A Day With Image Consultant Amy McNish

Today was a blast! I spent the entire day with Amy McNish, image consultant and designer. She's the bomb! I kid you not. She's been working in the industry for about 17 years and specializes in color managemnt and wardrobe styling. She had a booth at the 2011 Health and Fitness Expo at the Holiday Inn and I was her assistant for the day! I helped her set up, talk to potential clients, promote her business and got a ton of great information about the image consulting industry and how it operates. Check out this video of us at the expo for more information about her. She's great!

(FYI: I definetely know that Tasha Smith is not on The Game. Lmao, I got my Tasha's mixed up...smh. Hope you enjoyed!)

Violet Boutique

It's April! April Fools Day to be exact. Did anyone get played today? Because I sure did. 


My friend and I were invited to a launch party for a boutique that just opened in Adams Morgan tonight, called Violet Boutique. For any of you who live in the DC area you should definitely check it out. Violet Boutique offers playful, sassy clothing, jewelry, and accessories for women at great prices. I would say the price of merchandise at this store is somewhere between H&M and Zara (not too bad for your average college student). I had a blast rummaging through the racks of lively spring dresses and viewing displays of tasteful jewelry to see what Violet Boutique had to offer. To top it all off, I found the perfect accessory to add to my wardrobe. When I saw this watch I had to have it! It was only $40; not too bad if you ask me. 

This was my outfit of choice for the night. Although it doesn't exactly correspond to this season, I did like it. Hey, it's freaking cold out here! Why is it still 50 degrees and under? I need the warm weather to come...and fast!

Blazer: Talbots by way of Thrift, Sweater: Thrift, Shorts: Urban Outfitters, Shoes: Marshalls, Earrings: Aldo

Black History Month

So I know I've been kind of slacking. My blog is dedicated to blacks in the fashion industry....and it IS black history month, my bad. I'll make it up to you (pinky promise). But I wanted to share this video with you! Fox 5 News came to Howard University for a Black History Month Special and featured me & other staff members of The Hilltop Newspaper (I'm the Life and Style Editor), to talk about black history month and the influence entertainment has on our culture. Check it out!

Part 6 - Black History Month Special: MyFoxDC.com

Burgundy Blazer

Blazer: Thrift, Scarf: Um, some kiosk in the mall, Skirt: Urban Outfitters, Boots: BCBG

I like this blazer. I really really really like this blazer. I forgot I had it until I was going through my closet trying to find something to wear to class this morning. What a lovely surprise :). Did you all enjoy my post about The Gentleman of Bacongo? I'm still intrigued by the fact that they made fashion into a religion. So intrigued that I decided to purchase Daniele Tamagni's pictorial essay for entirely too much money off of Amazon.com (sigh). What can I say? I'm an addict.

La Sape: A Religion of Style

      I spy with my little eye, something that is pink; bright pink. I'd say it looks like the 'shocking pink' crayon in my box of crayolas. A man is wearing it. No, not just any man, a black man; an African man. As he strides closer to me, I notice that it's a suit...a very nice suit. It's trimmed, tailored, and looks to be made out of the finest Italian wool. I watch him, my eyes wandering from his head to his feet, taking in his entire ensemble. Under his suit he sports a 'tickle-me-pink' dress shirt, with a -sort of- electrifying magenta colored silk tie (possibly one of Giorgio Armani's pieces). He daunts a similar hued handkerchief in his right breast pocket and a scarlet top hat, with what looks to be, snakeskin Gucci loafers to match. 
      "Hmm, he kind of looks like a Bishop Don Juan" I think to myself. But I decide that he's not a pimp, he's way to classy for that. He's strolling with pride down a dusty side road in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. He seems to pop out of Congo's distressed, poverty strucken scene. He greets two men, close friends I'm guessing, who are all dressed accordingly. "What's the occasion?" I mutter to myself, seemingly loud enough for him to hear. He glances in my direction and says, "There's no occasion, it's a way of life." 

