Top 10 Clothing Brands for Women The market is overflowing with fashionable brands to choose from and is so satiated that it is hard to remember which the brands that are there are. The styles and aesthetics are vastly variable and the experience of sorting through the same can be overwhelming and cumbersome. There are many labels which one might fall in love with as they start browsing online for brands. There are some brands which are very easy on the pockets like Choosy and some which are extremely pricey like Armani, Gucci etc. Every brand comes with its own story and their designs are as unique as the women who fall in love with their brands of the clothing line. Weekday: This is a Swedish retailer who is mostly recognised for launching the brand of pieces of denim known as Cheap Monday. They have the brand swamping clothing stores like Urban Outfitters and Barneys in the United States since they only cost 60 USD a pair. Although this store has been now acquired by H&M they are still selling various types of women’s clothing which are branded yet not so pricey such as Filippa K and Acne. Their stores also have a separate vintage section to boast of. American Apparel: This store had been established by Dov Charney who is notorious as far as retail business goes but the store also pulls in crowds like anything since clothing items like sheer skirts and silky slacks are offered at the best prices under this brand. Their price point is affordable and they sell basics which are unique all season round. Sizing may not always be on point but the offers are probably too good to pass up. GAP: This brand was founded in the year 1969 and was known as Levi’s and records. They were the first of its kind to be selling clothing under their own brand name to a target demographic who for them was the middle-class U.S citizens. This brand has now emerged as the biggest clothing retailer in the world selling pants which fit the best literally despite their stores being poorly stocked at times. Urban Outfitters: This clothing brand had come up in Philadelphia in the year 1970 and was erstwhile known as The Free People’s Store. This is a safe haven for students looking for trendy, cute and kitschy clothing. The big plus is houseware which is sold at cheap rates here. The consumer base goes, however, beyond just college students since this is one of the brands that are known to be making some amazing collaborations like with Paul & Joe, Corpus and Steve Alan. Topshop: This is a fast clothing retailer of fashion and a well-loved brand that is based in London. The shop or brand rather offers a trendy mix of staples and clothing worthy of being worn at parties etc. This store has global expanse and reaches out to markets beyond North America, Asia and Europe. This is one of the clothing brands that can cater to the needs of sportswear among other items of women’s clothing. They have worthwhile collaborations with Preen, Christopher Kane etc that are rated to be above average as far as their designs are concerned. H&M: This clothing brand needs no introduction since it has been there since 1947 being founded by Hennes and Mauritz. Its appeal is global in the business of women’s clothing. They have made collaborations with top-of-their-game designers like Stella McCartney and personalities such as Karl Lagerfeld. Grapevine says that the next grand collaboration will be with Alber Elbaz. Their collection can definitely change the wardrobe for anyone. Uniqlo: This brand goes head to head with GAP since it sells colourful clothing options like no other. The clothes are created in a way that they look more sophisticated and expensive than they actually are. They have a unique formals section for women including button-downs, suits, blazers and denim. They bring in shoppers by making clothing that projects ideals of affordable minimalism, for example, the collection by Jil Sander. They have also made collaborations with Costello Tagliapietra, Alexandra Wang, Phillip Lim etc. Zara: This is a Spanish retail brand that has made its mark all across the globe. They stock up on clothing items in trend as soon as they are launched. It is able to do the same since they produce clothing in factories owned by the brand itself. Their range of affordable work-wear is a rage in the United States already and rightfully so since they do not look shoddy as in comparison to how they are priced. COS: COSis an acronym for Collection of Style, and is yet another one of theclothing brands being owned by H&M which speaks volumes about how cleverly they market their clothing line for any gender. Their style among other brands is known for being refined along with well-edited drawing hundreds of European women to shop at its outlets. Their clothing line are most likely the most perfect pieces one can own and it does not even matter the name of the brand that it hails from. J. Crew: Although this brand is mostly known to be making clothing for everyone in the family they have a sturdy line offering clothes to women who revere fashion by is not tied down by its ever-changing norms. They have given an interesting twist to the regular t-shirts and denim since the year 1970. The clothing line are beautifully crafted, well-tailored having a great fit ensuring there is something for anybody and everybody. Conclusion The winner amongst these clothing brands is immensely difficult to choose from but my personal choice would be J. Crew despite its clothing line being known for being too girly. Brands and clothing lines are very subjective as it differs from person to person and another major factor for choosing brands comes in as affordability or the price point. Women’s clothing is as varied as can be ranging from work-wear to athleisure to that of sportswear and truth be told we are not complaining since the more the merrier. Sourced from: https://www.globalbrandsmagazine.com/top-10-clothing-brands-for-women/

