Skin care: A student of Patna Women’s College covers her face with a stole and (above) girls sport stoles on city streets. Pictures by Ashok Sinha

Patna, May 3: Gone are the days when proud owners of colourful stoles would stash them away in the depths of wardrobes with mothballs waiting for the arrival of winter. Now, the owners, most of whom are in their late teens or early 20s, are flaunting them in style in summer.

Do not seem surprised. Stoles can be of great help even in this scorching heat. Shopowners in the state capital said sale of stoles are hitting the roof this season too, keeping up with the winter trend. Though the phenomenon to use stoles to cover the face up to the eyes is nothing new, the style is being attributed to new requirements.

Protecting their skin from sunburn and being tanned seems to be a prime reason for girls. But using them to cover their face after dark begs questions. Reasons of security and privacy — from family members when one is out with boyfriends — seems to be as potent as skin concerns.

Mukesh Kumar Soni, the owner of a Pune-based company S and S Paradise that sells branded clothes on Boring Road, said: “In two months, I have sold around 500 cotton stoles. The summer sales are on a par with that in winter.”

On the reasons behind GenY’s shift towards cotton stoles in summer, Soni said: “Residents in the state capital are adapting to the lifestyle in metros. The recent trend among teenaged girls is not to compromise with their looks. Exposure to the summer heat can cause them sunburns and rashes, so they opt to act cautiously. After all, girls like to be fair and beautiful. But the other reason behind wearing stoles is also evident. I have seen girls wearing these stoles in the evening in malls talking to boys.”

Residents, however, claim protecting their skin from the heat is most important. Apart from stoles to cover their faces, they have also started to wear gloves up to their elbows to protect themselves from being tanned.

Sonali, a 21-year-old pursuing bachelor in computer applications from Indira Gandhi National Open University, believes physical appearance of girls play a major part of their attraction. She said: “For a girl, physical appearance is not something to be ignored. The summer heat and pollution not only harms our complexion but also the texture of our skin. Sunscreen lotions are not of much help so what is wrong if we use stoles and gloves to cover our face and hands?”

Anjali, another 20-year-old student of Patna Science College, added: “If boys can protect themselves with caps and helmets, why can’t girls take similar precautions? Moreover, we, girls, need to be more careful than boys.”

Shabana Kaushar, a bachelor of business administration student of Patna Women’s College, said: “Summer in Patna is unbearable. One cannot go out without taking the proper precautions. I am no different.”

Shabana, who wears stoles and gloves because of allergy problems, said it couldn’t be denied that many misuse stoles for various reasons. “It is understandable if girls wear stoles and gloves in the day. But it raises questions when they wear these in the evening. These girls cover their faces with stoles, as they don’t want to be noticed by their parents and friends when they are out with their boyfriends. The cover of stoles invites interest as people get curious when they see girls wearing stoles in the evening.”

Divya Raj, an 18-year-old student of geography of Patna Women’s College, said: “The trend is an obvious amalgamation of fashion with skin care.” However, 19-year-old Draksha believes there is nothing wrong if a girl wears a stole to guard her identity from others. “This is the time youngsters can enjoy to the fullest. After all, a married woman cannot do all these kind of things. So let them enjoy if they want to guard themselves from others,” said Draksha.