Out of Africa and Into My Closet

I’m pogo-ing around the room in a happy dance. I just found out about a fabulous website, www.kisua.com that promotes African fashion. Global fashion is always cool and this platform showcases the talents of hot designers such as Beatrice Black Atari and Chechi Arinze.

Check out this site if bold color, exciting patterns, and unique interpretations of classic styles make your heart race. Check out this site if you’re tired of seeing the same old thing in every store. Trade in your standard issue black polyester blend pants for an eye-catching pair of wax cotton raspberry and grey print tailored trousers. Dare to dump your boring trench for a khaki oversized pocket coat.

The dresses are my favorite pieces in the capsule collections on the site. Classic sheaths and shirt waist styles are featured, as well as demure cotton dresses that could have come straight from a 1950s starlet’s closet. 

I'm writing love letters to coats!  I'm adding to my holiday wish list!  I'm realizing that my closet is shrinking! 

Gaultier Rocks It!

"The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk to Catwalk" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum is the one of the most spectacular fashion exhibits I've ever seen. Philly fashionistas, grab a friend, get on the Bolt Bus and see it next weekend.  Here are some of the highlights!

Glamour Puss

Edith Head

Today is eight-time Oscar winning costume designer Edith Head’s 116^th birthday, and I’d like to chat about glamour.  I’m a huge old movie fan.  I adore the old school glamour and melodrama, the scenery chewing of divas like Susan Hayward and Joan Crawford.  I gobble up the preposterous plots, gorgeous gowns and perfectly tailored ladylike suits.  

Ms. Head draped us in romance and allure in many classic films:  “All About Eve,” “Roman Holiday,” “Sunset Boulevard,” and “Rear Window” to name a few.  One of my favorite Edith Head designs is the breathtaking white strapless gown that she conceived for the 1951 film “A Place in the Sun.”  Elizabeth Taylor floated on that cloud of a dress and every aspiring prom queen that year wanted a knockoff of it.

Okay, now think about actors.  Could you get any sexier than Redford's and Newman's suits in “The Sting?”  Yep, Edith Head did that.  

I miss glamour.  Instead of cringing over stripped down looks or the stripper aesthetic I want to swoon over an impossibly beautiful gown or a sophisticated silhouette.  Where are the garments that make me want to kick up my heels?  

I kan’t kount on a Kardashian!

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in "A Place in the Sun"

Living the High Life with Sheena

In celebration of the recent NY Times discovery that Black people wear their hair natural (who knew) I’m introducing you to the delightful Sheena High and her magnificent crowning glory.

Sheena first thought about wearing her hair natural in 2010. One of her sorority sisters had been flaunting a riot of kinks and curls for three years and counseled her to “get rid of the creamy crack.” (“Creamy crack” refers to the chemical relaxer many Black women rely on to straighten their hair.) She responded, “My hair is straight out of Africa, it’s not gonna cooperate,” although she had long admired the styles and textures of unprocessed African hair. But when her hair stylist, a beneficiary of the unnatural hair business, said that her hair would look better natural she decided to make the change. Besides, making and keeping appointments for touch-ups was becoming a hassle. 

She didn’t want to do “The Big Chop,” cutting off the relaxed hair while transitioning from chemically processed to natural hair. (The “Chop” is gutsy, and is often immediately followed by the purchase of fierce statement jewelry and screechingly bright lip color.) So, she gave herself three years of graduate school for this “experiment.” The growing out process took about a year and she admits that she wasn’t wild about the big chunk of new growth. “Although [my hair] was natural I was still straightening it. I wasn’t comfortable with how it looked, or with styling it.” She found that putting heat on her hair made it fluffy and bouncy. Fluffy hair that moves is pretty seductive stuff for a sista and harder to give up than dark chocolate dipped strawberries!  On her 29th birthday, however, she decided to turn off the heat and never looked back.

Sheena is now more confident about her hair.  She‘s learned more protective techniques and adores her new look.  No more “dyed, fried and laid to the side” hair for this lady! Check out her incredible style--isn't she gorgeous?
 

 

Got Me Workin' Day and Night

Sometimes a successful workout depends on the right soundtrack. Stuff the right music into your mp3 player or smartphone and you just might want to drop it like it’s hot in between sets of shoulder presses.

Here’s a taste of the music that pushes me through upper body training sessions.

Lat Pull Downs to “I’ll Keep Holding On” - The Marvelettes

Bench Presses to “Heartbreaker Pt. 2” - Alice Russell

Dumbbell Flys to “Haitian Sensation” - The Blue Method

Bicep Curls to “The Groove Line” - Heatwave

Hammer Curls to “Let The Beat Hit ‘Em” - Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam

Side Lateral Lifts to “Self Esteem” - The Offspring

Push Ups to “Tightrope” - Janelle Monae

Tricep Kickbacks to “I’m A Man” - The Spencer Davis Group

Overhead Extensions to “Stone Free” - Jimi Hendrix

Planks to “Transcend Me” - The Bamboos featuring Alice Russell

Wiping Sweat, Stretching and Moaning to “Black Hole Sun” - Soundgarden

The results? Sexy shoulders and back, toned arms, and the strength and energy to carry overstuffed shopping bags from Nordstrom Rack! Hit me again, Lisa Lisa!