Work Chic - Day to Night

This is my second ever day to night post, I should probably do more of these because I pull double duty a lot but honestly it doesn't involve anything more than taking off a blazer, adding extra jewelry and a pair of heels.

Anyhoo, check on it.

Wore it to work, giving them shades of blue

Zara blazer; ASOS dress, Salvatore Ferragamo pumps; Fendi mini cuff bracelet



At 4.59pm.....ta-da!

Whipped off the blazer and was ready to hit the mean, traffic-ridden streets.

I had a dinner party that evening and the dress sans blazer was perfect for it.

Blazers are probably one of my favourite items of clothing, I own loads of them and they never go out of fashion, they keep you warm on cold days, cover up your nakedness....

Like seriously, they are like superhuman clothing.

Hats off to whoever invented blazers.

Love and light xx

Hey Shala

Who can forget this fashion fantastic photo from Fashion Week in 2011?

All the ladies were fly AF but top honours went to Shala Monroque in her chambray shirt and mustard skirt.

 For months after that her look was re-created by fashionistas worldwide, I swear I saw someone pull a Shala at least once a week. Strangely enough I never got into it, I mean I had a denim shirt, I had  a mustard skirt but the look was so overdone I let that bandwagon pass me by.

Two years later I hadn't seen anyone do the Shala in a bit so I figured it was safe and rocked it to work last Friday.

Zara denim shirt; Miss Selfridge mustard pleated skirt; Dorothy Perkins mixed coral neckpiece; ASOS gold & leather cuff; Prada baroque sunglasses; Louis Vuitton Alma GM in Monogram Vernis (another bandwagon fashion look I steered clear of till now); Salvatore Feragammo patent 'Varina' flats

Shout-out to my boo Archie for taking my pictures.

Love and light xx

Work Chic - The LBD & The statement Jacket

An oldie but a goodie.

I've had this post in my drafts for a few weeks not but completely forgot about it. This was when I still had my big hair, I really miss this hair, definitely have to get it done again.

Anyhoo this black dress is one of my favourites, if my colleagues only knew how many times I've rocked this dress with a different jacket, shirt, belt, brooch......the dress def has super re-rocking powers.

Zara boucle jacket, ASOS dress, Salvatore Feragammo 'Varina' flats, Bali bead & pearl necklace from The Pearl Shop




*sidebar* The lovely people at The Pearl Shop just named a piece of jewelry after me. Get into the 'Daks' freshwater pearl & black onyx necklace...

I am beyond honoured, this is so awesome, thanks guys!

Lurking in the stairwell like a movie villain....

Love and light xx

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

Random

Wore this out initially for a 2 year old birthday party but after consulting with Himself and endless self-examination, decided to respect myself and went back to change into a pair of jeans.

I didn't want to be that girl at a kids party that all the mothers were side-eyeing.

Oh and btw, new huuurrrr

Zara blazer; H&M tank and boyfriend shorts; H&M neckpiece; Louis Vuitton Brea MM; Salvatore Ferragamo Varina bow flats; Dolce & Gabbana aviators

This hair makes me want to wear a dashiki, listen to India Arie and eat tofu :)

Love and light xx

Work Chic: Day To Night

This post has been in my drafts since last year, forgot I had it even. 

At least 90% of my work week I don't go home right away, the traffic is nuts and I prefer to drive home much later when traffic has died down so I can be home in 20 minutes as opposed to the 3 hours it would take me if I left at 5pm.

As a result of this a lot of my work wear has to be able to translate easily from day to night in the event there's somewhere I'd like to go after work. What I discovered is that blazers are a godsend, they can turn a ho into a housewife faster than you can say church. Put a blazer over anything and you're good.

Look 1

Wore this to work, all demure like

Zara blazer with gathered shoulders; River Island animal print chiffon dress; Dorothy Perkins pumps

I am so enamored with this particular blazer above that I have it in navy and red besides the black one pictured here.


Look 2
Whip off my blazer and I have a nice dress I can go out to dinner or wherever else that suits my fancy in.




I did just that below when I went out to Likwid with friends for a charity event after work.

So yeah, invest in blazers, they'll save your sartorial life.

Love and light xx

Monochrome & Zebra Print

So work has started in earnest, 5am wake-up time....I am once again run ragged by this 8-5 life of mine but who says I can't look faboosh while doing it :-)

Wore this outfit to work just yesterday.

Zara blazer and trousers; Primark lace shirt; Things Nigerians Love brown and black zebra print pumps; ASOS necklace; Valentino sunnies


I am in LOVE with having one colour running throughout separates or different shades of the same colour, its matchy-matchiness is so beautiful to me. I am currently on the hunt for a red pant-suit but instead of skinnies I want the trousers to be high-waisted and super flared, 70s style.

If I could get that I'd just die! Die I tell you!

Lol.

