We’ve all heard the old adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. I, for one, have a hard time following it. No matter how hard I try, I invariably pick books off a shelf based on how attractive the cover looks. Just like I often find myself trying to read strangers based on how they look. Clothes, accessories, comportment.....overall style can often give you a hint into a personality. And then there’s using all of that as a medium of expression.

When one has as many moods as there are days in the year, then why not put those out for display?

For me, style is all about having fun and expressing myself. It’s not about the big name brands and the high fashion labels. It’s not even about quality and long-lasting pieces. Granted that is desirable, but now-a-days expensive doesn’t mean quality or long-lasting anyway!

To me, it’s about creating a mood, telling a story. One that changes with every change of outfit...or perhaps every change of outfit reveals another part of the story.

A lot of my clothing and accessories have a special meaning, to me at least... There’s the brightly coloured, beaded belt and earrings that my mother picked up in Kenya; the tunic one of my college roommates gave me because I practically spent 4 years in it; the necklace with a frog pendant that my friends bought because it “reminded them of me”; the tin of khol another friend bought for me because I was fascinated at how it was packaged and used; the exquisitely hand printed scarf that I witnessed the process of creation for.... It all tells a story, either because it has one behind it or because it helps me create one.

While most of the time I pick my look almost instinctively, one of my college roommates would, every morning, wake much earlier than the rest of us and spend a few hours playing with her look until she found one that suited her for the day, promptly forgetting what she looked like the moment she walked out the door.

I have never seen anyone have as much fun dressing up as she. The fact that she is fearless about unconventional pairings and experimentation and doesn’t spend her entire day obsessing about her appearance enhances her attractiveness 10 fold.

A large part of my current outlook on style comes from having watched her enjoy herself.

What’s the point of spending so much time on how you look if you can’t have fun with it?