War of the Roses #2 a Fashion Comic Strip by Swapzaar

This is the second episode in the War of the Roses Comic series.
Ritu has struck magic, entirely by chance, what will she do with her 3 wishes?
We just hope she doesn't blow her big chance with her attitude...

And, what will Gurleen do next?
She isn't going to give up so easily, she's used to getting what she wants- and she wants Mike (at least she thinks she does)!

Swapzaar.com is India's first dedicated online marketplace for pre-owned fashion. So if you have fabulous gently used fashion items sitting unused in your wardrobe right now, register on swapzaar and list it there.

 We will help you find fashion lovers who will pay a good price and really value your pre-loved stuff. We already have brands like Coach, CK, Aldo, Mango, Guess, Zara, Forever New, Vero Moda, Accessorize and more being uploaded by our early members! 

Bizarre fashion Laws from around the world- Infographic by swapzaar.com

Here are some strange fashion related laws from across the world.

No trousers in Paris?
The law was put into existence in 1800 and revoked only in 2013!!
It was modified in 1892 and 1909 to allow women to wear trousers if they were "holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse".
Incredible, isn't it?

Apparently, this law is one of the most flouted laws in the world :-D is anyone surprised?

Bizarre fashion laws swapzaar infographic 122014 from veena srinath


How about you, do you know of any actual laws about fashion, that existed once (or still exist) that seem bizarre and unbelievable?

Comic strip by swapzaar- war of the roses no1

War of the roses is a comic strip based on the archetypal rivalry between two very different type of young girls in college.Think Jenny Humphrey VS Blair, there is a bit of envy, friendship and rivalry involved.

Ultimately who wins in life depends on talent, determination and a pinch of luck.
We are going to chart the course of these two girls- Ritu and Gurleen, through their college years to see how they fare.

If swapzaar were betting on one of these girls, guess who it would be?

And, who would you bet on?


 Made using bitstrips.

War of roses no 1 comic strip by swapzaar from veena srinath


swapzaar.com is India's first dedicated online marketplace for pre-owned fashion.
So if you have fabulous gently used fashion items sitting unused in your wardrobe right now, register on swapzaar and list it there.
We will help you find fashion lovers who will pay a good price and really value your pre-loved stuff.
We already have brands like Coach, CK, Aldo, Mango, Guess, Zara, Forever Newm, Vero Moda, Accessorize and more being uploaded by our early members! 

Shopaholix Redemption- a comic strip by swapzaar

Here is a cool (hopefully) comic strip we created for swapzaar.com using bitstrips.com

Bitstrips is remarkably sophisticated for a free tool and you can use it to create various characters and
comic strips to tell your brand story. The best part is it's as easy (if not more easy) than powerpoint so
now you have yet another option to tell your story in a funny and engaging way without coming
up with vague excuses like "I am not a graphics person".

That was our very first attempt, so we hope you enjoyed it, we plan to come up with a shopahlix redemption
series, something that feels like a cross between SATC, The Devil  wears Prada and Confessions of a shopaholic...

We also plan a funny mini video series which will be more like a story evolution game", where we will ask for your ideas on how the story should evolve and then grow it along those lines.

How fun is storytelling?
BTW, here is a great article on the 7 basic types of stories...

Write in with your thoughts and let us know what sorts of stories you enjoy.
We like the David and Goliath theme ( as would most startup owners we presume ;-P )

How to price your item on swapzaar: We use a special store credit system.

Swapzaar uses a special store credits system and we have our own currency called "buttons".
Each button is equal to Rs. 100/-.

When you first join swapzaar you get 5 buttons for free. And later if you wish you can buy more buttons from us using our regular payment options (Debit cards, Credit cards, Online Banking etc).

The system is simple, when you sell you earn buttons and when you buy you can use these stored buttons to buy whatever you like on swapzaar.

We feel this is a great advantage, since it encourages people to save and en-cash their buttons only when they are eligible to do so.

Once you have 50 buttons, you can request an encashment, at which point we deduct 10% as platform fee and transfer the rest to you in DD/Cheque format or to a bank account of your choice.