Domestic violence has been called the “shadow pandemic” of today’s times. It is all the more relevant for us as progressive citizens since women (and men) are being stuck in houses with their abusers. Mental and moral gaslighting is bad enough and if physical trauma is added to the same it makes it ten times worse. People all around the world are trying to normalise the dialogue around mental health for both men and women however some part of our immediate society refuses to budge under the pretext that mental health issues are just too petty to be given any importance. Women have been morally and mentally tortured by keeping them in isolation by their husbands under the guise of protecting them from the current wave of Coronavirus. It has been reported to the national domestic Violence Hotline (overseas) that a woman has been threatened to be locked out if she tried to go outside or seek help in any way. Covid-19 is the new tool for separating a victim from family, friends and resources which might be of use to them. This trend has penetrated our country as well since abusers are now threatening to oust the victims so that they catch the disease and die. Matters are further aggravated by abusers withholding medical assistance and financial resources. According to Anita Bhatia who is the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations it is the social isolation that is weakening the morale of victims since the abusers are taking this as an opportunity to become crueller. The lockdown is hence a double-edged sword as the very precautions taken by millions of people all across the world from Europe to Asia is all set to throw victims at the mercy of their abusers. Domestic violence as it is is something that is lesser reported by victims even if one out of every three women has already experienced it. Women in India think it is a part of their family values to justify the behaviour of the abusers which mostly is their husband. Women have topped the list of being victims however men too can be victims. Shocking incidents such as men being drugged and raped (by women) have also surfaced in the past as LGBTQIA people also face tremendous violence domestically. Places like China have also shown an increase in the number of cases in 2020 when compared to that of the previous year which was 2019. Social activists have already called it the result of prolonged periods of enforced lockdown. Domestic violence is nothing but a manifestation of misplaced control and power where the abusers feel that they are unable to take control of their life and hence they can take it out on their victims. Unfortunately for the victims, they can no longer find temporary escape under the guise of going to work or visiting their friends. Victims are often not heard even given the best of situations and Corona is making sure that the medical facilities are running at capacity the reason why victims will be medically neglected. The same thing is happening as the victims are approaching therapists as well. They are overbooked by patients in trauma or depression due to the enforced lockdown. Women and men who have been abused are scared of reaching out since the fear of contamination and contraction is now intrinsic to their system. People with serious injuries are refusing to report their conditions and going down to hospitals since it increases the chances of viral contraction. The victims mostly have nowhere to go since seeking refuge at someone’s house might expose their friend or relative to the virus which the victim may be a carrier of. Travel is already banned internationally which is an impediment for the victims while shelters and NGOs are already overcrowded since the risk of infection is deemed to be very high. One of my friends belonging to the LGBTQIA community is being forced to live on the streets in Brighton and Cove (in the United Kingdom) since they were threatened and ousted by their landlords in London. Their reason for continuously tormenting their tenant was the fact that the individual staying under their roof was not “normal” according to them since they were gay and transsexual at the same time. All I could say to her was that things are in no way better for the so-called “cis-females” as well, taking worldwide records into account. Victims are losing their jobs like others during the current period of economic downturn and saving enough money to get out of an abusive relationship is nothing but a mere dream. The centres for social services are being hit bu the impending recession as well since they are facing backlogs in fundraising leading them to make cuts in allowances for altruistic activities. Domestic Violence hotlines across the world are making an effort in establishing a digital connection with the victims however they are not always able to communicate with any outside party given they are at home with the abuser(s). Online chatting or texting can only help so much since the abusers often do not let their victims have access to their own phones itself. The Government In India is known to be providing packages for care and paid leaves to women facing domestic abuse and it seems like men do not need any protection at all. Although still in minority males have also faced abuse in the society which should be looked after but is not. If women are given to be making all the decisions then how is justice or any opportunity going to be gender-sensitive. The theory has it that employers have been assigned with the “duty of care” towards their employees who are working from home currently. In theory, this is supposed to mean that employers are meant to be taking care to check if an employee is in a situation where they will be able to work or not. The situation of the employee may not be viable due to many reasons, domestic violence being one of the foremost. Bio Prapti Bhaumick is a Kolkata-based content writer for multiple institutions. Her Email-id is prapti.bh@gmail.com if anyone needs to get in touch.

