Tags
Ankara, Aso Damisi, Boxing Kitten, Heritage 1960, Kente, Kirette Couture, Kozbyworld, Orese Jewelery, Washington Roberts
Happy New Year to you all and welcome to my new blog Afrosocialiting! (*Applause).
I know its the New Year but for the month of January, I will be sharing highlights of 2011 ,then when February comes, we’ll get down to Fashion Week and more.
I love African fashion and I believe in supporting our designers and that’s why I consciously choose to wear Apparel and accessories by African designers. Here’s a rundown of some of the African brands I wore in 2011.Which is your favorite outfit? Do comment and share 
TRADITIONAL TOUCH
Kozbyworld
I wore this “Traditional Touch” dress to the New African Fashion x Heritage 1960 Pre launch Party at Parlor in NYC in early December. It was gifted to me by my friend Kozby of Kozbyworld and it’s actually a repeat outfit which I first wore to Africa Fashion Week NY . I changed it up by adding tights to beat the chilly fall weather and added black heels. The dress was complimented at the event and even made it to Essence.com for their “Pretty in Patterns” Street Style” page!
Shopping Details
Dress :Courtesy of Kozbyworld
Tights and Shoes by Forever 21
SAY I’M A BIRD! (if you’re a fan of “The Notebook” movie ,you’ll get that line)
Washington Roberts dress
This blue feathered dress is by one of my favorite designers and a great friend of mine , Mr Washington Roberts whose a Brooklyn based Nigerian designer. I literally called Washington a few days before an event and asked to be dressed by him and voila , here it is. I rocked it to the 2011 Afrotainment Museke Awards in September. He’s dressed countless fashionistas like Sophy Aiida and Rosemary Kokuhilwa of fashionjunkii.
PS: I’ve written a couple of articles on Washington’s collections which you can check out here.
Shopping Details
Dress :Washington Roberts
You can buy his items on My Asho as well .
PURPLE AND GREEN FEST
I wore this custom -made purple and green dress to the 2011 Face 2 Africa F.A.C.E List Awards in February or March of 2011. It’s by a designer based in Albany ,NY called Ines. I paired it with purple pumps from Burlington Coat Factory and a black belt from Forever 21 . The earrings are also from Forever (are you sensing a pattern?lol) and I got the bangles from Forever and the blue beaded one I purchased at Pakati shopping market at Arcades shopping center in my country Zambia while I was on vacation in 2010.
SCANDALOUS SHORTS
I wore this outfit to the African Student Association fashion show at my university (SUNY Albany) in November. Those shorts are by Stella’s Groove which I believe is based in Brooklyn. They were purchased at the Dance Africa Bazaar which occurs every memorial day weekend in Brooklyn and is a three day exhibit of fashion ,food ,movies and other African inspired goodness. The shorts were pretty “scandalous” to wear on their own ,so I added a blazer from Forever 21 (I love blazers! ) ,the same purple shoes I wore in the other outfit, a clutch from H and M which was like $13 and a corset top from H and M which was $7 on sale. The shorts were $50.
GEOMETRICS
One brand I really love which isn’t African per say ,but is African Inspired in terms of the prints and fabric is Boxing Kitten. As you may know, Solange wears the brand A LOT. I always oogled over the outfits on their site but being on a college budget, I couldn’t afford most of their stuff,so when they had a sale ,I rushed online and got the skirt for about $40. My mum had to adjust it to make it smaller (even though it was a size small) .
PS: You can check out articles I’ve done from their previous collections here.
Shopping Information
Skirt :Boxing Kitten (they have a sale now!)
White see through Top :Forever 21 (about $13.50)
Belt :H and M (about $7)
A KIRETTE AFFAIR
Kirette Couture is a Cameroonian design label owned by Kibonen Nfi and Anrette Ngafor .I have about three or four outfits from their collections and this dress is one of my faves ,which i actually happened to win in a raffle at my friend Sophy Aiida’s Nakande fundraising event. I belted the dress and added nude pumps.It was worn to Africa Fashion Week NY held in July.
Shopping Information
Dress: Kirette Couture
BLUE AND GOLD
This blue and gold bubble dress was gifted to me by my lovely mentor and boss Enyinne of Heritage 1960.com and I love it! I actually wore it with sandals to the Nigerian Entertainment Awards in NYC in September ,but took a picture in the heels at home. Funny story: So there was a photographer at the NEA’s who asked to take a pic of me and i was kinda hesitant at first but agreed. Next thing you know, Im on Bella Naija here!(you’ll have to scroll down to catch me) Like wow.Okay ,im retiring the purple heels in 2012. Didn’t know I wear them that much!
Shopping Information
Dress : L’ Ori (may be available on Heritage 1960.com soon)
Earrings: Fulani earrings will be available on Heritage 1960.com
AFRO-HOMME
I wanted to go with a Menswear theme for the “I am A Professional African ” networking event hosted by Face 2 Face Africa .I was working with Face at the time and we all had to wear black if we were helping out that day. I didn’t want to be generic and wear all black so i rebelled in a way by wearing white. I added a kente bowtie for a masculine look and added the wedges for feminity. Its one of my favorite looks ever!
Shopping Information
Kente Bowtie: (Purchased at the African market in Harlem) for $5.
Heels : Ankara Forwood Wedges by Aldo (spent like $90 on them and was pissed when they went on sale for way cheaper later. My mum almost killed me for spending 90 bucks on shoes)
Harem Pants : $19.80 at Forever 21 and Shirt was borrowed from my little sis
Ankara Button Earrings : By Orese Jewelery (Bday gift from my friend Chidubem)
ASO DAMISI
I’ve been a fan of Aso Damisi which is ran by Mo and her sister for a while now and they reached out and let me know that if i ever needed an outfit for an event , I should get in touch with them ,so I did for the Noire Chic Fashion show held to raise funds for Mama Africa program in December. That’s my best friend Marie from Kenya in the pic with me I added the belt from H and M.
Shopping Information: Aso Damisi
Which are your fave looks of moi? Does the shopping info help? Would love to know your thoughts! I look forward to “Wearing African” more in 2012.
