FASHION & LIFESTYLE Fashion   Designing is one of the most important aspects of the Fashion world. It is the applied art dedicated to clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time. Fashion refers to styles of especially dress which are current in any given culture at any given time. It not only embraces clothing, but also accessories, hair styles, beauty and foot wears.

The term “fashion” is frequently used in a positive sense, as a synonym for glamour, beauty and style. Fashion is supposed to accentuate our looks, make us look our best, and to hide our figure flaws. It is to express yourself, to serve as an extension of your personality. Fashion is termed as a style of clothing worn by most of people of a country. Fashion is a form of free speech. People use fashion to present themselves to the public eye. Why does fashion exist? Fashion exists to provide information about ourselves, who we think we are and who we aspire to be. It defines our age, our sex, our occupation and often our ethnicity. What wear is an image of what we want the world to see. To some fashion is an art form and to others it is almost a religion. Fashion is a spirit, where an individual is comfortable with his mode of clothing and converts this comfort into a personal style. It plays a very important role in an individual’s life. With the changing trends in fashion and designing, the dress codes too have changed. Today we tend to dress based on the way clothes appeal to our personal taste. The youngsters have now taken to the northern style of dressings.  Our teens are very picky about what they like to wear. They like to act “cool”, so they try to dress in something that fits their personality. Now the youngsters or teenagers want a figure like the models they see on television.

Fashion TRENDS IN TEENS
               
Teen fashion trends borrow heavily from trends for grown ups, but include one important distinction: teen fashion exists strictly enforced fashion subcultures. Teenagers tend to dress in clothing that announces their affiliations and interests with crystal clarity. It is the time in teenagers life when making impressions is usually first priority. As each year passes there are new clothing styles, new looks, and new teen hair style ideas to go with these new trends. With this growing range of fashion people became more choosey of what they need. They became more and more conscious of the colors, the styles, the textures and the materials leading to brand names. Brand names ‘does play a vital role in the ‘fashion’ industry.
 

HAIR STYLES                                                            
Hair is a form of self expression for today’s teenagers. Teens know what’s going on most of the time when it comes to the fashion industry and the hair style choices that are most ‘in’ according to experts. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion and cosmetics. Teens are usually on the cutting edge because they aren’t afraid to try new and existing styles and they are normally the first to examine the looks of Hollywood icons.  The teens hair styles have changed over time as teens have growth into young ladies and new teens have replaced their styles. Hair styles for teens are flexible and fun. Teenagers have a wide variety of styles to choose from. They love to make a great first impression, and a stunning hairstyle can easily accomplish this. The teen hair style, while always evolving and reflecting the tastes of the generation, always tends to be a trendy hair style that is hard for older people to imitate and still look great. Men hair styles are not complicated as women’s hair styles. Most of men’s hair styles are trendy hair styles. Trendy hair styles refer to short and spiky or long and relaxed. Short hair styles for men achieve different things, depending on the individual’s current looks and appearance. Long hair styles seem to be making a come back in varying lengths despite the fact that this style is more work. Today long hair for men rarely goes below the shoulders.

COSTUMES
Everyone loves dressing up. Each of us has a unique dressing style and prefers a costume as per his or her taste. As far as costumes are concerned, some people buy for style, some for comfort and some for fun. Costumes display the culture or ongoing trend of a nation. They talk about different customs, tastes, and styles of people. They express the identity and unique attributes of different cultures and tastes. It has become a tradition to wear different costumes during festivals and holidays. Every year costume trends change and people come out with different themes.  The word ‘costume’ refers to the dress patterns of the people of a particular community. It is costume of a community, which differentiates people from others. Costume of a place reflects upon the cultural traditions, the lifestyles, the tastes and preferences and finally the impart of present modernity on the mindsets of its inhabitants. A very significant attribute of today’s costumes of India is that, modern innovations have started impressing their signatures on the traditional element of the costumes of India. Women of India are well-aware of fashion-updates. Along with the ethnic costume of sari, or salwar-kameez, or churidar-kameez, Western jeans tops, shirts, T-shirts, skirts, variying in sizes and shapes, blouses and so on, crowd a fashionable and modern day woman’s wardrobe. These costumes are not only wear friendly in the course of daily busy schedule of modern life, but also enriches a woman with the aura of style and smartness. When it comes to making themselves presentable in proper costume, the men of India are not lagging behind. The young generation, usually dress themselves in formal shirts, jeans, T-shirts and the other modern-day chic male garment happening to be the daily costume, even work place dress for men. However on ceremonial occasions, men try out ornate Sharwani-churidars, Dhoti-kurtas, or Kurta-pajamas, frequently turning out to be a designers or a boutiques collection.