Fashion has evolved from being a part of our lives to a multi-billion dollar industry however sustainability is still an issue that leaves us with a gap in the market. There needs to be a balance achieved between Profit, Planet and People in order to fulfil the criteria for sustainability however fashion is known to be one of the most polluting industries in the world. It seems like the triple bottom line has never been an object of concern for the fashion-forward consumers and designers since vegan leather which is actually supposed to be made from recycled material is made from anything that suits the designer’s fancy. It can also be crafted from polyurethane which means that it is actually plastic that is environmentally destructive. This is the same formula or ruse adopted by people in the food industry who sell packaging material under the guise of calling it “biodegradable plastic” except that it is not as biodegradable as we would want it to be. Veganism took the world by storm and became increasingly more popular as people for the first time understood the potential of sustainable living and plant-based diets. This is probably the first time that the fashion industry has taken inspiration from the food industry if not mother nature herself. Designer Stella McCartney has made a name for herself by creating fashion-forward clothes options and accessories from the sham that is “vegan leather”. There are many brands that have noticed a surge in their profit margins just by the sheer dint of selling leather boots. The world is falling for this marketing strategy by buying from the apparently cruelty-free line launched by popular fashion brands like Adidas and Topshop. Dr Kerry Senior who is the director of the UK’s leather trade federation has said that there is no such thing as “vegan” leather rather it is a tragic euphemism and abuse of the term “leather”. According to Ms Amy Powney who is the creative director of the designer label Mother of Pearl is of the opinion that synthetic leather can easily be replaced by genuine leather that is made with tanning agents which are natural. Both PU and PVC also going by the names of plastic polymers polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride respectively which are mostly used to make the so-called “faux leather” is actually environmentally unsustainable since they are manufactured from fossil fuels which are non-biodegradable. These faux leather items are more likely to last for a lesser amount of time which makes them being disposed off to land-fills post throwing them in the garbage. Stella McCartney is still using polyester that is recycled for producing garment items and makes sure that there are no issues of microfibre shedding thereby making sure than the environmental impact is reduced than other labels using leather dyed synthetically. Vegetable tanning is one of the things that have been supported by many of the companies of the UK and is a safe alternative considering how it is otherwise produced synthetically. There are also tanneries committing to ethical and environmentally-friendly practices however this so-called “clean technology” is yet to take effect. What is exactly is leather that is durable as well as ethically sourced, the answer to which is still under wraps. According to the US-based footwear brand Nisolo, it is the thorough testing of vegan goods to make sure that they adhere to the company standards for longevity and quality. Consumers should indeed be more aware of the supply-chain practices of the leading fashion company which will pass off anything as “vegan” as a marketing gimmick. Shoppers have to opt for repurposing items by choosing to buy second-hand leather objects and garments from vintage shops and various charities. This is lauded since secondhand material makes sure that animal lives are not lost, worker exploitation and environmental destruction does not occur. You must have heard of the controversy that states “ask Lilly Lashes to pull a Sephora”. The story behind the same is that PETA or People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals had organised a campaign taking signatures from “concerned shoppers” as per them so that fur eyelashes and mink eyelashes are banned. By the end of June in 2020, we got to hear that it was really banned by Sephora which is a huge win for humanity since millions of solitary and shy minks will now be left in peace and not slaughtered for their fur. This decision was mainly influenced by other popular lines of makeup such as Urban Decay, Too Faced and Tarte so that a crucial part of the biota can be protected. Minks have faced nothing short of torture in the fur farms where they are kept in tiny cages however sometimes they try to chew through the cages till their faces are badly cut and bleeding. It is truly inhuman to subject animals to so much torture just for the first-world needs of the fashion circle. Sephora was indeed desperate for recognition since they marketed the lashes to be “vegan” hitherto despite the fact that they anally electrocuted, gassed or killed the minks by breaking their necks so as to cut corners in the production cost. I am glad someone took notice and it is now official that they will only be selling faux-fur or synthetic lashes from now on. Lilly Lashes is guilty of the same as well however no one was kind enough to point out that they can be in the business by selling cruelty-free lashes as well. Also, there are animal-free lashes available in a variety of styles but a consumer will have to look for the same wherein lies the inevitable challenge.

I’m afraid my mind is running dry of inspiration every time I judge myself so no one else has to do that for me! Where do I stand in the world raving about self-love? Where maybe my goal is self-preservation I’m no Eliot who can say that “April is the cruellest month” However, living in denial offers no peace either Like rain-clouds on a sunny day they overcast my mind, body and personality Or is it that am I just too moody?! They say sarcasm is for winners, so I take the path of self-deprecating humour Haunting my mind and covering up my real feelings in tandem Some say my creativity is heavily inspired And I pretend I do not know what it means, but I do! Or maybe it was just another autosuggestion by my own mind?! Am I confused or just plain stupid...or is it that I am neither Lack of clarity kills more than any other known disease and more so in my case… Never feeling complete is my story...I’m a yin without yang or maybe the other way around Pardon my sloppy verse because we are all just a little bit left behind I fear not failure since perfection is a losing game... I’m so bad at doing many things at once yet that is what calls my name every time As a stupid idealistic this is my life where poetic justice is by far just a dream I know my verses lack rhyme And in the world of poetry, this is a but a true crime…