Mumbai collegians don’t mind spending to be ‘in’

A man is not made by his clothes nor don't judge a book by its cover — trying telling that to a today's brand-conscious college youngsters. With the time, the purpose of donning a dress a different purpose altogether — it has gone on from being just a necessity to a luxury item for Generation Y.

Media plays an important role as today's generation just has to switch on the television or surf the net to know what's 'hot' this season. However, parents too are instrumental in what a youngster wears. After all, they pay for it. 

Father of three children Surendra Waghle, 47, says, "I let my children choose what they want to wear. My kids are brand-conscious and end up demanding high-end products — which burns quite a hole in my pocket. I accept that other students who can't afford those brands can get an inferiority complex but that's how the world is."

After justifying his reasons for buying whatever his children want, he quickly adds, "However, I do feel that college should not allow very expensive branded clothes and accessories to make sure that the children concentrate on studies and not dressing up."

Parents complain that teens have good taste when it comes to dressing up, but good taste doesn't always mean having to splurge on designer outfits. Many students blindly buy brands, thinking that a label will get them noticed and make them stand out of the. So why do students give so much importance to dressing up, don't they go to college to study?

Bonny Abraham, a student of Valia College justifies his sense of style and says that it is an important part of his identity. He adds that college is the time when people experiment with not just style but many other things to 'discover' themselves. "I do take care of myself and am very aware of what I wear. I don't think anyone should care about it because it is my personal choice. My college doesn't have a problem with what I wear; they only care about studies - so it all works out fine for me."

Some city colleges have dress regulations in place as they feel that unrestricted freedom is not always a good thing. "We only forbid students from wearing obscene clothes. They should realise that they are coming to an educational institution not for a party. We let the students wear casuals as long as it is decent," says Shridhar Naik, a faculty member at Burhani College.

There are other students like Sonal Ranadive who think that style doesn't always mean big brands, one can afford a stylish wardrobe on a shoe-string budget. So, one need not feel inferior to the people who wear branded clothes. "I don't wear expensive brands but I have never been ridiculed for that, I feel comfortable with what I wear," says the Mithibhai College student.

Students justify what they do and say that being trendy is not a crime. They feel it's the perception of people, who pull them up for everything they do, is discriminating their ideas. "We don't copy stars or models. We have our own choice, teachers and parents should mind their own business and let us do what we want," says Gurpreet Gumber, a student in Malini Kishore Sanghvi College

However, there are a few students who feel that some college students are spending too much unnecessarily. They shouldn't give much attention to their fashion identity. "I don't think being student we should be so obsessed with branded stuffs or clothing. Nowadays a new trend has started in the colleges to have some sort of modern or different look. However, such show can create a kind of inferiority complex among other students who can't afford to do that. It's waste of money. After all college is not a ramp, it's hub to be prepared for our career. But one thing is good that there is no discrimination among any students due to such kind of dressings," says Mansi Jhaveri, a student from St Xavier's College.

Like students, society also feels that contemporary fashion trend doesn't create discrimination among students. Today even the look a like of branded stuffs can be bought from the hawkers. 

"There is no such trend through out the college tenure or in social life where students wear trendy and branded clothes only. Initially two to four months junior college students do dress up with their branded and designers' clothes but later they come up in their very casual dress. They hardly put make up on their face or carry number of accessories while coming to colleges. They do care about their looks but they are not obsessed with any kind of fashion trend. I find them more casual for their dressings, says Nandini Sardesai, sociologist. 

Parents too believe that today's generations have more freedom of choice while choosing their clothes. "They are quite experimental for their dressing which was not possible when I was in college. There were lots of social and family constraints for dressings. People were judged on the basis of their dressings. But now the perception of clothing has changed a lot," says, Nibha Sinha, 55, mother.

Manju Nichani, principal of KC College believes that there is nothing like good or bad if students are coming up well groomed in the colleges till they maintain the modesty of our culture. Students have become more trendy and fashionable because they want to appear good in the society. Such things are not confined to students only however, students' mother and father too have such tendency to groom themselves.

"Children have learnt while looking at them. There are many people who don't care about their looks because their parents hadn't taken care of their looks. Traditionally also in the colleges there were no uniform for the college students. That point of time rich and poor existed in the society. Some were wearing expensive clothes or less expensive. The only thing was that that time there were not so much brands popped out in the market. So today's fashion trend in the college is all about look smart and confident."

Fashion should be about comfort

I don't follow fashion trends blindly and only shop when required. Although, I do care about what I wear keeping the place and occasion in mind. I wear formal clothes when I am in college as I want to be professional. My college doesn't have any restrictions and many students wear casuals too. In my view, fashion is something which should make one feel comfortable and confident. It shouldn't be about brands.
— Mudit Singhvi, Government Law College

Trendy doesn’t mean being branded

My parents pay for my clothes and I buy my new set of clothes in every four to five months. The city can boast of many malls and I usually go there to buy clothes and other accessories from my favourite brands. I don't mind going and shop from small shops in Bandra or Colaba as they too keep trendy clothes and are cheap too. Today, many students have a wardrobe which is a mix of both branded and road-side outfits.
- Trishita Khanderia, St. Xavier's College