HERE it comes. It’s that time of the year when the blankets come out and when that peculiar snugly feel sneaks into our houses. Yes! It’s winter, and it’s back.
The winter season in Karachi begins at the end of November and fades away by February. However, lively and adventurous as the people of Karachi are, they make the most out of this season. More than atmospheric changes, I guess it’s the preparation for the winter that makes things more lively.
Even with a cool breeze blowing, the winter season has a certain feeling of warmth to it. With so many festivals lined up, winter shopping coincides with festival shopping. This makes the shopping experience even more interesting.
Tucked in their warm clothing, parading the shopping malls with a cup of coffee in one hand while the other placed well inside the pocket or within the shawl; this is how the Karachiites celebrate their winter.
This year should also be no different when it comes to the winter spirit. Almost all the stores have already been flooded with the latest winter collections and accessories. So get those winter shopping lists ready because here’s a roundup of what’s hot and what’s not this winter.
WINTER HOTS: Almost all the outlets in Karachi have come up with their winter collections. There is actually a flood of goods to choose from. With so much choice, one thing that becomes excessively difficult is ‘to choose’. Here are a few suggestions regarding what to pick and what to avoid.
Since the winter in Karachi is of a mild nature, anything moderately warm is the right thing to lay your hands on.
The fabrics to hunt this winter season are cotton, fleece, suede, linen, wool and khaddar.
Winter search for women is a tantalizing treat as there is a wider and a more versatile variety of goodies to choose from. While young girls can conveniently get trendy cape shawls, sweaters or pullovers that would go with their denim jeans, the older lot can wear warm fabrics like khaddar, linen or Japanese cloth.
Men, on the other hand, have a more simplified range to choose from. Not that their winter options are any less than women’s. Men’s sections can be seen overflowing with fleece jackets, wool and cotton sweaters as well as turtlenecks. While the former are indeed a wise choice for men’s winterwear the turtlenecks are what have been causing a stir on the winter fashion scene, both for men and women.
Another great option are the fleece sweaters. They are all over the place. The good thing about fleece sweaters is that despite their texture being woolly, they are less itchy.
The only problem when buying a woollen sweater is that you are never too sure whether it’s the right thickness. Thicker than what you might want and you end up with sweat running down your spine and worse, the itchy sensation.
A nice fleece sweater will save you the trouble.
ACCESSORIZE: An intelligent investment in the winter is to buy winter accessories. Now many people will know this by experience that it’s the head, feet and hands that freeze before the rest of the body.
Winter accessories include hats, socks, stoles, scarves and shawls. Try to make your accessories as practical and long lasting as possible and you can do that by picking up the right colour and the right material.
Accessorize yourself with basic dark shades like black, brown, grey, beige or many of the earth tone colours.
FOOTWEAR: Try to be cautious this winter and get shoes that should be trendy and can cover your feet well.
Khussas are back on the rack. They are indeed a good buy as they cover your feet well.
FROSTBITE: Who wouldn’t like the idea of being tucked in a blanket in the winter, peeling through the peanuts and the chilgozas while the hissing kettle makes the warm coffee? These are the winter moments that are wonderful.
These days Karachi has numerous eating outlets ranging from restaurants to dhaabas. Karachiites’ love to eat. The whole idea of pacing into restaurants or even sitting out in the open, while wrapped up in jackets and sweaters and biting into donuts or sipping at coffee or tea is very exciting.
Walking into a Karachi cafe in the winter is a great experience. You can see a mug of coffee brimming with creamy froth and a double scoop ice cream delight with chocolate chip cookies right there on the same table.
An interesting choice to try out this winter would be sheesha. Try out flavours like: coffee, cappuccino, chocolate, apple.
WHAT PEOPLE WANT: In the winter you have to buy everything very cautiously since all those layers of sweaters and shawls make you look extra bulky.
“I am looking for something warm that is also hip,” says Madiha, a 20-year-old medical student.
“A cool winter buy for me would be a pair of baggy jeans, with a high-neck sweater and I might just add a winter hat wouldn’t also be a bad idea. It will keep me from catching a cold,” says Hamad, a 16-year-old student.
Can’t agree more with the young fellow. For a teenager, especially a boy, this is almost all the fashion that there should be. The rest can easily be handled with the attitude that comes with teenage itself.
“My winter buy (purely out of dire need) is some good business casuals. Something that is formal, decent but equally relaxing. Something that basically compliments both my job and age,” says Wasay Farooqi, a 24-year-old business executive.
Housewives can be found busy clearing up old stocks from their refrigerators before the winter arrives. “I love the winter because this whole season you can keep stuffing your fridge with the winter food stock, without worrying about it getting stale, if not used quickly enough. So this season it’s you who decide when the food comes out and not the season,” says Nudrat Anjum, a housewife.
‘Thank god its winters, now I can put dark makeup on, without anyone condemning the colours of my lipstick and eye shadow. I will spend happily on a fresh makeup kit,” says Zainab, a student.
These impressions came from different people hailing from varied spheres of life. However, there were also some people whose ideas were a tad different.
“I won’t be buying anything this winter. I am saving money to buy a present for my girlfriend,” says a 20-year-old boy.
HERE it comes. It’s that time of the year when the blankets come out and when that peculiar snugly feel sneaks into our houses. Yes! It’s winter, and it’s back.