The pricing of your items, isn't in rupee terms and you will have to price your listed item in buttons.
So let's say you expect Rs 1000/- for an item inclusive of shipping costs, you simply price it at 10 buttons.

Here is a simple infographic that explains everything very easily. It will help you become a confident seller on swapzaar and get the best deals.

Swapzaar infographic 2 how to price your item from veena srinath


We would love to hear your take on ewallets and store credits, do you like using them?
Or do you prefer using cards directly?

How to click pictures that sell : the essentials of successful listings on swapzaar

Pictures are very important if you want your pre-loved fashion listing to come across as genuine and worthy of the price you expect.

No one wants to see rumpled "rummage sale" pieces.
You have to make sure the item looks like someone would want to own and flaunt it, after all you loved it and wore it too- remember?
Pay a little attention to your pictures and descriptions, and you will become a successful seller on swapzaar.
Swapzaar, as you might know, is a self-regulating community, which means over time member feedback will affect your reputation and having a good reputation will be very important if you want to sell your items at great prices.

Here are some genuine tips from us on how to click pictures that sell.

Putting pictures on swapzaar infographic 3 from veena srinath


Hope you find this useful!
Do write in with your tips and tricks for better product photography, with or without models!

swapzaar user profiling: what's your fashion persona and why you should be on swapzaar!

Hey as you all know we just launched swapzaar.com, India's first dedicated online marketplace for
 **pre-owned** fashion.  So if you have fabulous gently used fashion items sitting unused in your wardrobe right now, register on swapzaar and list it there.

We will help you find fashion lovers who will pay a good price and really value your pre-loved stuff.
We already have brands like Coach, Aldo, Mango, Guess, Zara and CK being uploaded by our members!
We are looking for your support to spread the word!!

Meanwhile here is an infographic on different types of fashion personas who should be on swapzaar
 and why. See if you identify with some traits...

Hope you find it informative and interesting. Please share it with like-minded girls who have the "obese wardrobe" syndrome :-)

Swapzaar user profiling from veena srinath


Swapzaar is still young and we are trying to pivot and find our feet, do let us know your ideas and thoughts on who would love to be on swapzaar and why, and how we can reach those who most need us!

Livres de la mode- Books on style that you should devour and internalize! Part 2

The next book on this list: D.V. by Diana Vreeland

Diana Vreeland was born in Paris on July 29, 1903 ( The leo connection with Coco?).
Beginning as the author of the infamous "Why Don't You . . . " column for Harper's Bazaar, Vreeland's immense success eventually made her the fashion editor at the magazine, and she became an authority in the fashion world. In 1962, she left to become the editor-in-chief at Vogue, and her highly successful tenure there was marked by her astonishing eye for trends and her inimitable style. She was an inspiration for a generation of designers, among them Yves Saint Laurent, Bill Blass, Issey Miyake, and Valentino, and she would help launch the careers of some of today's top designers, among them Diane von Furstenberg, Manolo Blahnik, and Oscar de la Renta.

Diana Vreeland- has been a part of the fashion world for fifty years.
In this autobiography she is her brilliant, funny, charming, imperious self.

She takes the reader into her dizzy world, spinning from the nightclubs of 1930s Paris to English palaces and the exclusive venues of New York high society- she moved in some of the most rarified circles comprising of renowned and famous figures of the twentieth century—artists and princes, movie stars and international legends, including Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Isak Dinesen, Clark Gable, and Swifty Lazar , and for a short while you are drawn into that smoky, seductive and glamorous world.

Since her death on August 22, 1989, Diana Vreeland's fame has only grown, she's been featured in many  magazines, been the subject of a costume exhibit, inspired a character in a film, someone's writing her biography, and her life has been the focus of two theater productions. One of them the Full Gallop, received rave reviews from critics.

Mary Louise Wilson, the star and co-author of "Full Gallop," wrote the foreword to the new paperback edition of D.V., Vreeland's 1984 autobiography. She recalls: "Someone once directly challenged her: 'Now, Diana, is this fact? Or fiction?' A tiny pause, and the reply came: 'Faction.'  Realities were simply not as important to her as the imaginative life."

