Dressed to impress or to judge? A critical look at Dhaka’s fashion circle

You will spot them everywhere — at all upscale parties, openings, holuds, weddings, receptions, birthdays, and everything else in between. Dressed to the nines in season’s latest threads and made up beyond belief by the makeup artist everyone wants to get dolled up by but can’t ever get an appointment with, these ladies are the denizens of the Dhaka social scene! 
Usually moving in packs, their snooty noses turn up at the sight of a lesser mortal dressed in last season’s kaftan or a dated designer handbag. Flaunting the latest bag and diamond-encrusted watches, they sure look the part of well-heeled socialites. I will give them that!
One might argue that nothing is wrong with having a great fashion sense and affinity with designers’ duds. In all honesty, there isn’t. Who doesn’t want to look their absolute best, especially in the age of social media when appearance matters the most?
And then an incident comes to mind that I had the misfortune of witnessing. There I was, at yet another sangeet, sipping gur er cha and enjoying my bhapa pitha while listening to a well-known Indian artist crooning away, when all of a sudden, I realised, I was sitting next to a pair of aforementioned well-heeled, chirpy little birdies (hawks more like!) regarding every guest passing by. 
Snippets of their conversation came into my earshot (lest one accuses yours truly of eavesdropping!), which essentially was a discussion at length about who wore what. Regarding each lady present, they were having a grand laugh about how some of them were, a) repeating old designer outfits, b) wearing ‘inspired’ dresses and c) worst offenders by their standards, wearing generic clothing! 
Gasps and shudders ensued in varying degrees, which left me incredibly amused at first. 
What followed after this policing turned my amusement into horror when I noticed them joining other members of their clique, pointing at some guests and laughing out loud at their poor fashion choices, much to my chagrin. And this was not the only instance such misfortune befell me, mind you. Time and time again, similar mockery has been made of lesser-dressed beings around me on various occasions.
Such is the pitfall of hedonism — in pursuit of the finer things in life, one loses one's head and starts feeling superior to others. 
My darling readers, do not misunderstand me. At the risk of being stoned by some of you, let me clarify my stance. 
In 2026, when all has been said and done, surely how one dresses and looks should not be the only marker of one’s personality? Is it not high time we move on from such petty nonsense and start to care about deeper things like how kind a person is, what the good qualities they possess and how someone makes others smile? 
What is it about some stylish women in Dhaka that the moment they spot a person dressed in simple clothes, their claws come out and crave blood? Have we become so depraved in our thirst to keep up with Indian and Pakistani fashion that our age-old Bangladeshi values of compassion and genteel ways are behind us? 
Perhaps, in the era of late-night dopamine hits from doom-scrolling mindless TikToks, we have lost our sense of integrity. 
Bangladeshis are known all over the world for being culturally superior, with a rich legacy of gifted writers, musicians, poets and artists and yet our collective love for literature, music and art is dying at an alarming pace. We are slowly but surely, in our continuing struggle to look like the trending Indian or Pakistani ‘it’ girl, losing our uniqueness, our own essence. 
In our relentless hunger and pursuit of appearing fashionable, are we losing our conscience? Or, maybe I am asking too much of the ‘Gen Z’, so engrossed in being woke that they have lost their sense of identity? Only time will tell. 
In the meantime, let us enjoy all the gur er cha and bhapa pitha at yet another ‘sangeet’ while enjoying super hit Hindi and Pakistani dance numbers!