For an 8 year old kid going to a boarding school for the first time, I was quite unaware of the impact a conglomerate could have in my life. It was then when a sense of responsibility and understanding was inculcated within me beyond my will to actually work upon it. Growing up, I had seen my father put on Louis Philippe apparels and I had been always intrigued by his sense of style and the persona that he reflected in those trademark LP designs. Him dressing up for office and sporting an LP look affirmed the sense of style that I grew up to embark in myself. Little did I know that a conglomerate named Aditya Birla Group, was shaping me to become the man I am in so many ways I was unaware of.
Back in those days, my father used to travel to cities where he could find an LP store and shop for himself, for him the decision of choosing brands used to be very livid. Its been 15 years and today along with him, me and my brother, we are an addition to that thread where we don’t have to think before choosing a brand to shop at.
From my first pair of formal attire to now my regular Sunday outfits, Louis Philippe has become a one stop shop for all my apparel needs. There have been multiple days when every part of my body is in contact with a Louis Philippe product. It’s the sense of comfort and satisfaction that is associated with the brand now which has catered to the needs of multiple generations in one family. Little can go wrong when you know that it’s a brand that designs for you and not for the ripped, out of place fantasy models we see on TV.
The sense of confidence that I feel putting on an LP attire is something that I connect with the times I have needed that confidence to fight the toughest of times. Like the time, I was struggling to find my self worth around people getting placed in the final year of under graduation. When you have beliefs of hundreds of people behind you, who expect a certain something from you, not being able to live upto it becomes a very daunting situation. On top of that, when I saw people I least expected to make it through, rising and making a place for themselves, a sense of doubt encircled me, hitting me on my confidence.
Those were times when I was left alone and all I could think of was how I had gone from being on everyone’s mind to no one even being bothered about me. Day in day out, I was putting myself out there for people to judge and decide if I was a right fit. As people told me, “I was trying too hard” I found myself on a day when I stopped trying. It was after I had a conversation with my father one night, when he told me that no one could decide what I was worth and what I was capable of in a 20-minute interview. I was once again in awe of his personality and style just like that 8 year old boy who used to see his father get ready for office everyday. Next in line was another interview which I approached with an unbound confidence that I used to feel every time I dressed up like my father in that Louis Philippe attire, and the only thing that was different this time was that I wanted to do good in the interview irrespective of the fear of being chosen.