Vibrant with her passion, her peculiar way of looking at life, and like her legacy, Vreeland's story is a classic to be celebrated by both loyal admirers and a new generation of style mavens.

We just changed our Blog Title but not our url - and a near disaster has been averted!!

Err, this is a bit embarrassing because we sort of got ahead of ourselves and now we're stuck.
Not really, though, there's always a work-around...though not necessarily an elegant one :-/

Okay- when we first started off trying to set up a business it was supposed to be called BeluxedFashion.com and it was a totally different idea, but now we have changed our business idea and the name of our website is swapzaar.com

But since we already have this blog (we were trying to be proactive in building some web presence for beluxedfashion- bad idea I guess? )and we don't want to lose y'all, we tried to change the url of this very blog to swapzaar.blogpost.com but guess what? No deal.

Coz google doesn't redirect people from the old link to the new one, in fact when we did a google search after chaging the url for a few minutes the search result said- This blog has been removed :-O  whoops!
Even our followers wouldn't have been able to find us, apparently!!
Scary, huh?!

Thankfully better sense prevailed and we quickly switched back the url while just changing the Blog Title.
So please bear with us for all the prevalent clumsiness. We're learning :-)

Now, we also grabbed the swapzaar.blogpost.com url before some malicious person took it and decided to misuse it, but we can't duplicate content there so we're just sitting there asking people who land up there to come here instead.

We'll see if we can do something there later.
This is how it looks now- Not the Swapzaar Blog. Not a blog at all...

But we don't see any immediate solution, we don't have the content bandwidth to post different and amazing content on both these blogs, maybe we will- sometime in the future.

We'd love to hear from you, any ideas? How would you tackle this situation?

We'd also like to hear about:
How do you keep up with multiple blogs and keep the content fresh and unique?
What content curation methods work best for you?
How much original content do you manage to create?

Bye!

A little ad, a little glad...

Hello! This is a sort of record for ourselves, when we can afford real paid ads we might look back and say "look how quaint our first DIY ad was!" , or Not...
We might be a little embarrassed, actually.

But whatever,we are so proud, because here is our first ad going out in a print magazine...and we made it
all by ourselves, too! We just wanted to include you guys in our journey.

The magazine where it is appearing is a well read newsletter for marketing professionals and is run by a well known marketing consultant- Jessie Paul, of Paul Writer she's a Marketer par excellence, a friend/mentor of sorts, who has been encouraging us in many small ways!

So here is the ad!!

It's not much, but it's our FIRST ever ad- how cool is that?

Write to us and tell us if you like it, and if you have had experience working on your own startup's marketing and branding efforts!

How much ca$h is $tashed in your clo$et?

It's no secret that Swapzaar is inspired by new-age fashion resale websites like Threadflip, ThredUp and The RealReal. We love these brilliant fashion resale brands which havae managed to carve a niche for themselves in such a short time. Fashion resale is a hot place to be in right now, it is predicted to grow at 16% every year!!

But what we are really, really, inspired by, is the power of the internet (and technology in general) in driving innovation across all businesses and domains of the fashion Industry. In Design, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and in Retail/ eCommerce- technology is actually creating more value and jobs than we could have imagined.
So cheers and more power to FashTech startups, we say!

But, more on all that later...

What we would like to mention is, how these new business models that are being created by the internet, are not just "interesting ideas", but are getting serious investment and high valuations. Which means that even hard-core Wall Street financier types see the potential in them, and firmly believe that innovative internet driven fashion business models are here to stay.
To quote Victor Hugo- " On résiste à l'invasion des armées; on ne résiste pas à l'invasion des idées."
Which means- Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come.

Here is a detailed report from ThredUp on the US fashion resale market, with best practices and tips for it's customers. You might like to check it out, full of amazing insights including which brands have the most resale value!

Below is a fun infographic from Swapzaar, about how you could be sitting on a bunch of cash in your closet.
and why you really should consider a resale website like us, to monetize all your idle fashion stuff, only to make way for new stuff that you can enjoy.

