All stoled out

Everyone’s sporting them — from David Beckham to John Abraham and the women can’t seem to ever get enough of them. Stoles have been around for quite some time now, often assumed to be the smaller brother of the larger shawl, or dupatta — the stole in its current form has been around as the thundu, the keffiyeh, the gamosa and even the gamcha.

In the west, what began as a stuffy muffler was soon stylised and redefined as the trendy stole. A long journey indeed, but the stole has finally arrived and how! We speak to a few celebrities and fashion movers and makers from across the country to see how ‘stoled’ they’ve recently been.

Ramesh Dembla
Designer
Carry a stole with me everywhere I go — they’re the perfect complement to any ensemble; formal, semi-formal and casual. I’ve picked up most of mine abroad, but I do love some of the stuff you get from within the country, too. I have a light blue mulmul stole that I am really fond of and can’t ever seem to get enough of it.

My stole rules
1    Always wear a soft fabric — mulmuls and cottons are perfect
2    Keep the length just right, never too long
3    Never pair up a stole with a printed T-shirt. Always stick to monochromes

Ganesh Venkataramsan
Actor
Stoles are just super amazing in any weather and I have five simple style rules when it comes to stoles:
1    Always wear contrasting colours
2    Buy stoles of different volumes to alternate (thick versus thin)
3    Keep the colours down to three or four maximum
4    Indulge in fabrics, but pair smartly with the ensemble
5    The crushed look works best!

Jackie Shetty
Model
I love stoles and they’ve been my favourite accessories for as long as I can remember. I own quite a few and find them to be loads of fun, season appropriate and really, really functional. It serves as a great accessory to colour code and pep up and ensemble and on days when you really want to do away with all the jewellery, the best thing to do is to throw on a stole.

My stole inspiration would have to be Steve Tyler from Aerosmith — the man knew how to really rock the stole! He revived it, injected it with a spunk that’s unbeatable and made it as chic and popular as it ever could get. He’s also a style god!

Sharmila Mandre
Actor
I can never get enough of them and wear them pretty often during winter or when travelling to cold places, but I do love them in any season actually. There are so many ways in which you can wear them and they often make such a huge style statement. I love the way Nicole Richie wears the accessory and I am often inspired by her individual style.

Tilak Shekhar
Actor
I am not a huge fan of the stoles, but I do sport a keffiyeh once in a while. All my inspiration for wearing a stole comes from David Beckham. The man proved that a stole can really look masculine if worn in the right way.

Nidhi Subbaiah
Actor
I absolutely love stoles. On a recent trip to Spain, I picked up six of them at a flea market, and out of them there’s this pastel pink one that I keep wearing in different styles to rev up my look. My stole icon has to be Sienna Miller, who is just the coolest boho chic style-icon I know.

Ashok Aditya
Model
Though I’m not too much of a stole person, I do have a crushed red one that I am really fond of. It always completes the ethnic look that I like sporting at a wedding or religious function.

Aditya Singh Rajput
Actor
Stoles are super fun. I often pair a black stole with a white shirt and vice versa and also own a stole with a few mantras on it that really revved up my holi. They’re just so stylish.

Ragini Dwivedi
Actor
I alternate between my stoles depending on what I’m wearing… I love the really colourful ones and the ones in net. My favourite way of wearing a stole is to pair it up with sleeveless t-shirts and shorts on a warm summer day.

Arry Dabas
Model
I love wearing stoles, especially when I am abroad, because they often just keep you warm and just rightly so. I also like to pair them up with my Indian and Indo-western ensembles.

Priyamani
Actor
I adore them and can’t ever stop myself from buying one. I just bought one from Guess in Spain on a recent visit.

Param
Model
While I usually sport stoles on the ramp, I like them off the ramp too. I love adding them to an ensemble as they add a desi touch that always complements my looks.

Lakshmi Manchu
Actor
I love picking up stoles at flea markets across the world, but my brother’s (Vishnu) collection beats me any day. I love carrying a stole when I am travelling abroad and they often act as my own personal ‘blanky’ on long flights.

Sajid Bubere
Actor
Stoles to me are like my second skin. I alternate between scarves, mufflers and stoles, depending on the season.

Bhanujeet Singh Sudan
Model
As long as they’re striped, checked or in sombre colours — I will wear them. I love the way they make me look.

Ameet Dawar
model
I am a huge fan of the keffiyeh and add it to any of my party ensembles. They look cool.

Neeraj Mahajan
Model
They’re the perfect accessory when you want to make your party outfit just that much more special. My favourite is this one piece that I have in pure black with silver detailing.

Mita Vashisht
Actor
I love complementing anything with a stole and my styles vary according to my moods. From pieces that look like floor mops, to pieces that are made from the finest raw silks — I love them all.

Sada
Actor
I have a knit baby pink stole that I really like. But otherwise I like the ones in soft cotton and mulmul.