Colorfully disappearing me

Someone once told me that environment changes the way we dress. For example, if we live in a place where the weather is very cold more than half of the year, we may own more coats than a person living in a tropical place. Well, after living in India for three months now, I notice a change in my sense of style. I am less colorful. 

I enjoy colors and I am not one to shy away from bold ones. This blog has proved that. I own shades of yellow, orange and even neon pink. But here for some reasons, I reach for things in a more subtle palette like black, white, brown, beige and navy blue. I gravitate towards those basics. I am not sure why. But I am guessing that it is because there is so much colors here. The clothes the Indian women wear on a daily basis are so colorfully in your face that I am somewhat put off by it. It is not that I do not like it. On the contrary I enjoy the multitude of shades of Saris and Kurti. It is just that as much as I enjoy seeing them on the Indian women, I could not possibly go for that for myself. It is like trying to compete with a pro. There is no way I can come out of this fight alive. So my brain pushes me to go the other route. 

In Japan, I was very colorful particularly in Winter because everyone around me tend to be more dark. I hated it because it made the Winter even more gloomier. So I bought sweaters in shades of yellow, coral and aquamarine to lighten my mood. In India though, everyone is colorful. I really do not need to add colors to my wardrobe to be happy because just by going outside my mood is lifted (like the other day when I passed a group of Women wearing Saris in blends of yellow, orange and pink and covering their entire head. I just wanted to get out of the car and snap a picture of this beauty) Therefore I can remain basic with my clothing. The later do no longer has the duty to uplift me.

Last week, I finally broke my three months shopping halt (self inflicted but not really on purpose) and got myself two Kurti. I spent an hour at the shop looking, touching, trying before settling for a Kurta in white with black prints and another white one with olive green prints. As far as I am concerned they were the more basic Kurti in the shop. Other choices included colors of red, blue, fuchsia, yellow, and mixed patterns that made me dizzy the more I looked at them. I could not possibly choose something that was suitable for me. It is sad because I am rarely overwhelmed by a color or a pattern. And I really want to rock a colorful Kurta.  I think the abundance of choice killed it for me. And this was just at the mall. Imagine going to the market. I may just faint in indecisiveness. I hope that for my sake (and for the sake of this blog), that I conquer my fear and go for the colorful Kurti. Because what is the point of all that talk about loving India, the colors and clothes here and not being daring enough to try them...

And for those who do not know what a Kurta is, it is just a long blouse or tunic made with lightweight material (preferably cotton) that comes sometimes up to the knee. Men and women alike wear this kind of clothing in India but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here, women wear it with cotton leggings of all colors. It is so much fun looking at them. It is like a uniform because practically everybody wears them on a daily basis. Some Kurti here have slits on the side that come all the way to the waist. I think it makes it easier to move around in them. But I find the slits to be very sexy as they show the thighs of women as they walk.

A colorful Kurta I would think twice before purchasing now