Streaks, curls, layers. You can’t stay tied down to one hairdo. But if you found the right hairstylist, you’d never want to stray.

Try a visit to DAR, a new salon by the London-based celebrity hairstylist set to open around November 20. Dar is said to have tamed the manes of Sir Paul McCartney, Boy George, Jemima Khan, Imran Khan and Aishwarya Rai. He’s styled for fashion magazines, including Vogue, Tattler, Harpers and Queen and Cosmopolitan.

His Delhi salon will offer the latest international hair designs and spa treatments, a make-up studio and a nail bar, where you can get your nails extended or decorated with art patterns.

Dar himself will be here for six months to train and supervise his staff, and, of course, trim the tresses of eager Delhiites.

And if you hate waiting for your turn, DAR’s relaxation lounge has a coffee bar, an Internet connection and a plasma TV.

So curl up your feet, and let your curls loose.

DAR, E-31/32, South Extension, Part-II, New Delhi. Phone: 41680600, 41645450.
Price: Rs 3,000 and above if Dar moves his magic fingers, about Rs 1,000 if his staff manages your locks.

Elephants, monkeys and a clown or two. You’d never consider welcoming anything resembling a circus theme into your home.

But a trip to Turqois might open your mind to moving your décor in a more exotic direction.

This bright and quirky store, which opened recently, stocks zany pieces of furniture and bric-a-brac that are inspired by world culture and made in India.

Each piece makes a statement you can spin many stories off. Custom-made dressers painted in a riot of colours bring a Mardi Gras parade into your boudoir. Or thatched lamps help you pretend you’re in a rustic hut in Africa.

The walls also boast the work of local artists. Don’t raise an eyebrow when you suddenly see a Buddhist thangka painting next to a didgeridoo.

It’s the world waiting for you to pick up. And you’ll never have to open your suitcase.

Turqois, Shop no 3, Shahina Apts, Near Pali Mala Road, Bandra (west), Mumbai.
Telephone: 32941369 / 26403231. Email: turqois@gmail.com
Price: Rs 50-Rs 5000.

Your Friday night options:

A. Drinks and dinner (boring)
B. Bar hopping (forgotten last weekend’s mega hangover, haven’t you?)
C. Date with HBO (come on, it’s Friday night)
D. Go Wilde

If you checked option D, you’re in for a treat of the literary kind.

Making its debut in India this Friday is Oscar Wilde: The Comedy and the Tragedy that’s been touring to rave reviews all over the world.

Life-long Wilde scholar and Scottish actor, Neil Titley, wrote the play and gives a solo performance.

Based upon Wilde’s letters and anecdotes, and Titley’s own writings, the drama depicts Oscar Wilde’s meteoric rise, through his brutal downfall and disgrace.

Dressed in frilly Victorian garb, Titley bears an astonishing physical resemblance to the playwright, and expertly reproduces Wilde’s sparkling wit and humour with élan, complete with the glimpses of bitterness and suffering that characterised Wilde’s life.

To take a cue from Wilde – The world is a stage, but this play is very well cast indeed.

Playing on November 17, 2006, at The India Habitat Centre. Telephone: 24682222
Tickets available at the IHC Programme Desk. Prices: Rs 300, Rs 250, Rs 150, and Rs 50.

Time to bid farewell to your low-waist pants and short tops. Long tops are in.

Don’t just take our word for it. Anamika Khanna, Namrata Joshipura and Rana Gill showed this chic trend during the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week. And Western hotties, like Drew Barrymore and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, are wearing it as well.

Add ballet flats and a long beaded necklace and, voila, you’re the new kid on the style block. Or take a style cue from the West and team long tops with skinny pants or leggings. They’ve been haute and hot there, and they’ve recently hit Delhi as well.

For the Trendylicious-recommended look: try a long black and white striped top from Mango (Rs 2,250), straight-leg skinny jeans in dark blue from Fifth Avenue (Rs 1,395), red ballet flats from The Shoe Stop (Rs 1,899), and a long beaded necklace from B.g’s (Rs 250).

Mango, F-48 South Ex-I. Telephone: 51646313.
The Shoe Stop, N-Block Market GK-I, Telephone: 41735040.
B.g’s: G5/7 South Ex-I, Telephone: 24633250.
Fifth Avenue: M-51 GK-I.

PS – What are you doing tonight? We’ve got our beads and masks ready for the Masquerade Party at Capitol at the Ashoka Hotel in Chanakya Puri. Cover: Rs 1000 per couple, unless you’re on the guest list.

You can tell a diamond from a zircon. And you can spot a fake Prada from a mile away.

But you know faking it is sometimes the best policy. Especially with all things leather.

Designer and avid PETA supporter Anita Dongre has launched a collection of belts dedicated to animals. The belts sport a tag that says “Fake for the Animals’ Sake”.

Choose the delicately-woven crochet belt in black or white with wooden beads. She also does classic brown and black belts in fake leather with steel buckles. Or for a little more pizzazz, try the red pleather belt with metal rivets.

Dongre uses elastic, canvas, bead, cloth, jute, plastic and pleather, and enhances them with fancy beads, crochet and sequence work and stones. These synthetic materials are more versatile and long-lasting than leather, and at the same time, they’re cruelty free.

Faux they maybe. But a faux pas? Not a chance.

Anita Dongre, Level 1, Quorum, Phoenix Mill, Lower Parel, Mumbai. Telephone: 56663251.
Fiona Building, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, Mumbai. Telephone: 55702949.
Price: Approximately Rs 400 per belt.

You’re a citizen of the world these days. French perfumes. Italian outfits. Swiss cheeses. They’re all available in your neighbourhood.

Now there’s also The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store, where you can buy the same art reproductions sold at the famous New York museum’s shop.

