A mere mention of their names brings to mind dancer, Chandralekha's big bindi and flowing tresses…. Or former PM, Indira Gandhi's silver streak in her short hair…. Or philosopher, J Krishnamurti's dapper kurtas and jackets. So fused is each look with the person concerned that it has become an integral and inseparable part of the persona. You cannot think of them without thinking of their unique style.

Creating A Look:
In fashion, as in everything else, we attempt to find our own distinctive style, a look that is all our own. Most of us embark on a lengthy odyssey, as we ape our friends, fashion trends and style icons. At some point - and it is always in line with our own understanding and awareness of ourselves - we try on something and we feel, "Hey, this is who I am." It could be a classic pared down style. It could be casual chic. It could be fusion wear. It could be high fashion...

No matter what our style is, it will be an expression of our general approach to life and aesthetics. If we are eco-friendly, then we will almost inevitably prefer natural fabrics and eschew blends, mixes and polyester. If we believe that less is more, then that philosophy will influence a minimalist approach to ornamentation and embellishment (not necessarily to fabric, though even that cannot be totally ruled out). If flamboyance comes to us naturally, then we will find ourselves gravitating towards strong colours and style statements, revelling in the attention that dressing on the outer edge of chic affords us.

Once we know who we are internally, then our style statement will also emanate a certain integrity, a rightness. It is our inner essence expressed through fabric and fashion and therefore, all of a piece with who we are.

Feeling Safe:
At the beginning of our style journey, though, when we are still looking for ways to be, we do the reverse, which is to piece together an identity through the way we dress. The more expensive the outfit, the more confident we feel about who we are. The more we copy trends, the safer we feel about our clothes. At this stage we are very vulnerable to brands and fashion trends because we have a great need to belong and to be endorsed.

A huge part of our identity derives from being fashionable or from having the money to dress in top-line clothing. Through our invulnerable armour of fashionable perfection, we survey the rest of humanity through the same parameter. Individuals who dress like us pass the test and those whose clothing is unbranded or not trendy are dismissed without further ado.