"Bridget Awosika": A Fashion Force to be Reckoned With

Bridget Awosika is now a household name in Nigeria. She has indeed become a formidable force: her concepts and designs are tried and true. I have observed her work in pictures. Every time I see a Nigerian celebrity (like Eku Edewor, Tiwa Savage, Genevieve Nnaji etc.) donning an Awosika outfit, I check it out. I've observed her growth in designs.

This evening, as I was scrolling through Bella Naija: the go-to website for classy Nigerian gossip (if gossip can be made classy), wedding photos and stories, career advice, hot topics etc., I was flabbergasted, positively surprised and proud of a Bridget Awosika piece. Please see below. When you look at it, it may seem like just another outfit, but it's not. It has creativity written all over it: the cut, the silhouette, the choice of color, the choice of fabric FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!

Bridget Awosika dress. Photo credit: Bella Naija

I am amazed. Absolutely positively amazed at her creation. Granted, I prefer it on the model than on Tiwa. But it still shouts "CREATIVE," feminine, chic to me, in both pictures. Sign me up. If it's not over my budget, I'd love to don it to an event. Like, say Music Meets Runway, this week in Lagos. Holla!

Spark Creations from Nigeria, Mozambique, Brazil

I was leafing through my Bazaar magazine as usual and stopped on a jewelry page. I sometimes get tired of seeing the "Le Vian"s and the predictable jewelry companies on the magazines. Forgive me!

I had watched an interview of Nigeria's Chris Aire on CNN Voices: a very inspiring story. If you know nothing about him, know that he is a king of blinged-up jewelry in LA. His kind of jewelry does not appeal to me: I have a different kind of style, but he definitely does his thing. Back to my story, I'm not surprised that I was taken by a jewelry page and seeing "Nigeria" this evening.

Well, the page that caused me to stop is a "Spark" jewelry ad: www.sparkcreations.com. I just visited their site and love what I see. To my taste. ;) If you would like to purchase a piece for me, feel free!

From solidgoldjewelers.net

From dantsjewelers.com

From khamisfinejewelers.com

From modernjewelers.com

From dantsjewelers.com

Don't you agree? ;)

Heat up your Style with Appropriately Paired Prints

I used to be very uncomfortable with pairing prints. It can seem like doing too much at once. Truthfully, when not worn right, it IS too much at once. For instance, polka dots and stripes combined. Very uncomfortable look for the eyes. Smart advice from some designer (Rachel Ray, I think): you should only pair prints that are related. For instance, a top that has white and blue horizontal stripes with a skirt that has white and red horizontal stripes. 

You can do lots with non-stripes too. See Camille Rowe in this photograph by Tommy Ton. It was displayed in Harper's Bazaar's Garden Party, December 2013. 

Mysterious Low Back Dresses

I wore a low back custom-made gold blouse to a friend's wedding. It was paired with an orange skirt and a wrapper on top. It was oh-so-cute. The low back is something mysterious and sexy. A bit of skin peeking out of somewhere unusual but decent is just slightly flirty. Not overly so. 

In Lancôme's ad for the "La vie est belle" perfume with Julia Roberts, the star is seen giving us her sweet All-American smile with only part of her face showing. But what's obvious is the bare back and gorgeous dress she dons. Sweet!

In Harper's Bazaar's The Extras Jewel commercial in the December 2013/January 2014 issue, the Bazaar model dons a contrasting (to Julia's dress) black low back dress in her photo. Doesn't the pose and the sly look just say "Mystery" to you?

Don't shy away from a low back dress especially if you have nice skin. It will help you play a little. ;)

Stephanie in Orange at Nollywood's Year 20 Party

Need I say anything? The photo says it all. Truly, Stephanie looks stunning. She hasn't ever glowed more on the red carpet than since she's been with Ida Hosa's son. I guess that's what love and happiness does to you. I certainly wish her loads more of that. Here's another photo, also from BellaNaija. (The former is from the website as well).

Another stunner at the event was Genevieve. See photo below from BN. 

Carrie Underwood's High Heels on the December Issue of Redbook

 Yes. I subscribe to Redbook magazine. When I first told my sister about my subscription, she said something along the lines of "isn't that the magazine that writes a lot about sex?" Ah! The craziness of not knowing. No. Redbook is not the magazine that publishes a lot about sex. It publishes a lot about what women want to know. There's fashion. There's home decoration. There's relationships. And typically after relationships, there's sex. So, yes. Sometimes there are articles about sex but it is within the confines of its relationship to relationships. 

