In Pakistan, it is a norm to get custom-made clothes for yourself. People find it fascinating when I tell them that I used to design make my own clothes. Buy material, get some embroidery done on it, get a scarf dyed with it, get some embellishments for the scarf and then get a tailor to stitch it with the style and fitting of my choice and also within my budget 💁♀️. Sounds tedious but, this was like the ONLY way of buying clothes that I knew of. (Leaving tailor blues for another day…. 😜)
When I moved out of Pakistan, finding clothes I like was NOT an easy job. It sounds like a very small issue but, it took me ages to understand this new way of dressing up. Some days it was a struggle to find just a top that was comfortable and modest; had a collar, full sleeves, regular fit and not made of some flimsy, see-through material and slightly longer to cover all bases🙈. Shopping for clothes that I enjoyed back home became an uphill task! I would go through every shop in the mall and would end up buying something half-heartedly only because my poor hubby could not take it anymore. I confess that I have made fashion disasters and have been in seen in public with badly styled choices and combinations that should not have been. There was also this self-imposed compulsion to always add something cultural and traditional to whatever I wear which never worked well with office attire. I also lived with a constant guilt of wasting hard-earned money which was so precious especially in the initial days of settling in on clothes!
It took me (a long) time to understand what suits me and what goes with what. After many fashion blunders and wasting half of my life going from one shop to the other, I managed to shortlist a few shops where I knew I will be able to find something for myself. And also that the damages would be minimum in the case I bought something without thinking. I stopped looking everywhere and would just go to my selected shops when I needed to buy clothes.
H&M is one of my go-to shops where I find things in all price ranges and I am very excited that H&M has opened up in Adelaide. Currently, doing a giveaway of $50 H&M gift card for anyone in Australia where you can buy anything of your choice without feeling guilty. Participate now or tag a friend in Australia to let her or him know!
Giveaway is now closed.
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