YES, IT'S EQUALITY!

Yes, Its "Equality"!

Just recently, I lost my blazer. Being a lawyer, a black blazer is something that is very important to me. Having lost it, I needed a new one. So I & my mom decided to go shopping at Vashi & also get a new Blazer for me.

We reached Vashi, & went to Central. Yes, Central - the famous clothing store. I told the person in charge there that I needed a black blazer for myself. He pointed me towards a section. They had a stock of WL blazers. I went through them, but they all were ill fitting for me. All of you who have worn blazers must be aware of the fact that a proper well fitting blazer is a real complicated search. As I did not find any of them suitable, I shifted to another counter- PA. Now that's a well known formal brand. I pulled out a medium sized blazer, just to find out that it was a short one. Putting it straight, it wasn't a "professional blazer" blazer, it was a "stylish blazer" blazer. Like these days, women wear strappy shirts & tacky palazzos as formal wear. Yeah, that kind of Blazer. & hence I once again moved to the next counter. Though I forgot the Brand name now, but it only had navy blue colored blazers. None in black. & I needed a black one only. I asked the helper if there were any more & he sheepishly told me they did not have any more. As I was leaving Central, I realized they had more of party wear than formal wear. Now I am a regular shopper at Central & I love it. I wouldn't say they do not have good formal wear- they have great ones! However it always appears very dumb to me that they stack same kinda lots for a period. Once you go, you will find all formals. The next time if you go for formals shopping, you'll find 80% party wear. Next time, maybe something else. When you have a multi-brand store, shouldn't you logically stack all season clothes in similar proportions?

Anyways, being disappointed, we moved to another mall. We went to another Shoppers' "destination" & the helper showed me one stack of blazers- which had only 4-5 pieces- in dark blackish blue only. I tried out one thinking why not buy one anyways. As I tried it on, I realized it was a large size & hence told the helper to give me a medium size. He went through the stack & informed me (yes again sheepishly) that they did not have a medium size. Honestly, I felt like burning it all down. I mean how can you not have all sizes in a simple blazer!!! First- you do not have any varieties. Second, you do not have colors. Third, you don't even have all freakin’ sizes. & then you claim to be one of the biggest shopping destination!

Huffing, I left from there & went to a Park Avenue Store. The ladies section had few blazers- & to my bad luck, it was totally ill fitting for me, given my stature. I am a short heighted person- 5'2". All through my life, I have been altering clothes because none measure up adequately to my short height. Be it jeans, long sleeved tops, pyjamas, kurtis- I have to always cut them out because all of them are immensely long. At times I really wonder- when 70% of the ordinary Indian Women have a height in the range of 5' to 5'5",why are the clothes designed for women who would be over 5'5". Indian Society really needs to get out of the rut!

As I miserably wandered through the three-storey-ed mall, I realized there were umpteen number of stores displaying formal wears. Lines & lines of Shirts, stacks & stacks of trousers, shelves full of various colored & styled blazers. But to my shock- all of them were Mens' Wear. For a moment there, I really really lost my cool. The mall had innumerable stores flashing innumerable formal wears- all men. And the mall also had innumerable stores flashing innumerable saarees, tank tops & kurtis- for women. Is that how it is?? Is it that women just wear flashy Anarkalis & halter tops, while men just wear formals? Do women not wear complete formals & men not wear party-wear jazzy tee-shirts?'

No. That's not how it is.

Almost seventy per cent of the women today go out & work. They go out into the world- they work in corporate- they deal with clients & THEY DO IT WEARING FORMAL WEAR. Not some jazzy flashy clothes. Shouldn't stores have a bit more formal variety for women as well & be at least a bit equal with men? Isn't it the need of the hour?

I bet, had there been a guy at my place, he would have found a blazer for himself in ten minutes. But I did not. Because I am a girl. I don't have much option when it comes to blazers. Because I am more supposed to wear a f****g anarkali than a professional blazer.

I accept it is not a very bad state- we women do find good formal wears. But not like the men!

I feel the problem might be two sided.

One, maybe the society still hasn't progressed to the speed where it sees women in as much need of formals as men. Maybe they still see the working woman clad in India Formals only. Thinking of that, it makes me go through all the working women I know- aunties, as well as my friends. & I agree, many of them do wear Indian Formals. But a lot don't. Especially not the ones from my- going back to my previous- generations. Oh & by the way, none of them wear anarkalis or tube tops to offices!

Once during an exam, the portion we had was divided in the ratio of 80:20 as would be appearing in the examination question paper. Most of us left out the 20% part thinking "itnasa toh hai...kya jarurat hai. Bus uppar se ek read maar lenge".

Standing there, looking at the glaring difference, I remembered that same incident. It felt like I had been pushed into the 20% slot & it didn't really matter to others as much to consider it.

The second aspect might be that Women in their quest for style & fashion have broadened the horizons of "formal" wear to the extent that nobody really knows if a piece of clothing is formal or casual or semi. Wearing printed palazzo, or wearing a deep-neck collar top- girls, that is not formal wear. You can spare a bit of fashion for the corporate at least. Not that you needn't be fashionable. But at least stick to the corporate standards. Otherwise there would be a day when a salesman at a shop shows you a backless top with a stringed collar as formal wear. Like the blazer that I saw- it was more like a crop- blazer!!! What next? Crop tops to office??

& as for the horrible experience of finding a simple black medium sized blazer- I would like to assume Navi Mumbai still is tad backward when it thinks of corporate women. I hope that's not the case everywhere. I hope everywhere the malls aren't stacked with tonnes of men's formal wear but only spares of women formal wear. & I badly hope that malls in other vicinities aren't literally divided into formals for men & jazzy for women.

Because it is high time that people stop stereotyping women into wearing only sexy party wear or flashy traditional clothes majorly.

Though I eventually after a lot of struggle did find a good blazer, the sourness of "Gender EQUALITY" has left its taste on my tongue. 

(P.S. Yes, the name of the Post is Sarcasm!)

(Disclaimer: Brand Names have not been used. References to any names that may have occurred in the Post are non-suggestive. The names are hypothetical and imaginative, bearing no resemblance to any fashion Brand. 
Images are taken from Google Images.)