“Nils” is one of my personal favourite boutique clothing stores located in Nugegoda, Liberty Plaza and now in Wattala! Targeting the mod, working woman and the young party goer, I guarantee, Nils will soon be your new favourite clothing store! And they’re super affordable too! We spoke to the owner and co-founder of Nils, Sithumini Prematunge to find out more details about her store.

Tell us a little bit about the history of Nils. How did you start the store? Where are the operations run?

My father and mother used to run a ladies clothing retail chain as well as a ladies handbag collection by the name of Nils some time ago. They started in1989 and with the war and other issues they eventually closed all their retail shops and started doing other businesses. I think I was in grade 7 or 8. During the school holidays I used to work in our shop and my dad used to pay me as an encouragement. I received a good amount of pocket money whilst working at Nils and it was quite interesting too. He even allowed me to be at the cashier which was a very big thing for me at that time. Balancing cash when the day ended was a huge task and I did not want to talk to anyone during that time (I feel stupid about it now!)

I understand that you do most of the designs by yourself. Has fashion always been a passion for you?

Since I was small, fashion has been my passion. I also like to see other people dressed up. I was deeply fascinated by the fashion industry by my mother who is also a fashion designer and an artist.

What's your target clientele?

Every woman is beautiful. I target women who want to make a statement with the way they dress to work or any other function. In broad terms I target working women, aged between 18 and 45. However anyone who is "young at heart" will also find the clothes to suit them at our store. Mostly we are known for ladies office wear. I think one reason for that is I am a female entrepreneur and I do strongly believe in dressing for success. When I was going to work (which was a long time ago) I found it really difficult to find a place to buy decent yet smart and trendy office clothes. Even when I found a place they did not have my size. Most of the stores at that time offered common sizes. When I started my own clothing label in 2010, I wanted to offer designs as a solution for the problem I faced.

The ladies that I target my clothes at, want to dress smart, trendy and professional at work and also make a statement with the way they dress. Whether we like it or not, most of us are judged by the way we dress! In a way it is sad, but that is how our culture has been shaped, I guess. I myself know that clothing is just an extension of oneself and it is just a changing of mask. Also I believe in versatile clothing; even during my final collections I came up with this concept called "desk to dinner". Like myself, most of the ladies going to work have a very busy schedule and most of our time is spent on travelling. Clothes that are offered under this category have two different looks with the same outfits. These can be worn to office as well as to a date or a simple night out. There’s no need to go home to get dressed again for the event at night.

You recently opened a branch in Wattala. Tell us about it?

Actually that is my third retail outlet. We have our office wear, casual wear and party wear segments available at this store as well. The Wattala outlet address is 497, Negombo Road, Wattala. A good landmark would be Nithyakala Jewellers.

Apart from clothing, what else does Nils offer? How are you different from other clothes stores?

We do have started our ladies slipper line in a very small scale. And eventually I am planning to launch my brand for men too. We also do portraits and different types of art! Art pieces are done by Srima Shanthilekha and cartoon portraits are done by Lakmini Prematunga.

I am a person who would like to dress differently and professionally to work. So we mainly cater to an office wear segment. The designs that are developed under the Nils label are not available in any other shops and I do not produce in large quantities. I do not like to wear common clothes and I’m assuming other ladies also feel the same. Most of the clients that walk into our stores say that our prices are quite reasonable. I make sure that the products we develop are not overpriced and also we maintain high quality standards by having an in-house quality controller. Each and every piece that is available at the store goes through a quality check before they come into the store. We have developed a size range starting from XS up to XXL, keeping in mind Sri Lankan ladies’ body measurements and heights. Therefore I believe that Nils’ fit of garments is perfect for Sri Lankans. We have special promotions to promote diversity and have special days to celebrate different religions and cultures.

Where can our readers find your stores?

We have three retail outlets located in Nugegoda, Liberty Plaza and Wattala. If you are coming from Maharagama, the Nugegoda outlet is just 500m away from Nugegoda fly over bridge, opposite Jeewa Plastics. The Liberty Plaza outlet is located at 1-60, first floor, Liberty Plaza, Colombo 3. We also offer cash on delivery. Our clients can visit our Facebook page and drop us a message with the required item details and the contact number and we will make arrangements to deliver the clothes to your door step. The best part is you can pay at the point of accepting your package. We only charge 150/- as a delivery charge for deliveries within Sri Lanka. We are planning to start deliveries outside Sri Lanka very soon.

By Shenali de Silva