Finding Your Spot At The Front Row Style Sorority

So you've got your golden ticket. You can already picture yourself hobnobbing with the likes of Manish Malhotra, Suneet Verma, Malini Agarwal and Bandana Tewari. The only blank slate - the one that's going to make or break your appearance is your #OOTD. What do you wear to an event that's got the most stylish and influential show-goers with sky-rocketing tastes in designers, donning even the most impractical-looking drapes and capes with an ice-cool ease, as if it's how everyone should be wearing it?

How do you dress to impress? Take a style tour as these runway maverns show us how to nail the science of front-row chic with these curated fashion-week lessons :

1. Colors Seem to Fade:

Leandre Medine At NYFW

As a first-timer, it may be best that you wear colors that agree with your skin tone and will see you through the day without wearing you down. Feeling adventurous? Punctuate an all-out cool or earthy tone with some sassy play of colors coupled with layered accessories.

2. Dressing the Part:

Bandana Tewari at AIFW

Whether you're going to be a lean-mean fashion editor or a flamboyant social animal, get your look right. Dress to play your part but also show us who you are - the designers you're promoting, the cause you stand up for, your personal brand ... ANYTHING.

Santu Misra at AIFW

3. Wear Your Skin:

Pernia Qureshi at AIFW

With the longest legs of the country and the most influential style icons in attendance, it's easy to lose your edge. Opt for a flattering fit tailored to perfection. A timelessly chic form-fitted dress or a leather pencil skirt paired with some killer heels or your edgy sneakers may just be the thing for you.

Shehrazade D at AIFW

4. The Accidentally-Cool Thing:

The messy vibe is the hardest to get right. You can still try to fool the fashion brigade that you don't give a damn with a bomber jacket, fringes, accentuated sequins and hats.

5. Silhouettes and Cuts:

Fashion weeks see a lot of experiments with twisted knots, cuts and layers and flowy silhouettes. Try an inspired look by teaming your boring denims and tee with a cape. Alternatively, try an adventurous tunic knot over your shorts with wedges or boots to go with.

6. Going Down and Desi:

Who said that going to a fashion week needs to make a hole in your wallet? Root for Indian fabrics and drapes. Fringe your saree palla or wear a dhoti-style drape with pants.  And boys, here's how you can embrace dhoti pants.

7. Let's Get Loud - And Proud

Nandini Bhalla

Chances are you may not want to go all-out, loud colours in your first encounter with the fashion police. But if you are up for it, our guess is you're from the fashion blogger community. Show us your wild streak. Mix muted colors with bursts of flashy.

Pardeep Singh Bahra

8. Getting Bohemian and Feminine:

Monica Dogra 

Take a cue from this effortless, off-duty feminine look from Monica Dogra. You see her unfettered side-slits long maxi matched with a bindi, peep-toes and beachy tresses and you know you want to have what she's having.

9. The Devil's In The Denim Details:

Preeti Dhata a LFW

Show us some denim love by spinning around your boyfriend jeans with bright patches. Distress your shorts or jeans, personalize it, stud it and pull them off with the right accessories.

Sylvannus at LFW

10. Take a Time Capsule:

Amrita Puri

Draw from the old world with retro suspender belts, crisp white shirts and poufy skirts, modest necklines and retro jumpsuits. Play it up with color, dramatic curls and accessories.

Karan Berry

Want to add more fashion inspirations to the list? Tell us how you will make a smashing appearance at the front row.

Tress Distress

The world's divided into two camps - the straight-haired and the curly-haired. Occasionally these two kinds bump into one another - at a party, on a street, in a cafe, at a funeral... And sooner or later, they wind up expressing an affiliation to the other side...The polka straight-haired girl will be like, "My hair's so boring. Blah..." The bouncy curl- haired girl will go, "My hair's wild. I just can't get it to behave... especially when I want it to."

Personally, I find this exchange cute. However, my heart bleeds for the curly-haired girl. (For one, cos my hair's the erratic, perennially PMSing, wavy-curly category.) Honestly, I'm not able to completely empathize with the straight-haired girl. I mean what does she have to complain about? Hair's boring? Hello... Atleast you can depend on it to not look like a cat got electrocuted on your head. I recall an interesting conversation with an old friend ,who has super-sleek, polished hair. She says, "Straight hair's like having this really hot boyfriend but also very, very dull at times." Uh-huh? Well curly hair's like having this wild beast with tentacles sprouting in all directions for a boyfriend defying all acceptable laws of conduct... Who's also a freakin' weather barometer for Pete's sake!

So enough dramatics...I'll cut to the chase. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with my hair (bordering towards hate most of the times). There are times when I can't take my eyes off the bouncy cascading spiral curls that make me ME. But then mostly, I lead a follicular dual life and just blow dry them out of sight, the customary tangles done away with. I'm so damn attached to my blow dryer that I spent a whole day whining and hunting down a multi-plug extension cord on a vacation in Spain and didn't rest until my bangs were underneath the comforting hot stream of air that has so much to promise. Still sends a cold shiver down my spine to think of life without it. Now don't get me wrong. I have nothing against curls and embracing who I am. But at times my hair's a freaking nightmare...all the frizzy kinks and antiquated curls come to life and haunt me for the rest of the day...and if somebody dares ask, "What have you done to your hair?" or if a vacuous hairdresser would say, "Why don't you get it straightened?", I swear, a part of me just dies a little every time.

And the inevitable happened. I got exhausted from the subservience to straighteners and thought of giving myself some personal gratification by moving over to the other side. I got my hair relaxed. The verdict? Even though initially I was thrilled to bits about how organized and professional my hair was, I did get weary of the same look everyday. And along with the glossy sheen and sleeker locks, came various stages of hair trauma, the worst being raggedy Bob Marley-ish kind of mops that were stuck somewhere in no man's land, totally nondescript.

