Those fabulous bags you see in ‘Call Me Bae’? They’re thrifted

In the opening scene of Prime Video’s’s buzziest new release, Call Me Bae, we’re introduced to Bella ‘Bae’ Chowdhury (Ananya Panday) as she is being evicted from her South Delhi mansion in a houndstooth twin set in the rain. She wears a pearl headband in her hair, which is now drenched, and lugs several LV Monogram bags with great difficulty.

For context, Bae is a dutiful daughter in Delhi high society who marries her mama’s choice of spoilt, rich, man candy to save her family from financial ruin. As the show’s plot moves forward, Bae makes a surprise move to Mumbai in a bid to find her independence and prove her merit.

Like many classic films and shows admired for their sartorial storyboarding—I’m thinking of Emily in Paris (2020-present), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and Aisha (2010)—Call Me Bae is full of Easter eggs for fashion enthusiasts. The pilot begins with a flashback of Bae’s picture-perfect life. “We started with her Delhi side, and I worked with a lot of old-money references in my head,” explains veteran costume stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania, who dressed five characters in the show, along with Bae. Expect to see plenty of twin sets, tweed skirt suits, pearls, and scarves. There’s a Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna gown at a Parisian gala that seems to allude to Le Bal des Débutantes (where Panday also debuted in real life), a minimalist blush-pink custom Gaurav Gupta lehenga with an extensive veil for her Lake Como wedding, and a blink-and-you-miss-it custom all-black Falguni and Shane Peacock ensemble that Bae wears for her goth-themed sangeet. “Designer labels are everywhere in terms of bags, shoes, and sunglasses,” says Shroff Adajania, and to curate this extensive accessory wardrobe, her team worked with the platform The Luxury Pop, which resells preloved luxury fashion brands. Some of the bags are also from Panday’s personal closet, including a Lady Dior and a lilac Jacquemus crossbody bag.

“It was quite interesting to thrift a lot of the stuff and buy pre-loved luxury. I like to use things that are available for resale instead of just buying new things, because they’re likely to be used just once,” says Shroff Adajania. On screen, the fact that the pre-loved bags look well maintained, but not new, works with the show’s old-money narrative. Adajania also had a lot of fun with Bae’s silk scarves. “They’re sometimes on her head, in her hair, on her wrist, or on her bag. It’s almost like a treasure hunt.”

As the show progresses, we see Bae living in a youth hostel in Mumbai, meeting others who are equally (if not more) driven to prove their worth. “When she starts to get to know the fun, independent women and guys here, it feels like she tips into their wardrobes to create a brand-new look,” says the stylist. “I wanted that sense of freedom to come out in the way she dressed. She wants to break every rule and create her own formulas. I personally love layering and clashing prints and textures, so I brought all of that into it.” One of Bae’s greatest hits for this new chapter in her life is the outfit she picks for her first day of work in a newsroom: a spring/summer 2022 menswear Yohji Yamamoto newsprint coat, which she layers over a neon Balenciaga shirt, a floral Zara bralette, and a quilted leather skirt. “I wanted it to be pretty,” says Shroff Adajania. “Sometimes slightly tongue-in-cheek in terms of how she’s so literal as a person.” You might not love it, but you can’t unsee it. It’s a look that is imprinted on your memory the second you lay eyes on it.

Would I, someone working in fashion and media, ever walk into the office dressed like that? No. But is the show’s costume department still doing a good job? Yes, Bae’s outfits may be flawsome (a descriptor she uses for herself) but it is perfect for a 20-something who might not have nailed her personal style yet. Her wardrobe is eclectic, and her outfits look like they’re haphazardly thrown together, not unlike many other 20-somethings I know who live in metros. Her wardrobe choices are reflective of her journey to self-discovery. Even when she’s wearing an orange jacket over a striped off-shoulder knit top with an orange sequinned skirt, she pulls it off because she is self-assured and absolute in her resolve, similar to other characters like hers that we’ve seen onscreen. See Cher Horowitz in Clueless (1995), Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (2001), and Alexis Rose in Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)—they’re all young, conventionally beautiful women with a penchant for style, deemed ditzy until their arcs of self-discovery and actualisation kick in.

As for how Shroff Adajania see her newest protagonist: “As a free spirit. Someone who’s been trapped in the mould of what society expected of her. And then, when she takes charge of her life and her wardrobe, magic happens.”

Call Me Bae is currently streaming on Prime Video