Creating fashion savvy allows you to stand out from the crowd. To do so takes a combination of confidence, and knowledge of colors, lengths, and styles that are most flattering. We all have our favorite go to styles that take us through seasonal changes.
New fashion trends are always on the horizon and as Black women get our due diligence in on the shopping platform. There are tons of resources with many of us turning pages of our go-to sources like Essence, and Ebony to help determine what’s in and what is definitely out.
On-line shopping provides yet another tool to keep fashion conscious sisters in the know. With the number of black designers on the rise we have even more options.
As a black women entering professional work environments you have to break down doors and barriers to get in. Once hired we have been faced with fitting into cultures that prefer we don’t celebrate our uniqueness. Faced with the choice of conformity or pushing the envelope, has been, and continues to be, an issue.
For those who don’t want to make waves, it appears easier to go along with a conservative mode of dress and style, right down to our hair follicles. Today, media follows black women and hair (a constant topic) that is both annoying and frustrating.
How many outfits and random accessories lay dormant in your closets, drawers, and jewelry box? I mean things like the cute dress you purchased and wore on the cruise 6 years ago, and haven’t worn again. And what about the cute two-piece skirt set you wore to your cousin’s baby shower? That baby is entering 4th grade come fall and you haven’t looked at that must have number again.
Spring is here why not drop the heaviness of winter and spring forward in conscious raising hot cultural tees? At the close of Women’s Herstory Month a great way to celebrate black women is to wear apparel that speaks directly to us. There are several lines and vendors offering wares and great specials. Tees with slogans that express cultural pride say a lot about the person wearing the tee. In my opinion, it says that one is proud of who they are. As the world becomes more diverse many people try and blend in and not stand out. It is an easy way to move through life without creating waves. People certainly have the right to live quietly. I choose to do the opposite. If there is a positive conscious tee or hoodie, I want it. I love clothing that relates to my hair, skin, and who I am a black woman.
My favorite tees, leave no doubt to those I encounter while I am out and about, that I love the skin I am in. I simply adore tees picturing strong black women. Women, who made strides in black history making it against all types of odds. It seems unfathomable to me to try and down play their efforts. Because of them I am able to eat, work, and play in areas where they entered back doors. If, they were allowed to enter at all. I pay homage to the the women whose strong shoulders I stand on. Tees depicting black life are important to me and I love the variety and artistry behind them.
Hair and heritage go hand-in-hand. The conversations are around kinky hair continue to grow on social media. Each time a tee is worn with a nappy head it opens the door to conversation around black women and our love-hate relationship with our hair.
Even embracing the word “nappy” is a stance against what society and media says is appropriate, and what I know to be appropriate for me. Supporting cultural tees is a way of teaching cultural pride, that children become conscious about their relevance and importance in the universe, by feeling good about themselves.
Consider supporting black business by grabbing a few tees for yourself and a few more to give away.
There is no doubt Lupita Nyong’o worked the baby blue pleated Prada gown she wore on Oscar night. It was suited for a princess and she rocked it while graciously accepting her win for best supporting actress in her role as Patsey. Lupita’s work in 12 Years a Slave helped the film earn “best movie of the year.”
The 31-year-old Kenyan actress has a flair that allows her to look good in whatever she dons. There was a teeny percentage of critics, however, who thought the Prada gown was not the best choice for Nyong’o and her lack of decolletage. Those judging with a critical eye feel a fuller, plump, bust line would have done more for the dress.
Nonetheless, Nyong’o was beautiful and a class act. I admit to not being sure about her headband. Media stylists ate it up using worlds like ‘cute’ and ‘delicate’ to describe it. I think Nyong’o had the goal of softening her look for the formal gown. However, her cut is tight enough, and her face, pretty enough that I think she could have pulled off the entire look without it.
There was banter around whether she would wear a daring color or play it safe. Honestly, Lupita can go in any direction with the rainbow and still look great.
In addition to her eloquent acceptance speech that validates girls world wide to reach for their dreams Lupita serves as a reminder to women who are hesitant about playing with color when thinking ‘wardrobe.’ Pull it out and own it, is the message I get in every picture I see of Nyong’o.
Congratulations Lupita on a well deserved Oscar win. We look forward to seeing you in future work. Your words inspire, and your walk of confidence reminds each of us, that we hold the key inside known as faith. Acknowledging that truth allows us to reach our highest heights.
Fashion model icon Beverly Johnson made her feelings known concerning, the lack of black models represented through modeling agencies.
Johnson, was the first black model to grace the cover of Vogue Magazine. She did so in 1974 and says, ‘Today there is less representation for black models than in the 1970s.” She is a bit outdone with the fashion business for not doing more to show diversity. Johnson says this even though she appeared on over 500 magazine covers over a ten year run. “Having one black model, is not good enough.” she said.
Johnson has not attended a fashion show in years and opted out for 2014 as well. In turn, she and model colleague and peer Bethann Hardison share the same sentiments for sitting out what they call an array of shows lacking diversity.
Johnson says she finds the lack of diversity, ‘Disrespectful to African-Americans,’ who bring talent and style to the fashion industry through designs and business savvy.
Hardison, does her homework before speaking, she says she counts the number of models of color participating in shows and checks the designers who continuously white wash shows.
At a Calvin Klein show in 2013, there were no models representing women of color. The labels creative director,Francisco Costa, had addressed the challenge of having a diverse runway: “You can only find a handful of top-level, professionally trained models of color at a particular level out there.’
Johnson and Hardison call foul on this notion. They insist that there are plenty of qualified models of color looking for work.
Former Essence editor and fashion journalist Constance White says, ‘It’s not just a model issue, “Fashion can do better in terms of diversity at all different levels.” White concludes,”Fashion reflects the society as a whole and that means more than models, fashion is an institution.”
Former models and editors who are advocates of changing the color of runways to reflect more of society look at the good that comes from businesses like Macy’s who host a Black History Month Fashion Show. This type of venue is where you will see black models in fabulous fashions. The question though is why is this type of show not more mainstream? There are design students who sketch one of a kind fashions daily as part of their training. When and where is their work seen? Until there is more diversity the questions will remain. Speaking out makes a difference. Kudos to Johnson, Hardison, and White for making noise and backing it up with facts.
