“Tamilnadu has its fashion trends but lacks prominent style icons – but is there a need for any?

Promoting a particular style involves creating a persona to emulate.

When focusing on what appearance to mimic, users think about what looks best over what suits them the best. This act detracts from the pure joy of adorning oneself, as an image of empowerment again, is a label that does not truly empower those who don’t fit the image.

Citing observation for explanation:

In the past few decades, heavier traditional jewellery has been advertised with associations to domestic bliss, while lighter, sleek jewellery has been advertised using the image of a “modern woman”. Lighter jewellery has been generally preferred by women who work, travel, and/or belong to primarily urban areas, owing to better functionality. Women who fall under these categories were socially perceived as more empowered than their counterparts, and this association of empowerment extended to the clothing and jewellery they wore. Hence, the fashion they adopted had been labelled “modern”. However, social circumstances have changed. “Modern clothes” have become “Western wear”. Cultural associations with the old modern aesthetic have been rendered irrelevant as, currently, most women prefer lighter jewellery for daily usage. They are much more exposed owing to the accessibility of the internet. The old notion of empowerment is not as aspirational as it used to be. Women effortlessly switch between different styles with access to fast fashion and don’t have a region-specific wardrobe as they used to.

Hence, creating visuals showcasing associations of empowerment is not bound to be effective long term.

While it is more convenient to adopt fashion associated with empowerment, it is not truly empowering for those who cannot or don’t prefer such fashion. When the image of an “empowered woman” is created, those who don’t fit that label due to the displayed jewellery not suiting them would end up feeling disconnected, not just from the image of what’s ideal but also from the qualities associated with it.

What women want – is to be free, in their element.

While acham-madam-nanam (modesty, elegance, and sensitivity) are portrayed as the epitome of feminine grace in Tamil literature, they imply submission. Yet, there has always been an undercurrent of rebelliousness. That’s because real women aren’t manifestations of what’s commonly perceived as feminine. Women are women, no matter what the perception of femininity is at any given point in time.


Labelling qualities that constitute a feminine ideal and encouraging women to pursue them would be counterintuitive to the idea of empowering women. True empowerment is simply enjoying adorning oneself free of the framework of what’s considered stylish. In spaces where they’re truly free, women don’t concern themselves about the appropriateness or compatibility of elements of their appearances.”