The Sunday News
FORGET the conventional flee markets and the weekend Tower Block market; mobile boutiques are the latest in bringing fashion closer to you.
I hate to brag but I did mention at one point in time in this column that mobile clothing boutiques would soon become prominent features across the country.
While these are unorthodox type of clothing boutiques, they seem to be the latest form of a shopper’s paradise.
So convenient are they, as they come right to your doorstep but they are illegal.
For those that own these mobile boutiques please don’t get me wrong but facts are facts. I do understand that everyone is trying to make a living in these harsh economic times and it is expected for people to come across such a phenomenon.
Mobile boutiques seem to be spreading all over the city and perhaps the country.
Despite giving formal boutiques a good run for their money with cheap prices they do bring with them some of the latest and vintage trends in fashion.
Mobile boutiques began as an underground indie movement but are quickly gaining steam with fashionistas from across towns.
Many of these boutiques are mostly active during the weekend and on pay days. I always dread them on these days but somehow the owners manage to lure people into buying their items, of course on terms such as paying at the end of the other month or in instalments.
I long for the day we witness our country become so advanced that some of these shops are able to reach out or connect with shoppers via Twitter and Facebook to allow followers to find them no matter where they are.
One of the mobile boutique owners that I managed to track, who’d rather have her name off the paper, said one of the most frustrating things in driving around selling clothes was finding a perfect parking spot and harassment from council cops.
For those that might know the lady I am talking about, she drives a glossy-coloured, blue family vehicle, with stocks of men and women’s clothes in the boot and back seats.
Items in the car range from as little as $8 and reach a high of $80, although negotiable.
After asking where some of these clothes and accessories are ordered from she told me that she gets most of the stuff from South Africa, China and Dubai.
Most of these mobile boutique owners say that they invest a lot in this venture and believe it is the next generation in clothing boutique fashion.
As I noted their most active days, weekends and pay days their preferred targets are civil servants and other people employed in the formal sector.
I understand the trend may have been adopted from America, where according to reports there are nearly 100 American Mobile Retail Association members nationwide.
In America the trend began in 2010 when designer brands like Alice + Olivia and Cynthia Rowley took their collections on the road. Later, discount chain Marshalls featured a fashion truck on its television advertisements.
Combining the convenience of online shopping with the ability to try on clothes before you buy, the concept is popular in urban centres from coast to coast.
Another very popular mobile boutique in the city is owned by one man, who has seen it all from people ordering some of the most expensive clothes to ill debtors (those who seek cover at the mere sight of him), is none other than Bra Fact Ncube.
I should be honest and note that I too have been purchasing some items from him here and there.
On the brighter side of things he has managed to better his life, not that it was on the South side but since popularising the concept he has somewhat become a notable mobile store across the city.
Till next week let’s keep styling.
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