Quarantine fashion for the win

Staying at home is changing us in ways we never imagined. Several of us are achieving personal goals we never thought we would - reading more, writing more, kicking off an addiction or perhaps adding one, bringing us closer to loved ones or perhaps breaking out of stifling relationships, working harder or perhaps losing a job. We are far more involved in household chores, parenting, exercising, cooking, cleaning and gardening. We are far less stressed about the traffic, parking, exams. We are relaxed, we are bored, we are philosophical, and we are blank.

In the midst of all these switches and shifts, where days melt into nights that melt into days, we are getting used to a life that moves from a bed to a couch and then back to bed. This transition is especially seen on our bodies. Yes, I'm sure some of us are beginning to resemble our sofas, squishy and cushiony all around. But especially in the kind of clothes we put on.

I wonder if there are people who move from one set of pyjamas to another set. I don't know of any, I hope. I do know several who have no reason to leave the bed, their morning tea and other meals are served to them on a silver tray, with a garden variety bouganvilla propped in a vase for Instagram photos maybe. But wearing just pyjamas all day is like being in a hospital, and no one wants that right now.

There are also those who have something called 'home clothes'. My mum would force me to get into home clothes when I returned from school. These were clothes that had lost shape or gained a stain or a rip. I hated them. I feel awful for people who wear home clothes; they have probably given up on life. And they have no business reading a newspaper column.

Quarantine fashion is all about loungewear, clothes you can curl up in but are still refined. Loungewear can be simple and minimal - a black cotton t-shirt and white linen pants - and can still take you from Netflix to a Zoom conference in no time.

Loungewear isn't something we have met just now, while under a corona-induced lockdown. We have seen traces of it in athleisure (oversized t-shirt with leggings) or resort wear (linen mini dresses, billowing kaftans). Loungewear has been knocking the doors of mainstream fashion for a while. But these days, it gives us the normalcy of putting together an outfit even if we've got nowhere to go.

"With most people either working from home or in lockdown, comfort is foremost, and loungewear gives you that without being drab or depressing," designer Payal Singhal agrees. "People are getting a little more creative with how they're interpreting loungewear," Goop fashion director Ali Pew tells foxbusiness.com. "They want to feel pulled together." Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness empire recently had a 'stay home sale' that had cosy jumpsuits, comfy maxi dresses and some wide-leg culottes. The site also points out that fashion e-retailer Asos showed great profit during the last two months, with sales of premium tracksuits up by 200 per cent.

If there's anyone who could make quarantine fashion a thing in India, it had to be Queen Bebo. Kareena Kapoor has been sharing her no-makeup looks on her newly acquired Instagram account (she jumped to 3 million followers in mere days). Kareena's kaftans -never mind they have existed since ancient Mesopotamia and are derived from a Persian word -have achieved cult status this summer. Just a couple of weeks ago, Kareena shared her summer essentials were "messy bun, kaftan and homemade masks", leading bestie Malaika Arora to agree with a post in her own no-makeup kaftan-chic look.

"Kaftan dresses are the ultimate in loungewear as they are chic, comfortable and functional," says resort-wear specialist Anjali Patel Mehta, of her beaded and digital printed kaftans. "I don't know any other shape that makes you feel more relaxed and takes you on a holiday without leaving the comfort of your home. I can chase my kids, read a book, work and cook without an inch of stress," she says, adding she keeps getting requests for loungewear even though her studio is currently shut. Singhal, who has been selling kaftans since 2010, agrees they can move from lounge to beach to even wedding like a true chameleon.

The kaftan silhouette is seen this summer at Yves Saint Laurent, Jil Sander, Loewe and Valentino, taking us to the bohemia of Bali and Ibiza, or the exoticism of Marrakech. Last year, Sabyasachi's Khashgaar Bazaar paid homage to the silk route via its kaftans especially.

Brutal Indian summers have always had their own version of loungewear. Soft kurtas on lungis (Wendell Rodricks, Good Earth's Paro), mulmul salwar kurtas (Anokhi) and wispy cotton saris. What about white chikankari embroidery on an array of white cotton kurtas with mid-calf farshis? I could wear one every day of the summer.

Quarantine fashion has made us transition from dressing for our office to dressing for our disposition. For arguably the first time ever, we are dressing for ourselves.

@namratazakaria