Yoliswa Dube
EVERYONE I know thinks their mother is the best chef under the sun.

I for one have given mine Michelin stars for her cooking.

By the way, a “Michelin star” is a hallmark of fine dining quality given to restaurants, more like how you would know a hotel’s ratings by the number of stars it has.

Michelin awards up to three stars on the basis of anonymous reviewers who concentrate on the quality, mastery of technique, personality and consistency of the food.

Anyway, my mother has mastered the art of cooking such that she doesn’t really need to measure ingredients anymore. She uses her eyes to gauge and her sense of smell to determine whether or not a dish is done. She’s got quite a steady hand as well.

While some of us need to first check the time to determine whether or not the sadza is ready for ukubonda, she can tell the sadza is ready for the final lap just from its aroma.

But with fashion, you can never rely on instincts and “eye measurements” to buy clothes — you must first try the clothing item on before you pay for it.

It should be standard procedure I know and many of us think it’s obvious that you need to try something on first before you leave the store but it’s actually not always the case and the results are usually quite disastrous.

Believe it or not, I don’t quite like shopping. There, I said it — I like looking good but I don’t like scouting for fashion from one shop to the other. I just think it’s rather cumbersome and tiresome and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. Unless it’s shoes, I may as well leave a shop without trying anything on.

I look at a fashion piece and think, “Oh that’s my size and it should fit perfectly” and I march out. This method doesn’t always yield the best of results, trust me. Reality strikes when you get home excited about your latest acquisition and guess what, it doesn’t fit well or at the worst, it doesn’t fit at all. What an anti-climax!

You regret not making the trip to the fitting room and kick yourself for relying so much on your instincts. For a moment you think you can lose a few kilogrammes to fit into those jeans or that shirt but no, that won’t happen. It’s quite an emotional few minutes actually, especially if you paid an arm and a leg and no returns are allowed.

Your world sort of comes to a screeching halt for a moment there. You throw yourself on your bed in a heap and are probably so dejected you don’t even want to give the item away. I know the feeling all too well but I’ve since learnt my lesson.

Make it a point ALWAYS to try something on first and make sure it fits just right before you leave the store. This will ensure your purchase is worthwhile. In fact, you’ll sleep better at night knowing you have something fresh to wear the next day. I can assure you, that trip to the fitting room will be a good indicator of whether or not a fashion piece is quite your thing. In many instances, you look at something on a rack and think it’s nice. You probably admire the fabric it’s made from or you like the colour or maybe just the design but reality is the way something looks on the rack is quite different from how it’ll look on your body.

We were created very differently. Because you like how something looks either on someone else or on the rack, it doesn’t mean it will look good on you. The solution is trying the fashion piece on first and making sure it not only fits well but looks good too.

To a certain extent, I think the fashion disasters we often see walking the streets happen because people make errors during the shopping process.

You make an “eye assessment” and buy something but later realise it doesn’t look good on you or it’s not in the correct size; you wear it anyway because you paid money for it. This explains why some people leave the house in something that’s too tight, too short or too long and spend the day pulling it down or adjusting it.

Honey, why did you leave the house if you knew you didn’t feel comfortable? Buying clothes should be a long term investment. Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to enjoy your money because you were too lazy to visit the fitting room.

Endure the 30 minutes of inconvenience and discomfort for a season of looking fresh. It’s important to always look well put together. Remember, your fashion choices will speak for you before you even open your mouth.

Feedback from last week’s “Mountain climbing in high heels…”

This was quite an interesting article, thanks girl. – +263 783 666***.

Thanks a lot for your articles; I really enjoy reading your column. +263 772 872***.

Until next week, flaunt your pattern and style and don’t forget to drop me an SMS/Whatsapp on +263 774 492 700 or send an email to [email protected].

You Might Also Like

Comments