But it occurred to me that there's got to be a simpler, less neurotic way of accepting who I am and I don't have to feel like I'm stepping out without my pants every time I go out with my natural curls.

My curls - Au Natural

So after a lot of experiments in the hair lab, I've come up with some kickass styling tips for all of us curlies that guarantee a hair identity loaded with purpose and pride.

What you will need to include in your styling kit:
1. A smoothening hair conditioner and shampoo
2. A leave-in conditioner meant for curly hair
3. A hair brush with soft bristles
4. A wide-toothed comb

First of all, let me go ahead and say it, I think both straight hair and curly hair are beautiful. And both come with their own woes - maintenance hiccups so to speak. All you need is a commitment to a hair care routine that works for you.

This is what works for me:
1. Washing curly hair:
My scalp's pretty oily so I need to wash my hair thrice a week. I use a straightening shampoo and conditioner to relax my curls but if you like your curls as they are, you should use a curl-protection shampoo. Of course, I make sure that I get atleast one DIY deep conditioning treatment and/or hot oil massage per week to counter the dryness and frizz.

2. DIY Hair Conditioning Treatments:
I've done a plethora of hair treatments using the frugal goodness of pantry products.
My top-rated treatments that'll not only help smoothen your hair but also give it that extra boost are:
I Coconut milk and honey mask:
 I can't rave about this enough. I mean it takes precious little time and literally works like a hair reincarnation especially for the lower strands that can look so lifeless and burnt out. Plus it smells nice too. All you need to do is get a bowl of coconut milk and  mix it with a tablespoon of honey and heat it until warm. Apply it on your hair until your hair's dripping with it. (Really just no need to economize.) Leave it for 15 minutes and then wash your hair the usual way. You'll find your hair light, bouncy and frizz-free.

II Beer conditioner: 
Again, you can't get simpler than this. Just pour a glass of flat beer through your hair and use your fingers to massage it onto the scalp. Leave it for 15 minutes and then wash your hair. This definitely helps get rid of any build-up and gives your hair good volume (Not the crazy Humidity Monica kinds but the fulsome Amy Adams kind.)

III Yoghurt and egg hair mask: 
Stink bomb but a deep moisturizing one. Break an egg into whisked yoghurt and massage it onto your scalp. Leave it on for 30 minutes. Wash it off with a mild shampoo to seal the moisture onto your tresses.
Disclaimer: Not recommended as a pre-wash treatment if you have a hot date or any other commitment involving people.

IV Olive Oil Massage: Lukewarm extra virgin olive oil massage does wonders for your hair. For best results, leave overnight.

3. How to Style your Hair (Au natural):
"Throw that blowdryer out the window!" NOT.... I'm not suggesting you need to get rid of your hot-headed stylist friends completely but here's how you can minimalize heat damage and still not look frazzled, in fact maybe even get your curls to dazzle. (Excuse my lame attempts at poetry.)

I. Leave-in Conditioner: 

Get an absolutely brilliant curl-protection, frizz-control, smoothening leave-in conditioner. Absolutely must-have for curly locks! I find the L'oreal Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Curl Definition Creme quite spot on. Does what it claims. I haven't had frizz for the longest time and I live in Mumbai!

II. Combing your Hair: 

I have one of those neuroses where I just have to run a comb through my hair once I'm out of the shower. Using a wide-toothed comb, I find, is a great option to avoid hair breakage and a sensitive scalp.

III. Styling: 
Ok, I know that we all have days when your hair just won't listen to you, no matter how much time and product you invest in it. And that's when you'll be tempted to give it some hot blows to keep it under check. But trust me, you don't need a high heat setting to style your hair.

Just follow these steps:

1. After wash, towel dry your hair and then apply a leave-in. All you need is a dime-size amount on your fingers and work it first on the ends of your hair moving up to the roots. To get looser curls, run your fingers through your hair in a downward motion.
2. To detangle your hair, just run a wide-toothed comb through it. Now it's ready to be styled. While your hair's still wet, just flip it upside down and scrunch your hair by taking handfuls of it and squeezing them upwards. Let your hair dry naturally. Once detangled, DO NOT comb your hair until it's dry.
3. If you have to use the blow dryer, use it to straighten your bangs. Use a medium-heat setting and ensure that the blowdryer is at least 8 inches away from your hair. Style your hair till it's about 80% dry. And then use the cool setting to finish. (This way you won't have flyaways and frizz)
4. If you don't have a blow dryer and you also can't have your hair wearing a flaccid, lifeless, and shaggy look, don't fret. All you need is a couple of bob pins and a clip. After applying a leave-in and scrunching your hair, when you get to the point when your hair starts drying and doing the crazies, twirl it all up in a bun and secure it with a clip. If your bangs are prone to getting uninvited kinks that you just can't stand, comb them down and off to one side. Slide on a hair pin where it's prone to getting curly and leave it on for as long as you can. This is best done overnight but may also work as a quick fix. 

Tip: Another styling option for those days when you have utterly belligerent hair is to tie it in a loose side braid. I think it gives a really romantic, boho-chic sort of appeal to curly hair.

Straightened bangs with scrunched hair

Swept up bangs with crimped waves

Side braid with loose curls

Frankly, even though, I'm not successful at being completely off the blowdryer (as I'm enslaved to it to straighten my bangs), there's a bit of a liberation in wearing your hair the way it is - the lightness of knowing that you don't have to worry about contact with water, the Cinderalla-ish "chariot turning into pumpkin" sorta obsession buried underneath. I'm trying to wean off heat styling gradually but meanwhile, I'm happy to explore the variety my mane in its natural state has to offer. A constructed naturalness so to speak :).