August 2017 – BLACK & FIERCE

Generally Kenyan elections render the whole country to a standstill and now that they are over we’ve all resumed our daily activities…silly me i always forget, how are you guys? i hope you have made peace with the election results; it was such a tense moment for most of us am glad we are now able to put the past behind us and focus on building this great nation rather than destroying it simply because one is not in agreement with who holds the highest position of power. Lets all remember that Kenya is bigger than one individual, so we should preach and maintain peace at all times.

With that said i couldn’t have been more happier to write this post given that i really enjoyed this shoot and the theme behind it, definitely felt like an alpha female while at it. I decided to pull a retro look for this particular shoot. Some might ask what exactly is Retro? retro is a style imitative of past trends/fashion. Others may ask, why retro? and to that i would answer, it seems the fashion styles of the past are on a revival and i wouldn’t wanna miss out on the 70’s looks.

Do you ever wonder what fashion in the 70’s looked or felt like? I do, i keep bothering the 70’s and 80’s babies to indulge me on how fashion & style was during their 20’s. It is with that same spirit that i would watch my mother reminisce about their olden days and of course she would digress a couple of times and lose touch with the purpose of the consultation. But can i blame her, she isn’t that much of a fashion enthusiast like myself. I think their time was the peak of fashion, when the likes of Thomas Burberry were busy innovating fashion trends. I was a 21st century teenager, so you can imagine i wasn’t surrounded by the Marilyn Monroe paraphernalia; they were the icons of beauty and the epitome of style. I would have loved to time travel back to that time but unfortunately our science isn’t yet that advanced.

Anyway back to…i tried to pull a retro look…i put together vintage and new pieces as is manifested in the sweater dress, the stripped socks and the platform heels. On top of that i added to it make up and hair do that is contemporary with minimal modern accessories; less is more was at play. You don’t wanna end up looking like you’re dressed for theatrics. Consequently, its crucial that you mix up modern and vintage pieces in an attempt to achieve that retro look. On the plus side with the weather not being entirely on its stand, you can pull this look off very easily. Your sweater dress which is obviously warm for the cold and socks to protect your legs from the cold and if it’s too much add a trench and when the sun comes out, just roll your socks down or better yet take them off and still manage to look completely and utterly sexy. Two birds, One stone…

Till next week Loves…

Photography by: KEN KINOTI

OUTFIT DETAILS:

Shoes & Sweater dress- Vostilook

Belt & socks- Toi market/ Adams.

I know for a fact that writers experience content freeze, sometimes you brainstorm on topics to discuss with your readers and you just can’t find any…maybe it’s because you’ve written a lot that you feel you have covered all bases or your mind is involuntarily asking for a break from creative thinking and writing…which obviously baffles me, regardless i think the world is full of lots of information; we couldn’t have possibly covered all ground. Might i say maybe what one needs is time off for some inspiration.

I experienced a similar circumstance all too recently, as day went by i felt more and more stressed because i knew at the back of my mind, i had to give my readers a worthwhile content come Thursday which needless to say is the day i prefer to publish my posts. But i wasn’t too worried because deep down i knew i would deliver.

Without further ado, some of you may have noticed my undying love for jumpsuits, not so much time can pass by without me posting on it. I haven’t talked much about them but i thought of digressing from writing about it this time given that sooner or later i will do another post on a jumpsuit. Occasionally i prefer to stray from style talks and discuss more pressing needs as per my observation or desire to express a certain opinion.

I have realized that most of the things i wear and blog about today do not resonate with the person i was years back when my mother was solely responsible for my wardrobe. I was so unreceptive towards her choice of style that i felt coerced to dress the way i did. little did i know what a huge favor she was doing for me. I note with keen interest that fashion is cyclical, what is worn in the 50’s is old school today but trendy tomorrow. A 20 year old person is likely to be wearing today what a 40 year old person wore when they were 20. Bear with me, we have a few examples of items our mothers dressed us in as kids that we are now on the hunt for again, a clear indication of how fashion is cyclical .e.g. dungarees, chunky heeled shoes, fringe, off shoulder, platforms, turtle necks e.t.c. I had a feeling of old school soon as i rocked this jumpsuit because the attire itself with its flared legs is from previous fashion, nothing is new about jumpsuits, it immediately reminded me of my childhood fashion which i am now embracing in my youthful age.

So with the current state of affairs, what does one do given that fashion is fueled by conversion?! Fashion designers convince you to wear their new designs for a period of time before they retreat away from the public eye and their runway shows to design something new and then try to convince you that is what is good for your closet and the old are no longer fashionable only for it to come back to the limelight 20 years later. whose pocket is this affecting? then it begs the question what does one do to keep up with this? maybe you shouldn’t go full on trendy or you should adopt trendy ideas and elements of popular items but don’t completely replace your style. Unfortunately this is a question i cannot fully give answers to… for that reason guys you can give your thoughts to this on my comment section below and also comment on what you do when you experience content freeze.

Bye till next time.

photography by Ken Kinoti.

WHAT I WORE:

Jumpsuit- tailor made @Maggie fashions.

Shoes- Backyard shoes.