THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Menswear-inspired pieces have been there since time in memorial. Coco Chanel is said to have borrowed pieces from her boyfriends, the striped jersey shirt comes to mind. Janelle Monae does an awesome job donning her black and white ensembles. How about the boyfriend inspired trend that’s shaking things up in the fashion world!

Boyfriend inspired brogues, jeans, shirts, coats… and the best part about it is, you don’t really have to have a boyfriend! Ha!

After turning two and sharing looks with you, I decided to bring back some of my fave outfits (you will be seeing more of them) and give them a new spin. After all, the whole point of having a wardrobe is to not only store clothes but have pieces that best represent you. The polka print dress was quite a hit that I even wore it on an episode of Fashion with Roshie. It had to make a comeback!

Polka dot pattern was used in clothing by flamenco dancers and performers back then (don’t have the actual dates but sometime before the 1960s) and have remained popular over the years. With a boxy hounds-tooth blazer and grey hat, I bring forth a little masculine with a very feminine retro dress. For accessories, complimentary colors of red and green gives the outfit life and as for the shoes, it’s been said that every cloud has a silver lining. It’s about time shoes had one as well. 

Photo Cred: Kimnation

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

DAFFODIL

     We all have to decide what to do with the time that is given to us. Time is so fleeting, we are already in October. Soon, we shall be singing Christmas carols, then toasting to a new year with our loved ones. People make resolutions at the beginning of every year, but by the second week, the zeal that they had when making that resolution crumbles like a soft pastry. Think about the last fitness goal you had. Was it to lose 20 pounds? Join a gym? Perhaps it was to quit smoking! Or to stop procrastinating. How about that marathon that has always been on your bucket list. Sadly, the same resoultions that are made with so much enthusiasm when not met, are pushed to the next year. This often becomes a never ending cycle. I was told it’s such a cliché to make resolutions at the beginning of the year. If you want to do something just start. You don’t have to wait for Monday, or the New Year to start.

With a few months left until the year is over, I look back and think if I have met most goals I laid out for myself, and as a friend asked me the other day, what had been my greatest accomplishment so far.

While I ponder on this, I figured I should ask you as well. What has been your greatest accomplishment thus far?

You don’t have to necessarily jot down your answer, rather have it as something to think about moving forward. It made me resolve a few things.

For today’s look, a sleeveless dress worn with a daffodil sweater, and to introduce print that I can’t go without for long, polka dot shoes! I wore the dress earlier this year while shooting Fashion with Roshie in Kenya. Check it out on my navy post. I like how it now comes off as a billowy skirt when worn with the yellow sweater. 

Also note how the beautiful weather brings out the dancer in me. LOL

Photo Cred: Kimnation

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

KITENGE PRINT DRESS

Another year has gone by!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, 2ND YEAR ANNEVARSARY!!

Anneconventional just keeps on keeping on!! I am beyond thrilled!!!

At the end of my posts I always end by saying thank you, to you my reader. Knowing that someone’s out there being inspired, checking out my videos, thanks to Kenyanvibe.com or cracking up at some of my experiences fills me with joy. This year has not been as seamless as I thought it would be but that’s life. Things are bound to be unpredictable. Despite the uncertainty, today I will celebrate turning two.

In celebration of year two, I wanted to grab a nice double chocolate chip muffin from Whole foods and call it a day. Then I remembered my commitment to eating errrr better, plus being a bridesmaid in my cousins’ wedding, which is in a few months, put things into perspective. I found myself looking at flowers* and figured, I can’t eat those, right? They would look better on my nightstand. As I was waiting for someone to come and help me figure out what to pick and such, out came a petite lady and the first thing she asked was,

“Is that a kitenge print dress?”

Why yes it is, I replied. She went on ahead and told me she had lived in Zambia for a couple of years working in the Peace Corps. That’s how she had identified it. I told her she had given me a title for my new post then she went further did a pretty job arranging the tulips and hydrangeas for my mini celebration. She even added a ribbon! I figured might as well use them as accessories. Thank you Susanah!!

Oh yes! I know there’s the huge change that I haven’t talked about yet. I decided to cut all my hair. All of it! The last time I did this was probably five years ago. My family and friends have seen me with this look before so it does not come as a surprise. I just have to get through the first day of exclamations.

I remember vividly walking into JR’s barbershop and telling him, I want to have my hair cut.My friend Q was with me at the time, she did'nt want to miss the experience. JR got everything set up and with no time I was on that chair, ready for my haircut. Q had grabbed her phone ready to record the on goings.

It was surreal at first and unknowingly, JR had swiveled the chair around from the mirror so I couldn’t see what he was doing. All I heard was the buzzing of the razor on my head. It sounded like a swarm of bees. Q and another gent were sitting on the chairs by the wall seeing my bald do come to life, while I calmly sat down as clumps of hair fell down on the black neocape awaiting for the big reveal. When JR was done, he swiveled the chair back and TADAAAHH!! My head felt light as a feather considering the massive braids I had previously. I touched my head in awe and broke out into a huge grin. Perfect! 

When JR mentioned it was twelve dollars for the service. Q almost fell out of her chair, and all I could do was gape! WOW! Super Perfect!

Photo Cred: Kimnation

For today’s look I wore a kitenge print dress, with cut-outs on the sides, high-heeled sandals and navy coat. You should have seen the look on my face when I grabbed the coat as an after thought. It’s raining already and temperatures are dropping faster than a ball thrown up in the air. Goodness!!

This journey has been awesome so far, and am discovering so much along the way like, it's not about waiting for extraordinary opportunities. It’s being able to seize common occasions and making them extraordinary. So thank you my dear reader, for walking with me this two years, and as the journey continues, I trust you will stick along for the ride. Great things are on the way.

Have a great day.

WHERE'S THE PRINT?

        For a self-proclaimed lover of prints, I surprise my self when I can put an outfit together that has zero prints. Seriously? Yes, seriously. I allow myself to get away with it if the look involves three different colors. Sometimes I think my life without prints is very close to wearing all black.  Black is like the top shelf of colors, but the one I rarely go for. That line Jay-Z quips on wearing black a whole year straight! Well, good on ya mate!

I couldn’t come close to pulling it through. I once had a job working at ULTA, the beauty department store; they had us wearing all black and a splash of white here and there. I went out of my way to accessorize with the brightest brooches and earrings ever known to man.

Photo Cred: Kimnation

For today’s look, I went all out on the faux. My brother and I took these pictures over the weekend. The weather was divine. I paired my skirt with a grey crop top, threw on a faux leather because this weather is starting to get to a point where at night, a sister needs to be warm. For accessories, vintage Chanel, a nice floppy hat and red heels.

TOMORROW is a big day for Anneconventional. Can anyone guess what it is? :)