Grunge, hip, cool, funk, retro, boho and sport? All words you can associate street fashion with. Talk about a flowing, crinkled skirt teamed with a fitted kurti or a pair of slacks worn with a tennis skirt and a striped jacket thrown over a tiny vest, the street statement is all about a woman who is not willing to camouflage her style or her substance.

She is modern, bold and now. GoodLife uncovers her fashion facts.

Who is she?

Attitude is the key to street fashion, says designer Abhishek Dutta. “Her attitude is bold and her style statement bolder. She is someone who just doesn’t care, she mixes just about anything with everything else,” he elaborates.

Other than the funky, rebel, contrasted look that we club under street fashion, street dressing also includes various other looks such as boho-chic, sporty and to a certain extent even lounge.

Designer Preeti Jhawar feels that a street dresser is someone who doesn’t really follow fashion rules. “She is casual, not at all co-ordinated, be it in her style or colours. Someone who would be happy mixing her military green cargo pants with a scarlet shirt,” explains Preeti.

Agrees young designer Minakshi Dadoo: “Street fashion is essentially young and dare devil. She is a person who is always game for stylish experimentation.”

Looking up

• Christina Aguilera
• Britney Spears
• Amrita Rao in Main Hoon Na
• Preity Zinta in Lakshya
• Most models ? like Carol Gracias, Tupur Chatterjee and Jesse Randhawa ? off the ramp.

Must haves

Wardrobe essentials of funky street dressers and the boho-chic types are poles apart, but they strike a chord somewhere due to their inherent attitude and basic style.

Known for incorporating street elements in his collections, here is Abhishek’s recommended style list for street fashion:

• Torn jeans in a regular style or turned-up capris
• A faded denim jacket or a shrug
• Psychedelic slacks
• Sporty colourful track pants
• Vibrant camisoles and singlets
• Printed gypsy skirts with frills or cheap lace
• Short kurtis
• Short pleated tennis skirts
• Scarves and stoles in multi hues
• Colourful sneakers
• Oversized bags ? sporty, sling or potli
• Oversized sunglasses
• Big, chunky watches
• Caps ? either golf or baseball
• Funky metal accessories like chains, badges and hoops
• A collection of wristbands

Theme talk

In contrast to the stark style of classy dressers, street dressers surely do not believe in the less-is-more mantra. Instead, piling on is more up their style street.

The outfits they sport are very mix-and-match and they top it all with equally unrelated accessories.

Chunky metal finds place in their overall styling more often than not. Earrings, studded belts, safety pins, bangles or hair accessories, oxidised metal it mostly is.

Tattoos and piercing also find favour in their fashion statement. “Street fashion is not European at all. Instead, it epitomises trends of America in the 70s,” observes Preeti.

The make-up is also quite jarring and loud. “Dark eyes and a bright mouth describe their mood very well. The hair is also never straight and smooth ? lots of waves and lazy curls,” says Preeti.

Another signature street style is multiple layering.

“She might just team an ultra feminine dress with a distressed denim jacket or a short skirt teamed over capris and then finished off with a chunky belt,” adds Preeti.

The bags she carries are almost always for more than functional purposes.

Large and cool, they are eye-catchers, whether a mirror work sling or a rexine one in metallic hues.

Shop stop

Street shopping and street fashion ? almost like a made-for-each-other combo. Their favourite haunts then are rasta markets like Janpath, Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar in Delhi, Fashion Street and Colaba Causeway in Mumbai and Lindsay Street and Gariahat closer home.

Random flea markets, export surplus destinations and Metro Plaza and Sreeram Arcade also are a hit with these style setters. Sometimes, high-end stores too can be raided to pick up a branded kitschy element or two.