We would love to have your fashionable items listed with us!
As the community grows, so will the fun- we promise.

Swapzaar infographic from mailforveena

Let us know why would or wouldn't consider making money off the completely brilliant stuff sitting idle
 in your wardrobe!!

Sources:

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/behindthestorefront/2014/07/01/online-clothing-resale-no-longer-just-the-privilege-of-luxury-goods-owners/

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/behindthestorefront/2014/06/27/how-the-fashion-and-technology-industries-are-competing-for-talent/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lydiadishman/2014/04/11/online-resale-shop-thredup-takes-on-ebay-with-a-move-into-designer-labels/

Swapzaar.com: India's First Dedicated, Fashion, Re-commerce Marketplace - Now Live

Are you a Swapaholic?
Swapzaar.com wants to know...

Many of us are guilty of shopping on impulse, buying clothes and accessories we 'think' we will wear and then stuffing our closet (till it is bursting) and never ending up using those things. For all good reasons naturally - you liked it at the time, did not fit as well as you thought it would, wore it once, now what? End result - the overstuffed closet and yet an urge to buy some more.

Here's a thought... make millions from your closet! OK - maybe not millions but there is now a dedicated, fashion market place that allows you to put up your gently used, pre-owned fashion items for sale. Swapzaar.com is the perfect cure for 'shopaholics'. Upload the items that you no longer use or need on this platform and earn 'buttons' or store-credits that you can either use to buy stuff you like from others in the network or hoard to en-cash later.

Start by registering on this unique website and earn a few buttons to get you started. Take cool pictures of your fashionable stuff that you want to off-load and put it up for sale. Write a description, put a price-tag and you're done. Well almost done... the thing is, swapzaar.com is a curated site; so you will have to wait for your item to get approved by the Swapzaar Team first. It goes live on the listing only if it is okay with the fashion police! Once someone buys it - you have it delivered and the buttons are yours to play with.

Right now swapzaar.com is running a launch promo - so you can win Rs 700 worth of online shopping vouchers by uploading 7 items on the platform. Go for it fashionistas. (details of the promo-contest are here)

Post by Beluxed Fashion | Swapzaar.

Perfectly natural: The simple makeup looks to master !!

The best makeup is when you look like you aren't wearing any makeup!

All stylish women have one thing in common- they take the trouble to figure out what works best for them and they stick to it, with a few tweaks now and then to keep things fresh.
This is even more true of makeup than clothes.

We can't speak for everyone, but we know a lot of women who wear makeup only to parties and have tons of perfectly good products lying waste in their beauty bags because they feel makeup is only for special occasions and that doing good makeup takes ages. So on most days they just don't have the time and energy to get started because they feel it's all a bit too fussy.

Then, when a party comes along they are over-excited, out of touch (that winged liner needs practice my dear) taking too long to apply everything, they tend to load on too much (where else are they going to wear that turquoise eye-shadow?)  and they end up looking terribly over-done and unnatural.

We've all been there, so no judgement, but now we've learnt- that's a very wrong and counter-productive way to think about makeup. Makeup should be used everyday and there's no need to save it for a special occasion- at least a truly stylish woman wouldn't do that- and it shouldn't look "special" if you can avoid it.

What you need to do, is to master just a few techniques that can  help you create a couple of  chic day and night looks in under 5 minutes (Okay 10). Just use these everyday regularly, and soon you'll stop thinking that makeup is a pain and then magically, you will become a lot better at it!!

The hi-tech and multi-tasking makeup products of today take the hard-work out of make up and cut down on the time required, as well. So even if you aren't the type to spend hours in front of the mirror each morning, there's no reason for you to run out "au naturale" everyday.

When you have a party just take up the glam quotient a notch higher, for example, replace your everyday nude lipstick with a brighter/darker one, or use a more colorful shadow- that's it.

The happy side-effect of creating and perfecting your own little "quick beauty routine" is that you will be more inclined to actually use make-up more often, and of course you will feel more confident and your facebook pictures will probably look a whole lot better too!

