E-Paper
Winter collection
When I finished thinking about my wobbly response to winters, I almost forgot that there was more than just woollen junk in the trunk in my house. There were trousers, shirts, warm inners, jackets and sweatshirts ? a cache collected after painstaking shopping over the last two years.
When I finished thinking about my wobbly response to winters, I almost forgot that there was more than just woollen junk in the trunk in my house. There were trousers, shirts, warm inners, jackets and sweatshirts — a caché collected after painstaking shopping over the last two years. This year, with the cold more bitter than usual, it was time again to be covered toes-to-neck with warm finery.
I was, of course, faced with the eternal query: which jacket do I wear with which trousers and which sweater with which shirt? The essential winter shopper, I believe, belongs to a class that is either always preparing to be over-clothed or to look good. Since I fall in the second category, socks must always be hidden. Caps are immaterial, mufflers are for effect, but inners — as the name suggests — has no role to play in a display of winter couture.
In the last two years, I’ve bought the ‘best’ brands, dipping precariously into my savings. Gosh, how these brands have whetted my wanton, woolly worthiness. It’s all about the thrill of the chill, you could say.
In my search for a perfect pair of trousers, I’ve made it a point to go for the fixed-creased look. An ideal pair of terry-wool is a variety that effortlessly fits the waist and straightens crisply down to a few centimetres above the heel. Quite amazingly, almost all brands satisfy this condition. But I have a strict rule when it comes to trousers width at the feet: it should essentially cover nearly half of my shoes.
For sweaters and shirts, there’s another simple rule: light shades (black being the exception) and no heavy stuff. Jackets only overstate things. So if necessary, it must be worn slightly below the waist and must be softer and light, its colour depending on the mood.
So, when the temperature perilously dropped recently, I rejoiced. Yet, there were difficult choices in store. One day, it took me almost half-an-hour to select what I would wear from my winter collection. But then came the corollary problem: how should I discard my old clothes?
The question kept staring at me for a whole day, until a friend mentioned that I could donate them to the earthquake victims. The very next day I collected four pairs of trousers, half-a-dozen shirts, sweaters and jackets and headed to the local collection centre. The clerk was almost dumbstruck at my sack. “Looks like you are contributing on behalf of your family?”
“Yes,” I lied.
He was thankful and I was relieved. As trucks loaded with relief material sputtered to their Kashmir destination, an uncomfortable feeling engulfed me. Someone shivering in the cold out there finding warmth in my clothes.
