BMP...and not beats per minute

NOT BEAUTIFUL

NOT MANAGEABLE

NOT PROFESSIONAL




Natural Hair is so on and it’s on with a bang. Designers have followed suit and incorporated the trend on the runway; why I believe that real fashion is more often on the streets rather than on the runway.
That said and done natural hair still draws negative reactions from all walks of society. A woman will be bombarded with such messages starting from her family, friends, media and colleagues at work…but more insidious are the messages she will be sending to herself for unlike the rest whom she can block ‘ she is ever with herself. We all have bad hair days or so we claim but it’s actually interesting how hair determines how we feel about ourselves. Below are quotes from different women:

“When I first went natural to be honest I was not too fond of it. Although my relaxed hair was thinned out and breaking I didn’t want to let go of my brittle strands. As my Aunt chopped away my scrawny strands I cried even though this is what I had requested. For whatever reason, in my younger years I always equated my hair with my femininity and with each strand that fell away from my head I felt as though it were escaping me.”
“Our sense of attractiveness is strongly connected to confidence and positive self-esteem. Many men and women associate confidence with feeling in control, and hair is one way most of us can be in charge.”
In 2007, a Glamour editor later identified as Ashley Baker told a room full of lawyers that an Afro was an office Don't. "'No offense,' she sniffed, but those 'political' hairstyles really have to go," wrote American Lawyer.
Try and get the three messages that the above quotations give you. If you cut your hair or go natural you may not feel beautiful as if your femininity is lost. The second has a ring of truth on it. The more you are able to manage your day to day styling of your hair i.e manageable the more you will like that hairstyle and the general perception is that Natural hair is unmanageable. My ‘favourite’ and a pet peeve is how natural hair is often deemed unprofessional…to me I would equate this to one of our local banks in Kenya that has a wide network of branches in the whole country and as part of their policy the women are not allowed to wear trousers at work. It is discrimination and sexist.
All that said and done I believe the whole natural hair movement also has some down side more so those with a superiority complex feeling that anyone else with relaxed hair or a weave is of a lower rank and should either be converted or demeaned in such a manner to let the person know their place in the hair hierarchy. These are the natural hair Nazis’ or extremist. But that is a discussion for another day.

I have used a few of my own photos....so comment away

Full Figured Fashion Week

A friend of mine liked the post I did on DVF but felt plus-size women were left out in all these runway trends. I promised i would do a post to take care of that. As we all know runway shows more or less promote super thin look..if you ask e anorexia..and I guess we have Twiggy to thank for that....and in all honesty I almost felt like throttling her when she was judging ANTM and so proud of the fact that she brought in that trend.

When former fashion model Gwen Devoe attended her first New York City Fashion Week event, she realized that no matter how much she liked a designer's fashion line, she would never be able to wear it.It wasn't because she could not afford it. It was because none of the lines were made in her size. Devoe is a plus size model who, like tens of millions of women everywhere, loves the world of fashion. But also, like millions of women everywhere, she did not fit the prototype of the women showcased on the runways and in the fashion magazines donning haute couture.That’s when Devoe decided to throw the fashion industry a curveball and create an internationally known fashion event catered to plus size women: Full Figured Fashion Week.

From the official FFFW:

Full Figured Fashion Week™ (FFFWeek) is produced by DeVoe Signature Events (DSE), a boutique events management company with an extensive background in the production of fashion related events and a strong and effective mix of proven plus industry experience and success.

With over 15 years experience in fashion show production, Gwen DeVoe, CEO of DSE, Creator and Executive Producer of FFFWeek says, "It is time for designers, retailers, boutique owners and businesses with an interest in the plus size market to combine their resources and talents and partner with a plus fashion event that will rival other Fashion Weeks and Full Figured Fashion Week™ IS that event."

