She's known more for her noodle starps and designer saris than for her histrionic skills - this star anchor knows not only how to dress, but also has the right attitude and oodles of charm to carry off any garment in style! Her transformation from the curly haired Shanti to the present day sleek and elegant looking Mandira Bedi has taken the entertainment industry by surprise - and a pleasant one at that! Mandira 'bindaas' Bedi spoke to Sameera Kapoor about her fashion fundas.

What's being beautiful and stylish mean to you?
Well, to me being stylish is wearing clothes that suits me, which I can carry off with the right attitude. It's not necessary that what is in vogue should suit you. Being beautiful is possessing qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight.

What has inspired changes in your sense of style since your Shanti days?
It's been a gradual process. But the turning point was the world cup event. I was hosting the show Extraa Innings for Setmax. It's during the telecast of the show that my clothes came into the limelight. It was not intentional. Even before the show I did wear saris. Perhaps the kind of environment that I wore them led to garner huge publicity. But it was also the channel's idea to give the show a different feel of not being formal so that wider mass could be lured to watch the show.

Besides saris you are most comfortable wearing....
It has to be jeans- a well fitting jeans is my all time favorite.

From were do you get these stylish saris?
For trendy and swank occasions I choose to wear creations by Satyapaul, while for a traditional look I love collections of Ritu Kumar. Besides these two I often buy saris from Dadri an upcoming brand name in Delhi, designed by two young girls.

What about jewellery....
I get them designed from Mariam Khan, Shaheen Abaaz, and Vrinda, she creates beautiful designs from paper. Besides these few names, my evergreen place for purchasing jewellery has been the Silver House in Colaba. I have been buying my stuff from them when I was a mere 13 year old kid.

The most costly dress that you possess...
The most costly dress that I possess was gifted to me by the Dadri girls. It is a sari which these two girls had designed and it costs around Rs.1,50,000. I wore it for the photo shoot for Femina's cover page.

The cheapest thing that you have ever got hold of....
It has to be the Nike T-shirts in which the word Nike was written in gold. This I bought from Australia at the Nike ware house which were really cheap.

What are the staples of an elegantly chic wardrobe?
According to me a golden, silver and transparent shoes are a must have, accompanied with matching handbags. For they go along with any kind of apparels. A fitting pair of blue jeans is an essential stuff in your wardrobe. For it would go with long, short kurtas or shirts. And obviously perfectly tailored spaghetti blouses is a must have.

What about skirts...
Well, right now I am not that into skirts. It's been worn by everyone and can be seen everywhere. So right now skirts do not come into my list of must haves.

Favorite shopping destination...
There are many places were I like to go shopping. However Odel showroom in Sri Lanka comes first in my mind. In Mumbai Barefoot is my favorite shopping zone. While I am abroad I like to shop in Thailand, Singapore…

Any particular brand that you vouch for...
I am not that brand conscious. The criteria which I follow while buying any dress is that they must fit me well and look smart when I wear them. Thus it need not be from any brand. But if I were to buy something brand oriented then brand name Guess tops my mind.

Your style icon? And why?
Dimple Kapadia and John Abraham. While Dimple is the evergreen 70's beauty wereas John has great personality. Besides how can one not mention Amitabh Bachchan.