What if joy didn’t have to wait for a birthday, a holiday or a special occasion? What if an ordinary day deserved the glitter, the flowers, the favourite dress and perhaps even the fancy china?
Welcome to whimsymaxxing, the Internet’s latest celebration of making everyday life a little more playful. A cheerful rebellion against beige interiors, work wardrobes and the pressure to have every aspect of life perfectly optimised. Think colourful clothes, quirky collectibles, embellished accessories, and objects that make absolutely no practical sense but bring an unreasonable amount of happiness.
And in India, whimsy has hardly arrived as a stranger. It has always had a home in the saree cupboard, the brass figurines, inherited jewellery and random handloom picks. Perhaps all we need is to rediscover it.
For Niyati Chitkara, whimsy is a state of mind—and being “worth it” is part of the philosophy. Vice-President of Chitkara Schools, an educationist with a PhD, and a diploma in cosmetology, she sees dressing as an extension of art, culture and personality. Her signature? Glitter. “Adding glitter is like adding glitter to your life,” she says.
Her wardrobe refuses to play by matchy-matchy rules. A saree needn’t dictate the jewellery; gold can meet silver, heirlooms can sit alongside travel finds, and a local artisan’s work can become the star of a formal look. She dresses for the occasion, but always leaves room for whimsy.
Much of that wardrobe carries a deeper sentiment. Her mother-in-law, Dr Madhu Chitkara, has long influenced her style, gifting her sarees, jewellery and treasures chosen with love. Niyati brings these together with generational pieces, her own finds and souvenirs from her travels. “What matters the most is the affection attached to a piece—the person who chose it, the memory it carries and the feeling it evokes.”
That is perhaps Niyati’s particular brand of whimsy: wear what makes you happy. She does her own makeup, experiments with colour, plays with bindis, and has little interest in being a slave to brands or trends. “I am an aesthetic lover,” she says.
Her love of Indian art and craft also turns dressing into cultural storytelling. She collects local jewellery while travelling, choosing pieces that carry the character of a place. In her wardrobe, Rajasthan, Turkey, the UAE happily coexist alongwith others. And she repeats. Her whimsy isn’t about constant consumption; it is about discovering fresh joy in the things she already loves.
If Niyati wears her whimsy, Ambika Miglani lives among hers. Her home is a cabinet of curiosities, assembled over decades and filled with objects that have stories to tell. Vintage cameras, wooden sculptures, colourful cushions and finds collected while moving between cities all find their place.