Frugalista. Recessionista. Maxxinista. Whatever you call yourself, saving money isn’t a trend. It’s a necessary lifestyle these days.

Gone are the days when people shopped with whimsy. Now I go armed with a list, and double guess myself on every item I buy. Now instead of ooh that’s really cute I want it, it’s ooh that’s really cute but will I ever wear it? Probably not, get the sensible item instead you know you’ll wear that more than once.

I have a beer budget, but oh those champagne dreams won’t go away. So I’ve had to become an expert in my own right. I’ve had to learn how to get what I want, for cheap. And now I’m gonna pass along some of my best discoveries.
Read the rest of this entry »

Can I just tell you how much I loved the debate on that Louis Vuitton afro post of last week?

Sometimes I do respond with an automatic side-eye where maybe I should try to be more open in my approach. I tried to tread lightly and just put the question out there to the universe, so I especially appreciate those of you who stated your dissent with diplomacy.

Fashion posts can be fascinatingly polarized. On one side are those like me, who are sometimes baffled by the fashion world’s exclusions and misappropriation of culture. Then on the other side there are the fashion apologists, who defend everything as being art and therefore completely acceptable.

One word kept coming up in the comments, and it’s a word that also came up in the news last week. Here’s a phrase I hope never to repeat:

Last week was a big one for blackface.

First, that most antique and offensive of caricatures got a big ol’ thumbs down from Harry Connick Jr. in Australia.

Now the October issue of French Vogue is continuing the trend, in a photoshoot starring Dutch model Lara Stone, photographed by Steven Klein and styled by editor Carine Roitfeld.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m oversensitive. I can admit it.

I’ve been told that my whole life. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better at covering it up, but I’m still a pretty sensitive Piscean soul. Quick to feel empathy, quick to love, quick to be offended. So maybe I’m not the best bella to respond to the hot new style strutting down the runway at the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week. The style statement? Oversize afro wigs on all the models. Which are being called brilliantly cartoonish by the WWD.

Like I said, I’m oversensitive. To me, my hair isn’t comic relief, it isn’t “cartoonish,” it isn’t a style statement. It grows out of my head this way. So my general response to people in afro wigs, at sports games, on Halloween, is The People’s Eyebrow and a we-are-not-amused attitude. It irks me. Am I wrong?

I saw these pics over at one of my favorite blogs, NY Mag’s The Cut, and my eyes practically rolled themselves on out of my face. Really, LV? Afro wigs are what’s hot in the streets now? Is this an attempt to be more inclusive?

Hey – at least there was one model of color in the show, right? Edited 2:45 p.m. — I stand corrected — there were several models of color in the show. Click here to see the complete WWD slideshow, more black models hit the runway towards the show’s finale, it appears.

I dunno, y’all. Talk amongst yourselves. Am I being oversensitive, as per usual? Or should I be delighted that afros are making waves at Paris Fashion Week this year?

Sometimes I host a giveaway and wonder — how will my bellas respond to this one? Not so much for the fly giveaway I hosted with Cut It Out Apparel — I know my readers are strong, bold, intelligent women with opinions to share — and Cut It Out’s teeshirts are SO very very Afrobella. Statement shirts!

The brilliant designers of Cut It Out helped me choose 3 lucky winners while I was at Fashion Week. And here they are!

The “Destroy Stereotypes” tee goes to Debbie, who says:

I love the “Destroy Stereotypes” shirt because through out my life I have fought to do exactly that. As an immigrant from Jamaica I fought my teachers in grade school who believed that as a foreigner I wasn’t as smart and did not know english, despite my advanced education gained in the islands. As one of a handful of students of color in a predominantly white affluent boarding school I once again bucked the stereotypes others tried to place on me by not being the token ghetto girl and by beating out most of my class for an acceptance to an Ivy League institution. Even though many claimed it was a result of Affirmative Action I knew it was because of my hard work and prayers. Once in college, I realized that once again my fight would have to continue as I found myself the only woman or the only student of color in my upper level science courses. I was unfazed and continued to work my hardest. Upon returning home from school, I repeatedly met old classmates and friends from my youth who were astonished that I had not fallen victim to the stereotype that my town has of churning out teenage mothers. Now as I enter in my doctoral studies, I realize that my fight against stereotypes will never be over. However, I face each new challenge and “box” that society attempts to place around me as my motivation to succeed.

The My Name is Not… tee goes to Mignon, who says:

Love the destroy stereotypes tee. The message is relevant and timely. Especially now. But, I SO need the “my name is not shorty” tee. I’m short (5 foot even). So I’m short and pretty cute so men think calling me “shorty” is cute. Uh, no no Boo Boo! My name is Mignon. K? Thanks! It frustrates me to no end. Maybe with this shirt, I wont have to breathe any words of disgust. I’ll stop the madness before it starts.

Anyways, thanks for hipping us to this company. Love supporting black owned businesses of relevance.

