Pictures: Rashbehari Das and Pabitra Das

Shaheb Bhattacherjee, actor

Coloured pants and I go back a long way: I have been wearing coloured pants even when they weren’t in fashion. I had gone to Scotland two years back and coloured pants were very much in fashion there. I got maroon and midnight-blue pants from River Island. Earlier if you were seen in coloured pants, you had to hear “Govinda pant porechhey!” (Laughs) He along with Salman Khan were pioneers! It was considered a fashion faux pas. And I had to hear a lot! I could not take the Govinda comparison as a compliment. Now it is in fashion. I have got pants from Bangkok and Calcutta too. All are coloured chinos. It is sad that people don’t want to experiment unless Bollywood popularises it.

My favourite pairs: Are the blue and maroon ones. I wear the blue one for good events and keep the maroon pair for clubbing or for hanging out. These pants are very comfortable and you can team them with a lot of colours. Now I am teaming them with bright linen shirts or round-neck tees.

Who looks best in coloured pants: I think Arjun Rampal looks nice. I remember seeing him in maroon pants on the ramp. So cool!

Colour it right: The flip side is that if you do a disastrous combination, you are so dead! If you are in doubt, opt for grey, white or black.

Next on my list: A pair of green pants… a bright green… I would team it with white.

Nil, designer

I have been wearing coloured pants since last summer... Now they are big. The one I am wearing is tangerine. My bright blue, that I had made, is now faded. This one’s new and I wear it the most. I got it from United Colors of Benetton.

Men in coloured bottoms: For men to wear bright colours speaks volumes about Indian men opening up their minds and being adventurous. Men who want to have fun with fashion are sporting it. I have seen older men wearing bright red pants. I have also seen acid green, yellow and tangerine! If you never ever, you will never ever.

For night: It is a formal, evening-out look (picture right).

Day look: More of a sundowner look (picture above).

Combinations that will click: With a tangerine, a navy shirt will also look nice. There is another fun combination... an acid green tee and tangerine pants.

Colour it right: For coloured pants, do a solid upper. If you are adventurous, go for a printed upper. You will never go wrong with a white.

Vijay Dugar, master franchisee, Levi’s

Now, I have no inhibitions: Yes, I was sceptical about trying coloured pants because to me, it was a young man’s style… not a guy’s thing! The first colour I wore was blue, the safest of the lot. Then I felt like going a little bolder. So, the following week, I wore green. After about two weeks, I wore yellow. That got me the most amount of stares at work. Giggles too! Later on they realised that it was not so bad. The same thing happened when I sat down for lunch with my father and cousins. They asked me, “What is this Rajinikanth style?” It has caught on in India now. Bollywood has a big influence. Akshay Kumar in Rowdy Rathore wore a lot of coloured pants. It was more from the business point of view earlier… if I cannot wear it, I cannot sell it! Now I feel it is better than jeans. It is like wearing pyjamas and going to work. Out of six days, you will see me in coloured bottoms on at least three days.

Colour it right: The safest combinations are white and black. I bought some more white and black tees. Now, I am becoming a bit more daring, trying a printed T-shirt. I have my eyes on off-white leather shoes to go with all the pants. Earlier, I thought orange would be crazy, but it is not! I am actually thinking of buying more subtle colours now, since I have the bright shades… may be a maroon.

My favourites: The denim shirt with the yellow trousers is classy. That’s my favourite.

There is no colour that men cannot wear. The bolder, the better: Narendra Kumar, designer

The thing is that whatever is introduced in men’s fashion in the country takes a while to settle in. Today coloured pants are trending because people who are a little fashion-forward are wearing them. By next summer, you will see a lot more people wearing coloured trousers. This is just the beginning of the cycle. People are looking to push the envelope. More importantly, wearing colours is more about the state of mind, rather than about fashion. You need to lose your inhibitions.

This season, I have every colour in my wardrobe… shoes and trousers. The important thing for me is to get the right kind of footwear with the colours that you wear. Wearing colours doesn’t look good with running sneakers. Loafers go really well, even without socks. And for heaven’s sake, do not wear white socks with loafers! I wear turquoise, pink, blue, yellow.... The safest is white. It looks great with any colour. You have to keep it in the same colour zone. Monochromes look better on people who don’t want to push too much. If you are wearing dark green trousers, a light green tee looks nice. Wear with a pair of white sneakers and a belt, and you’ll be ready for sport. If in doubt, always wear white.

Saionee Chakraborty

Do you wear coloured pants? Tell t2@abp.in