Till a couple of years ago, I used to feel somewhat sorry for men where their fashion options were concerned. They would only have the blues, blacks and greys to pick from, perhaps the odd tan or olive, where their trousers were concerned; the browns and blacks for their shoes; and the whites and blues (in various combination of dots, stripes, and checks) for their shirts. They couldn't do much with their hair either... either on their heads or on their faces. Poor things.

But the past year or so has made me change my mind.

The variety of hairstyles and beard-styles that are now doing the rounds is astounding; as is the colour of their clothes and shoes (green pants, yellow shirt, brown shoes anyone?). I am not sure how offices allow men to come in to work with a head that looks like a mop, or a face that looks like it needs serious shampooing. Someone said that this trend of facial hair is a reaction to the metrosexual look of a few years ago. So what does that mean? A few years ago men were looking like women, and now they are looking like cavemen? Why can't they just look like, you know, men?

The problem is, the men who are adopting these styles clearly don't have any idea how they actually look in them. Given that women were the ones who have traditionally subjected themselves to ridiculous fashion trends, I had not quite realized that men would do the same, once they got the opportunity. And now that they have got the opportunity, they are going hammer and tongs at it. Every brand worth its name uses Caucasian-looking men to model their clothes, posing against European-looking backgrounds. But when some poor paunchy bloke in Bombay decides to wear exactly identical colours... well, the effect is just hilarious.

Somebody should just tell these poor idiots.