Now in our fourth year as the exclusive producers of Full Figured Fashion Week™, DSE continues to receive accolades throughout the plus community and national and international media coverage of the event.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing everyone at Full Figured Fashion Week™ in New York City, June 13-16, 2012

In all honesty I was clueless before I started doing reserch for this post that such a fashion week existed. It tells you how much the fashion fraternity is apathetic in covering this important event. I am now informed and will be looking forward to June to follow and fully report on the designs showed. In the meantime I have included previous years photos. I will review the looks at a later date in a separate post.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK AW 2012-Badgley Mischka

Mark Badgley and James Mischka have been hailed by Vogue as one of the "Top 10 American Designers" and as the darlings of the Hollywood set. The design duo has made their mark over the past two decades with glamorous, stylish and wearable evening wear and accessories. In the Autumn-Winter 2012collection the first thing that struck me were the really cool' albeit some may say crazy hairstyles. I love the hairdos and for that I will review this collection despite my lukewarm attitude towards couture.

"Our style harks back to the glamorous Hollywood of the Forties" say Mischka. “The Badgley Mischka signature style is simple, streamlined and thoroughly elegant.”

As i said I love the fluffed hair which has served as the main accessory for most of the looks. When creating the bevy of bouncy curls for Badgley Mischka, hairstylist Peter Gray for Moroccanoil found his inspiration in somewhat of an esoteric concept, using the late 1920s German film Metropolis as a starting point. The light, airy look took a nod to the geometric shapes in the movie's make-believe backdrop, and metallic nails and makeup reflected a similar science-fiction feel.

Long slinky dresses were the majority with a few separates but in all the looks there's sophisticated elegance and not the usual over the top designs associated with Haute couture. Main styling tip is simplicity. Sometimes a dress or outfit is so elegant on it own it does not need those extra accessories

On a side note the Asian Model was my favourite for this particular show

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK AUTUMN 2012-DVF

Obviously I will not be doing an analysis of all the designers or looks at New York Fashion Week. I will choose a few at my own discretion and perhaps drop a few styling tips while giving my obviously biased opinion


Let's start with one of my favourite designers; Diana Von Furstenberg. DVF always brings to mind prints! Large unapologetic prints and more than that designs wholly centered on a woman being a woman. In her Fall line she definitely delivers with bold and bright monochromatic separates;colour blocking. A trend many can attest I absolutely adore and fully incorporate in my looks.An example is the sea blue poodle top with the red calf-length pencil skirt all tied together with the black belt. There is no hint of any form of print but the look is flawless. Colour blocking is still a major trend that has crossed over from 2011. Style advise when colour blocking do not add any form of prints, floral or patterns to the look as this is a sure way of looking like a clown. Another tip would be to choose colours with the same intensity to avoid an unbalanced look. DVF's Fall Line also showcases color popping using accessories. I love the fact that the dresses are bright colours such as aqua and red yet the accessories still pop as they are equally noticeable due to the contrasting colours chosen. The aqua dress is what one would say is of a much cooler hue while the pink clutch would be of a warmer hue yet it all works together. In this instance the colour densities work well together as the clutch is of more density than the aqua dress. The same can be seen with the red dress accessorized with the bolt blue clutch.Surprisingly She also had a lot of black in her collection. Black never really dies so they so. As usual there were her much beloved and signature print looks. I Love this designer nad the only trend I personally give a thumbs down is the ankle pants or cropped pants. Few women are able to really pull this look and more so the curvy ones. Trust me after seeing one of our very own renowned stylist at blankets and wine last December in one; stay away unless you want something that makes your ass look like two huge melons.

AUTUMN/WINTER FASHION WEEKS 2012

The 'Big Four' Fashion weeks are: New York,London, Milan and Paris Fashion weeks.The schedule begins with New York, followed by London, and then Milan, and ending the events in Paris. They are held semi-annually for all the four cities. The Autumn/Summer starting in February till March and the Spring/Winter starting in September till October. Paris Fashion Week dates may vary as the French Federation Council has a huge say in determining the same.

It is of interest to note that out of the four, three fashion weeks are in Europe leading credence to my belief that the continent is the fashion haven. There are other Fashion weeks of note but in the coming weeks I will be reviewing the big four.

A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know what's "in" and what's "out" for the season. For anyone who is a die hard fashion enthusiast this is a culmination of the best mix of all aspect of fashion with its cauldron of all kinds of fashion professionals and stakeholders. My dream is to one day be so established in fashion that I will be able to attend the big four. It's actually weird because in my last year of campus while job hunting the big four meant the top four Auditing, Tax and consultancy Firms in the country. How the winds change...
So the images from each Fashion week from the four Cities: