Author: Igor

  • Curvy Capsule Wardrobes: The Basics

    The thing about capsule wardrobes is that they seem like a really good idea. You buy fewer clothes and have more outfits, and you actually use the things in your wardrobe more. But for us curvy girls, getting the right style and fit of items for a capsule wardrobe can be difficult. Especially if we don’t want to spend a fortune on underwear and designer goods! Happily, Things are a changin’, and there is a little more choice out there for us these days. Which finally does make it possible to get a decent capsule wardrobe together! So with that in mind, keep reading for the ultimate guide to creating a curvy capsule for your clothes.

    Identify your style

    The first step for a curvy girl that wants to rock a capsule wardrobe is to identify your style. Are you a rockabilly girl? Or do you favor more of a smart casual look? Is comfort important to you, or do you feel naked; unless you have on a business suit and blouse?

    It’s important to know exactly what your style is before you start to shop for your capsule wardrobe because it reduces the time you will take to find each individual item.

    Remember, there is no point trying on things that are not the style that you are going for or that you will be uncomfortable in. As then you will just end up leaving them hanging in the wardrobe while wearing whatever else you have to hand. Which exactly what you are trying to not do, with this exercise.

    Identify your colors

    The next thing that you need to do when putting together a curvy casual wardrobe is working out which color you will use as a base, and which ones you will use as an accent. For example, neutral colors such as black, navy, cream or gray are used for base items. These can include leggings and trousers, as well as coats and jackets.

    Then you need to work out which accent colors to go for. Try to stay away from fashion choices here, that will be all the rage this season and gone the next.

    Instead, spend some time doing a little research into which colors suit your skin and hair and go with those instead. It’s surprising, but the shade that you wear can actually make a huge difference to how you look and make you look even better that you usually do.


    Image source

    Identify your stores

    The next task in this activity is to identify the stores that you will want to shop from. You can choose department stores which have a wider range of clothes all under one roof. Or shop at individual places, or online.

    Of course, the most important thing here is that the stores you are choosing, both stock clothes in curvy sizes, and are in line with your style. While this used to be something of a nightmare for us curvy girls, there are now some great stores like Forever 21 and Torrid, that cater for the fuller figure and are still up to date.

    Advantages of picking your store beforehand

    Also, identify the store that you are going to shop from, before time, makes things a lot easier. This is because you all only have a limited amount of stock to choose from. So you are more likely pick the best fitting items, as well as it being easier to coordinate things too.

    Another advantage of knowing the store you are shopping in beforehand is that you can search online for sales, and offers like these Joules discount codes. Which means you can get your capsule wardrobe for less. Leaving your more money to spend on your seasonal accessories.

    Don’t miss your undergarments

    Choosing the perfect undergarments can greatly impact your comfort and style. Similar to how you carefully consider each element in your daily outfit to stay fashionable, it’s also a must to care about what you wear underneath.

    While you’re probably used to wearing cotton underwear, you may want to try a more absorbent fabric like bamboo. Bamboo fabric is soft like cotton but also wicks away moisture when you’re during intense physical activities. Men and women can try bamboo undergarments that come in various styles, colors, and shapes.

    Ladies can add bamboo underwear and bralettes to their collection, completing their cool undergarment collection. Whatever the season is, girls can wear bamboo underwear for any special occasion or event. For instance, seamless underwear made of bamboo is great for a date or night-out outfit, like a pencil cut or mini dress.

    Whether you want cheeky underwear or cool underwear, bamboo fabric can help you attain the level of comfort and style you want. You can be unique, bold, sexy, and alluring by choosing the perfect fit of bamboo underwear online. There are many places where you can get high-quality bamboo undergarments online, like Bamboo Underwear and other reputable underwear stores.

    Accessories and trend

    Every curvy girl knows the power of accessories, and when creating a capsule wardrobe, they have a vital role.

    With this in mind, some advice that we fuller figured ladies should follow is that when planning a capsule wardrobe, leave the trending colors and influence to the accessories. That means if green is in this season, buy a scarf, bag or a pair of shoes in the exact color that is bang on trend.

    Or if tribal is featured big in the magazines at the moment, find a necklace that echoes this. Or some sandals with tribal details on that will set off the items in your capsule wardrobe well.

    Through this, it’s possible to keep your wardrobe updated and fun while not falling prey to being a fashion victim. Meaning you look great all of the time.

  • Glass: tactile interior design

    The buzzword of the day when it comes to interior design is industrial. All things mechanical, steampunk, wooden, rustic, metal and chrome-laden are placed within our humble abodes to create a mock industrial look. The appetite for all things reclaimed such as railway sleepers, pharmaceutical apothecary drawers, and old mining lamps have become insatiable as people clamor for the opportunity to bring a touch of the industrial into their homes. While metal and chrome and other oxidized metals are becoming on trend, people are neglecting the tactile beauty of glass. Glass in all its forms can make a spectacular design statement within your home and could complement your industrial look effectively.


