Whatever may the global colors or trends be, Nepal seems to be in a different mood altogether. It’s true that Nepal has really few fashion weeks and equally few trendy people, but the growing shopping malls and the rise in the number of people hopping in and out of the department stores is a sign of growing fashion consciousness among Nepalis.Nepal’s clothing market, which is especially dominated by Bangkok and Chinese products, is now seeing a ray of light in terms of brands with the mushrooming of brand stores and shopping malls in the Kathmandu Valley. And with the advent of summer, both the brand and fancy shops are preparing themselves to replace their winter stocks for the warm season.
Thus, the summer of 2009 has several designs and colors on offer for Nepali girls. Though neon colors have been in the market from the fall of 2009 and are omnipresent, these colors are surely here to stay for sometime. Besides neon colors like hibiscus pink, a wide variety of designs of other neutral colors, like brown and grey, and bohemian hues, such as earthly green and lilac pink, are the in-things.
And so are rocky half pants to light khaki trousers which are in the next big summer trends. Kathmandu saw a couple of stores selling khaki materials in 2008; but this year, this particular fabric is all set to dominate the market with a range of shorts, trousers and skirts. You name it, you get it.Jeans may see a significant drop in its sale as conscious retail owners are replacing them with comparatively lighter materials like cotton and khaki. But it’ll be hard to replace the evergreen jeans and just deny the mass their favorite. So the latest in the offing are jeans in various colors, especially neon blue, which is an eye catcher. Lighter shades of grey jeans are also all set to be the new look for denims in the summer.
Though girls of Kathmandu are hypnotized by this certain look, which combines fringe haircuts and short dresses with leggings, there is of course more to fashion. Not forgetting the other most essential item for the summer – casual dresses with all those different designs – check out the new looks of the satin wrapper dresses or cotton dresses which can be worn as everyday raiment. It’s comfortable and breathable.
If one is not a dress person, then wearing a round-necked and V-necked t-shirts having that 1980s hugging-ness is a capital idea. Loose-fit shirts and shirt-dresses, the restructured and reinvented editions of shirts, can also replace dresses. Don’t forget to match them up with skinny pants, however.Items like leggings, which are a huge part of winter apparels, can also be ideal for milder days of summer. Leggings made of cotton-lycra are more suitable for the season. But if one wants a break from skinny jeans and leggings, there are few places in town selling boyfriend jeans, too.
By now, belts may be old statements, but thin belts with loose cotton t-shirts and shirt-dresses are made hits by Miley Cyrus of the “Hannah Montana” fame, and are found aplenty in the markets of Kathmandu. But if one feels belts are history, one can always replace them by ribbons.
sumina@myrepublica.com
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