Till now pedestrians who were dodging away from the sweltering sun are all set to enjoy the first splash of heavenly downpour which comes as a relief from this month. With the monsoon, also begins the season of umbrellas and raincoats that will be dotting roads and pavements in the coming months. Earlier with the damp and puddle filled roads, most people preferred going easy on looks and clothes. Accompanying the dullness of the weather would be the staid looking black umbrellas complimenting the dark clouds coalescing lazily in the skies. But with growing fashion consciousness, youngsters want to look chic and attractive. Be it in their dress or make up or even in umbrellas.
So for this monsoon it might not be a surprise if you will find streets making a pretty sight, with chic, colourful umbrellas. Earlier if one tried to be different and carry a fluorescent coloured umbrella, the popular reaction would be to tease the person and laugh that he/she had no colour sense. But the scene has changed, and umbrellas themselves make a fashion statement!
Now eye-catching coloured umbrellas are a part of one’s everyday accessory. Colours like red, yellow, green, violet and magenta are the hot picks this season. Not only are umbrella manufacturers starting to experiment with colours, but also with the designs. “This season the umbrellas that are dominating the market are fancy ones. If last year they came in a variety of colours, this year the highlights are frills, polka-dots and ramp way fashion model and ballet dancer girl designs imprinted,” says Rahman of Cameella Beauty Spot in the Press Club Road.
Umbrellas which began its journey from the palm leafed to grandfather umbrella (kalan kuda) to two-fold have now come to five fold ‘pocket size’ umbrellas. But this season the trend of carrying the long single fold crook handle umbrellas are back in style with hatke designs. Youngsters do not consider carrying these long ‘kalan kudas’ as a pain. “I like fancy umbrellas for this season. They are the latest trend in college. Moreover they can be matched with our dresses too,” says Manisha, student from BMC who was out on an umbrella shopping spree as soon she saw the first signs of dark clouds in the sky.
Umbrella vendors are also happy with the sale of trendy umbrellas and say that most of their young customers go in for colourful umbrellas. “40 per cent of our sale this year is in the fancy umbrella category. From small kids to office going youngsters are buying these imported fancy umbrellas,” says Haneef of Strawberry fancy shop at Broadway. To give a more feminine touch to the kalan kudas, the handles of the umbrella are given moulded designs of love symbol and peacock designs. “The cost of these umbrellas start from ` 350. There are also family kalan kudas that people travelling in cars usually carry along,” says Rahman of Cameella beauty Spot.
It’s not like the men need to be stuck with boring black either. There’s plenty coming in for them too. “Young men can go in for football club umbrellas and volleyball umbrellas. Starting price of which is ` 620,” adds Rahman.
If one has difficulty in carrying the grandfather umbrellas, then there are also three-fold beauties that you will find hanging in the shops. In the three-fold one can go for polka-dot, floral and ballet dancer umbrellas all accompanied with fancy frills. “The frilled umbrellas are the most fast moving in the market. There’s a great selection in three-fold rain shades, the starting price of which is ` 450 and 500,” says Haneef. There are also three-fold umbrellas which come along with fancy pouches that saves your bags from getting wet and these are priced at ` 800. Ask shopkeepers whether in all this frenzy for butterfly coloured umbrellas,the market for branded umbrellas have gone down, they say, “The three and five fold umbrellas in the branded variety are now mostly preferred by 40 plus office goers because it is easy to carry. Others simply prefer to go flashy.”