DASHIKI

Since time in memorial, women have been borrowing from the men, well, we don’t usually borrow, we take! Borrowing comes with the intention of giving back, taking, not so much. Borrowing sounds better though. In fashion, womenswear has been borrowing a lot of things from menswear.  From immaculate tailored pants and blazers, to the classic white shirt, and even my outfit today.

The Dashiki is a loose garment worn mostly be men in West Africa. The name dashiki is derived from “Danshiki” a Yoruba term for shirt. It became popular in America in the sixties during the Civil Rights movement. Today, both men and women (clearly) wear it.

I was shooting with Fashion Stylist and Fashion Blogger, Silvia Njoki for another episode of Kenyan Vibe’s, Fashion with Roshie. The location was the beautiful Karen Boutique hotel that gave us a stunning background with it's beautiful architecture and well manicured lawns. My favorite part about shooting the webseries is what I learn from our conversations. Getting to know them and having them discuss what drives them is an eye-opening experience. The passion for what they do is so discernible. Silvia is such a darling and I can't wait for this episode to air.  As I said on ART DECO keep your eyes peeled.

I love how loose and unstructured the dashiki looks. The prints are the focal point to this garment. I might trade it up for a cover-up on a vacation somewhere, but for this shoot I dressed it up with strappy heels and a few accessories.

 Since I'm back, regular all bundled up outfit posts will resume. Hope you got a chance to check out what to wear for some winter inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

THE VIEW

     As my family and I were heading to Naivasha, we literally had to pull over at a stop known as the viewpoint just to stare at the panoramic visual image that the Rift Valley bestowed upon us. The Great Rift Valley is considered as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Standing there, all I could think of was sometimes in this journey called life, you have to pause and enjoy the scenes around you.  Pull over, let loose, be free, and embrace the moment. Being there with my family, looking out at the horizon where the earth seemed to blend in with the skies in perfect symmetry was a priceless moment for me.

 Well, of course being free meant kicking off my shoes and walking barefoot on an altitude of some thousand feet. The pun is very much intended.

      I have never gotten the "waking up and throwing something together" look. There are some ladies who do that effortlessly and don’t end up looking like scarecrows. Kudos to you!! I on the other hand, threw on a green skirt, chambray shirt, cropped vest, and tied a head scarf on my head for this particular road trip. Thankfully,  I din't scare anyone, so I must have nailed it… 

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GATUNDU

     My family and I were off to visit my grandmother up-country, at a place called Gatundu, Kiambu County . I remember telling my sister to pull over by this seemingly endless road so we could take pictures (for this post ofcourse). The Kiondo bag was a suggestion by my mum who stood by the road directing the shoot or may be not! She seemed fascinated by this idea of randomly stopping the car, to take pictures for the blog (which I have been known to do). As my mother was enjoying herself watching this shoot per say, along comes this guy on a bike transporting a bunch of bananas. I hailed the man like a cab down on fifth ave and asked him if he wanted to take pictures. He surprisingly agreed and I don’t know if he will ever see this but I want to say Thanks again… guy on bike. He appeared to be in a hurry so I never got the chance to get his name, hence the comparison to that cab on fifth ave. Hurry!! Hurry!! 

Am rocking a dress I got from a thrift store a while back, the style is very 80s. My friend mentioned on facebook when I shared one of the pictures that only I could get away with rocking heels in Gatundu, it made me laugh out loud.

There will be a second part to this post, where I ditch the heels and loosen up a little. Be on the look for that. Find me on instagram and Facebook @Anneconventional and on Twitter @an_conventional

     Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Wednesday.