DIY Denim

Elpis Megalio - Part 1

So Cliché...

One time I wore red on Valentine's Day, completely by accident. 

I hadn't forgotten that it was V-Day or anything, it just didn't occur to me when I got dressed that morning. I spent the whole day being cruelly mocked by friends and receiving knowing looks from strangers.

OOTD: Golden Girl

Started out my night at Music Meets Runway with this headpiece....

OOTD: Cocktails With Claire Part Deux

The Second part of Cocktails With Claire held at the Radisson Blu (read about the first part HERE) 

OOTD: Cocktails With Claire At Meidei

Cocktails With Claire: The Lagos Edition was a super-sized version of Claire Sulmers' usual events. 

Short Story

I recently worked on the Forte Oil #WhatDrivesYou campaign with some other amazing, talented creative people

Take Three

*Warning* photo overload

Caped Crusader

The Grove

LBD Nation

I wore a lot of black for nights out on my holiday. Not deliberate or anything but it just turned out to always be the case.

I've finally gotten over my law student hatred of black.....

The rebirth is real guys.

Citrus

Because I look like a cool drink on a hot day, a burst of sunshine and golden friend plantain in this dress from River Island.

Wore it recently to the World Media PR Luxury Beauty Brunch and the Hellofood World Hunger Day Bloggers/Media Dinner, which both took place last Saturday.

Love and light xx

Fringe!

Gave my girl Esosa Stores a mandate and she came through as usual...

She made this dress in about 3 days, and the awesome thing with Esosa is we've been working together for so long, I never actually have to get measurements taken. We literally discuss a style over Whatsapp and I go pick up the dress when its ready, most of the time, on the day of the event.

I keep thinking bad luck will catch up with me one day and I'll miss an event because of my tardiness, but so far so yay.

I was running super late that day and didn't have time to take proper pictures so I roped in my gateman to play pap for the day. Hence the.....slightly uncomfortable stance. 

I felt so weird mean mugging for him.

Same neckpiece worn in this post HERE. This neckpiece is from H&M and cost just $35, but its proven its worth over and over again. 

Anything I wear it with goes from badder to baddest.

Esosa Stores - 07084192609  *tell her I sent you

Love and light xx

Freedom Fighter

Got this jumpsuit from the H&M in Las Vegas last October and apparently it was embroiled in a bit of controversy.

It was claimed that the jumpsuit bore a "striking resemblance to the loose-fitting fatigues worn by female fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG)" and Kurd social media was up in arms about it. I actually saw it on the Daily Mail the day after I bought it, H&M had to apologize and everything.

I'd already got it by then sha, and the jumpsuit was mad, so....

*shrugs*

H&M jumpsuit; H&M necklace; Chanel purse 

Photos by Alistair Englebert Preston

Love and light xx

Ebony & Ivory

I am in AWE of Nigerian fashion retailers these days.....just in awe.

Let me tell you the story of this dress. One of my friends Nneka came into town and successfully convinced me to leave my prone position in front of the tv to go out, and like a typical girl I was all like "Ohmyfreakingoodness I have nothing to wear!!". Now I wasn't going to go drop my children's school fees on some trend piece I can only wear once and costs the earth so I was like lemme go down to L'espace (and btw, have you got your African Bloggers Calendar yet? Get it HERE) and see what they have to offer.

I saw this Things Nigerian Love dress in white first off, but it looked way simple and I didn't feel like it had enough oomph, but that's just the dress' super power. 

I put it on and was just like "heeyyy Cookie Lyon".

Loved it so much I got it in black as well.

.....and how did I do that night you ask?

Please judge for yourself.

WHITE

BLACK

                          Things Nigerian Love dress; Hermes & Bvlgari jewelry; Anne Elise hair

I'll also like to drop a postscript and add that its been a year since I started using my Anne Elise Real Hair (see review HERE) and its still almost indistinguishable from the first time I got it. No tangles, very minimal shedding, still amazing. I am very impressed. 

*drops mic*

Love and light xx

Photos by Alistair Englebert Preston

40 and Fabulous

Not me, lol. Still in my Roaring Twenties thanks very much. 