Anyway, the first thing I saw when I picked up the month's issue of Redbook from my mailbox was Underwood's shoes. Don't you just love it, ladies?

A Nigerian Icon: Genevieve Nnaji... Her New Photos

Frankly, I don't know anyone of Nigerian origin who does not know of Genevieve Nnaji or like her. She's been acting for, what, decades now? She's a stunning woman, confident, graceful, lovely, eloquent and beautiful. My impression of her escalated after I watched her interview on CNN. "African Voices" was the program, I think. She was being interviewed as one of the most popular actresses in the continent. Genevieve is in the cast of the movie "Half of a Yellow Sun" coming out soon in US theatres. The movie will likely not hit the big screen but I hope I can find somewhere in the area to watch it. The book was amazing.

See lovely new photos of Genevieve from Linda Ikeji's blog here. Blue suits her.

Genevieve

Genevieve

Naija Girl Style Gets Me Excited (Butterscotch Evenings)!

I get oh so excited when I see my Nigerian ladies styling. They must have their outfits on the ready for the thousands of events that take place just about every weekend (it seems), in Lagos. Feast your eyes on these photos from Linda Ikeji's blog. She seems to have had an excellent time at the event in Eko Hotel, which was called "Butterscotch Evenings."

Rita Dominic (right)

Toke Makinwa

Textured Bags for Plain Outfits

The textured bag (you can trace the patterns on the bag by running your fingers along its surface with your eyes closed) is beautiful to behold. Chanel used to make that one unique textured bag. The multi-diamond/inverted square-grooved bag with the chain. Now, just about every designer makes a bag with the same pattern. It is no longer unique to Chanel. However, there are still several other textures and patterns on bags that are distinct in their own right.

Check out these Bottega Veneta handbags.

Nero Raffia Wool Ayers Sant'Andrea Bag ($3990); Courtesy: Lyst

Tangerine Intrecciato Nappa Cross Body Bag ($1350) from bottegavenetta.com

See this Gucci textured bag from gucci.com.

Bamboo shopper straw tote ($1450)

I like quality textured bags. I think they last longer than plain bags because the patterns hide cracks as the bag ages.

Textured bags are good with plain outfits: I mean solid colors and/or non-textured clothing. This way, you are not doing too much or creating a conflict for the eyes that observe you.

Coats for the Winter from Redbook Magazine

Below are a few out of the 50 coats shared with me and other subscribers, by Redbook Magazine this month.You decide on which you would like to purchase.

A belted parka for $69.99 by Mango. Check it out at mango.com

I kinda like the swing coat from warehouse.com.

Swing coat for $169 from warehouse.com

Check out Zara's duffel coat for a whopping $269. I love that it doesn't have the ".99" at the end.

Zara duffel coat

 If this is not sexy and girly, I don't know what is.

Banana Republic coat for $250

Ankara Outfits on the Elite Model Look After-Party Runway by Etisalat

The first time I saw an Ankara outfit in a Michael Kors store was in LA. I was checking out stores at the trendy outdoor mall in LA when I spotted the outfit. I went in and felt the fabric. Total Ankara, with a price tag well over $300.

Though these designers get inspired by African culture, very rarely do the Africans get the credit for the inspiration. I spotted Ankara designs on the runway at the Elite Model Look After-Party hosted by Etisalat. Here are photos from Linka Ikeji's blog.

The "Office Elegant" on Bazaar's "Work the Look"

I really like writing about work clothes. The typical American look at work is predictable. I've written before about the attention my high-heeled shoes at work brought. It's died down now to a rather loving topic of discussion than the bone of contention it was. A year or so into work, I'm still wearing my heels. So, everyone is convinced it's a part of me and not something I do for attention. Thank God that's resolved.

I wore a pink-dominated floral jumpsuit with a black blazer to work on Monday. Boy did that rouse looks. Looks that were partly, "hmm, work outfit? I think not." But of course it is. The piece is of cotton fabric. There was nothing revealing about the cut. Only it was very different from "the typical American work look." The only British lady on my floor said amiably "you look very British." I know I didn't look boring. Needless to say, I sat in my cubicle most of the day. :)

I love what Net-a-Porter fashion director Holli Rogers shared in Harper's Bazaar's "How to make your clothes earn it" write-up. She said "avoid going overboard by pairing a beautiful showstopping piece with a basic, such as a silk shirt from Equipment. This gives it contrast so the prints aren't overpowering" (October 2013 issue, pp. 196). Indeed, at work, you are not going for showstopping. You are going for elegant and stylish, without drawing too much attention.

A few looks from the page are below.

Match back to solids

Givenchy

Find other looks by clicking here.