Here are some rules to keep in mind:
>> Use the best quality products you can afford- makeup and brushes.
>>Keep a few but well selected products and throw away old makeup- do not clutter your beauty bag.
>>Figure out what colors compliment your skin tone the best- this takes time and honesty.
>> If you have five minutes spend them on perfecting your skin and applying mascara!

Here are a few tutorials to get you started,once you master these- you're sorted.
The first two videos are for natural day looks and the 3rd and 4th are for amping things up a little for the evening!

Lisa's channel is very good for both basics and advanced makeup looks.
Take a look at her makeup basics tutorials to ensure your basic moves are mastered!
We are sharing some links to some other good channels too (at the end of the post) where you can find more tutorials to create looks for all occasions.

Write to us in the comments section below and tell us what you think, also share your favorite go-to makeup looks, products or techniques that instantly make you feel good and maybe share your favorite makeup tutorials as well.

Enjoy!

A few more make channels you might like are:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMakeupChair
https://www.youtube.com/user/MakeUpByCamila2
https://www.youtube.com/user/gossmakeupartist
https://www.youtube.com/user/robertjonesbeauty/featured

Livres de la mode- Books on style that you should devour and internalize! Part 1 (of N)

 

The first book I would say you need to get  - Parisian Chic
by by Ines de la Fressange with Sophie Gachet.

Inès de la Fressange started as a runway model, became the face of Chanel, and launched a clothing line; she is the essence of Parisian style and elegance. Her drawings have regularly appeared in Elle. She is creative consultant for Roger Vivier shoes and is designing the interior of a new Parisian hotel. Sophie Gachet is a fashion journalist for Elle in Paris.

No doubt Ines has all the right credentials, not just on paper but in actual life.
She's really a stylish woman, she been in the fashion business for decades, she looks amazing, as does her daughter and she's fun!

Best of all the book looks superbly chic both outside and inside.

Here is a little video introduction to the book.






So do let us know if  you plan to read it, or if you've already read the book and what you think of it.
Also let us know which books you've found to be especially useful in developing your own
unique sense of style - your fashion bible/s.

We will be trying to cover some of the more widely acclaimed ones in a series of posts like this one.

NOTES-
The book is available on both Flipkart.com and Amazon.in

We like the book, but we would say you read through some customer reviews and take for a test ride at your local library ( you are not very likely to find it in many Indian libraries, my local Just Books branch doesn't have it),and then if you find it has timeless appeal and tips you find inspiring-buy it !

http://www.amazon.com/Parisian-Chic-Style-Guide-Fressange/product-reviews/2080200739/ref=dpx_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

Ines does a lot of these shopping videos that we think are great fun, take a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c250u-W78hI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE4o111VIwc

Vintage fashion: What, Who, Why and Where!!

What it is- Generally speaking, clothing which was produced before the 1920s is referred to as antique clothing and clothing from the 1920s to 20 years before the present day is considered vintage.Most vintage clothing has been previously worn, but a small percentage of pieces have not. These are often old warehouse stock, and more valuable than those that have been worn, especially if they have their original tags.
(Source- Wikipedia)
And while we are at it, it might make sense to explain what it isn't!
Vintage is not the same as retro, pre-owned/consignment or thrifting.
The difference between Vintage and Retro clothing: Retro, short for retrospective, or "vintage style" usually refers to clothing that imitates the style of a previous era and doesn't actually belong to it!
Now, we already told you Vintage could be pre-owned/consignment and vice-versa, but Vintage always belongs to a certain fashion-era.
Thrift- you could find vintage items in a thrift store, or thrift at a vintage store, but thrifting essentially refers to bargain hunting.

Who wears Vintage?: Well, let's just say the "who's who" of A-list celebrities...
Alexa Chung, Rachel Zoe (!!), Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts ,Kirsten Dunst, Kate Moss, Mila Jovovich, Nicole Kidman...convinced yet?
Please note- the fans are a mix of some really young as well as mature ladies of style!

