Mall-dives

 The title is a pun...Maldives is a place where people with resources go to unwind. (Unless you are a local there.) And people with more conservative resources go to the mall and, well...dive into the happy, bright, sparkly stores. So Mall dives. (I didn't say it was a good pun.)

This evening, brother and I went to a neighboring mall. The happiest sight there was that Cinepolis had opened up. It really was joyous. We didn't take in a film because I had to get back to a call and brother had his own plans. But he did treat me to a warm, flaky cinnamon bun and black coffee at Cinnabon, which felt right. So Cinepolis and Cinnabon spell deep, warm comfort and hope for a new and better world.

I have very little interest in athleisure or anything sporty so I wasn't too keen to accompany the sibling to Sketchers. Other than for sentimental reasons. My first purchase in New York was a pair of purple Sketchers from Manhattan. Nearly a hundred and twenty dollars after taxes but very worth the money.  

But they have some really good stuff. There was an oil-slick windcheater that looked like wispy-thin distressed leather. A few crop tops were smart and my favourite was a pair of leopard printed stacked dress sneakers.

Then I checked out the Globus there and it's so much more sophisticated than the Globus close to my house. They had a very striking selection of sequinned party-wear. I loved a black number with stripes of rainbow sequins running vertically through it. It was a shift dress and slightly grazing the knee. So flattering enough for most body-types.

Then I checked out Bombay Paisley. They have these sets of cropped shirts with wooden buttons and culottes in thick, slightly rough linen. Very geeky chic. The palette is muted and the print looks like watercolors. It gives the look of being a well-turned out peasant living in an idyllic world where your fields are always lush and there's always a gentle, rainy evening a few hours away.

I liked a few tops in neon pink and yellow with exaggerated sleeves in Vero Moda. 'Only' was striking with its terracota-hued maxi-dresses with a rustic print. These stood out because their rust and brown palette was in such contrast to the sparkly glittering fabric everybody else had.

Keeping a balance of both was Marks and Spencer's. They have luscious funnel-neck tee-shirts and a variety of forest-green shifts. I didn't quite care for most of them but one of them with a scooped back and exaggerated shoulders would look sweet. Their party-wear were subdued bodysuits in ebony, ruby, and white. These had a slight sheen. YOu would only notice it if you went really close to the bodysuits. Otherwise, they seemed regular. That's smart if yu don't want to invest in something that's only occasion-wear.

And then taking the sequin-tune and raising it full volume is H&M. They have some really good stuff. I will keep my reservations against fast fashion aside for the moment. But gosh -they really have goods you could buy and stock up for the whole year There was the silver sequinned dress that I had been eyeing. It is fairly loose and baggy so I'm not sure how good that will look on the average body-type. But I guess one could belt it up with a strong, structured belt to give it some shape. Then they have flat-fronted, bootcut pants in beautiful muted gold-sequinns. These come with a matching top. There were lots of animal-printed tops and dresses in viscose and a sheer fabric. That sheer fabric dress was a shirt-dress. So one could wear it like a duster over a simple form-fitting dress in black, white, or caramel. They had a set of classic silk vests in white, black, dove-grey, and biscotti. They were V-neck, bat-sleeved, and hip-length. Perfect to wear with a skirt, trousers or even denims or shorts. 

Then their coats. One of the many things that I love from eighties and ninteies is the look of the rolled-up blazer sleeves. They had a few such jackets. They don't look scruffy or dated at all.  think it could be because these jackets are a little more tailored and nipped in at the waist instead of being really loose and boxy. I liked a couple that were in stone and ecru. There was another one in egg-shell white,, which is a much more flattering white for me than say, Snow-white. The white one also had a shawl collar. I like those because they don't look so stuffy. But the one that I loved most was a jacket in rose-pink with a tuxedo-cut. It was such a stand-out piece And contrary to what one might imagine, a dusty rose can actually go with a lot. At least it will certainly go with a lot of what I have in my closet. 

I could wear it with my dark blue dress with colourful print from M&S, there are a couple of white shirts and pink corduroys that I can pair it with, I have a grey tee-shirt dress it can be teamed up with...and there's always denim and any number of charcoal grey skirts and pants. If I have to buy something, maybe I'll get that jacket. 

But really, I would like to save up to buy the best quality of Oud attar. The one that I have in mind is approximately Rs.75,000 for 3 ml. But I think it would be worth it. I have only had real Oud once - when a friend's uncle from Saudi had gifted him a bottle for his 18th birthday.. My friend didn't like it at all. Not surprising. At first Oud does smell sharp like burnt wood. It reminded my friend of charred flesh. (He was the sort who only liked Davidoff's Cool Water. Only that. Nothing else. He would get headaches with rose and musk attar He almost fainted when he had Hugo Boss on. So Oud - especially that pure and concentrated perfume oil - was much more than what he could take.) His uncle asked me to try on some. He asked me to first wash my hands with warm water, no soap. Then he got me to pat my hands dry, not wipe them. Then I waited until the moisture dried up naturally. Finally after 10 minutes he dipped the glass stick of the attar, swiped a long line of the perfumed oil on my palm and asked me to put it on my neck, around my collar bone, and also, run it through my hair.

My very first thought was revulsion. It was so strong. I couldn't bear it. Uncle told me to wait it out. And the scent changed with every passing hour. I went for tuitions and by that time, the scent had started becoming sweeter. I ran some errands and the scent was velvety and heady. By dinner time, that Oud scent had become that favorite friend who the rest of the world saw as a temperamental monster but she held an open heart for you. 

Wearing Oud - the real deal - they say is like wearing poetry. You will uncover a different interpretation of it as time passes. And not just that - the scent will bring out a facet of you that you didn't know either. You remain less of a stranger to yourself.

My friend would have preferred if his uncle would have given him several bottles of Cool Water instead or money to buy knock-offs or genuine stuff but illicitly sourced from Heera Panna. When he came to know how much that little bottle of attar had cost, he whispered to me that we may as well rub petrol on ourselves. 

I loved it for as long as it lasted. In fact when it started waning off, I tried getting another bottle. But the good stuff was hard to buy on the money I had and the affordable stuff - they were all simple and rosy and fruity and musky. They were nice and all but they weren't that - that complex, difficult bouquet of enchantment.

Anyway, I hope to get that type of proper, genuine Oud someday. Not through Amazon or anything online. Maybe serendipitously come across an attar store that stocks it. 

Yep - timing and life - that's what you trust to get you the real deal.