A guide to cool summer wear
A white ensemble will beat the heat Nation: Dress code during pandemic
Pandemic pyjamas, stay-in sweats and no make-up — if you thought the dressing down of the past three months is now passe with the easing of movement restrictions in Dubai, think again.
Comfort Chic is still trending. Call it more natural, back to the basics or just minimalism, the no frills look seems to be easier on the mask-andglove go, besides — in many cases — a shrunken pocket too.
Dubai-based Uma Ghosh, wellness coach, holistic beauty expert and TV personality, says she went minimalistic a few years ago. Even so, she credits coronavirus with deepening her conviction.
“The fact that we lived with just the basics over the last three months should tell us something. Coronavirus is a big enough reason why we should become more conscious of ourselves and our environment,” says the health buff.
Giving an example of how the pandemic prompted further changes in her lifestyle, she says: “Earlier, I would take professional help to blowdry my hair. There was an emotional connect to it as I wouldn’t feel good otherwise. But when I was forced to do the blow-drying myself during the restrictions, I realised I could do it just as well. Going forward, I will definitely be more conscious of how much makeup I buy and use — because I know now that I don’t need so much. I have learnt to be comfortable in my own skin.”
Nowhere to go, no one to meet
Fashion, it is said, is a form of communication. But with nowhere to go and no one to meet in person during the stay-in period, many didn’t feel the need to dress up.
“Dressing up? Not at all,” says Dubai-based Italian influencer Felipe Gonzalez, who has spent the last couple of months in informal wear. “I didn’t have to go anywhere — just the supermarket to buy groceries or down the building to pick up deliveries. There were no activities, no one to see …”
True, e-working, e-learning and e-partying did require video interfaces, but dressing up for these sessions was not the same thing. As a Farsi resident in Dubai jokes, he once attended a party with friends on a Zoom call wearing a striking tie and dress shirt, in keeping with the get-together’s formal theme. But little did people realise that he had his pyjamas and slippers on below. “It didn’t matter as it was not visible,” he says.
So do we dress up for others, or for ourselves?
Ask Caroline Labouchere, a British supermodel in Dubai, and she is clear: “I dress up for myself because it makes me feel good. Most of us dressed down during the lockdown because we were not in the right frame of mind when we were confined in our homes.”
For the 56-year-old, who hit the headlines after she became
■ Kamlesh Ramchandani a model two years ago, comfort is the key to any narrative. Labouchere, who likes to keep her hair grey, says, “The general perception is that it is too easy to disappear when you age and go grey. To me, grey is elegant and can be rocked by any age. You don’t have to be old to be grey and you certainly don’t have to feel old when you are grey. I am proud to wear a crown of silver. Like a queen.”
Canadian influencer Jess Hardie, who also spent her time at home in pyjamas, says although people dress for themselves, they dress for others too. “When we look good, we feel good,” she adds.
The enclothed cognition theory
There are other reasons as well. As Saliha Afridi, Clinical Psychologist, says: “The ‘enclothed cognition theory’ basically suggests that ‘clothes make the man/woman’ and if we want to show up fully and be productive, we should be wearing our work clothes. If we want to feel good about our day, getting dressed will be an important part of it. Because our clothes send a message to our unconscious brain about how we should show up. This is why sleep researchers will encourage sleeping in pyjamas and top negotiators will encourage wearing a power suit to close the deal,” explains Dr Afridi.
From power suits to linen shirts, chinos
However, given the extraordinary times we are in, even the power suit seems to have given way to a less formal dress code.
Kamlesh Ramchandani, CEO of M2M House of Bespoke, which makes custom-made suits for men at its Jumeirah and DIFC outlets, said: “Many of our customers, who are in banking and real estate and wear formal suits on a regular basis, are now preferring linen suits or just linen jackets. They are going in for semi-casual, linen shirts and chinos that look good on the screen or even at internal face-to-face meetings. If they need a more formal look, they just get into the lightweight linen jackets.”
Ramchandani expects this trend to continue for another three-four months.
Customers are priceconscious too
Faiza Malik, founder of Ensemble Fashion House on Al Wasl Road, agrees. “We expect things will pick up only by September — after the summer months.”
She says Ensemble remained closed for a couple of months and when it reopened and people did want to buy suits for Ramadan and Eid, they stayed away from fancy wear.
“Customers are now very price conscious. They are looking for cotton wear, something very simple. This will continue for some time as people don’t want to spend big and in any case, there are no weddings or occasions coming up,” said Malik, who stocks a wide range of designer Pakistani suits and also has a tailoring unit.
What about personal grooming?
With salons shut during the movement restrictions, residents were left to fend for themselves. While some managed to stay “presentable” by colouring their hair or nails by themselves, others became incognito.
Lorraine Lazarus, who runs East Elegance Salon in Al Barsha and Karama, says, “When people get a treatment done at the salon, it’s a nice way to relax. It’s their “me time” in a busy schedule. After the treatment, they feel good and their confidence is boosted. Whether it’s subtle or bold, the colour on their nails or the style of their haircut, it’s a nice way to show off their personality.”