Credit: Daniele Tamagni  via vogue black

      No, this is not a photo from the latest spread in GQ. These super fly individuals (the most, I know) reside in the Republic of Congo in South Africa. Not only do men of all ages rock looks similar to these in Congo, but they've made fashion into a religion called "La Sape" (The Sape: The Societe des Ambianceurs des Personnes Elegantes - The Society for People of Elegance and Ambiance).  A religion of style. Can you believe it? I can.  The men who practice Le Sape are called "sapeurs," and were brought to the media's attention by Italian photographer Daniele Tamagni. He gave them the name "The Gentlemen of Bacongo" by means of his pictorial essay.

Credit: Tamagni via fyeahafrica

       According to an article in Cool Hunting, sapeurs mix french styles from their roots with their own personal style. The article directly quotes Michel, a sapeur who stated "A Congolese sapeur is a happy man even if he does not eat, because wearing proper clothes feeds the soul and gives pleasure to the body." Willy Corvey, also a sapeur, explained to The Sabotage Times that "[Le Sape] is our way of life. It is how we express our individuality and our character. Along with our families, La Sape, is our reason for being." If that's not a commitment to fashion, I don't know what is!
        A question that crossed my mind while researching Le Sape was, Do they believe in God? If fashion is their religion, that would mean they believe in fashion...right? (Don't laugh, you were thinking it too!) Apparently most sapeurs are also Catholic and go to church regularly according to The Sabatoge Times. Another thing that immediately drew my attention to La Sape (besides that fact that they managed to make fashion a religion) was that those who practice it are men; African men! I guess I knew they had it in them, but I would think that us women would step up to the plate first. Anyways, I won't bore you with all of my thoughts and opinions on the subject matter (I could probably go on for days talking about La Sape). Hope you enjoyed. Stay fly.

Credit: Tamagni via Carlaandemillie

Credit: Tamagni via 5 Magazine

Credit: Tamagni via selectivism.com

To read more about "Le Sape," click here: The Sabotage Times
                                                                           Vogue Black

Obama Wears His Flip Flops

Photo Credit: Reuters via shine.yahoo.com

Barack Obama. Let's see...President of the United States, father, husband, human-being. Why is the press horrified that he wore rubber flip flops while vacationing in Hawaii? Calm down; no fashion dilemma from my standpoint. I thought it was hilarious that he was featured on the cover of the The New York Post for wearing his rubbers. I'm pretty sure there are more important things to worry about (like the war in Afghanistan...I'm just sayin'). This reminded me of high school when my principal decided to ban wearing flip flops (I guess they were afraid of us spilling chemicals on ourselves in science class or something...whatever). My friend Andrew, like the rest of the school, was heated and made signs with a picture of open-toed Jesus that read "If Jesus can wear flip flops, so can we!" and posted them in the school. So Obama, in case the press gets too hard on you, use that line as your excuse; it should do the trick.

It's 2011!

Happy New Year!

In the words of my friend Victoria, "Let's be warriors in this new year and fight for the things that really matter in life." I hope you all had a safe and stylish New Years! Mine didn't go exactly as planned, but at least my friends and I looked fly while aimlessly walking around the city looking for something to do. Next New Year's Eve will be better, trust. 

Are you all enjoying your holiday breaks? I know I am. A couple of days ago some friends and I met for lunch on Newbury Street at Joe's American Bar & Grill; best turkey burger and sweet potato fries that I've ever eaten! Afterwards we went to see the movie Black Swan. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. It is definitely my favorite movie of 2010. I would tell you all about it but I don't want to give it away (I can't stand when people do that). Now that I think about, that was a pretty bomb day; great food, great movie, great friends. So, I of course wanted to share my outfit choice with you a.k.a show off my favorite Christmas present this year; my Marc by Marc Jacobs bag! I love it! The thick straps are perfect since I'm always carrying anything and everything in my bags. Excuse the rain boots, there's still snow on the ground (annoying) and I really did not feel like sacrificing my suede over-the-knee boots (you'll see them soon). 

Jacket: Zara, Scarf: Urban Outfitters, Sweater: Thrift, Jeggings: Zara, Rain boots: Michael Kors