And last but not least, the CIO Peace tee goes to CoilsnKinks who said :

I am really digging CIO Peace. Its a message I would never hesitate to portray. I think that we should be able to walk around and exude an attitude that is amiable and not be so closed or angry. When we start there we can actively seek peace in our lives and in the lives of others. CIO PEACE!

Thank you SO much, Tirinda and Noricia, for offering your awesome tees to Afrobella readers, and for helping me choose winners at the busiest time of my life!

Didn’t win a Cut It Out tee? Click here to buy one for yourself!

Stay tuned, bellas — I’ve got some AWESOME, epic giveaways coming up!

After my exciting evening at the tents and tour of the city via pedicab, I was exhausted. But I had to get my butt in gear for the next day. I had a trek out to Brooklyn in store!

I ended Day 2 with a delicious Indian dinner in the Village with my best friend Jenny. Day 3, we got out early and had breakfast at the Waverly Restaurant, as classic a New York diner as you could want. Bagel all the way? Yes please.

After that I strolled along Sixth Avenue and stumbled across a sneaker store on 6th and Washington — the sign looks like this and I got a sick pair of silver high top Adidas for $35! And I NEEDED them because my feet were absolutely killing me pounding the pavement all over NYC. And I was in flats! Even flats can hurt, especially if they’re trying to be cute flats. Those sneaks were just what the podiatrist would have ordered.

After that I took the subway to Brooklyn — for the first time, by myself. Dun dun dunnnn! But it was generally an uneventful journey, and a friendly Brooklyn native set me straight on my path once I got off the train. On my way to Redress NYC!

I think every full figured fashionista owes herself at least one visit out to this crazy, wonderful, only in NYC boutique. Redress makes for a welcoming, kitschy, edgy, unconventional, great shopping experience. Customers are encouraged to share dressing rooms (which are named after full figured celebs like Mama Cass and Nell Carter). Clothes are arranged by type and size, and I found some excellent items on the dress rack in my size, and much, much larger. There are pants and jackets and shoes and skirts and on this special trunk show day, original garments and inspired remixes by designers from around the country. The crowd was extremely diverse in terms of sizes, ethnicity, sexual orientation, hair color… it was funky and fun and I was loving it! I must’ve tried on twelve dresses and four jackets before I settled on three must-have items — a chic long sleeved black minidress from Silhouettes that will last and look cute into the winter months, a cute peasant style embroidered blouse by Abby Z that is SO up my bohemian alley and I know I’ll wear season after season, and this adorable hooded pinstriped denim dress by Size Queen Clothing. So funky, so cute, so comfortable! LOVE it!

Then there was a fashion show by the designers, which can only be described as very bold.

Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time, crochet may have been the hobby your grandmother or aunty used to pass the time. Their needlework generally resulted in doilies, tablecloths, kitschy detailing on dresses, and those often-ill fitting waistcoats that were briefly popular in the Nineties. (I’m speaking from personal experience, here).

That was then.

There’s been a HUGE renaissance in fiber arts in recent years. Thanks in part to Bust Magazine’s Debbie Stoller, there’s been a new wave of women versed in the needle arts, who proudly refer to themselves as Stitch and Bitch. There are craft mafias. Knitting, sewing, and crochet have become tools of self expression. Your grandma or aunty’s hobby of choice has become a fresh avenue of fashion for today’s generation. Allow me to share some of my favorite crochet finds with you!

If you want to dip a toe into the world of crochet, I think the best place to begin is with accessories.
Lovenia Leapart, designer of StarCrochet Creations, makes gorgeous earrings that will for sure get you noticed. Check me out in her Purple Lacie Teardrops. $20, and the color and style is so on trend for Fall it isn’t even funny!

StarCrochet designs are colorful, funky, and bright without being childlike. Her Looptyloops are interlocking crochet circles that move individually and come in alternating colors. Tres chic! And the Peace Signs look awesome with jeans, especially in shades of blue. Love Lovenia’s work, and love the prices!

You can add a little crochet to your look AND support fair trade initiatives, look no further than Harriet and Leo. Their Hand Crocheted Butterfly Pins are $15 for a set of two, and they’re made in Peru out of local wool.

I love the purple pair — and I totally wore one to the Blogalicious bash here in Chicago, to compliment my La Grande Dame lilac dress! I know — how Mariah of me! But I couldn’t help it. These clever little crochet butterflies are very cute, very whimsical, and as summer wends towards autumn, they’ll allow me to keep a touch of warmth and sunshine in my style.

Those crochet designs whet my appetite for wanting to master the art myself. But I can barely tie my shoelaces, dare I dream of being a skilled crocheter? According to wonder twins Erika and Monika Simmons — it isn’t as difficult as it may seem, and practice can definitely make perfect!

Together Erika and Monika are known as the Double Stitch Twins, and they make crochet that’s sexy and fashion forward.

Read the rest of this entry »