Vaddanams For A Modern Fashion Statement

I was abroad in my daughter’s house, helping her rearrange her cupboards and wardrobes. I’m sure it happens to most women everywhere - this requirement to rearrange. It arises often. It’s impossible to never be not in a rush. You do tend to dump things, telling yourself you’ll ‘sort it out’ later. How often you do the dumping, depending on your discipline and need for order, or lack of it.

Without really dwelling on my daughter’s, discipline and need for order that is, let me get back to the rearranging, we pulled out her jewellery. They were all at home instead of the safety locker because she had attended a few weddings in the past weeks.

I lovingly looked at the South Indian jewellery that we had bought for her wedding and baby shower. Beautiful, artistic pieces that we had chosen and the rest of the world had admired. I looked at her vaddanams, the diamond vaddanam, the one that I had inherited from my mother, and passed on to her.  And then there was the gold vaddanam, a very exquisite piece of antique jewellery that we had got for her wedding. There were also two lighter, more delicate vaddanams that we had picked up – one with scallops, and one simple chain style one, along our journey of jewellery shopping.

I’m no fashionista. But I like to keep myself updated about what’s going on out there. And I like to experiment a little with off-beat stuff now and then. And I don’t do it just on myself. I do it on my daughter and granddaughter too! They are the models on whom I try my ideas. And they quietly allow me to. Because they know I have the honesty to discard a look that doesn’t quite work the way I imagined it in my head.

I remember making my teenage daughter wear a Gujarati style mirror-work top – part of a ghaghra choli set – with a pair of faded jeans. This was before the term ‘fusion’ became fashionable. And it resulted in many of her friends and cousins copying it!

So, looking at those vaddanams put my fashion-innovation brains in top gear. And I decided to experiment. We dragged my protesting teenage granddaughter away from her Kindle, and tried various looks on her. Some looked disastrous. I’m not even going to share what they were. But some looked just awesome.

Here are a few… 

For the Disco or the Dance Party 

We made her wear her shimmering black top with her pair of skinny jeans, and accessorized it with the scalloped vaddanam. We even made her wear the right shoes. It looked very trendy and just perfect. Even my granddaughter began to thaw. She untied her hair, fluffed it up and examined herself critically from all possible angles in the mirror. I knew the look was a success when she said, “Mama, can I wear this to Janet’s birthday party next week?”

For a Wedding Reception or a “Dress-Up” Special Occasion 

My granddaughter had got herself a dark spring green silk gown for a wedding recently. It was sleeveless, with a boat neck, and just a bit of stonework near the left shoulder. With a flared skirt, it was just plain luxurious green silk. I told her to wear that gown with the diamond vaddanam. It looked gorgeous, especially since the stonework on the outfit was very minimal.

I then got her to change into a ghaghra choli. And made her wear the simple chain vaddanam in a loose arc along the left side of her ghaghra, like a waist side chain. She wore the dupatta over her right shoulder, so that the vaddanam would be visible. And voila! Here was another very modern fashionable look with a traditional vaddanam. You didn’t need a side waist chain. Your chain gold vaddanam could play a double role…

For that Cool ‘Hanging Out With Friends’ Look 

Then my granddaughter disappeared for a few minutes. She came back wearing her black denim shorts, her crop top, and her knee-length boots. Almost challengingly, she mischievously said, “Grandma! Do you have any jewellery from mama’s collection to go with this?” I didn’t need much time. I picked up her scalloped vaddanam. She tried it. And loved it. I gave her the chain vaddanam. She wore it. And loved it too! Then I suggested she wear the chain vaddanam as a necklace. She said, Wow! What an idea!” Then I told her to wear the chain vaddanam over her left shoulder across her body like a sacred thread that men wear. She looked at herself in the mirror. And then came running to me and gave me a tight hug.

One of the best moments in my life! It was an afternoon well spent.

And two of those vaddanams – the scallop vaddanam and the gold vaddanam – had been bought at Vaibhav Jewellers.

Antique jewellery, modern jewellery – you’ll find them all at Vaibhav Jewellers! 

With a legacy of trust of over 25 years, at Vaibhav Jewellers one also gets lifetime exchange, free 15-day return policy, customization services, EMI facility and Smart Buy options. With a very large range jewellery available on their website, you can shop for your jewellery online.  Indulge in their state-of-the-art video shopping. They also offer free transit insurance on international shipments, and free domestic shipping.

At the end “A Must Do”- is to mix and match Jewellery with an assortment of styles, clothes, looks and moods.