    Image Source

    Let There Be Light

    While you might be happy with those spotlights that every other household seems to have within their pads, you might be after more of a statement piece to bring ambiance to your home. Lasvit lights choose to take the humble glass to shape and mold into unique lighting experiences. Lamps, chandeliers and colored moldings create awe-inspiring ways to light up the rooms within your home without a paper lantern or spotlight in sight.

    Stained Glass

    The artisan trade of staining glass has been around for centuries and can be seen in churches across the nation. The beauty of antique stained glass panes can be marveled at once again if you incorporate them into the interior design of your home. You might want to create a feature window so when the sunlight cascades into your home, the flecks of color dance upon your oak floorboards. Or perhaps you fancy using stained glass in a more quirky way, on a coffee table top or as a wardrobe frontage.

    Glazing

    The UPVC double glazing that is synonymous with houses up and down the country has its place as a soundproofing and energy efficient aspect of your home. But you can also go one step further with your glazing to create entire frontages and facades made out of toughened and top quality glass. Natural light will flood your living space making for a lighter and more airy living environment conducive to healthier living. You will enjoy better views into your garden areas, and you can really bring the outdoors into your home.

    Balustrades

    If you have a staircase within your home and you’re keen to make a feature of it, you may be tempted to head to a joiners and install a bespoke oak balustrade, or you may want to finish your staircase with some reclaimed spindles. However, for a more modern look, why not consider a glass balustrade. These can create the illusion of space and don’t act as a barrier between your staircase and the rest of your hallway. A glass balustrade creates a sleek, minimalist and chic look perfect for a modern home.

     Glass is a material that yearns to be utilized a little more within your four walls. It’s important never to forget the beauty and simplicity of glass when designing the interior of your home.

  • Starting an Online Business: As Easy as it Sounds?

    It is easy to look at the success of ecommerce even during COVID-19 and to decide that starting your own online store is an easy way to make money. While there is certainly the potential for success with ecommerce, it is also important to understand that it is fiercely competitive, hard to get your name out there and challenging to get people to take a chance on your store.

    Ecommerce Businesses on the Rise

    Banner printing specialists instantprint conducted research that revealed that nearly half a million new businesses were registered in 2020 and it was retail sales (online and mail-order houses) that were the most popular with 22,011 new registrations. The pandemic has led many to reflect on their livelihoods and explore new opportunities, plus many people will have been out of work or potentially looking to supplement their income.

    Changing Consumer Habits

    COVID-19 also changed people’s buying habits in 2020 with a huge increase in online shopping and bulk buying. People who previously did not shop online were forced to and many people starting buying items online that they previously bought in-store, so it seems that the market is in a strong position right now and ecommerce is expected to continue to flourish even with lockdown restrictions easing.

    Starting an Online Store

    Starting an online store is relatively straightforward, but finding success in a competitive industry like this is tough. As with any new business, there are a few steps that you need to take first such as market research, writing a business plan, securing funding and registering the business.

    Finding Success

    The key is to sell products that are currently trending and not too niche so that you can target a large group, such as health and fitness products or clothing. You also need to make sure that you choose a good platform for your ecommerce store and provide high-quality product details. 

    Attracting Customers

    In terms of attracting customers to your business, social media is key and can make it much easier to compete with more established online stores. You need to create a strong following by creating and sharing high-quality and useful content for your target customer, engaging with followers and keeping people updated with the store. You also need to make customer service a priority and make it easy for people to reach you whether this is live chat on the website, social media, email or phone. 

    It is understandable that people are looking to start their own online stores looking at the success of ecommerce. Setting up an online store can be straightforward enough, but success will not fall on your lap and you need to be willing to put the time, money and energy into getting your online store out there and to start attracting customers.

  • Menini Nicola

    Menini Nicola

    Menini Nicola is an industrial design studio founded in 2008 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The studio has made its own name in the country, offering design services and design licenses, and directly commercializing products from their portfolio in Uruguay.

    We talked to the founders of Menini Nicola, Agustín Menini and Carlo Nicola, about the beginnings of their studio, the design scene in Montevideo and their favourite places in the city.

    Read the interview after the photos.

    www.menini-nicola.com

    What made you start Menini Nicola?

    It was mainly our interest in turning our hobby into our full-time job.

    When we were university students, we realised that furniture design was one of the things we liked the most. We used to work in advertising, spending our free time meeting with a friend who makes furniture to work on concepts that we would later send to design contests. We got more involved and in 2008 we received 2 awards at Salão Design Movelsul in Brazil. During that trip between Montevideo and Porto Alegre, Menini Nicola was born.

