Daily Times

“Clothes aren’t going to change the world, the women who wear them will”, a quote that best suits a nation like ours but only in our own misconceptions and interpretations. Ann Klein an American fashion designer (rarely heard about) undoubtedly stated this powerful quote in the best of her intentions in an entirely different context. The word ‘clothes’, or Clathas in old English, literally means items worn to cover the body, but in Pakistan majority of the people have associated it with words like brands, prêt collections, designers, fashion shows and what not. So many names and words for a word that does fit its meaning but the way our society wants.

I am certain that you are still not clear about what I am trying to say here. Yes! You are thinking right and that’s exactly what these words are trying to suggest. Our nation is so lost in spending on what’s outside that we forget to invest on the inside. Overpriced clothes, designer lawn suits with silk dupattas flying all around, matching heels and clutches… beautiful bodies of the ugly souls.

Stop reading! Close your eyes and let your mind process… find clarity within the idea even if you beg to differ, maybe write a comment or criticize my thoughts but ponder over the big issues in the small aspects of life.

Spring season is evidently here, with ongoing pre-bookings of designer lawn, numerous brands marketing their exclusive or prêt collections featuring top female models in a kaleidoscope of colors and cultural fusions. The issue is not the designer suits… it’s the cost you pay for what you get. Pakistan is probably the only country that started a revolution in its market of lawn fabric, after years of its existence as the fabric of the commoners. Most of the people don’t even realize that this fabric is weaved out of linen but now chiefly out of cotton so the price and quality of the fabric would and should remain the same. So the added cost is of the design and label of the brand you proudly wear to look beautiful.

Unfortunately, our nation, our people, our parents, guardians and teachers don’t learn or teach the difference between spending and investing. We are so concerned about what color to wear, which brand to buy, which trend to follow that we never ever wonder about what values should be kept, which principles should one follow to live a meaningful life or which traditions should be passed on to the generations to come. The quality of our souls is decreasing just like that of our clothes. Seems to be glamorous but only until it’s washed two to three times… the fabric’s quality unveils its worth.

I do not mean to offend anyone’s thoughts or opinions. But isn’t it right that clothes won’t change the world, women who wear them will? That is a question, a problem and a solution to the issue itself. One quote says it all! For women to bring about any change it means that their inner selves or the soul should possess the essence of its purpose, presence and connection with the body. I need not state the stories that are posted on social media about women fighting on “sale days” or disrespecting their own self by objectifying their attire when they so often condemn men objectifying them in a feminine way.

How ruthlessly we tax our fathers, brothers, husbands or ourselves just to purchase a branded lawn suit or a designer collection’s article which apparently everyone around you wears – if not the original design, maybe its a replica. It all comes down to everyone wearing almost the same digital prints in different colors.

I do not mean to offend the women out there; I just want you to ponder over one thing: wear your beauty inside out not the other way around. Empty inside, like the seashells yet a set of different colors and shapes defining beauty… no matter how much you love them they end up on the beach at the shore on the mercy of the chooser. Similarly, we hammer down the complex of wearing brands and following trends even when we fail to afford or carry them gracefully.

It is time we realize as a nation and reflect upon our souls, to understand where we are headed and how. Fine clothing does not have to be at the cost of investing on your inner self, the real you or at the cost of your provider’s health. How ruthlessly we tax our fathers, brothers, husbands or ourselves just to purchase a branded lawn suit or a designer collection’s article which apparently everyone around you wears – if not the original design, maybe its a replica. It all comes down to everyone wearing almost the same digital prints in different colors.

Bright, colorful, splendid and glamorous collections of lawn suits should be worn but by souls that light principles of life, keep up the glamorous traditions and brighten the scope of religious as well as societal values.

We often define our status, our civilized manner of living by the clothes we wear, the fine dining we do but forget how to wear or carry ourselves while talking to people, in our daily lives, cursing and complaining all the time about inflation yet spending carelessly on suits you wear for one season because the collection is for this spring year not the next one. The trend, fashion, clothes, material elements change because they are not to be worn as forever the same, so wear a soul, carry the beauty of your heart in a way that it stays for now and ever for you and the likes of you.

Ponder, wonder, speculate, marvel and contemplate the smaller things that just might change your mind if not your life.