Dressing in winter is always a little difficult. You have to somehow figure out how to wear many layers of warm clothes while still looking stylish. Here, a few fashion industry professionals show The Week how they dress up every day during the cold weather, balancing style with warmth and comfort.

2019 was an action packed year for K-pop. Although the year will be remembered by many as one of the saddest in K-pop history because of the many disbandments, members ominously leaving their groups, many scandals and, most importantly, the passing of two big stars, Sulli and Goo Hara, 2019 K-pop also had its fair share of high moments—especially in music. Here are some highlights.

Trishna Singh Bhandari, founder of Mithila House, claims that most Nepalis have a very narrow idea of Mithila art. According to Singh, people often think Mithila art is just wall art and paintings with side-turned faces when it’s actually so much more than that. It was to bring about a shift in that mindset that Singh founded Mithila House. She wanted to promote this exquisite, traditional form of art in all its glory.  “I realized that most people in Kathmandu and even other parts of Nepal don’t know much about Mithila art or appreciate it for what it is and wanted to change that,” says Bhandari who is originally from Mahottari. Thus, developing a platform that would propel this form of ancient art into mainstream attention became crucial.

In a recent interview with The Week, designer Prabal Gurung said that everyone who is involved in the Nepali fashion scene has to be a stickler for quality for it to prosper. He also spoke about the power of empathy to create stunning designs. What else can the Nepali fashion industry learn from him and, by extension, the international fashion scene?

If you like to keep yourself abreast of what’s happening in the fashion scene in Nepal, you might be familiar with photographer Sujan Pradhan Shrestha’s works. Shrestha, who takes the official photos for quite a few fashion brands including DS Collections, is a popular name within the fashion industry. However, for Shrestha, photography was just a hobby initially and he never thought it would go on to become a full-fledged career for him.

When Prabal Gurung casually strolled into Nagarik Network’s office in Kamaladi on a warm sunny Tuesday afternoon and shook my hand, it took every ounce of strength I had to be able to make a coherent sentence in my head and introduce myself. When he asked me my name for the second time, leaning in a bit so that he could hear me mumble it again, I couldn’t help but wonder why getting my name right would even matter to him.

One of the major agendas of the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign is to promote local tourism. More Nepalis need to explore Nepal, so believe the authorities behind the campaign. But most of the Nepalis The Week spoke to don’t think much effort has been made in that regard.

Something my parents always advise me to do is to pack my own lunch and snacks every day and to avoid eating out as much as possible. For them, eating out equals eating greasy and unhealthy food and that might be true a lot of times since a majority of restaurants do serve such food. But every once in a while, you stumble across that one eatery that serves everything fresh and healthy – a place that gets even your parents’ approval. That is Kairos Café for me.

Subi Manandhar is a number of things. She’s a fashion designer, stylist, certified makeup artist and, interestingly, a biker as well. And although she is only 26 years old, she has been working professionally in the fashion industry for over six years now.

I’ve never enjoyed stories about animals. I didn’t cry while watching The Lion King (which says a lot because you’ll usually find me tearing up by the end of most Disney movies, even the happy ones) and always get bored halfway through movies like Finding Nemo and The Jungle Book. You could say I’m not really an animal person.

My trip to Janakpur was an impromptu one, something my friend and I decided on a day before we departed. So, I didn’t really have big expectations from or detailed plans for this trip, which turned out to be for the better. I’ve finally understood why people say ‘unplanned trips are always the best.’

Hearing stories of women having to undergo strange ‘rituals’ and ‘rules’ just because they get periods always upsets me. When I first learned about ‘Chhaupadi’ and ‘Gufa prathas’ during a middle school social studies class, I was appalled by the fact that the society would punish women to either live out of their houses – in dangerous conditions – or lock them in a room, not letting them see the sun at all for something that is only natural and also completely out of their control.

When Raunak Jha first came to Kathmandu for his +2 about a year ago, he was shocked to see how dirty the city was. Jha, who is from Sarlahi, mentions that he had heard people complaining about the pollution in the capital but he didn’t realize how severe this problem was before seeing it for himself. And now that his initial excitement over living in Kathmandu has died down, he can’t get over his irritation with the massive unmanaged waste problem in the city.

After watching quite a few K-dramas over the past few years, I’ve realized that it’s the less dramatic ones that are relatable and based on everyday lives of people that is my cup of tea. And that’s why I enjoyed watching Romance is a Bonus Book. It tells a heart warming story of a struggling single mother, Kang Dan Yi, and how she finally manages to get a job after taking a few years off to look after her daughter in the competitive, harsh and fast paced office setting of South Korea.

You know you need to have that slightly aching tooth checked out before it gets worse. But you dread going to the dentist. And so you put it off, promising yourself you will go next week. Before you know it’s been six months and you are consciously using the right side of your mouth to chew.

Nepali families have been using things like mustard seed pillows, clothes made out of Dhaka, and kokro (a cot – typically made from bamboo – used to carry babies) for centuries for maternity and childcare purposes. Most of these pregnancy and childcare traditions have various scientific reasons behind them. It’s usually for the benefit of the newborn and the mother as well.

Orient fashion as a trend is nothing new but it isn’t a style that many consider to be fashionable. And it can be quite tricky to get it right as well. But 21-year-old Ojaswi Shrestha, stylist and designer based in Kathmandu, claims that oriental fashion is very stylish and can really up your dressing game.

“I travel because it makes me feel free and unrestricted. It has taught me to treasure the small moments that make up my life and not to cling on to the concept of forever,” says Anima Piya. She is an avid traveler from Chitwan who is currently residing in Kathmandu and working as a Civil Engineer at a consultancy in Kupondole, Lalitpur. Till date, she has traveled to Tilicho lake, Lomanthang in Upper Mustang, Phoksundo lake, Gosainkunda lake, London, South Korea, and Bali among other destinations.

It’s a world of opinions and comments. And that’s never more evident to me than when my friends finish watching a movie or series or reading a book. They have lots of comments about the script, cinematography, editing, and every other aspect there is to analyze and mull over. I feel we sometimes make so much noise about unnecessary things that the most important aspect usually goes unnoticed.

Vagya Kachhapati has been modeling since her high school days. The 19-year-old rising modeling star joined the industry after becoming the runner-up of House of Fashion’s En Vogue series in 2017 and has, till date, featured in numerous advertising campaigns and walked equally many runway shows.