Why the humble kurta is the best workwear you’re not wearing

Don't be fooled by the near-absence of any images online showing men in kurtas working away at their workplaces. (There is no similar paucity of working women in kurtas, it seems.) But you know, irrespective of gender, the utter bliss of an office day spent in the quiet, triumphal comfort of a kurta, especially during summer.

The soft cotton breathes against the skin, offering comfort that no formal shirt, never mind necktie, could rival. The kurta doesn't constrict; it flows. It doesn't demand attention - it earns it, with its understated elegance and non-intrusive gravitas.

Wearing a kurta to work is dropping the dogma that to work means to dress in a particular manner. The magical mixture of crispness with looseness, its simplicity - its very shape means working in optimum conditions.


Because of the kurta not being the most common workwear for men, it is liable to get compliments too - 'Nice kurta!' - delivered with candour, not the perfunctory 'Nice tie'. It's bliss how wearing a kurta to work transforms the mundane coffee break into a moment of comfortable pleasure. Even the AC feels less claustrophobic when you're wrapped in breathable kurta fabric.