ACCESSORIES    
Fashion accessories have become an important part of style statement in India. All the big brands dealing in fashion industry have their presence in India. Fashion accessories are decorative items that supplement one’s  to garment, such as shoes, scarves, jewelries, purses, handbags, belts, hats and sun glasses. It adds color, style and class to an out fit, and create a certain look, but they may also have practical functions. Handbags are for carrying and it act as a symbol of a woman’s distinct style, preference, background and personality. The new, emerging trends in fashionable handbags for women are very much in conformance with today’s woman’s image and her tastes and likings. Handbags are mostly used for keeping women accessories like cosmetics, mobile phones, combs, etc. Unlike girls men have lesser options when it comes to fashion accessories. Cufflinks are absolutely stylish accessories for men and come in trendy designs. Diamond-studded cuff links for men are making a storming entry into the wardrobes of men in India and they can be seen sporting the shiny and chunky pieces of metal on their coats in parties, concerts and even lounges. Nowadays, most of the Indian men are finding jewllery as a perfect way to enhance their sex appeal and masculinity. Taking inspirations from the Bollywood and Hollywood hunks, Indian guys don’t hesitate in portraying themselves in an entirely new adorned look. They are indulged into buying and wearing jewellery and other accessories like finger rings, earrings, bracelets, etc. Wearing a ring by men in India is not a recent trend in India. A large male population in India has been wearing them in various forms, since past many decades. The rings which are specially desingned for men in pure gold or silver are sleekly sculpted into masculine shape. Another accessory, men would prefer wearing is a bracelet. The latest bracelets, available in the Indian markets for men have been designed using materials like brushed steel and even rubber. Earrings or ear studs are also amongst those jewellery items, which are Indian men prefer wearing the most. Besides, the Indian men are also highly inclined towards wearing cool pedants and bulky, hip-hop belt buckles. The Indian men have become highly fashion conscious and have realized that jewelllery and other accessories are a must for adding their appearance and overall personality.

LATEST FASHION TRENDS IN KERALA
 People of Kerala are known to be modest and simple. The main dress worn by the people of Kerala is mainly traditional in nature through the costumes are to a large extent guided by the geographical conditions of the region. The ‘Mundum Neriyathum’ was the traditional dress of Kerala. It is a hand woven cotton cloth. Today it is replaced by the set sari. Now the set sari is worn by Keralite women as a quasi ‘mundum neriyathum’ and known as the ‘Kerala Sari’. Today women wear this sari only on festive occasions like ‘Onam’ and ‘Kerala Day (November 1st)’. Traditional style is disappearing among the people. The peoples of Kerala have now taken the northern style of dressings. Men have taken to T-shirts and jeans imitating Western fashion, which is more comfortable and suited for traveling. Women of all communities wear the North Indian styles ‘churidars’. The best update of ‘fashion’ is always kept by the youth. They mould themselves so well with the changing world that they are ready to experiment anything. Casual have become more trendy and smart in this modern world. Casual wear is the dress code which emphasizes comfort and personal expression over presentation and uniformity. As for the woman, the handbags, the shoes, the jewels, the hair style, even the watch- all those accessories have to go in perfect harmony with what she wears. And when it comes to the man, he has to take care of his hair style the tie pins the cufflinks, his socks and a perfectly polished shoe. Styling of hair has gained added importance these days. It is said that hair can make or break your entire look. So every effort is made on the part of the people of Kerala to put in a very presentable appearance by styling ones hair to the maximum. A trend in Kerala is fast growing where the styling of ones hair occupies a prominent position in the general make up of every individual. A head of colored hair drew a lot of attention and appreciates glances. Today most of the teenagers and even career women have colored their hair. People in Kerala are now in search for the new and change according to the recent trends as seen in cinemas and movies. Vouge kerala and kerala fashion week are the major Fashion Events in Trivandrum and Kochi (cochin) conducted yearly.

