In the circuit of fashion, we have the notion of seasons as well as occasions. Designers create collections based on what time of the year they are targeting to sell those. So, a particular line could be catering to summer or winter weddings. Then there could be collections with clothes suited for lounging. Fashionistas who select attires from this segment would wear them to tropical holidays and beach vacations. Or they might just wear them for poolside parties at their opulent bungalows. Nowadays, collections are also being designed and curated to suit soirees planned at destination weddings. 

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As a fashion writer for almost two decades I have observed one thing though. Indian designers mostly centre their creations around the wedding seasons. Some luxury pret wear does fulfill the requirement for party and other occasion wear of course, but mostly couture focuses on bridal fineries. Which means the moodboards play around with heavy textiles, jewel tones and plenty of surface embellishments. One gets to witness a smorgasbord of intricate embroideries adorning wedding outfits with India being a country with a legacy of heritage weaves and crafts. Honestly, it is quite a visual spectacle!

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However, as a person who enjoys the art of accessorising her outfits with elegant watches, I have often wondered whether watchmakers specifically make watches for weddings, and other occasions as well? Something that can be worn with an extravagant wedding saree or a shimmering lehenga, a piece that would stand out on its own and not be overshadowed by the heavy bijouterie? Or is there a collection that suits a beachy vibe? Or something that is designed keeping in mind a dinner date look? In short, have we arrived at a point yet where a watch can be considered an important fashion accessory? I think the discussion needs to be broken down and analyzed in a broader sense here, because, for all the shopping that women do (which actually means we probably control the meatier share in this retail space) for clothes and accessories, there isn't really much conversation happening on what watches we buy to pair with different outfits on various outings! Long story short, the luxury watch space seems to be predominantly invested in men's preferences. 

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As a girl growing up in Kolkata in the 90s, I never really saw my aunts, mother and friends play around with watches as per their outfits. There weren't separate watches to align with the school or college uniform, one to complement the office look or another to dress up the wrist at parties. We mostly had one watch to suit all occasions. And when wedding trousseaus were planned, the watch was the least of the concern because the bride's wrist would anyway be covered with heirloom gold! 

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To add to our woes you had those relatives who gifted you that typical slim and slender watch from Titan or Timex that looked more like a dainty bracelet than a watch! I got a few as well, to my dismay, but I soldiered on. The only thing that excited me was that they appeared more ornate than what I wore to school. The aesthetic stayed almost the same though. Over a period of time, I noticed how watch brands made tall claims of launching women's watches, that they claimed would make one gasp in wonder but then eventually the monotony of the look prevailed, and quite expectedly they would simply shrink down a popular men’s watch and call it a new line for women. That, sadly, is not true watchmaking. 

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Honestly, there were clearly no options. I wonder whether watchmakers ever did a market survey as to what kind of look women of those times preferred for different occasions. Rather, did they at all see the watch as a fashion accessory? At this juncture I would also like to mention cinema as a fashion influence. There were never really any popular montages harping on a popular actress flaunting a spectacular watch. Neither were there advertisements. If I jog my memory now I can only recall the Asha Parekhs and Sadhna's sporting that tiny dialled watch with their Bhanu Athaiya churidar salwar or silk chiffon saree. Asha Parekhs's glittering choker was a better inspiration for the fashion crazy, if not Sadhna's signature bangs.

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But this very lacuna in the women's watch segment made me seek out timepieces that would go with my outfits as per the occasion. I wanted to wear a big dialled classic piece at my workplace. The simplicity of the piece would have to carry a no-nonsense vibe. And yet, it should be stylish enough to make people gauge that I was well versed with the world of fashion and lifestyle that I was writing about in well known glossies. Whenever I met women sporting good looking timepieces at work I took note of them. I paid compliments too because then we would talk about the piece and I would learn about why she thought of teaming that particular watch with her work wear. This gave me an insight into what women preferred wearing on diverse occasions.

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When I was attending evening soirees I ensured my watch was a tad blingy so that the jewels caught the fancy lights in the decor. This would render it that charm of being not just an arm candy but also an essential accessory when I was socialising. For private dinners however, the slim and slender watches came out because the focus would have to be on the one-on-one conversation without the big dial of the watch becoming a distraction.

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My mother used to say that perhaps watch brands made women's watches dainty so that their wrist didn't look manly wearing a big dial. I didn't buy that logic ever. I never thought that the HMT watch my mother wore made her wrist look manly. And, to prove the point to not just my mother, but to all those who felt the same, I picked up a big dialled watch with a tan leather strap once. The rose gold bezel encircled a floral dial. I wore this piece with floaty dresses on holidays and realised that the big dial didn't deplete how feminine I felt wearing it.

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As I narrate my fascination for watches, I also want to initiate a discussion of them as a fashion accessory for women. I would like to know whether there are those like me who invest in watches keeping in mind what they are going to team it with. Means, do they select the pieces based on the seriousness or lightness of the occasion? Are their watches for celebratory events? As someone who puts in quite some thought as to which watch to wear so that the dressing up looks complete, I definitely want this topic to gain ground. Is the watch an essential fashion accessory yet? Do watch brands design pieces based on seasons and occasions or do the aesthetics roughly follow a time tested signature pattern? In short, how long do we have to wait for women to wake up to the idea that a timepiece does have the potential to make or break a particular look!

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