Why?: It's obvious isn't it? Most genuinely stylish women hate to look like everyone else, even if they are wearing a $3K top, so they seek out unique cuts and styles from a certain era and mix it up with their modern buys to create unique looks.So- the answer is "for the uniqueness factor".
It's also a way to show off your knowledge of fashion history, your eclectic and irreverent taste and your
 " sharp eye" for classic Chanel,Givenchy and Dior.

Where do they get Vintage?: It's true that celebrities can afford extremely knowledgeable and connected stylists who are always on the hunt for them, across a network of Online and Offline vintage boutiques spread around US and Europe, but online Vintage is accessible to all.

Here is a list of some the top online Vintage destinations (to suit all pockets ) that style gurus swear by, but unfortunately they aren't in India yet!!
Maybe the market needs to mature a little, after all we still have plenty of people who turn up their noses at Vintage and think it's just a euphemism for old and cheap...
 :-(
But fret not, some of them do ship to India, in case you are really desperate!

Ritual Vintage: http://www.ritualvintage.com/

eBay store - Maki Maki Vintage: http://stores.ebay.com/MakiMaki-Vintage

Farfetch.com Vintage Section:
 http://www.farfetch.com/in/shopping/women/vintage-archive-1/items.aspx
PS- They ship to India

ASOS Vintage: https://marketplace.asos.com/boutiques/vintage
Note- We would classify these as "Vintage inspired" more than actual Vintage...or maybe they are lesser/unknown brands and that is why we feel so!

Etsy Shop- TanakaVintage : http://www.etsy.com/in-en/shop/TanakaVintage
Same here- More Retro and Vintage inspired than vintage, but again that may not be the case and it might just be that these are relatively less known brands of clothing.











So, here's hoping that some really good online vintage boutiques make an appearance in India!

A few more resources to discover some great vintage stores (online and  brick & mortar) are shared below, hope you enjoy them. Don't forget to check out http://colletteconsignment.com/ though they don't sell online their merchandise is simple amazing.

Do write and let us know if you shop vintage and what styles you buy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2012/11/23/consignment-shop-treasures-where-to-go-and-what-to-buy/

http://www.stylist.co.uk/fashion/where-to-buy-vintage-online

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/541102/the-eight-best-online-vintage-stores.html

http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/activities/shopping/specialist-shop/vintage-fashions

http://www.theurbanlist.com/melbourne/a-list/melbournes-best-vintage-fashion-stores

http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2013/03/vintage-shopping-guide-paris-france

On a Business Trip, Don’t Forget to Pack Style

 It’s all about choosing the right clothing pieces to fit the needs of your travels, and making sure that you can mix and match each item.

If your job demands frequent travel or even work trips for key meetings and events, packing for the trip can be quite a chore. After all, you’re likely busy getting that presentation updated or winding up work before you leave. And yet, you don’t want to go away for nearly a week without being prepared and I bet you’d like to make an impact, without trying too hard. 

Over the years I have learned a few tricks that work well and a little more research reveals that you don’t have to leave your style quotient behind while managing the real estate of your suitcase. Here are a few tips to pack in a week’s worth of professional yet fashion-conscious clothing for business meetings, dinners, and parties.

The luggage first

While I don’t really care about very pricey brands (I mean, they are going to get tossed around by the couldn’t-care-less-if-its-a-Louis Vuitton-attendant at the airport) I do suggest good quality co-ordinated luggage sets that leave an impression as you check-in to the hotel.

Oh and your bag is your best friend on this trip so carry a large purse that can fit necessary items as well as small stuff like jewelry and accessories. 

Outfits for each occasion - This is where it gets tough

Look for women’s travel clothing brands that you can mix and match to have a new outfit for every day and each occasion, including a shopping or sight-seeing trip, work-out clothes or an evening out with friends. Wrinkle resistant clothes would work best - Jersey knits come to mind as they are soft and cool but drape nicely even when after traveling at the bottom of the suitcase for a week. Keeping a jersey knit sweater in your bag is a good idea for those destinations with quick weather changes or trips that include a lot of air conditioned conference rooms. Do invest in travel skirts, dresses and tops that will stay fresh and do double duty.

