chocolate laced: Nigerian

What I'm Wearing
My Gele: wrapped by my mother | Earrings: ALDO | Coral Necklaces: My mother's closet
Double "Wonder Woman" Cuffs: diva.net.au | Gold Knit Sweater: gift
Tulle Midi Skirt: ebay ($12) | Suede Tan Pumps: Talbots ($20)

This past Sunday was my church's 30th anniversary so the celebration was grand and all cultures

My Gele

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Sunday, July 27, 2014 No comments

What I'm Wearing
Earrings: (my sister's closet)
Gold Cuff Bracelet: (my sister's closet) I'm in love with it...
Gold Buttoned Blouse: H&M ($7.50)
Ankara Printed Pants: (my dad's closet) That's a first! Might not be the last!
Nude Pumps: Enzo Angiolini (my sister's closet)
Let's address the fact that the majority of this outfit is a huge thanks to my family's items! Fact addressed. Haha.

On October 1st, my beautiful country, Nigeria, celebrated its 52nd year as a free country. In honor of this special day, I searched my house high and low for a "school-appropriate" outfit. At first, I was just going to wrap my hair like I did here and here, but those scarves have magically disappeared from my closet. No matter how high or low I search, I cannot find them and it saddens me a great deal.

There are many dresses and two piece outfits in my closet, but they were all too formal for the look I was going for. I found myself searching in my brother's closet, but he's a 34 in the waist while I'm a 27. No amount of pinning would've made his clothes flattering.

Eventually, I found myself in my dad's closet where I came across these babies. While examining them, I saw how tiny the waist was made, so called my mother for the back story on these pants. She said she had them made in Nigeria for my dad but they were too small. Well, one person's "too small" is another person's "just right"!

I put them on and fell in love. They fit me perfectly! They are originally straight leg pants but I cuffed the bottom of them and pinned them to created the tapered leg look.

Ta-da!

Happy Independence Day, Nigeria! It's amazing. I moved to America when I was 4, so Niger was only 35 years free then! And both my parents are older than Nigeria's freedom.

P.S. Ankara is the name of the material that the pants are made out of!

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Thursday, October 11, 2012 No comments

One of my favorite things about traditional Nigerian clothing is that they are (more often than not) tailor made. This guarentees the most flattering fit (depending on your desired style and design). On Saturday, I was part of my aunt and uncle's 25th anniversary celebration in NYC wearing the aso ebi that they picked out. I chose the dress design I wanted after searching online for hours and I showed it to the woman who was going to create it from the material my mom gave her. I knew I would need really high heels to compliment the length of the dress, so my sister bought me these babies from Charlotte Russe:

Stunning black velvet platform stilleto heeled pumps that were a breeze to walk in but a pain to keep on for 6+ hours! I got many compliments form the other aso ebi girls on my height (an added five inches to my already 5'8" and change height) and on my dress which was sweet and simple yet dramatic. I had a great time at the party and I was joined by my Panamanian best friend Desiree of six years who, wholeheartedly, supports and loves my culture and its traditions. She was rocking her African attire from Mali with a wrap skirt (a gift to her from her brother's godmother):

We live 170+ miles apart but our friendship grows stronger every day.

Monday, June 20, 2011 No comments

In my last post, I mentioned getting some material from my mother that I would incorporate into my future outfits. Today was my first successful attempt at doing so. After going to church this morning, I had to meet up with my staff for this summer's camp to discuss how much smoother we plan on running things. It just so happens that my staff is like my family. We are tighter than skinny jeans, we are. It's awesome.

So my best friend, Maya came to pick me up at 4 to take me to this meeting and when I stepped out the house in this and opened the passenger door to her car, she said to me, "Okay, Mama Africa! I'm loving it: the fact that you look all fabulous and I'm here dressed like a bum." She didn't really look like a bum, she's just super dramatic.

What I'm Wearing

Headwrap: from Nigeria (gift from Mom)
Earrings: Brooklyn Beauty Supply Store ($1)
Cardigan: Wet Seal (my sister's closet)
Maxi Dress: H&M ($15)
Bracelets: (gifts)
Leather Belt: (my sister's closet)
Sandals: Payless ($13)
TOTAL: $29

I wrapped my hair in one of the materials my mom gave me. I didn't really have a set design in mind when tying it, but it took my three trails before I found this design and I really love it. It has a hint of Nigeria in the way it takes the shape of our traditional gele and it also has the Nefertiti/Badu height I was aiming for.

I paired the look with natural makeup: concealer for my less confident areas, light foundation for an even tone and subtle cat eye to waken these tired eyes. Did it work?

The solid black maxi is something I feel everyone should have. It can be worn so many different ways; I absolutely love it. I've been looking for a way that I could maybe hike it up a bit and wear it as a more modest LBD. Everything is possible as long as you believe!

Sunday, June 12, 2011 No comments

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