Tag Archives: clothing

A guide to culling your closet

I was reading this post on Vouge the other day and decided to share it will my gals here because I know our wardrobe need makeover from time to time.

 Winter is the perfect time for wardrobe rehab. Out with the old, in with the new.

So makeover your wardrobe with four-step guide.

CULL

1. Set aside pieces you know you won’t wear, whether it be damaged (unrepairable stains, rips), ill-fitting or are too dated.

2. Eliminate double ups:

– If you own numerous striped t-shirts, there’s a good chance you like the one you purchased most recently better than its predecessor. Throw the oldest one out – you’ll always choose to wear the updated version when getting dressed.

3. Adopt the 3-month method:

– If you haven’t worn something for three months but you’re not quite ready to part with it, store it away in a bag. If you haven’t gone back to these pieces three months later, you can be sure that they won’t be missed in the long-term.

4. Determine what needs to be altered, donated to charity or sold. Group them in piles accordingly.

RECYCLE

5. Donate to charity: everything you eliminated in the first step.

6. Hold a clothes swap with friends: sometimes pieces are too good to throw out or they’re simply too recognisable to wear too many times.

– Keep the clothes swap to a small group of close girlfriends (six or less is ideal) with similar or complementary style.

– Set a date and stick to it. Make it a group activity to encourage and motivate each other.

– Discuss how it will work with your friends beforehand to clarity details. Will it be a straight swap system (e.g. clothes for clothes) or will it work on a points system?

– Remember, don’t fall into the trap of coming home with more than you took there. Only take your friend’s pieces if they truly add value to your wardrobe.

Sometimes you have to be ruthless when culling items in your wardrobe.

7. eBay: reserve pricier items or pieces that are still in great condition for eBay.

– Use your phone to create and upload listings to avoid the ‘need to eBay’ pile growing too large.

– Clear photos are essential. Use photo editing apps to optimise your images.

8. Hold a market stall with a friend.

– Be sure to choose an appropriate market for your goods (e.g. fashion-specific markets offer the best customers for those selling pre-loved clothing).

– Promote your market on social media in the weeks leading up to the event.

– If you’re not offering Eftpos facilities, know where the nearest ATM is for customers. They will lose interest if it gets too hard.

– Make your prices reasonable. Remember, a market is saving you the hassle of creating listings on eBay, so the more you sell, the better!

ORGANISE

9. Buy new hangers:

– Count how many pieces you have left. Purchase that many hangers, plus three extra to keep spare.

– Purchasing thicker, wooden hangers will leave less room for clutter in your wardrobe.

10. Section your wardrobe into categories that work best for you:

– This could be by style (coats, shirts, skirts), occasion (weekend, work, evening) or colour.

11. Take note of staple pieces you’re missing, whether it be black jeans or a white button-up blouse.

– Keep a list stored in your phone so you don’t make unnecessary purchases when shopping.

MAINTAIN

12. Self-discipline is key:

– Every time you buy something, throw something out.

– If you’re going to make a purchase, think of what that item is worth replacing. If you can’t think of anything, you don’t really need it.

– Repeat these steps every three months so the task does not become too overwhelming. The more often you cull, the quicker and easier the process will be.

P.S:  Lots of the points in this post is bit hard to follow but I am going to try my best  and see where it leads me.

Please share you own tips here too.

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Lace in Fashion

This article was published in +977 (a Nepalese Lifestyle Magazine in Australia) in May-June 2013 issue.

977 Lace in Fashion

Lace detailing is absolutely beautiful and undeniably feminine and it has always had a particular allure in fashion and now it’s sexy, skin-tight & best worn with ample attitude. It was a textile that signified all that was luxurious, highly desirable and new.

‘Lace’ is a category that includes a number of detailed techniques, from embroidery, macramé, knitting, knotting and crochet, to guipure, Chantilly, Valenciennes and Venetian.

The LBD gets an even sexier tilt when you add a little lace. And don’t forget all the sexy accessories you can get in lace like stocking, bags, belts, shoes, scarfs, headbands, gloves and even umbrellas.

How to wear lace dress?

Colourful Lace

Colour is always good mood enhancer and it is same with a colourful lace dress.  Colours such as bright red or pink will give a sufficient statement to your appearance. Make sure you accessorise in neutral colours .

Casual Lace

For a casual look, you can choose to wear a longer dress with neutral colours. Choose minimal accessories to keep it simple, fun yet elegant.

Metallic lace

If you want something a little more contemporary, choose metallic lace for parties or formal occasions. Metallic lace goes best with black accessories.

Lace for evening

Lace goes perfectly for evening wear or formal events. From long gowns to elegant short dresses, lace will definitely make you look more feminine. Match the accessories and keep it minimal to highlight the dress.

Do you like lace?

Till next post, take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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*Autumn Trend Alert: “Dot On” *Fashion from Nepal
*Pretty in Pastels this SUMMER

Autumn Trend Alert: “Dot On”

This article was published in +977 (a Nepalese Lifestyle Magazine in Australia) in April 2013 issue.

polka dots for blog kkkk

Polka dots have been in fashion for a long time and it is here to stay as polka dot pieces are guaranteed to cheer up any outfit. Remember the red and white outfit of Minnie mouse? Whether you prefer to be girly, casual uber-feminine, sophisticated or retro, just adding polka dots will definitely add a whole new level to your look making it perfect for work or the weekend.

There’s certainly no shortage of polka dot items to choose from like pants, dresses, coats, tops, stockings, shoes, bags, accessories, scarfs, umbrella etc.

