A loaded round of fashion weeks ended in Pakistan recently and while most designers dictated a palette of trends for the upcoming summer, one designer — very appropriately said that this is a summer of individuality, a time when women must look within to seek a look that is sincere to them. Long, short, streamlined, voluminous…it all works as long as you have the confidence to work it.

Summer is when women hoard on the national fabric: lawn. It’s also a time when jeans crop up towards the knees and become pedal pushers. The white shalwar is quite the rage throughout summer and the bohemian look sporting smocking, pleats, wide and cool necklines is favoured over tighter, stiffer clothes. To have the bravado to experiment with your look is key to individuality; pop star Atif Aslam is a great example of someone with a unique dress sense. You should try it too.

To sum it up one can quote Coco Chanel who said, “In order to be irreplaceable, one must be different.” Here are some quirky ways to ensure you become unforgettable…

Mowing your lawn

Lawn is the summer favourite for Pakistani women but where does it say that women must buy their three-piece joras and assemble them as and exactly how the attached catalogue (or look book) dictates. Quite on the contrary, lawn has immeasurable options and can be modified very easily. If you’ve got a lawn dupatta with your outfit, it can be turned into another shirt as can the plain or printed shalwar. If your outfit comes with embellished and embroidered trimmings, then they can be used to spruce up a plain kurta instead of over-complicating an already busy print. One would in fact strongly recommend making three shirts out of the three-piece ensemble. Lawn should be treated as separates, not joras.

The last thing ladies should be doing is replicating each other. No one wants to see clones of the same Sana Safinaz print. Like they say, there’s actually nothing worse than walking into a room with someone else wearing the same outfit as yours!

Fashion at your fingertips

When it comes to nails, a French manicure is most ladies’ favourite and yet it is predictable and therefore a tad bit too safe to be considered trendy anymore. Fashionistas are applying French manicures in reverse, black and white as well as colour contrasts. But if you’re looking for a more unique look then explore your options before stepping in for a manicure.

You’re probably already familiar with the unorthodox palette that brands like OPI and Leighton Denny have inspired — the citrusy oranges, vivid blues and greens — and you’re also familiar with nail treatments like OPI’s shatter that comes in a crackling white and black. But taking it even further are ranges like Sally Hanson’s nail stickers (Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips) that can be purchased (not available in Pakistan to my knowledge but then, when are those visiting relatives going to come in handy?) and simply stuck onto the nail as an alternative to nail varnish. Ask your salons for the options on nail art!

Spring in your step (floral shoes)

Sensible shoes or sexy footwear: what woman isn’t moved by a new pair of shoes? But it’s so easy to be swayed by shoe trends that have everyone buying the same types, whether they are gladiators, kohlapuri chappals or when it comes to kids, Crocs! People tend to forget that their shoes need to be as experimental as the rest of their look.

This summer will be peak season to experiment with the flora and the fauna. That means that wearing floral prints on the feet will be trendy and instead of just picking up the same pair of shoes as everyone else, you can experiment with your flowers instead. Getting floral nail art on your toes is one way, hand painting plain canvas shoes is another. Shoe tycoons Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik have set the trend with their high priced versions but there are innumerable watered down (meaning cheaper) versions around us too.

Luckily, Nine West is opening at Dolmen Mall as is Debenhams and the shoes promise to carry a sprig of spring too. When it comes to shoes, the garden is your oyster. Pick your bouquet!

Deconstruct the dupatta

The dupatta is often the third wheel in your outfit. The purpose of a dupatta, for most women in Pakistan, is to cover up modestly but there are so many ways of styling your look without dragging the whole three yards of fabric unfashionably around your neck.

A silk or chiffon scarf is much more desirable when worn with an androgynous collared shirt. Experiment with your scarf by drawing variation on its length and breadth. A plain kurta works very well with a crushed dupatta and it is okay to keep a conventional dupatta or two for diversity, especially a white chikan dupatta for scorching hot summer afternoons.

Be sure, however, to always trim your scarf or dupatta with an appropriate finish otherwise it may look like you’ve walked out of the house with left over fabric around your neck!