Shopping online

Online shopping is as natural to me as putting on mascara, but I was reminded by a friend that many women still are not comfortable with this.

Once you get over the hurdle that is the fear of giving your credit card details to a faceless stranger, and not knowing if you'll ever see your hard earned money again or receive the promised goods..you will love online shopping.

Don't get me wrong, there is a certain safety in being able to touch the garment, fit it and then decide if you really want to spend on it. But the thrill that comes with sitting on your bed wearing pyjamas with a glass of red in hand at 10 o'clock at night, browsing hundreds of dresses..and finally spotting that dress you just cannot live without...then after a few minutes of checkout receiving that wonderful email letting you know that your package is on route ..is indescribable. The explosion of happiness you will feel when you finally receive your package after 1- 2 days of excitement build-up will convert you into an Online shopper.

I have known for a long time that I do not do well when faced with rails upon rails of clothing..I end up getting frustrated and frankly confused. The beauty of the online store is that it feels like you are the only shopper at the mall, you have all the time to examine each garment and consider whether it will suit your current wardrobe....and the best part is there are no pesky shop assistants putting pressure on you to buy..

If you are worried about the fit, don't! You already know your perfect size and most sites will give you a size guide based on your exact measurements. If for some reason, the garment doesn't fit you can send it back for a refund or an exchange.

One more thing to love about online stores is that the products are generally cheaper because these stores have less fixed overheads such as mall rent, which are usually built into the garment price.

In the new age of the busy women who has very little time for shopping during trading hours, but is busy climbing the corporate ladder, building a business and raising a family; the world must change and adapt..those who refuse to will certainly be left behind.

Here are some of my favorite stores.

Style36

Spree

Asos

Runway Sale VIP Club Diligo

The Stylista launch and Luminance Pop up shop

Dear fabulous readers, I have been MIA for a little bit. I promise its been for a good course. I am learning to sew,make patterns and other general dress making skills. I have always wanted to make my own clothes and I am so excited to finally be learning. I'll update you on later posts on my progress.

For now I want to chat about the fabulous happenings of yesterday night. You may have heard about the new South African street style website called The Stylista. Last night The Stylista was being officially launched; fashionisitas everywhere can now register for an account and start sharing their style. I was one of the bloggers who were asked to be part of the The Stylista demo website, it is so exciting to now see the site fully fledged and working beautifully.  All the beautiful stylish people were at the opening together with some of my favorite bloggers.

After the Stylista launch, It was off to the Luminance pop up store in Hyde Park corner. Grazia SA was holding a readers shopping experience at the pop up store. Daniella went through the trends and the shoppers received a 20% discount on all shoes and selected clothing. Cocktails, macaroons, sushi and a brief love affair with a Alexander McQueen gold scull umbrella later I was ready to call it a Tuesday night.

What I wore: I wore my current favorite shirt from Jo Borkett; someone at work told me I look great in my Madiba shirt..lol..Not exactly what I was going for..I paired the eeeerrrrh ..Madiba shirt with a high waist skirt and a jacket with shades of tweed and leather.

 Blogger and Stylist Jerry

Blogger and Stylist: Ntithi

Grazia/ Luminance event

The gold scull Alexander McQueen umbrella

Grazia SA editor Danielle

Mbhaco and Turban

These are  the last pictures from my fabulous urban photo shoot...so sad. Soon I'll be back to my usual self portraits and photos taken by my reluctant photographer who is also my fiance.

The concept of the look was traditional glamour. Taking a Xhosa traditional skirt (Mbhaco) and glitzing it up with pearls and sequins. An integral part of the traditional Xhosa women's gear is a huge head wrap; instead of that I opted for the lighter, easier to wear turban. These photos, like the yellow dress pics were taken at the Maboneng precinct in the city center.
I hope you enjoyed the photos curtesy of my talented photographer friend Portia. Visit her blog Picture Splendour for more amazing art work.

About the look| Mbhaco|Couture by Mzansi designs Emporium |Sequin top| Jo Borkett| Turban| HVC

Photographer| Portia Ntuli
Styling| Busi Mgoboli

Easy like a Sunday morning..

I love the easy like a Sunday morning feel of these pictures. Posh and I took these at Mary-Fitzgerald square in-front of Museum Africa. The wind came to play, and what fun it was.

About the look|Maxi dress worn as a skirt| Wichery| Cardigan| Forever new

Photographer Portia Ntuli
Styling Busi Mgoboli

ASHLEY MADEKWE STYLE ENVY

My latest style envy is Ashley Madekwe. She is the over ambitious, also cunning assistant to the Graystons on the show Revenge.
This Brit It girl's style makes me weep from green both on and off screen. From skater skirts, dressed up jeans to amazzziiiiiiiing prints, her style is effortless and oh so chic.

To see more of her style, do visit her blog.

Importing clothes into SA 101

If you ever contemplated buying clothing overseas and bringing it to South Africa then you need to read this.

In this post I plan to tell you exactly how much it will cost you as a normal "man on the street" to import clothes into the country. There are two ways of bringing clothes in to the country that I can think of. You can bring them in as part of your luggage from a foreign country as long as the new clothes are below R3000. New clothes above R3000 if declared at customs at whatever point of entry you use to enter South Africa will attract Custom Duties and VAT.

The other option is to have the clothes delivered to you in SA; you will then be viewed by Customs and SARS as importing goods. What that means is you will be liable to pay Custom duties as well as Value Added Tax on the invoice value of your purchase.

How will you pay this: If you are using a private delivery company; they will be notified when your package arrives at Customs and they will be provided with an invoice for the Duty plus VAT. You will need to pay the duties before your goods can be released and safely delivered to you. If you have the goods delivered to your local Post Office i.e. you don't use a delivery company as previously mentioned, you will have to collect the goods yourself at the Post Office and settle the Customs and Vat right there and then. The cost of it all: Over and above the price of the garment you payed to the overseas vendor; the customs and vat will be calculated as follows: Cost of the garment  after translation into Rands is R4,300 Custom Duty will be  R4300* 40% = R1,720 Value Added Tax (VAT) will be R4300* 21% = 903 IN TOTAL CUSTOMS FEES = R2,623 The custom duties and Vat could end up at more than 50% of the Purchase price of the garment The cost of importing clothes is very high, this is to discourage importing of clothes from foreign countries and encourage buying locally and supporting the local manufacturing and textile industry. To learn more about this topic visit the following websites: SARS Website South African Info Website

The Urban shoot...continued!

My urban shoot..continued. Posh and I were so excited when we found this gate in the Maboneng Precinct. It posed the perfect back drop; the black, white and red checked pattern of the gate contrasts perfectly with the bright yellow dress.

We also found an art exhibition on the street  that caught our eye...

For this look I chose the Thula Sindi twist dress; its striking brightness seemed perfect to contend with the zealous personality of the city. The turban has been fashioned out of a Jo Borkett scarf.

About the look|The fabulous yellow dress|Thula Sindi|Boots|Edgars|Turban|Jo Borkett|Sling bag|Aldo


About the shoot|
Photography| Portia Ntuli
Styling|Busi Mgoboli