How to wear Polka dot

  • Mix them with a sheer material or a skin-baring silhouette.
  • Wear neutral pieces with polka dot.
  • Wear cinched-waist polka dot dress to get an hourglass figure.
  • Wear a polka dot jean with a solid sweater or blouse in a corresponding colour
  • Pair with stripes or tiny floral for fresh look.
  • Wear polka patent belt to break the bold print.
  • Wear darker shades polka dots to get slimmer look.
  • If you’re not one to wear lots of prints, start with accessories.
  • If you are not comfortable with big dots, get small dots in stockings and under layer.
  • Wear polka-dot scarf or headband to add a new dimension to your everyday look.
  • Wear a light spring scarf to casual chic outfit.
  • Try also polka dot handbags, pumps, umbrellas and mobile phone cases.

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Over the moon to get the Prabal Gurung parcel

I have to start this blog first by thanking Tincup, Kalibird and my dearest friend SD. Because without them my dream of owning my own Prabal Gurung dress would have been just a dream.

Anyway, I am sure you know from my post here and here that Prabal Gurung collection for Target was out recently. And I am sure you know how disappointed I was when I realised that Target in Australia was not going to have his collection.

But thanks to dear friends, who I met via my blog, Tincup and Kalibird and my good friend SD, I now have 3 dresses, a shoe and a bag by Prabal Gurung 🙂

Let me give you the whole story from the start. When I realised that Target here were not getting these dresses, I thought it was still going to be ok. I will buy all the stuff I wanted online and then get it shipped here. Even though  I was not sure about the sizes I decided on size 4 and mentally prepared what I wanted and how much I was going to spend. So on the day these dresses came online, I went to target US site. But unfortunately, most of the dresses I wanted were not available online. Out of everything I wanted I would only be able to get a bag so I decided not to get anything at all. I was very disappointed, annoyed, sad, and so depressed that day that my husband was doing his best to console me. And to top it off, all my friends in the US were uploading their PG dresses on Facebook.

I didn’t want to bother anyone in the US at first as I knew it would be a hassle for them to go shopping for me. But I had no choice and so emailed my friend SD. She didn’t get back to me in a few hours so I didn’t know what to do. It was really nice of Tincup and Kalibaird to offer to help me after reading my blog. And I am really grateful that they trusted me and offered to buy me stuff even they have never met me and know me only through the blog.

As I didn’t see any other way to get those dresses, I emailed them back and asked them to check a few things for me. I was kind of sure it would be very hard to get them as I was reading online how most of the dresses were out of stock in the first few hours. But it must be my good luck that Kalibird was able to get me a dress and shoes that I wanted. Thanks a lot girl, you made my day.

In the meantime my friend SD called from US and I told her what I wanted. I also told her that I already got a dress and  shoes. So she went shopping for me and sent me a few photos of dresses and bags which were available in the Target store that she went to. I so wished I was there to be able to try those dresses but I had no choice but to hope for the best and asked here to pick the dresses in size 4. I asked her to pick up ruffle dress in lime (I really wanted this dress in red) and a clutch.

Prabal Gurung Dresses

All of them offered to look for more but I told them not to. I knew most of the items I wanted were gone anyway and it would be a waste of their time. And I ready had two dresses, shoes and a bag.

But SD being the great friend she is, kept looking and was able to get another dress, the one with Meet the Parents Print.

Kalibird shipped the stuff she bought to SD and SD shipped everything to me.

Finally all the stuffs are here and I am over the moon. I was so excited when I opened the parcel.

Prabal Gurung Dresses

I was like a child opening a birthday present. Loved all of them and feel blessed to have so many nice people round me who went to extra length to make my dream come true Thank you everyone. I love you all.

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Prabal Gurung for Target collection is not coming to Australia :(

I am sure everyone knows by now that how much I love Prabal Gurung and was over the moon when he announced Prabal Gurung for Target collection. I am sure you have read this and this posts about the collection.

I was literally counting down the days until Feb 10 2013. I made sure my day was free on that Sunday so I can be first on the line at Target when they open that morning. I was a bit worried that I won’t get what I want in my size.

Last weekend, I went to Target and asked about the details so I know what time I should be in store to buy my favourite pieces and I was surprised to know that they had no clue as to what I was talking about. So they asked me to call the head office and I did so today. I am shattered, devastated, sad, angry, annoyed to say the least when they informed me that AUSTRALIA IS NOT GETTING PRABAL GURUNG FOR TARGET COLLECTION.

I had been planning my purchases from day one of the announcement. When I had a birthday last year, I asked everyone to give me Target voucher so I can buy more items from the collection. Also I was telling my hubby that my Valentine’s gift will be from Prabal Gurung for Target collection as well.

I even dreamed of wearing the red ruffle dress with lace miniaudiere black shoe, short-sleeve dress in Calypso Coral/Atlantis with lace-up heels in Meet the Parents print and pleated skirt with lace in Sulfur Spring with lace-up pumps in Nolita print. Let me not even go on about bags and accessories.

Seriously this is the first time I have spent so much time looking at each item and accessories from the collection and making a list of what I want to buy. I even had a budget for it but in the end, all my dreams went up in smoke. Don’t know what to do now 😦 😦 :(. Very very very sad.

P. S.: I am thinking of online options now but I am so confused about the sizes. I really hope I will be able to buy them as they will be popular and I will have the disadvantage of being so far away.

I am size 6 or 8 in Australia so I think I will need US size 2 or 4 but I won’t be sure until I wear them. So I am thinking to order size 4 just in case size 2 doesn’t fit me. If anyone can help me with the sizes, it would be really appreciated.

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*Sneak peak on Prabal Gurung for Target *More stars shines under Prabal Gurung’s collection *Prabal Gurung for Target collection is not coming to Australia 😦