When it came to cholis -- that were worn with saris, jeans, lehengas, skirts through 2022 -- like Mumbai's over-priced flats, square footage was precious.
The lesser the few scraps of blouse-age, the more spendy and thrillingly daring they were.
Designers probably battled fatiguing wardrobe malfunction fears to make sure the silky, glittery Little Bits, thumbed their noses at gravity, to snugly snake around abs, delicate bosoms and necks of the courageous wearers, in just the right precise way.
The tribe of Adventuruous Cholis went forth and multiplied further this year, spawning all sorts of offspring -- short, mischievous sheer numbers, racy wee things with complicated cutouts, delicious velvet babies, strappy, fitted stuff in clashing prints.
There are whole sites on the Internet now devoted to finding the right choli and, boy, do they have tempting merchandise.
Anyone who decided to wear a sari for an evening out, or to waltz across a red carpet, had absoloutely not the slightest excuse to wear any of that regular, yawn-yawn nani-dadi-cut fare.
Chikna Choli Moments of 2022...
Bhumi Pednekar is the czarina of jhatak bold cholis.
They always do all the talking.
The 'n' number of crisscrossing front straps can never ruin the look of a great garment like this one.
The complexity of the maze must have only added to the population of jaws that dropped the minute Bhumi hit the red carpet with a blouse as fun as her unusual sari drape.
Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar
The Joy Of Living Dangerously: Here's one designed to broadcast a sexy abdomen that would be a crime to not show off.
In tonal shades of green, the confidence-inducing, neon halter-neck cut of it created all the theatrics Janhvi Kapoor was seeking.
Photograph: Pradeep Bandekar
Tamannaah Bhatia sported a totally luscious specimen.
It must have taken exceptional skills in physics, art and jalebi-making to get this one together. We can't even wrap our heads around how it could have been devised.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Tamannaah Bhatia/Instagram
Not a very convoluted style.. but so bellissimo.
Shanaya Kapoor absolutely crushed the deep V-neck backless choli, held in place with strings you might be envious of.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Shanaya Kapoor/Instagram
Blouses from the past made a comeback. Nithya Menen leaned on retro fashion to delight us with two fabulously quaint yesteryear looks.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Nithya Menen/Instagram
Brave New World: Anupama Parameswaran's cutout blouse, that revealed a sizeable chunk of her sleek shoulders, was surprisingly sober and almost mami-ish while being seductive and a super mate for a heavy silk sari.
And we can imagine how air-conditioned it might have been.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Anupama Parameswaran/Instagram
Vuvuzela Time: Ananya Panday uplifts a subdued but classy lal sari with a regal slashed-at-the-chest choli.
Jeez, doesn't she look good!
Photograph: Kind courtesy Arpita Mehta/Instagram