Fashion setters speak on winter trends
’MAPALO NKHELOANE
MASERU – Most people consider winter a terrible season as far as style and fashion are concerned.
This is because they claim it is nearly impossible to keep looking stylish when it is cold.
Such people are of the belief that with winter, you either choose warmth or style.
Perhaps that is why in Lesotho we have phrases like, “mahipi a shoela corning” which in simpler English mean a person will die of coldness trying to look all stylish and pretty.
Fashion gurus in the business of selling clothes which usually set trends beg to differ with the above accession, emphasising that winter does not in any way stand in the way of one looking extra ‘hot’.
Ts’epang Moiloa, popularly known by his entrepreneurial name Mr CEO, indicates that a hat, although usually not considered that much contributes a lot to one’s winter look.
Moiloa therefore says a beanie is the new in-thing this winter.
He says the nice thing about a beanie is that it suits all genders and comes with various colours and is best complimented by shades or sunglasses.
This poses a question “if you do not own a beanie, what do you put on your head this winter?”
Moiloa further says for guys, suits are a trend especially when worn with a polo neck. Blazers were known to be worn with t-shirts, mainly because tuxedos are known to be a white collar job kind of dressing, but now, according to Moiloa, a polo neck also gives it a great and elegant look.
For women, Moiloa says long coats and thigh-high boots is this winter’s trend.
He says this look is good for every woman but mostly for a chubby woman as the coat is given shape by the body.
Moiloa is the man behind the Fashion Grill event whose aim is to grant people a platform to showcase their fashion style.
He sells clothes for a living and says he has always been passionate about fashion and clothes in general hence the decision to eke a living on clothes selling.
Moiloa says clothes give him confidence and earns him respect while also making him look elegant adding this earned him the name Mr CEO for dressing like one; smart and elegantly.
The name came up because people would tell him he sells and dresses on clothes that were new to their eyes or what they only saw on television so they called him the CEO of the industry.
According to him, fashion best defines a person; it gives a revelation of who a person really is.
He therefore strongly urges people to do away with the stereotype that fashion is reserved for certain individuals alone.
’Mathabiso Ts’oeu, also in the business of selling clothes, says winter is a topic closer to her heart as she is in love with winter fashion.
She says she is mostly in love with winter street styles, with various types of jackets, sweaters, boots, sneakers and scarves.
Ts’oeu says teddy bear coats and puffer jackets are huge this winter and are literally the warmest things ever, also adding that the nice thing about them is the fact that one can wear them with anything depending on their mood.
“A pair of jeans, sneakers, turtleneck and throw over your teddy bear coat and meet up with your girlfriends for lunch or a nice knitted dress, a pair of high heel boots with your fur coat and go to a meeting,” Ts’oeu says.
She maintains that one can be stylish even in the midst of a minus 10-degree weather.
She emphasises that just because it is freezing outside does not mean people should give up on style – it just means they should think creatively when getting dressed in after a bath.
She says although it can be a challenge to many, it is still doable.