Go for neutral colors. This may sound a bit boring but you’ll find that with a little creativity you can put together several outfits awarding you the same flexibility while traveling that you would have when standing in front of your wardrobe at home. I usually pick a colour-scheme for each trip - my favourite is black, navy and grey but I like beige and nudes too. Then go ahead and get glamourous using bold accessories like a statement-necklace, large bracelet or ring, patterned scarf to spice up any look when needed. Plan your footwear also based on this colour scheme ensuring you carry 2-3 pairs which cover all your outfits - chunky wedges, studded flats, buckle boots make for great all-purpose shoes that work well to dress up or down, plus your feet won’t get tired running around in them all day. While deciding on lingerie - be practical and carry your tried and tested reliable ones keeping a few socks, stockings and shoe-liners handy. Night wear should be comfortable and all-weather.

Personally, I have always found that in a global networking meet, a bright saree with an Indo-western fusion blouse will get you the most hand-shakes and compliments from both men and women. So ladies, go for it! Its and elegant style that projects a certain confidence with a hint of pride.

Can packing for a business trip be a numbers game?

If you mix and match 3 bottoms with 4 tops that equals 12 outfits. Add a dress and you have 2 full weeks of unique looks! Then the jacket or two and you have your professional attire when you need it. Hmmm - does this all really add up - It actually can. Just imagine each piece in all settings and get creative while accessorizing to create a new look using the same items of clothing.  

As for packing...

Roll or flatten your clothes while packing - don’t stack. I prefer to lay out my clothes versus rolling them - they are business clothes after all and it seems almost disrespectful to roll them up. Slacks should be folded only once and laid flat in the bottom of the suitcase, and then staggered to cover the entire bottom. Skirts, sweaters, blouses should also be folded in half and staggered; remember no high piles. Don't lose that valuable space in the middle and corners of the luggage! Another good tip is to create little compartments for example a leak proof make up bag for toiletries so that they don’t spill and cause chaos. A lingerie caddy is another useful packing accessory.

Some more useful travel tips

• Carry very few liquids - even hair conditioner is available in a solid bar which means no leaks (Lush Jungle Hair Conditioner) 
• Do remember to carry under eye repair make up - overnight creams for jet-lag, a hand and nail lotion for a rub after those endless handshakes and your favourite perfume that will always perk you up after a long flight or day - leave you feeling and smelling fresh. A good tip here is to own a travel-size of your favourite beauty products.
• Multi-task your cosmetics and carry combination beauty products like a foundation that acts as sunblock or a lip and cheek tint.

You are traveling for work so don’t forget...

• Business cards in a soft leather, stylish card holder
• Pen and note pad (yes even in this e-age, it is important)
• Laptop/ tablet + power cords, chargers, USB flash drive, remote internet access card - your e-friends - Tip: A funky laptop or tablet case adds a touch of fun to your otherwise picture perfect look!
• Your pills / vitamins / ointments.

Do share your travel tips with us and we will compile all the good ones and post them pack in version 2 of this blog.

Thrifty like a Rockstar OR The Resale market: what consumers want.

Before we do a post introducing everyone to swapzaar *, and why we think "eCommerce is great,

but Re-Commerce is even better" here is a post that talks about why this business trend is big and sustainable, and it's from the business that inspired us- threadflip.

A recent study conducted by Global Market Insite (GMI) shows that shopping for Vintage/ resale/pre-owned/pre-loved (no one calls them second-hand anymore, honey) items is growing in popularity across the board (men, women, young and old alike) , a part of this growth could be attributed to the media attention that is being showered on Celebs who embrace the "un-extraordinary life" through Vintage fashion and Thrifting, like regular young fashion lovers.

And while eBay is the most popular place to buys second-hand goods, garage sales and car-boot sales are popular across age groups too.
The cash-strapped young folks between 18-24 prefer to shop online for resale/second hand items mostly for the cost, convenience and variety factors.
Second had goods can be surprisingly trendy, especially now that 70s/80s/90s looks are back.
Older folks do second-hand shopping too, but the reasons they state are different, they are more likely to buy re-sale stuff if they can support a charitable cause.

