“All women are interested in these stuffs. Some say it and some don’t. Even men do. Every man has a little feminine streak in them and every woman has male streak in them,” observes Sarkar. [break] Sarkar is a corporate business development consultant for Nepal Recreation Center .
Versatile Baba started her career as the sub-editor for the country’s oldest English newspaper Rising Nepal. It was early 80’s, right after her the exams of School Leaving Certificate (SLC) when she joined the publication house.
“I was usually sent for drama reviews and programs hosted by embassies, which usually was scheduled during evenings,” she adds, “I used to come back and work on a type writer in the night desk.” The sweetness in her voice hides the enduring tasks of the job as one of the first female journalist writing in English. Currently she looks after the publications of Nepal Airlines’ Inflight magazine, the Shangri La.
Her attraction towards shoes dates back to her school days. “For some reason I had fascination for boots. It was before my SLC,” she funnily adds, “I bought a pair of them which was relatively big for my feet so to fit in them I used to wear double socks.” But the first pair of shoes she remembers is her white canvas shoes, which she chalked to bring the extra whiteness in them.
Adorned in a stylish flats festooned in lots of small gilded bells Baba informs, “I bought three pairs of such flats in golden and other three in silver color because they are very comfortable and rakish to walk in.”
And she usually does that. “When I like a particular pair of footwear or bags, I get couple of them. I fear that the market will not provide such shoes again. My father used to do the same in terms of clothes.” She still remembers her mother getting angry with her father. “He liked light blue shirt and dark suits therefore he would have six such shirts in his closet,” recalls Baba who is also the vice president of the United Nation’s Women Organization in Nepal.
Her collection of shoes comes in variety of bodily shapes and structures. Wedges in colors with unique heels, red gladiator heels, green structured sandal, and a pair of small heels with transparent straps and a round cut object look a like to a crystal. “I particularly like the later pair because of its straps. When wearing it, the straps make it feel that the round object is the only thing that’s holding the foot to the sandals,” explains Baba. And her bags collections are dominated by small embellished bags.
So this time around the style issue of Republica caught up with the woman with warm smile and tons of shoes and bags in her closet for some dos and don’ts regarding the footwears and some on bags.
DOs
1) The first rule on buying shoes should be how comfortable they are while supporting the weight of our body evenly on the right points of our feet. One does spend a considerable amount of time standing on them, and if one is plus size like me, it’s a nightmare. A badly cut heel can get you in corns and cramps in just few hours.
2) Manufactures use a lot of convincing words to sell shoes. If the tag says ‘waterproof leather’, especially on boots, it would generally mean the upper leather is but the seams and the soles are not. There are no federal guidelines restricting the use of the word waterproof.
3) Do invest on Swarovski studded, beaded or sequined bags. They look absolutely gorgeous for evenings. Matching shoes would be a great buy. You may not be Cinderella, but when you step out of the house, the world is watching you. So put your best foot forward.
4) For men, pure leather shoes are best for work. Socks should match the trousers. Lace shoes should be worn for formal occasions. Keep in mind the old saying, ‘A man is judged by his shoes’.
DON’T’S
1) Do not wear flats for an evening party. Instead wear the highest heels you can handle. It is an instant ego booster. High heels or peep-toe pumps will also give a feminine touch to the cargo pants, which is so much in this season.
2) The luggage you take on your travel is as much a part of your style statement as your clothes, whether it is a duffle bag, trolley bag or a suitcase. Do not buy a travel gear that does not look sturdy or durable. There are plenty of good quality and trendy options available in Nepal now.
3) When you are partying, do not take big bags. Bag as little as possible. One feels very unsafe leaving bags at parties where you do not know everyone. Just take a small bag with bare necessities like money, cell phone, makeup to a bare minimum. This way you will not have to lug your bag around.
4) Big totes are in vogue for everyday use. But do not buy them just for their looks. Choose a bag that has many pockets so that you can arrange your purse, makeup, cell accordingly. It will save you from emptying the entire contents every time you look for your parking change or your compact.
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