RETRO IN MODERN WEAR or “SPLUFIK” RETRO

I learned a new word in pidgin – splufik. I think it means splendid, and I want to incorporate it into my pidgin vocabulary. And just as I discovered splufik, I spotted a return of the retro. I know your mum said so a thousand times…however you do not need to wear it all at once. And in understanding your feminine side you might want to add old-school class to grab attention (maybe carry out another transfiguration). 

A little bit of this and that can add a dash of splufik to your outfit. The retro is simply old school glamour from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. It is playful and has quite an unconventional refined feel to it. Incorporating the retro is a great way to inject a bit of high energy to your everydayness.

So here are a few of our looks we urge you to try, even if it is one at a time. I am quite sure you cannot overlook them anyway…

1.    The Hair- The hair of those days was big, curly, full hair and up-do styles. If you have observed, some celebrities have used this in their music videos. Also bold hair accessories were a part of that time – bows, flowers, bandannas etc.

       2 . The Make-up –Popularly called the pin-up look. It is fresh-faced, eye lined black, a little blush and bold red lip, other bold lip colors are cool too. And if you think blush is not African, remember eba is still eaten with stew… 

      3.     Mini Trends – Whether it is skirts, dresses or shorts, these are nice ways to show off your hot legs, hips and pretty blouses. Plus if you are feeling conservative or cold pair with a jacket, leggings or patterned panty hose 

               

     4.    Pointy Shoes and Classic Pumps: With varying designs and colors and in unique mixes with Ankara and metallic strips 

     

                                                            

      5.    Floral prints – 

       

       

     6.    Jean Sleeveless Jackets: I don’t know how this trend came back but we love it and it can dress up or dress down almost everything, for work or play… 

             

        

      7.   Maxi Skirts – This was the hippie dress sense of the old days. Hippie was a nomadic youth subculture of the 60s who sought to free themselves from social restrictions, mainly identified by their unusual dressing, although hippie for African Americans meant currently fashionable and sophisticated in the 40s. Choose ye, which ye prefer… 

         

      8.   Crop Tops – “There is this thing about crop tops,” – a father tells his daughter, “you’ve got half a shirt on, you should have had a discount.” 

                  

       9.      Chunky Accessories – 

  

    Need we say more? Find your expression in fashion history. Look through old pictures; observe the trend waves and try this splufik trend...*wink

     

CAN A STYLIST DRESS YOU BETTER THAN YOU DRESS YOURSELF?

Beauty is defined by so many twists and perceptions, especially as constructed by folks such as designers, stylists, photographers, marketers, and lastly but most importantly, YOU. And even with so many tips and principles to consider, there are always days when nothing is working out.  Those off-days or drab days are the times when you wish that a “professional” someone exists to put something together and take away your misery.

The celebrity and model looks are very powerful images and mostly we fantasize (and copy) what they wear. It seems that they can afford to look better than you because of who they are… or what they have??? Who knows?

But, does a stylist know better than you? Or is it because fashion styling is their job (their bread and butter)? Is great fashion styling an in-born trait with some genetic number and code present in select human populations? Or is there a handed down generational (or family) legacy that differentiates your style from the next lady’s?

Well I can stick my neck out confidently to say that a pretty large proportion of ladies think that a stylist (employed or consulted) can dress them better than they would themselves. As believed, the stylist has received appropriate training as regards putting an outfit together, and with experience is better able to achieve looks that create lasting impressions, inclusive of current fashion trends and body type considerations.

A stylist is better able to capture work and lifestyle habits in giving fashion advice to his/her clients. They are also able to creatively use colors, prints, patterns, and accessories with effortless skill and work. For ladies with a heavy work schedule and who have to attend a lot of socializing functions, a stylist is a God-send, because s/he is able to cut out the stress of going from store-to-store to find just the outfit, as suits the occasion. For those on this side of the wall, convenience and ease of access is found with the stylist.

I daresay that without the stylist there will be little need for ladies to be as attentive to what they wear. Even with the cash strains and the obvious diversity of styling and clothing preferences, the undeniable and imaginative construct from a stylist cannot be underestimated. As a stylist detail is everything – each strand of hair, accessory, the show of skin, color, pattern and/or texture is playing a part in the powerful image story. It’s a breath-sweeping and lifting place to be able to spin past body shape and plain old stitches to produce a life of itself in inexpressible words of beauty and fashion.

As a stylist, my work is a life, an art and science of cutting through walls of people, place and time to bring forth a statement, only told by the clothes on your back… and admired by a waiting audience…