Get cocktail ready in a jiffy!

Zimbabwe International Trade Fair week is cocktail galore for a lot of corporates. They’ll be so many cocktails happening you won’t know which to attend. If you’re one of those, like a few of my friends, you’re probably going to hop from one cocktail to the other just so you don’t miss out on anything. But you see, with all these cocktails happening during the week, few people have the chance to go back home to freshen up. Maybe you don’t own a car and going back home to change would be too much admin.

Perhaps you have a car but it’s too much of a hassle for you to go back home and freshen up. You can’t really wear your sequined dress with a vent on the side to work either.

It’s a bit of a sticky situation to get around. But whatever the case, there’s no excuse whatsoever for you to show up looking like a drab. If you know you have an evening do to show up for and will not get the chance to go home to freshen up, consider your wardrobe choices more carefully on that morning. A little black dress is timeless. Every girl must have one in her wardrobe! This dress can be worn in so many ways it’ll save you come cocktail day. For an acceptable work look, dress down your little black number with a blazer. The blazer will give the dress a more formal look which your boss wouldn’t flip over. Of course the little black number will go with a killer pair of heels.

Well, as long as your heels are not shimmering, they should be just fine for the office. To switch things up for the cocktail later in the evening, lose the blazer and allow the little black dress to flourish. Make a trip to your work ladies room and turn things up a notch. If you have a weave on, instead of having it in an up do let it hang loose. Wipe off the oiliness on your face with a dry piece of tissue if you had worn make-up in the morning. But if you hadn’t, feel free to splash your face with water, you’ll instantly look refreshed. Do your make-up from scratch concentrating on your eyebrows, under-eye and lips. I’d go for bright red lipstick – it’s my absolute favourite.

If you can’t do your own make-up and don’t have a friend who can help, just get rid of the oiliness on your face, wear some lipstick and brush your eyebrows in shape.

I’m assuming you have eyebrows and don’t need to draw them in. If you’re one of those people who’re still drawing in their eyebrows, please start growing them until they’re thick enough for a professional to shape them for you. No more razor blades please! Once your hair and make-up are sorted out, try freshening up your armpits. You do this by wiping them with wet wipes until they’re clean and scent-free. Apply fresh deodorant; I’m assuming you always carry deodorant in your handbag. You have to be that girl who always has deodorant in their handbag! A few puffs of perfume on your neck, inside your wrists and elbows will go a long way in making sure you smell fresh. No one will know you were at work all day and didn’t get the chance to go home and freshen up.

What will tie everything together perfectly will be fresh breath. Rinse your mouth to get rid of the bits of food still comfortably perched in your mouth. After you’ve done so, pop in a peppermint gum or sweet and you’re good to go. Men have less to do when freshening up for an evening something. Few care about the oiliness of their skin and won’t bother wiping off the excess but it would be nice if you did. A fresh breath is key. No one wants someone with a stale breath talking right in their face. It’s a major turn off, for me at least. I stop hearing what you’re saying and start wondering if you can’t tell your breath needs freshening up. If you don’t leave the house in a suit, at least wear a good pair of pants, blazer and white or black shirt. You can always pimp up the look later in the day with a pocket-square and a lapel pin. A few puffs of that Sauvage by Christian Dior really won’t hurt!

"A stitch in time saves nine"

I HATED Fashion and Fabrics back in high school. I didn’t have much of an interest in clothes then, well, at least not in how they were made. The worst days were when we had to go through four straight periods of Fashion and Fabrics. I had to endure two cool hours of practical lessons on Friday mornings and another hour of Fashion and Fabrics theory on Tuesdays. I didn’t care much for the subject and would’ve rather done Food and Nutrition. Now the Food and Nutrition class was living it up. They got to cook fancy things and were guaranteed of a lit lunch once every week. And guess what, I had to be stitching together baby dresses with a bib neckline and skirts with a pocket while they ate chocolate soufflés and chicken picatta.

If I could, I would’ve dropped Fashion and Fabrics but that wasn’t allowed at my school. You were to take all the subjects offered in the class you were in and only opt out of writing any subject during public examinations. I couldn’t do that either, not write Fashion and Fabrics at “O” Level – my mother would’ve skinned me alive! I eventually learnt how to cook, I live with brilliant chefs but had it not been for my Fashion and Fabrics classes, I may have never learnt how to sew. But it’s only last week that I was truly grateful I did Fashion and Fabrics. One of the girls leading praise and worship at church wore a blouse whose seam was running on the inner sleeve. It distracted me so much I kept wondering how she had left the house without noticing her blouse needed some backstitching.

The girl wore a pretty skirt, killer heels and her hair was freshly done but all that was clouded by the running seam. And it would’ve have taken under 10 minutes to get the seam sorted out. Or she shouldn’t have worn the blouse at all. It’s like a stain on a white t-shirt, it doesn’t matter how clean the rest of the t-shirt is; people will always focus on the stain. Same applies with running seams, odd threads and offbeat buttons on your clothes. They’re distracting and people won’t care about how hot you look. And you know what – these are little things that really don’t cost much to fix, just a little bit of your time. You may be thinking, well, I don’t know how to sew. You don’t have to be an expert at it. It’s sewing not rocket science; anyone can at least sew on a button or mend a tear.

