Get Your Sweatshirt Game ON!

Mumbai doesn't ever have a real winter and rarely do the temperatures drop low, but this year post 5 PM you can already feel a chill in the air. So I am really hoping that this time the temperatures will drop much lower as December and January approach. God willing we will be able to pull out our knits, jackets and scarves to face the real weather and not just for fighting the cold in our office spaces thanks to the central air conditioning systems. For tackling the nip in the air I find sweatshirts most practical, comfortable and stylish and here are the ones I have zeroed down for having in my wardrobe!

Getting comfortable shopping for your Body Shape

I love the shape of my body. I think I am lucky to have a pear body shape which means my torso and upper body is smaller than my hips with a defined waist. However I too tend to crib at times about my heavy hips and thighs(it's human nature so it's not odd to do that) but overall I prefer my body shape to other body shapes. Body shape plays a huge role in how an outfit will fit you. Whether you wear a size S or a size L, it's not just about your size but also about your body shape which determines what suits you best. So while something may look really good on someone, it could make someone with a different body shape look really shabby. Some people are aware of this, but the others keep only size in mind as brands do not provide the information on fit and what will look good on you. The ignorance is mainly because consumers are not educated by the brands with the requisite information on body shape and fits, as brands tend to provide information only on sizes. Hence in India being size 0 or XS/XXS is such a huge aspiration for most young girls who just let size determine their thought processes. My advice - be fit, know your body shape and dress accordingly and you don't really need to be bothered about your size because end of the day you can't change your body shape how many ever sizes you try to drop. In a lot of cases, your body shape and bone structure will never let you become a size 0 how many ever sizes you try to drop. A little secret I am letting you in on - I felt the most unhealthy when I became a size 0(since I am petite, I could achieve it), and a size 2 and a size 4 not only felt better but mentally made me feel healthier and fitter too :)

Future of Fashion in the Apps World

There is nothing like physically shopping for clothes or accessories where you can touch, feel and try so that you are exactly sure of what to buy  However, one thing about being a new mommy is that your child is your world and you are not really left with any time to head out and shop. Earlier, all the errands big or small along with shopping plans used to get easily integrated into a day or week, but now the hours just fly by with my little one and finding time for everything gets really difficult. Online shopping came to my rescue for 90% of my requirements right from my pregnancy, but lately I have made the transition to apps on my smartphone for a lot of things.

According to the report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (Iamai) and IMRB International (a market research firm), by April 2015 India was going to have nearly 200 million mobile Internet users and it is expected to reach 213 million by June 2015. Now that is a huge number and the growth rate is astounding too. It's very clear if you look around that all around people are spending more time on the internet than any other media and the consumption of internet data is increasing on our mobile devices than our desktops or laptops especially for our personal work. Finally most of the time on our mobile devices is spent on apps thus making apps an indispensable part of our daily lives. I have noticed that every time I try to open a mobile site, in most cases it directs me to download the app which on downloading honestly is far more smooth to use than the mobile website. Where does that leave me? Well it leaves me totally in favour of just the app and the mobile website is soon forgotten.

Today if I want to shop or take a cab or book a ticket, I just log onto the app of the respective service provider and book the services. There is never the thought to wait to head home or to office to sit on a laptop or use the mobile website to do so. It just proves how mobile sites are soon going to have to phase out because I do not see them serving any purpose with apps doing a far better job.

Let me give you an example in terms of fashion of an experience of mine which proved to me that in the future this world is only going to be dominated by apps! :)

I usually like styling clothes that exist in my wardrobe or stuff similar to what is in my wardrobe through collages on a site called Polyvore. Recently I got a last minute invite for a party with the party being just 2 days away and like I told you with a baby time for yourself goes down like crazy. Also I was out for a family occasion and it was not going to be possible for me to head to the mall. But that didn't stress me out cause I had my favourite apps right there on my phone to help me through it all. In my head I zeroed down on an orange dress that I had and knew my Polyvore app would help me put the rest of my look together. I instantly went back to collages that I had created for an orange dress that would inspire my look and this look seemed just perfect!

Now I had everything to put this look together but the gold gladiator heels and so I got looking on Pinterest to see what was available in the Indian market and bingo I found this perfect pair!

Well then all I had to do was click on the link and it too me to the Myntra app where I finally placed my order. I got this beauty for INR 1500 at a 50% discount and it reached me in 24 hours just in time for the party :-)

The experience was quick and seamless and I could finish the entire process in hardly any time right there on my phone. It makes me really happy to see that the future of fashion in the apps world is going in a direction which is making fashion more accessible and easy to understand and imbibe. Life I am sure is just going to get better and better for the Indian users with the way the penetration of apps is happening in our lives.

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