The Metropolitan Museum itself displays over 2 million art creations from various periods of history. Its shop has sculptures, pottery, framed prints of paintings, coffee table books on art, music, bags and more, and already has outlets in many cities around the world.

At its newest store in New Delhi, your eye will likely rest on the large range of jewellery. Dainty coloured stone necklaces, earrings and bracelets in Chinese, Parisian, Russian and Egyptian patterns.

Our pick: the elegant Chinese Dragonfly Vase with insects etched on clear glass, adapted from a 19th-century French drawing.

The store’s coaster and magnet sets would make for interesting gifts. If you can part with them, that is.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store, F-48, 1st floor, above Mango showroom, South Extension-I. Telephone: 46056223-25.
Price: From about Rs 500 (for a metal pencil box) to about Rs 75,000 (for a marble sculpture reproduction).

PS – We can’t help ourselves. We love the concept behind this new website: www.like.com. We would even call it Trendylicious, except that they don’t include Indian celebs and merchants – yet!

You won’t do more than kiss on the first date. You stop drinking after that second martini. Face it. You’re a good girl.

You even thought twice when designers Sabyasachi and Tarun Tahiliani tried to move beyond your wardrobe and into your bedroom (and your curtains and bathroom, too).

But you’ll want to take Rocky S home once you set foot in his home boutique, Duvet.

This new store showcases cozy comforters, satiny sham sets, contemporary and ethnic quilts (with Indian motifs like elephants), and more. You’ll be bowled over by the delicately-embroidered table runners in greyish blues and creamy whites, embellished with Swarovski crystals.

Our favourite: one-of-a-kind ghungroo-adorned throw pillows with little brass bells all across the front. They’re perfect to add a splash of old world to your otherwise chic, minimalist spread.

Just throw in a Diptyque candle. (The fig is Sarah Jessica Parker’s favourite.)

Your boudoir will be beautified – on the off chance you bring anyone home.

Duvet, Grand Hyatt Plaza, Santacruz (East), Mumbai. Telephone: 64519441. Price: From Rs 1,500.

PS – We can’t help ourselves. We love the concept behind this new website: www.like.com. We would even call it Trendylicious, except that they don’t include Indian celebs and merchants – yet!

Boyfriend forgot your anniversary? Unforgivable. Though he could possibly save himself by treating you to some serious spa spoilage.

What luck. Rudra – the spa-cum-salon known for its highly-coveted memberships that include unlimited treatments – is re-opening enrollment for a limited time. The reason? They’re expanding onto the floor below and adding 15 new massage rooms.

As you enter, gentle holy chants, the smell of incense and a statue of lord Shiva help you bid adieu to your worries. Rustic wooden floors and sunlight through the roof add to the natural, therapeutic feel.

Rudra offers a wide range of hair, beauty and body treatments, massages, scrubs, wraps, and facials. We suggest the decadent Beautiful Day package that includes six hours of body treatment, facial, manicure, pedicure, hair cut, hair spa and gourmet lunch.

After your massage, enjoy your private steam and bathing room, and if you’re daring, an icy cold shower to shut those pores.

Heaven is a place on earth. Especially when your boyfriend forgets your anniversary.

Rudra, Kemps Boulevard, Kwality House, Kemps Corner, Mumbai.
Telephone: 23872530 / 5909.
Price: Platinum Membership - Rs 75000 per year (5 days a week usage), Premium Membership - Rs 100,000 per year (7 days a week usage).
Appointments also open to nonmembers.

You are the most stylish of brides. So you want to handpick each ensemble for your trousseau, all from just the right store.

You may find what you’re looking for at Kloset, Paras & Shalini’s recently launched store, which has a spanking new trousseau collection.

These NIFT alums and fashion week darlings stand out for the way they modernise traditional embroideries and motifs. Their deep-wine lehenga appliquéd with gold fabric flowers is very contemporary and very chic. They also use rich brocades and taffetas, and a colour palette that moves away from the clichéd reds and maroons to include hot pink, old English rose,and powder blue.

Kloset’s interior resembles an actual dressing closet, with wooden floors and panelled wardrobes to hold the racks of luxurious ensembles in vibrant colours. This location, plus another in Square 1 Mall, replaces their closed store at MG2 mall.

Don’t miss the crochet suits and formal skirts and tops, perfect for accompanying friends and relatives.

Kloset, 31 Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. Telephone: 26141113, 32545699.
Price: Trousseau collection from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh, pret and ready-to-wear from Rs 2,000.

Part of our Go with the Girls occasional series on where to hang with your girlfriends – from boys-keep-out spa days, to swank spots for a cocktail, to quirky activities your gal pals will love.

Yup, the dull mist settling over Delhi is enough to ruin any party girl’s festive mood. Chase away the winter blues with a tequila night this week at the Aura lounge bar at Claridges.

Kick start your evening with a Rude Cosmopolitan with tequila, Grand Marnier, cranberry juice and lime. Pitchers of margaritas and shots of the finest Reposado, Anejo and Triple Distilado are also available. Our vote goes to the Kiwi-flavoured frozen margarita that’s blue, instead of green.

Don’t be surprised if a desi cowboy in a hat and chaps offers you and your girlfriends a tequila shot. Afterwards, instead of salt and a lemon slice, he’ll place a helmet on your head and give you a massage. (It’s even better than it sounds.)

Put on your drinking cap, ladies. Kick off those heels and lose yourself in this Mexican wonder.

Tequila Nights specials run now through November 12, 2006, at Aura, Claridges, 12 Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi. Telephone: 41335133.
Price: Rs 350 for cocktails, Rs 400 for shooters, Rs 1199 for a margarita pitcher, Rs 799 for a shots platter.