You just have to be conscious of a few things. For buttons, make sure the thread you’re using matches the garment. You can’t sew on a button on a white shirt with red or black thread. The thread has to be white and make sure the button you’re sewing on matches the rest of the buttons on the shirt. Most clothes come with extra buttons, either packaged separately or sewn on the inner seams of the garment. Don’t wait for your buttons to fall off either. If you think they’re hanging a little too loose, get a needle and matching thread and reinforce the button. Nothing irritates me like jeans which tear at the hem because someone is too lazy to turn up the jeans or cut off the extra chunk and neaten the hem. It sounds labour intensive but it’s actually quite straightforward. If doing it yourself is not an option for you, get a tailor to size your pants instead of you stepping on them as you walk.

It’s tacky and quite frankly makes laundry difficult. Even if you own a washing machine, such stains don’t come off easily. You’ll still need to hand wash to make sure all the dirt goes. Men are the biggest culprits when it comes to pants that are too long. Too long a pair of pants should bother you. They should bother you a lot. Pants too long that result in pools of fabric bunching over your shoes make you look sloppy. On the other hand – cropping your pants too short makes you look like a school boy wearing capris. So paying attention to where your trousers breaks is the difference between an outfit that sings and one that looks like borrowed clothing. The break of a trouser refers to the point where your pants touch your shoe. Having no break is the cleanest look.  Trousers without a break barely rest on the top of the shoes.  

Find your perfect bra…

THERE’S nothing as liberating as finding the perfect bra size. Yes, nothing feels better than a bra that sits just perfectly. I was talking to a friend about this the other day and they were surprised bra sizes can even be an issue. They can. And I know this is an everyday struggle for a significant number of women. They just don’t know where to begin and what to look for when picking a bra. But this is such an important process because nothing makes clothes look stranger than an ill-fitting bra. It’s just unsightly especially if your boobs are big. Besides, boob spillage over the top of the cups, gaping in the cups or straps digging into your shoulders can cause all manner of discomfort. 

 

A bra that fits well can do more than just help you look good – it can also make you feel healthier. A bra that’s too big, too small or just doesn’t fit right can cause back pain, irritate your skin and generally make you feel uncomfortable. And it’s really not that difficult finding a bra that will make you look and feel sexy.  Start by determining your band size by wrapping a soft tape measure around your ribs, right below your breasts, and rounding up the number. Measure your bust size by wrapping the tape measure around your back and breasts at their fullest point. Subtract the band size from the bust size; the difference between the two determines your cup size.

It’s not complicated. A one inch difference equals an A cup, a two inch difference equals a B cup, three inches equal a C cup, four inches equal a D cup and a five inch difference equals a DD cup.

Now, you simply combine the cup size with your band measurement, and you have your final bra size. So, a 34C means you have a 34 inch band and a C cup. Remember that the cup size is not the same for each band size. A 34B cup will be smaller than a 36B cup. What makes bra shopping or any underwear shopping difficult for anyone is that you’re not allowed to try on what you pick, for hygienic purposes. The most many stores can do for you is let you try on the bra on top of your clothes so ensure you wear a T-shirt when you go bra shopping. Try on different bras, and for each one, check that your breasts are firmly in place in the cups, that the cups lie smoothly, and that the straps are not digging into your shoulders. Choose a bra based on what you’ll be wearing it for; for instance, a sports bra for exercise, a t-shirt bra for casual wear.

The bra should be snug but not dig into your sides. Your nipples should be about halfway between your elbow and shoulder. If they’re lower, tighten the straps to lift. Make sure the bra band is snug and low in the back. The band can be parallel to the floor but should angle no higher. If the band is too high, the bra can’t provide proper support. Try a smaller band size or tightening the straps. Check that the underwire doesn’t dig into your chest or pinch your skin. The wires shouldn’t bend outward in the centre. Try a larger size or consider a bra without an underwire if this happens. Make sure the band isn’t too tight. Run a finger under the front of your band. If you can’t slide your finger under the band, your bra may be hooked too tight or you need a larger band size.

If your bra becomes uncomfortable when you sit, try a larger band or a bra with an arched centre panel. Your ribs expand when you’re in a seated position so you want your bra to be comfortable whether you’re on your feet or in a chair. If you change band sizes when trying on bras, you’ll also have to change cup sizes such that if you need a larger band size, go down a cup size. So instead of 34B, you’ll want 36A. And if you need a smaller band size, go up a cup size. Instead of 34B, go for 32C. It is more important to have an accurate band measurement than cup measurement. Going up or down a band size is a more significant change than going up or down a cup size. Get a comfortable band first and then fine tune the cup size. Remember, your bra size is not permanent and will change along with your body. Just because you’re a 34C now doesn’t mean you’ll always have those same measurements. Make an effort to get yourself a bra that fits perfectly. Trust me, you’ll be much happier.