Jailhouse Rock

I think we all know by now that black and white is in and not just regular old black and white separates but colour blocked, graphic prints, stripes etcetera etcetera etcetera.

This is nothing new, they were in last year, Spring 2012 to be exact, I remember River Island resplendent in a sea of minimalism. Fashion cheats, fashion repeats, don't stress yourself buying new things, its a conspiracy!!!

Anyhoo :)

I'm not a big fan of black and white seeing as I was forced to wear it everyday for about 7 years while studying and practicing law but even though I love to hate it I can't help but appreciate the sartorial figure one cuts when donning a super fash black and white look. Plus its a staple of some of my favourite designers; Celine, Jil Sander, Chanel.....classic shit.

I recently sent out a Fashion Newsletter for the Women's Network in my office where I trumpeted the resurgence (again) of this super sharp monochromatic palette. So yah, I'm here for black and white *face palm* in a big way.

On Sunday, I had a super busy day and as a result of the fact that Lagos is roasting slowly on Jehovah's barbecue pit I had to wear something that ensured I won't be reduced to a puddle once I stepped outside, plus I was feening for some black and white...therefore....ta-daaaa!!

See why the post is titled Jailhouse Rock??? Felon couture is center stage, orange jumpsuits coming up next.

H&M striped shirt; H&M shorts; Topshop Gladiator sandals, ASOS neon laser-cut oversize clutch; Zara neon necklace; Dolce & Gabbana sunnies


So yah, dressed in my best "I belong behind bars" finery, with the AC of my trusty Toyota cranked way up I was ready to hit the town.

Headed to the Minku A/W 2013 bag launch first of all after a rousing lunch at Ocean Basket. Photos from the launch coming up in another post.

Stella-Maris of Stella's Addiction; Kunmi Otitoju of Minku and Wana Sambo of Wana Sambo 

Then I headed out to my aunts surprise birthday do which was a blast as all the Okpaleke bashes are.

Uju Offiah of Meena


After all that waka, I ended the night at the Muson Centre where I went to see a play starring Yaw and Funke Akindele titled 'The Bar'.

It was terribly interesting.

Apparently its an annual event but this was the first I'd heard of it. The basic premise is a cast of characters, sometimes one person but never more than two cast a satirical look on everything that's happened in Nigeria over the past year; political scandals, financial misappropriation, nepotism, bombings, election rigging, money laundering.......basically a day in the life of the average Nigerian. These characters tell the story of these happenings without mentioning any names just with a few clues enough that the audience are able to guess who is being lampooned. From time to time you'd hear the names being mumbled by the audience, it was great fun.

This year's play starred Yaw and Funke Akindele and I don't mean to be offensive or anything but I'd  only ever heard Funke Akindele speak in her "Jenifa" accent, not like I thought that was how she spoke 24/7 but I thought it might be very close. Surprisingly (to me anyway) she had a very normal accent, she sounded like the next person, I was really shocked. She even spoke phoneh from time to time, it completely blew my mind. She would lapse occasionally into her Jenifa tongue which the audience loved but for the most part she spoke in a regular Lagos accent which I and a lot of people that grew up in Lagos have.

*sidebar* This Lagos accent consists of pronouncing words properly so it almost sounds like phoneh but not quite and its partly tribe neutral, no-one can tell what part of the country you're from, but then some specific infrequent words give your mother tongue away as a result of  parents who grew up in the East or North or West.  It also has a trace of Valley Girl gained from watching countless American tv from the time you learn how to speak, and finally its peppered liberally with slang and pidgin. Unless you escaped from Lagos just after secondary school and even after moving back tenaciously held on to whatever foreign accent you acquired abroad, ten to one, you most likely sound like this.

Anyhoo Funke Akindele's regular voice is just well....regular. Now I know so I don't think the girl is really a Suliat from Aiyetoro.

You see why I said my day was mental? Good fun though.

Love and light xx