Younger people pick up more clothes and fashion items, while the older folks prefer to pick up Books or Furniture etc. Women are more likely to shop for Vintage clothes, Books and jewelry while men tend to pick up DVDs, Tools, Books and so on.
Women state that they like to do it for the bargain hunting thrill, but men are a little slower to adopt second hand shopping for reasons best known to them!

Some reports state that UK consumers have over £30bn worth of clothes in their wardrobes, of
which 30 per cent haven’t been used for a year, and it is likely to be a similar figure across most
developed and developing nations, so there definitely is a lot of stuff to be sold and bought!

Overall it looks like the second hand goods market is likely to continue growing, especially since shopping has become the world's favorite pass time! The mixed motivations of finding a bargain and/or supporting a cause (a charity or fashion with a conscience) seems to be resonating with consumers.

This fantastic info-graphic reveals a lot about the preferences of second-hand goods shoppers.
(click on image to see the larger version)

* Swapzaar, of course, is our new Indian online fashion re-commerce store, and we are excited to be launching it in June this year!! We'll keep you posted on how things go...
Btw, if you are an Indian fashionista and you have amazing fashion items idling in your closet, feel free to list them on swapzaar!

Some research reports that are available for download (not the one by GMI) are linked below:

http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/study-consumer-second-hand-shopping-identify-re-use-behaviour-0

http://dominique-roux.e-monsite.com/medias/files/Roux-and-Guiot-RAM-English-edition-2008-23-4.pdf

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2135785



NOTE- This post also appeared earlier on a sister blog:

Exciting Blog Post Contest! Something Borrowed, Something New...

Hey people, It's been so long but it feels like home :-)

As we may have mentioned earlier, we have been really busy with developing our platform http://swapzaar.com/ and we are happy to say we are sort of ready to share it with our first set of potential customers (all strangers)  for real life feedback- and we kid you not, it's scary as hell!
We had our first focus group session  last Saturday. Humble beginnings, but the feedback
was positive (we also got lots of ideas for product features and improvements), it was fun.

Swapzaar is all about the new-age concepts like "Vintage Fashion", "Indie and DIY Fashion",  "Fashion resale" and "Thrifting" (online of course) which have become huge trends even with Celebs and Bonafide fashion Icons. Don't believe us? Check out this article  and this one here.

So some of the things Swapzaar could be used for include:
>> Buy/Sell fashion resale items
>> Buy/Sell Vintage fashion
>> Buy/Sell DIY fashion items ( Hand painted silk scarves or slogan tees etc.)
>> Buy/Sell one of a kind craft items (Crochet blankets, Stoles, hand appliquéd quilts)
>>Trade stuff you bought from some exotic far off Holiday Destinations

But more on that later, we will be doing a wider launch to our online audience soon and we hope you guys will like our business and help us with fabulous ideas to take it to the next level.
Customer feedback is the Voice of God!

Meanwhile we want to reward your patience and for that here's a interesting contest:
It's simple really (really?!);  you have to write a well-informed, witty and original blog-post on one of the following topics:

1) Vintage Fashion: Will the trend ever catch on in India?

2) Thrifting: Fun or gross?

3) DIY (Do it Yourself Crafts) : Can it ever be a serious money-making business?


Send us links to you entries either in the comments section below or on our facebook page (we are posting this contest there as well) on or before 15th April and you could win an exciting gifts from Mango, Zara or Accessorize.

Some rules to keep in mind:

• Not to sound pushy, but you have to like us on FB,  follow our Blog and Twitter feed to be eligible.
  (we are a startup and we need your support and love)
• We are not biased whether you are for or against any topic as long as your post is great.
• Your post should be well written, while you can link or quote stats from elsewhere the opinions expressed there have to be original and intelligent!
• The last date for entry is 15th April 2014 ( contest closes midnight of 15th IST)
• Contest open to Indian Nationals only.
• Judges decision is final.

Hope you enjoy this contest, may the best Woman (or Man) win!