Trending Fashion: Here’s why men are thronging Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar in summer

What do you associate Sarojini Nagar with? Of course, trendy dresses for women. Wait, there’s a twist because this summer the street market is filled with men’s crochet shirts, and how! Shopkeepers share why these are selling like hot cakes. So, what are you thinking? Man up and get, shop, go…

Office ki need ya GF ki demand

“My office mates usually wear really bland clothes. But I believe in bringing some jazz to the tech space and hence have bought crochet shirts in white to beat the heat,” says Gautam Singh, a software engineer who works in Noida, and was spotted shopping for office wear.

Even outstation shoppers are heading to this market for the cool designs in men’s summer shirts that are available here. Among these is Neel Chatterjee, a Mumbai-based college student, who says, “I ended up shopping more than my girlfriend since the shirts this time are really trendy and cool! Even their fabric is so breathable that I feel like redoing my entire wardrobe from my Sarojini haul.”

‘Din ke 100-150 shirts log khareed rahe hain’

Kaif Ali, a shop owner at this market, informs, “Crochet shirts are selling for anything between ₹250 and ₹1,200. The quality of the shirts is the same in most designs but they have become a rage kyunki garmi itni pad rahi hai and subah jitna bhi maal le aayein, shaam tak sab sold out! Men are buying whatever they get their hands on, and are not even asking for colour options, which is so unlike Delhiites. But the demand is high and we are selling around 150 summer shirts every day.”

Girls bring in their boyfriends, brothers and friends to… shop, shop, shop!

“Usually, during this time of the year, we see a lot of young women who come to buy dresses in floral patterns. So, we stocked up accordingly,” says Arun Kumar, owner of shop number 92, adding, “But this year, we’re seeing how girls are bringing in their boyfriends, brothers and friends to buy these summer shirts. Some girls are even turning up to shop for their fathers. Crochet wali shirts aur inke co-ord sets toh sabse zyada bik rahe hain!”

My entire class is dressed up in crochet shirts: DU student 

“I am from Nepal, and I would earlier usually pair a fitted tee with shorts or jeans. But, when I came to Delhi I realised how seriously men’s fashion is taken here,” says Milan, a first-year student of Delhi University’s Maharaja Agrasen College, adding, “If anime t-shirts were a fad last season, then this time it has to be the summer-cool crochet shirts! I especially came to Sarojini Nagar to amp up my wardrobe with shirts that have crisscross stitches and designs… I thought I would look more like a Delhi boy wearing these, but it so happened that I found my entire class dressed up in exactly same shirts. Chalo at least it makes me feel like I’m fitting in (laughs).”