendable sartorial choices from her. However, something has changed lately. She has lost oodles of weight and stepped up her fashion game BIG time. This year, we have seen her do edgy, polished and beautiful perfectly. Whatever you are doing Sameera, whoever is helping you, keep it up, cuz it looks good 

12. Neha Dhupia

Like Sameera, Neha is going strength to strength in her fashion choices lately. Big thumbs up and keep it up. Neha and Sameera are two underrated fashionistas in Bollywood right now. They deserve better.

13. Preity Zinta

When everyone in Bollywood was wearing whatever (read garish outfits), Preity was wearing couture. She is the original fashionista of Bollywood. I have loved many looks she has given us over the years; the one here in white Gucci dress is one of her best. She has not made many appearances lately. Here is hoping for a comeback. Fire your stylist from “Ishkq in Paris” Preity, if you have not done it already.

14. Nandita Das

She never was in the fashion game; I doubt she even pays attention to what’s going on trend wise. I met Nandita in 1999 in India. She was a guest speaker on some women centric issue I don’t recall. I was tagging along with my didi to see a ‘movie star’, though Nandita hardly ever plays that card either. What I can tell you is this, it was a hot day in those pre-summer (spring in name only) months and the audience in the auditorium were sweating big time, and there she was the picture of cool elegance in a yellow Sambalpuri sari. She looked exactly the same, as she looks now; dark ebony hair, nose stud, bright but elegant saree, kajal and that megawatt smile. I have a theory, since she has been doing the same stuff for ever; it’s hard to notice her age. You don’t categorize her looks as the nineties, 2005, 2010 etc. She has maintained a timeless look, hence deserves a mention here.

15. Sridevi

Oh the horrible stuff Sri had to wear during the 80’s and 90’s. Sridevi of today is in better shape than she ever was, wears couture, looks gorgeous. I am not always in love with her sartorial choices, but she deserves kudos nevertheless. I love her in a saree and some mega drop earrings which she does with flair.

16. Asin

Has Asin hired a stylist lately? She is wearing some beautiful frocks and reigned in her make up to a more subtle, neutral level. A fashionista? May be. A style icon? No. I really don’t know what’s her style, but she’s been looking good lately, so I thought worth a mention.

17. Malaika Arora

Malaika’s always been sexy and doesn’t she know it! Most of her fashion choices rub me in the wrong way, they are too short, too skimpy, too much cleavage show, a bit too much JLo Bronx Diaries for me, if you know what I mean. In New York City, there are these Latina clothing stores , and oh the clothes they sell; short short short, total body con, sparkly, cleavage and navel baring (in the same dress), the kind of dress that gets you attention alright, no matter how tacky. When Malaika does things right, like this VB dress here, she just looks oh so yummy. Here is hoping she continues to mix in elegance to her usual sexy.

So, who according to you, takes the fashion cake, though she might not eat it for diet reasons ;-) Huh?