But I attended a stupendous (this is not an exaggeration) 40th birthday celebration that spanned two days over the weekend and I'm still reeling from it.

There was a throwback native party where everybody wore ankara and drank palm wine and Shina Peters shook his money maker. 

Then an elegant black tie dinner a day after. It was black and white themed and Daks gave them as usual.

Wearing my fave Esosa Stores (will do a designer spotlight on the Creative Director in due course). 

WEARING: Esosa Stores Dress; Rand & Pluto 'Maleficient' Earrings (get HERE), Le Reve Bangles

Get into the henna on my hand, henna is my newest obsession. I LOVE tattoos but since I intend to be in legitimate employment for a while still, can't use my body as a canvas like I want to so I've started getting into henna art every couple of weeks or so.

Got henna on my back as well, which you can see is already fading......sadly

Love and light xx

Photos by Alistair Englebert Preston Photography 

Work Chic: Shades of Blue

Oldie but a goodie.....

So......random, I got an email once asking why I always have my natural hair in a side swoop bang thingy. This delightful person went on to ask if I was trying to hide my receding hairline as she's pretty sure I must have traction alopecia.

LMAO!

I had a bit of time on my hands that day and diligently searched Google images till I found a picture of a massive, bony, knuckly hand delicately giving someone the finger and I sent that back to her. The babe now replied all bewildered, like how could I be so rude, what did she say......

Nigerians will always and forever be a source of entertainment for me. People say the rudest things to you and then get surprised when you serve one right back at 'em. Its like slapping me and getting all hurt when I slap you back.

Anyhoo my hair is always like this when its due so I can cover the new unrelaxed growth at my hairline. In this post I'm about 10 weeks or so post relaxer.

Once I lay that creamy crack on....top bun my nigga!

ASOS Scuba peplum top; ASOS Tall crepe pants; ASOS belt; Gucci bag; Salvatore Ferragamo 'Varina' pumps; Hermes 'Kelly' Double Tour bracelet

Love and light xx

Work Chic: Chartreuse

A lot of times I'm schlepping into work looking like a Dementor; pulled back hair, no eyebrows, thick cover-up because the weather in my office is arctic.......counting the minutes till 5pm when I can schlep back home.

Some times I'm like.....

Hello world, Daks Knowles-Carter here :)

ASOS pencil dress with fold sleeve detail; Franco Sarto leopard print pumps, Louis Vuitton 'Ascot'

Love & Light xx

Wedding Saturdays: Black & Gold

For the first time in I don't know, many many years, I attended a wedding where I didn't personally know the couple.

Weddings are very stressful and unless the couple are personal friends or I'm on the bridal train I don't attend.

This one though, my friend made a great case for it, I had a nice outfit so I thought "why not", and I'm glad I went because it was one hell of a party. Typical Lagos, I happened to know over 70% of the room so I felt very welcome.

The story of this outfit get as e be. It was initially a boubou type dress and I'd had it for over a year but never wore it. Then sometime this year I thought it could stand to be transformed in some way and took it to my intrepid designer, Jen of Esosa Stores who cut and stitched her way to perfection.

Frockit Rockit fabric; Esosa Stores bustier crop top & maxi skirt; Le Reve pieces bracelets; Louis Vuitton 'Louise' clutch; Kenneth Jay Lane earrings 

Love and light beautiful people xx

Lady Danger

That's the name of the jumpsuit.....before you think I was implying something about myself.  Nothing dangerous here, I'm the biggest softie I know.

Shimmied into this TNL 'Lady Danger' jumpsuit this weekend and I promise you my stock has never been higher, not sure thought if it was because everybody just had their beer goggles on or it was the combination of Lady Danger, Ruby Woo and mild inebriation.

Pulled a trifecta with my friends Ify and Audrey

TNL 'Lady Danger' Jumpsuit; ASOS Obi belt; Louis Vuitton clasp purse; Valentino 'Rockstud Noir' patent leather sling backs.

Oh yeah, and the jumpsuit is just N9,000...see how happy I am about it?

Lots of love and light xx