These trousers were initially flared but they weren't long enough so I had them pared down and voila...skinny trousers.

I really need to send a shout-out to my kid brother Ebuka who I've tortured this entire holiday into helping me take my pictures, the poor kid is probably ready to have me assassinated by now but he's been a trooper through and through.

My fave has been awesome sauce too, the look of despair on his face when I pull out my camera is priceless but he's been ace. Riccardo Pozzoli and Wes Mason have nothing on Olly.

That's actually food for thought, besides my girl Stella of Jadore-Fashion, Nigerian fashion bloggers are generally not in favour of putting their other halves on their blogs, me included. I feel like I've chosen this life of over-exposure but I don't need to drag my loved ones into it, which is why my siblings are never on here and my mum has been just a couple of times or so. This is so unlike international bloggers like Chiara,  Aimee, Gary Pepper or Jules whose boyfriends are practically accessories.

I think it might even be a black blogger thing, I don't think I've seen a popular black blogger showcase her significant other the way the non-black ones do. If you guys know any please correct me.

Love and light xx

Gladiator In A Dress

This past weekend was HECTIC, onwa December e ru go and so far it has being live.

I had a sneak peek when I made the grave error of going to Sip the first weekend of December, it gave me 11.45 flashbacks when people used to actually bleed trying to get in. I was in and out in 5 minutes straight. Packed, sweaty clubbing is not my idea of fun.

Anyway this weekend I had like eight events to attend between Saturday and Sunday, in addition to working my other job as a personal shopper (yeah I do that too, get at me) on Saturday, I still had to make weddings and other sundry events. Managed to get to just five I think, body no be wood.

On Sunday I attended the Pamper Me Pretty event which was awesome, pictures from it should be on the blog soon, for now be content with pictures of just me s'il vous plait.

The gladiator in a dress title isn't in reference to Miss Pope and her crew by the way but in reference to the fact that my dad said I looked like a gladiator when he saw my dress and ear-cuff.

Zara python print dress with side slit; River Island belt; River Island gold cuff gladiator sandals

ASOS winged ear cuff

Close up of the ear-cuff below, taken from Instagram

This dress and several others I have is the reason why I'm averse to spending tons of money on clothes. I've had this dress for about 18 months now and this is only the 2nd time I'm wearing it, unlike bags and shoes that I can use over and over again therefore actually getting value for money spent.

I shudder at the thought of buying an expensive AF dress and only ever wearing it one time.

More pictures from the Pamper Me Pretty event coming soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love and light xx

Shirt Dress - Two Ways

I received this Wana Sambo Modern Bishop shirt dress a while ago and instantly fell in love with its versatility. 

The material is light and breathes easily and I totally heart the bishop collar and the length.

I wore it to work in the look on the left and to a casual drinks do in the look on the right.

LOOK 1

Top: Wana Sambo Modern Bishop shirt dress. Skirt: Topshop leopard print tube skirt. Belt: River Island  belt. Shoes: Guess by Marciano gladiator sandals. Jewelery: Marc Jacobs twin bracelets

LOOK 2

Top: Wana Sambo Modern Bishop shirt dress. Trousers: Topshop supersoft 'Leigh' jeans. Shoes: Zara ankle strap pumps


The peek-a-boo opening at the back is a definite plus too.

The material is so sheer and light and easy to breathe that I'm even considering wearing it as a beach cover-up in the future. That photo will definitely not make it on here because I'm not sure I fancy photos of myself in all my half naked glory floating around the interwebs thanks very much.

And yes I cut my hair (my weave actually but my hair still), the heat has been on steroids in Lagos recently and all the hair I had hanging in my face was literally cooking my skin, damn near drove me nuts and one day out of frustration I took a pair of scissors to my hair.

Yup, I cut it myself.

Chopped off about 6 inches of prime Remy Saga. It was either that or cut off my face and since my money-maker isn't going anywhere, the hair had to go.

I might have a future as a hair stylist if this whole oil & gas law thing decides to go left.

Love and light xx

Black & Gold

Went to a bridal shower last weekend (aaaaaalllll of my friends are jumping the broom) and we had to wear black dresses and statement jewelery. So I wore my fall-back black dress and a gold body harness.

Dress: H&M. Jewelery: Topshop Body Harness. Shoes: Zara Suede Loafers. Sunnies: Dolce & Gabbana Aviators



I call it my fall back dress because its my token LBD and is whipped out for nearly every occasion that requires a black dress. The poor thing will soon start giving away at the seams, I'm really regretting not buying at least 3 of them.

It was hosted by Shally and Segi of ForStyleSake.

The bride-to-be, another old friend from QC, Tolu

*random*

I've never used picstitch before so I decided to launch it with this hilarious collage of me dancing to Chuddy K's 'Gaga Crazy'

sugarcane no be bambooooo

Another fun day out with my QCOGs.

Love and light xx