City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Defence Colony Market
Searching for the stylish.
[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]
The Delhi Walla saw this woman in Defense Colony Market, an upscale destination in the southern part of the city. She was wearing a tie dye frock. Her feet were tucked into off-white moccasins. Her eyes were hidden behind black Prada sunglasses. A brown-and-black plastic band prevented her hair from falling on the forehead. Her nails were polished in galaxy blue. There was no one dressed like her.
Known for its specialty restaurants and groceries (that stock French cheeses and Mediterranean dips), Defence Colony Market is the place that India’s image-makers want everyone to see – don’t mind the dug-up pavements.
Come here if you want to write a groundbreaking book about the Third World’s rich. This woman, however, refused to encourage easy judgments.
Her understated style exuded unconscious confidence. Finished with buttons, the blue-and-white frock resembled a dress shirt. The shoes seemed as aged and comfortable as her pink denim bag. She was carrying an iPhone 4S with a plain black back cover.
Clearly, it is not always the devil who wears Prada. Look at the way the woman was walking: the head cast down, the hand in the frock-pocket. The body language was assured, not brash. She might not be absorbed by our country’s injustices, but at least she was not noisy about her membership to the One Percent club. That is grace.
The stylish
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Upmarket India with dug up pavement without safety perimeter lines or signs … classic India 🙂