LATEST TRENDS IN BANGALORE (Bengaluru)
          Bangalore the ‘Garden City of India’ also called the ‘Fashion Capital of India’.   Bengaluru keeps pace with the latest trends and fashion. Teen-agers have always adopted their own styles in attire, accessories and music. It sets youngsters apart from perceived unsympathetic elders and enables kids to enjoy affinity within their teen-age world. In terms of style, Bangalore is now nearly more westernized than the west. The new “cool” generation of Bangalore so westernized in dress and their outlook. Every teen-age girl has her own style and there are an endless number of dress styles. Full length women’s fashion skirts are hot favorite amidst fashion conscious for teenage girls. These full length women’s skirts provides the girls full comfort in movement. With their fascinating designs, they catch the attention of everyone instantly and lend the ladies an individual look. Ladies kurta  having half sleeves provide the teens cool and casual look. The only dress code of Bangaloreans to is dictated by the weather. Laid back, cosmopolitian and trendy-Indian and Western clothes are worn with equal élan. Bags are the biggest accessory now. People are spending more money on bags more than on shoes or even jewels. The new trend for men’s is the sleek cross body bags, now called the document carriers. For the pin stripped suits, fine stitching along the sides, leather buckles and metal zips to make them interesting. Another sign of the changing times is the willingness to be bold and experiment. Although body art such as tattooing and body piercing-something, which is a rage in the Bangalore cities- is yet to take off in “conservative” cities like Chennai in a big way. It is quite common to see teenage girls wearing multiple earrings.   

LATEST TRENDS IN CHENNAI (Madras)
TamilNadu “The land of Tamil” is the southern most state of India. The people in Tamilnadu are very simple and believe in leading a simple life. They are very traditional and particular about their customs and value systems. People of Tamilnadu have their own traditional style of wearing dresses. In Tamilnadu, woman wear sari and blouse and men wear lungi along with a shirt. With globalization, dresses are also getting westernized. Though the majority of the women in the state still wear traditional costumes, the men seem to be more comfortable in western clothing and have started wearing shirts and pants instead of ‘lungi’. But for the teens today, there is never a problem due to plenty. So much to choose from and yet they seem to know what exactly they want. They know what looks good on them and are not intimidated by fashion trends. They go wild and crazy with colors, experiment with patterns and get as “funky”, “cool”, and “trendy” as possible. Fashion among teenage boys is often inspired by the movies. When it comes to accessories, there are trinkets and add-ons that range from head to toe-literally.  This season, the trend is to go metallic, copper, brass and oxidized jewels inspired by geometric designs is a big hit among girls and guys. While girls prefer jewels with beads, stones and studs, boys love to flaunt garish metallic motifs conveying gothic and spiritual themes. People today are more particular about the type of clothes they wear and they make up or hairstyle they do. However, due to the modernization of Tamilnadu, people are seen wearing fancy and western attires at times.    
 

LATEST TRENDS IN HYDERABAD 
Hyderabad is the home of ‘Star Style Fashion’. The modern Hyderabadi men and woman wear western costumes in their daily life. The peoples of Hydreabad wear anything and everything, which they feel comfortable in and carry off well. Through the dawn of western culture, dressing styles are defining new trends among the younger generations in Hyderabad. Teenage boys and girls are equally conscious and overt about the latest trends and compromise on nothing when it comes on good looking. Teenage girls are reveling on the roads of Hyderabad with reveling scenes wearing tight fits and lower hip jeans. As the parties go on in the city, the sleeveless trend seems to go high and high. Sleeveless is in Hyderabad revelries with beautiful women and girls sporting sexy sleeveless tees. It is not only tees that have gone sleeveless but also ‘kurtis’, evening dress and much more. Sleeveless blouse is no more a taboo in Hyderabad. From college girls to newly turned family ladies are familiar and comfortable with sleeveless blouses and sleeveless chudidaars. The cultural backgrounds or hesitations are keeping many of the Andhra women to choose such blouses. However, there was the same resistance to change when the transitions from saris to chudidars to jeans and tops took place. This new trend of Hyderabadi women reflects their braveness and tolerance. The Cool ‘n’ Trendy T-shirts becoming hot in Hyderabad. Many young peoples prefer T-shirts with attitude slogans like “God Bless Everyone”, “I have an attitude”, etc. And all it depends on what they want to show and what they are wearing that ultimately describe their attitude. T-shirts were preferred by children and teens only, but now a day’s people of all age-groups wears T-shirts. Generally old age people mostly collared T-shirts with branded names. Teenagers have a tendency to go for the latest hairstyles donned by their favourite celebrities. Its not just clothes but also accessories that determine the way they look. Sporty look is out being ‘funky’ is the latest mantra. Wrist bands, bracelets, watches, cool cell phones, fancy belts going with overall attire is more important than clothes. Body piercing, tattooing and mellow tattoos are also gaining importance.

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