20s

Sonavi wears Juicy Couture jacket and pants, with a leopard-print shirt off the high street, a Kate Spade bag, Charles & Keith heels, and an Amrapali cuff. “The look is corporate, but still has a bit of zing,” she says. “I could wear it to a formal meetin

A Rhodes scholar from Oxford and an amateur golfer (in fact, she won the prestigious scholarship on the basis of academics plus golf, the only Indian to do so), Sonavi says she likes to keep her style minimal. Today, her corporate job means that the 28-year-old often needs to dress in formal attire, which she lifts with subtle additions of colour and prints.

YOUR SENSE OF STYLE

Simple and understated: I don’t want to be someone else’s clone.

YOUR CHALLENGE

I don’t feel very comfortable in short dresses because I have slim legs.

FAVOURITE DESIGNERS

For special occasions, I sometimes wear Indian clothes by Nidhi Tholia, Ogaan, and Sabyasachi. I admire Manish Arora, but prefer his designs on other people.

WORK-DAY UNIFORM

A shirt and trousers with heels. In winters, a polo neck with a jacket.

EVENINGWEAR

I love long dresses, and stay away from loud bags-mine are usually between small to medium. My long hair is always open.

ARE BRANDS IMPORTANT?

Not at all, unless you want to hide something behind them. Brands are overrated, and some people tend to buy branded clothes and accessories blindly.

FASHION MANTRA

From an evolved lady’s point of view, good conversation is better than good cleavage.