Shop from a fashion blogger’s closet

Blogger Imsurenla Longkumer of The Aili (As I Like It)

Want to bag the best bargains on designer wear and rare vintage finds? Rummage through the cupboards of India's young and popular fashion bloggers

 
One thousand five hundred people are helping Imsurenla Longkumer, a 20-year-old former student of Delhi University, move to Bengaluru where she will start an MBA course this June. The fashionable girl from Nagaland is clearing her closet, and followers of her two-year-old blog, The Aili (As I Like It) are snapping up her branded shoes and garments at a discount. Since the 'sale' kicked off in the first week of May, the fashion blogger has sold a pair of black wedge boots that she tagged 1,000 lower than their original price. "I had slipped into them only a couple of times, and gently," she says in their defence.

Blogger Lesly Lobeni of Lazy Manx Cat

Longkumer has been selling fashion items from her own cupboard, including footwear, to stylish Indians looking for a bargain on high street brands and flea market gems. She is one among an expanding group of young lifestyle bloggers, who now, in addition to posting style tips and What's New reports, are setting up blog shops that feed off their own wardrobes.

Lesly Lobeni, who went "from writing history essays to blogging on fashion," is 23 years, and everything that makes its way to her blog shop is from her own closet, too. Garments and shoes bought from international sites don't always fit, making them ideal to sell online. "Then there is weight fluctuation to consider. Some things just need to go, as they've become too tight or too small," says Lobeni, who maintains the blog, Lazy Manx Cat.

Blogger Ruhi Sheikh of Republic of Chic

Most members of this community have regular day jobs. When 25-year-old Ruhi Sheikh from Bengaluru missed the application deadline for the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, she studied chartered accountancy and became a risk consultant, but not without kicking off a fashion blog in January this year. Republic of Chic, she says, has a punk, DIY feel to it. "It's about real girls, real style. We are moving away from the lip-glossed, manufactured image of the woman considered 'ideal'," she says. What started off as selling a few designer pieces she had outgrown, grew into a full-fledged blog shop inspired by her travels. Last month's trip to Rajasthan introduced her to a studio that turns vintage Indian textiles into contemporary products. Bags, sunglasses and jewellery amassed from her trips will be up for sale soon. Payment for most items is via cheques, DDs and online transfers. International customers use Paypal. Sheikh plans to start a website in a month, with a payment gateway. 

Blogger Neha Kapil Pathak 

New Delhi-based blogger Neha Kapil Pathak, she launched the Neha Kapil Boutique online a month ago, although she has been blogging for two years. A trip to Mumbai saw her explore shopping havens like Chor Bazaar, Dharavi, Colaba Causeway and Mangaldas Market.  These blog posts made her page hits jump from 300 to 12,300 in just five months, with visitors coming in from 108 countries. She’s currently selling: A bridal lehenga that belonged to her sister-in-law. Original price: 19,000. Blog shop price: 7,000. 

TanviRastogi, 30-year-old hospitality and marketing major, grew up in New Delhi and currently resides in San Antonio, Texas. She has been blogging for the last three years at her blog titled The Fabulous Life of No-so-rich and Infamous and plans to go full-time with an online store Crazy & Co. She has been to a local blogger swap too, “It was organised by a Texas Style Council (a blogging community) and help in Austin, TX. It is a plain swap where everyone brings in two pieces from their closet and in exchange pick up two pieces from the Swap. I gave away a Converse dress and a no-brand top and in return got a Marc Jacob's Dress and a DvF Jacket.” Tanvi has also shopped on blogs and remembers recently buying a necklace, ring and a bracelet from a blogger's closet!

 

Blogger Tanvi Rastogi

One of New Delhi's better known bloggers, Akanksha Redhu is a designer. Closet blog shops are a rage in the West. Here, it's a trend that catching up, she says. "The young Indian buyer is looking for funky fashion that helps him stand out in a crowd. It hardly matters if it's branded or second-hand, as long as it's unique," says Redhu, whose blog receives between up to 40,000 page hits a day. Redhu and co. are being taken seriously by brands, too.

Online fashion store Myntra has created a special blog roll for them. Founder Mukesh Bansal says, "The online shopping community is typically made up of professionals aged 25 to 36 years, and collegians aged 18 to 25 years. The first bunch looks for basics to plug holes in their wardrobes: formal trousers, polo tees. The second bunch, that relies on pocket money, is looking for bargains," he says. Little wonder then, that blog shops are popular. 

Blogger Akanksha Redhu

Tips to shop from another's closet

• Don't expect Miu Miu or Chanel at 80 per cent off! Most items you find in a blogger's closet are high street brands or thrifted items. 
• Check on the return policy. If there isn't one, be careful about what you pick. 
• Inquire about shipping costs. Shopping costs can increase dramatically with the addition of transportation charges. 
• Subscribe to the blog or a feed so that you are instantly updated on sales and are the first to snatch your favourite marked down items (competition is high and nasty).
  Ask clear and specific questions about size and exact wear (and tear) for pre-worn items. 
• If you see something you like, buy it instantly. Blog shops are reasonably priced or should we say unbelievably priced. You won't get what you see for that sort of money elsewhere. 
• Ask for original price and reason for selling. 
• Request the blogger for more than one picture of the item. 
• Wash or dry-clean item before wearing. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life--style/fashion/trends/Shop-from-a-fashion-bloggers-closet/articleshow/13313689.cms?intenttarget=no