Bridals, Bridals

The Sri Lanka Association of Hairdresses and Beauticians presented a 'Bridal Collection' at the Bridal Fair held at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre last week. Pictured here are some highlights of the show. Pix by Kumara Dayawansa Nanneththi

Your greatest Extravagance

Ships in bottles, fish, hair....there's no telling what people will splurge on. Ayesha R.Rafiq finds out....

You open your wardrobe and an avalanche of clothes descends upon you. Or you find yourself irresistibly drawn to......no, no, not to a man but a bookstore and emerge hours later with an armful of books you can ill afford, (with a couple more hidden behind the shelves so no one can find them until you come back to claim them, when you've got enough money).

Better still, the boot of your car is stuffed with headlights, spark plugs, car polish and all that kind of stuff which has to be hidden away if you're to avoid a lecture from your wife on spending too much money on junk. (Junk? But it's my car!!!)

Whatever it may be, we've all got our little fancies. That little something we really could do without, but which on the other hand we absolutely must have. There's always a shelf full of some knick knack or other somewhere in some shop, which you can't just walk by, which practically screams at you to stop, gloat and BUY.

And boy, will you be surprised at the things that people seem to be spending their hard earned money over, these days.

Dinesh Ellepola has a passion for old whiskey bottles and has about 63 in his collection so far. "I love the colours and the shapes of them, especially the antique ones. One of my favourites is an antique blue one which is about 200 years old. It was apparently salvaged from a 30-year-old wreck in Germany." The bottles are rather difficult to come by, and so far most of his collection has come from friends who had old bottles and didn't know what to do with them. Why the fascination? 'To me there is nothing more symbolic of bygone eras, than old whiskey bottles and the shapes and colours that have evolved over the years."

"Fish," says Neidra Vithanachchi emphatically. She loves ornamental fish, especially guppies, and there's nothing she likes better than to come back home after a hectic day at work, sit by her fish tank and watch the fish. 'It's very soothing and helps calm me down a lot. What really attracts me to them are their colours." She spends about Rs. 6000 each month replacing fish that die and buying new fish, fish food, pebbles, weeds and ornaments for the tank. "My mother thinks it's a waste of money, but I'd much rather spend my money on my fish than on clothes and shoes," she says.

"I don't get too much pocket money. On the money that I do get I have to manage my snacks and going out with my friends, but whatever money I do have left I spend on hair bands and other hair accessories," says 16-year-old Chandi Perera. Any new thing that comes out she says she just has to try it out. Fortunately for her these don't cost too much. "I especially love those long shoe-lace like things that you can braid into your hair, but these come in packs and are a little expensive so I ask them as birthday presents."

Forty-two year old Nimesh (not his real name) has a somewhat stranger tale to tell. What does this thrice divorced man spend most of his money on? "Alimony," he says with a wry face. "Fortunately or unfortunately I never had any children with my ex-wives so all they could probably think of to take off me was my money. I ended up paying a couple of million to my last wife, the highest yet, and the only thing I'm left with that's worth anything is my house and my car. If there's ever a next time the first thing I'll ever write for her is a pre-nuptial agreement," says Nimesh, only half jokingly.

"God knows my hair has been through enough torture already, but I just can't resist playing round with it. I've permed, tinted, coloured, bleached, straightened and curled my hair and much more. You name it and I've done it. I know it's bad for my hair, but somehow, everytime something new comes out I just have to try it out. My hairdresser knows me so well she greets me even before I can identify myself on the phone," says 31-year-old Farah Macan Markar. She says it can get embarrassing when people ask her what she's planning on getting done next, but it seems to be a habit she just can't kick. "'It's expensive and I really shouldn't, but I just can't help myself."

Little Shanalie says she just adores Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck paraphernalia. "Everytime I go to Mickey's corner, Mummy buys me something if I've been extra good that month. I have the slippers, the pencil case, the school bag, the straw and the hairbrush. I've lost some other things, but I plan on being extra good so I can get more," says this shy seven-year-old.

Dimuthu, a 24-year-old school leaver says he spends about Rs. 15,000 a month on his jeep. About Rs. 4,000 is spent on diesel, and the rest on polishing, grooming and generally modifying it. It's an expensive luxury but it's my hobby, and I make sure to spend enough on my girl friend so that she can't complain, he laughs.

Fathima Cader is nuts about books, " just can't walk past a book store without stopping and browsing, and if I have enough money with me I always pick up something," says this 50-year-old grandmother of two. She usually also picks out something for her two small grandchildren, whom she's trying to get into the reading habit. "Books are something that you'll never get tired of, and they are so educational, it's the one thing I'll never hesitate to spend on."

You would think that most guys would spend the better part of their salaries on their vehicles, and they do, but not surprisingly, girlfriends and wives come a close second.

Nishan Pieris tries to buy his girlfriend something every month, even if it's just a book or a cake she likes. "It makes her happy and if I can't afford something too expensive, I just buy her a card or something. But I don't mind it at all, because to me, having her by my side is a luxury in itself, so what's a little money here and there? " (Wow, that's one romantic guy).

"Give me body lotions, shampoos and lip balm over clothes and shoes any day," says Venuri Jayasinghe. "I simply love any fragrant body lotion or shampoo. I even got my in-laws to get me only that kind of stuff for my wedding instead of clothes and shoes, that's how crazy about it I am."

The saying that a housewife's home is her palace seems indeed to be true, judging by the near identical response from many women to the question of what they spend most of their money on. Sandya Jinadasa loves to pick up little trinkets from bric-a-brac sales for her house, or if she ever sees a nice bedspread or maybe drinking glasses or even pots and pans, she can't resist picking them up. "I spend more money than I can really afford this way, but at the end of the day I'm happy because my home is filled with beautiful things."

Avanthi de Lanerolle's one big passion in life is stationery. "I love Hong Kong because they have some of the best stationery stores in the world.Even here you get some pretty good stuff. I especially like scented writing pads with nice designs on them, but I do go crazy over any other type of stationery. Post-it-notes, files, pens, erasers, just about anything. Even now I still ask for stationery as birthday presents."

Mervin de Alwis spends his money on ships in bottles. "When I was a small boy I once heard a story about this magnificent ship that was put under a spell and destined to be inside a small glass bottle for a very long time. The story goes that some time long after, the spell will lose its effect and the ship will go back to its original size." He was so fascinated by this story that he began collecting ships in bottles when he was about 10 years old. Although this 38-year-old stopped believing the fairy story many years ago, the magic still remains for him, which has resulted in him having a total of 93 miniature ships in bottles.

On a somewhat less romantic note, Sanjay says he spends a lot of his money on alcohol and discotheques. He loves partying and invariably ends up drinking at the nightclubs he visits at least twice a week. Alcohol is very expensive at these parties and 'as I take my girlfriend along, I have to pay for her ticket and her soft drinks as well. I spend at least Rs. 2000 a week on this, so I guess I'll have to say that's my greatest extravagance."

In case you're wondering, yes we did come across many who said they spent most of their money on clothes, shoes, CD's, perfumes, and more mundane things.

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