Sakti Datta Das, a software engineer from Bhubaneswar, was apprehensive when offered his first foreign assignment to South Africa. Diffident about his dress sense, Das feared he might be judged by his foreign colleagues on the basis of his attire.

Browsing the Net for some fashion tips, Das bought some fashion magazines and headed to an image consultant who charged him a whopping Rs 40,000 for two sessions. Das ended up blending with his new office crowd, but not everyone can find or afford an image consultant.

Similar situations are heaven-sent for the new kids on the block: style gurus. Solving a wardrobe or clothing crisis with a little advice comes easy to this new breed.

Given the increasing desire to look good, several Web sites such as Voonik, 20Dresses and Stylecracker are doling out tips and guidelines.

Even online fashion retailers such as Myntra and Jabong are launching campaigns and initiatives, not just to attract more customers to their sites but also to prevent goods from being returned.

Most of these style gurus are keen to apply fresh and modern principles to all aspects of their styling consultation and personal branding.

They are being roped in by major e-tailers to capture unique fashion movements and deliver trends as they develop. With a keen eye for the next big craze in all realms of the fashion industry, these style gurus are attuned to the role fashion plays and will highlight the trend that is relevant and applicable to each individual - a college student, a young office-goer or even a sedate 45-plus woman who does not want to look unfashionable at an office do!

Several online players, with professional stylists on board, are recommending and suggesting accessories and apparel either depending on past purchases made on the site or by asking for details of skin tone, body contours, profession, age and overall personality.

Sujayath Ali, founder of four-month-old Voonik.com, believes fashion is not about buying expensive clothes and rich colours. It is how and what one wears that makes all the difference.

Narrating an incident from his Amazon days in the US, Ali says, “One day at a party, people suddenly started discussing soccer with me and I had no idea why they were doing that until someone asked me about my shoes. I was made to realise they were soccer shoes. So we all make fashion faux pas, but we need to address them. There are so many ways, from magazines to Web sites these days.”

These style gurus’ attitude to styling is dedicated to fine-tuning each individual’s own unique style. Most are dedicated to customising the experience to fit with the individual's lifestyle needs, goals, personal sense of style and budget.

Given the spurt in online retailing in India, the opportunity is huge for these players as customers are finding it more convenient to buy clothes with some guidance from the e-tailer rather than pick up stuff randomly, especially while shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.

“Most of the offline retailers in India have not yet evolved to hire fashion or style gurus at their outlets. People don’t find the process to shop at stores engaging anymore, as the salesman on the floor has no idea of what to recommend to the customer. This is where online is gaining vantage,” said Mukul Bafna, co-founder, Jabong.com.

However, for Jabong, rather than boosting its sales, the main objective of having a style guide is to check and manage returns (goods that are returned after being delivered). Returns have come down drastically after the Delhi-based fashion e-tailer launched the service free of charge last year.

StyleCracker.com and 20Dresses are some other sites that provide a personalised styling platform where people can get their fashion-related queries answered with advice that is tailored to them. One has to just log on, become a member, take a personality test on the kind of outfits and accessories one likes to wear for different occasions, and one is ready. The charge is mostly nominal.

“Our target audience are mostly women. Also, people who come from small towns and get lost in the blitz and glitz of the metro lifestyle engage with us. It’s our effort to make them fashion literate. In a survey, we found that people are spending over 20 minutes on the Web to decide on their apparel,” Voonik's Ali said, adding that his Web site has already got 10,000 registered users in just four months.

At Myntra, which runs a similar customised service called Style Studio, the plan is to merge the same with another application they acquired called Fitiqette, which provides tailor-made solutions related to the customer’s fit and size.

As Voonik’s Ali said, “We are happy that our registered users spend more than 19 minutes per visit, which is the highest in the industry. Our sales and revenue are growing 100 per cent month-over-month. And our next milestone is to achieve 100,000 users and Rs 10 crore in sales in the next 6-8 months.''

For most people, it is hard not to love a good trend. But then, there are so many - mix-and-match patterns, colour-blocking, neon - the list goes on and on. For fashionistas to get their hands on the next `big' fashion trend, these style gurus are intent on getting the message across and keeping it classy!

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