    How is being a designer in Uruguay? Are your designs influenced by the country?

    Being a designer in Uruguay is not very common and we would even say it is a privilege. On the other hand, the industry is growing and the design community in the country is going through a good phase. We, Uruguayans, tend to say that there’s not much going on in the country but this seems to be changing.

    Nowadays, Uruguay has a Chamber of Design for graphic, textile, product, interior and landscape designers. We also have some government funding and there are weekly events dedicated to design. There are new brands emerging and the established labels are growing – it is a good moment for Uruguayan design.

    Regarding our influences, we’re still finding our limits and trying to discover our own identity. We work with local materials and manufacturers, designing solutions and coming up with ideas based on what’s available around us.

    What’s your favourite project/product you’ve worked on?

    One of our favourite projects was the design of the food area of the Mercado Agrícola de Montevideo (MAM). This market is one of the most iconic buildings in the city – it opened its doors in 1913 and was renovated in 2013. We were in charge of designing the furniture for the food area and other spaces in the building. The chair we designed was built under a series of requirements related to resistance, ergonomics, manufacturing costs and use of similar materials to the rest of the building.

    The conceptual side of the design was linked to the origins of the market. The chair represents a historic moment and draws inspiration from the industrial revolution, the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris, the good economic moment Uruguay went through in the early 20th century and the Belle Époque’s influence in Montevideo.

    The chair wants to grab people’s attention, using a very formal language and becoming a representation of our times.

    We want to know more about Montevideo. What places shouldn’t we miss in the city? Could you recommend us other designers/artists based there?

    We would recommend going on a stroll on the promenade along the coast, visiting historic neighbourhoods such as Prado, spending the evening at MAM or enjoying the drum celebrations in Barrio Sur and Palermo. Montevideo is a city that should be visited on foot – despite being the capital of the country, it is a small city with lots of secrets.

    Montevideo is currently going through a very special moment with lots of things happening in the city. In the cultural scene, the Ballet del Sodre – with Julio Bocca as Art Director – is a very popular show which usually sells out one month before the opening. Street art is also becoming more important in the city and new galleries such as Kiosco and studio designs like Mundial and Atolon de Mororoa are emerging.

    There are also new initiatives popping up in the city such as el Club de la Cerveza (the Beer Club), where you can enjoy unique and secret dinners. The Ciudad Vieja (Old Town) is a great area for spending a day around, stopping for breakfast in Jacinto and visiting the antiques fair, having lunch at Mercado del Puerto and finishing with a snack at La Pasionaria, where you can visit the current exhibition and see work by local artists and designers.

    Collaboration is an important element in Montevideo’s creative scene. For example, Estampapas is a textile objects project founded by a graphic designer from Uruguay with a textile designer from Argentina. There’s also Sabandija, composed by another textile designer and a product designer and El Bosque de Robles.

    You need to come and discover the city during this moment of creativity growth.

  • How to Wear Bold Colours

    When it comes to fashion, many people shy away from bold colours and instead opt for darker shades and monochrome. While this certainly can look stylish, bold colours can be a great way to bring your wardrobe to life, turn heads and make your outfits more fun. The key is to understand how to wear these colours and what works well together – read on to find out more.

    Image via Unsplash

    The Colour Wheel

    The Colour Wheel is a brilliant device when it comes to fashion (or anything creative) yet it is something that many people are unaware of. The general rule of thumb with the colour wheel is that colours on the opposite side work well with what you have chosen and this can be a smart way to wear bold colours and prints without them clashing or looking odd. In addition to the opposite side of the wheel, you will also find that colours that are next to one another are visually appealing together, such as green and blue.

    Maintain the Same Tone

    Another smart way to wear bold colours is to ensure that the same colour tone is kept throughout. If you have an orange skirt, for example, then you should try to find orange heels that are the same tone – if it is a different shade of orange, you will lose balance and the outfit will look odd.

    One Colour

    Following this, another way that you can start to wear bold colours is simply to wear one colour from top to bottom. This can feel a little odd at first, but if you blend different materials and shades in then it can blend and give your look depth. In addition to clothing, do not shy away from adding the same colour accessories, such as a bold shoulder bag to add to your outfit.

    Statement Pieces

    If you are hesitant about jumping in with head to toe bold colours, then a good starting point is to simply have one bold piece of clothing that you wear in addition to your darker clothing, such as a powder blue shirt and black jeans.

    You should not shy away from wearing bold colours as it can look fantastic, bring your wardrobe to life and even change the way in which you feel. It can be intimidating at first, but when you know how to wear bold colours and what works well in combination then you can completely transform your wardrobe and improve your fashion sense greatly.