If one would ask you to describe Pune, the image of Pune as the bastion of Maharashtrian art and culture would emerge faithfully. Pune - like any other city - is made up of people. People who are very much aware of their cultural status. Fashion is part of culture. The make-up of culture to be precise.

What kind of clothes do Puneites wear? How fashionable are they?
Dressing trends in Pune have changed. Today, more and more people opt for western gear, though one can still observe an occasional village woman dressed in a Rugdi (nine yard saree) draped in a figure embracing style, Mangalasutra (marriage thread woven with black and gold beads), a large vermillion bindi on her forehead and jade green glass bangles covering half her foreams.

The man in the traditional Pune family still wears a white dhotar (long loin cloth draped between the legs), white kurta, but dons his Puneri pagdi on his head only when he goes to the marketplace or visits a relative or during festivals.

The city has umpteen fast food eateries and pubs and they are popular haunts of the yuppies. The yuppie dress code is hep (as usual) and varies from semi-formal to casual. Some gals like to wear short dresses with floral motifs and matching sandals. Jeans and shirts are worn by both guys as well as gals. Cargos or loose fit jeans are the in thing.

Girls normally wear jeans with short tops baring their midriff, or with regular T-shirts. For guys, shirts in solid colours or checks, or t-shirts, is the dress code. Semi-formal cotton trousers for guys are also in and tank tops/tube tops (for women) vie with the elegant salwar kameez. Footwear ranges from sturdy Nike, Adidas or Reebok floaters and joggers to fashionably elegant leather shoes made by Italian shoemakers or of a local.

College going kids prefer wearing jeans with tuck-ins or loose cotton shirts/t-shirts. Capri pants, tie-string tops matched with check sneakers or joggers or tie-string shoes/ slippers is in among the more fashion conscious girls. Sweaters, jackets and wind cheaters are worn during the cooler months.

At Koregaon Park, an elite suburban area in Pune and the home to the Osho Ashram, men and women from the commune can be seen clothed in a simple rose pink ankle length gown with a large bead necklace carrying the framed photograph of their evangelist guru Rajneesh. Just outside the main street one can see Osho gowns being sold on the pavement along with cloth paintings and embroidered patches from Gujarat.

Pune women folk fancy a saree or a salwar kameez. Bright shades/contrast prints are worn during rainy season/winter months and soft, pastel prints during summer. Like the Scooty (ladies version of a two-wheeler), scarves are a very popular accessory in Pune. Due to the high level of pollution, most girls riding bikes wear scarves to cover their face. During festivals and marriages, women pull out their six yard Paithani (one of the most expensive of exquisitely hand woven sarees that can cost anything above Rs. 10,000 depending on the design and zari/brocade work on it), or a nine yard Navasari or a Narayan Peth or wear a silk or organza embroidered salwar kameez. Lachchas or ghaghra cholis are worn on occasions like weddings and festivals.

The more stylish woman likes to match her crepe saree with a halter neck inlaid with diamantes, trendy leather sandals with a purse to match. During weddings, the trendy Puneite male opts for traditional wear - a simple to heavily embroidered Sherwani or a fashionably cut three piece suit matched with a colourful pagri (headwear) and embroidered mojris or trendy leather shoes. During festivals, an embroidered kurta pyjama and handmade ethnic footwear like mojris or a Kolhapuri chappal is a likely choice. For Pune, the fashion idiom states: "When in Pune dress sensibly."