Fashion Week update

Its not the norm for me to pay lip service to the high-end fashion market because its quite expensive and I don't believe in fashion leading to bankruptcy.However, I watch the trends and often add an item or two to my praying wish list hoping I'll be able to steal one of the items for a buy or something miraculous just happens and it lands in my wardrobe.

Anyway, I am quite impressed with the Versace Ready-to-wear collection out this year because its a departure from the normal blingy, over-bearing versace items we know. Check it out on this link:

http://www.style.com:80/fashionshows/collections/S2008RTW/complete/slideshow/VERSACE/slideshow43778/0

I like the pale colours and light fabrics. It gives a fresh breezy feel when you are walking out in light feminine styles. Since its the ready-to-wear collection, we are bound to see a few of this styles in the high street stores as they get made down to retail availability.

On the other hand, I kind of have a crazing for these styles in light African fabrics (anybody out there?). I'm sure Duro Olowu would impress us with something from an African perspective soon, he's the UK renowned African designer to watch out for:

http://www.style.com:80/fashionshows/collections/S2008RTW/complete/slideshow/DOLOWU/slideshow43102/0

The ready-to-wear collection at London and Milan Fashion Week looked good, can't wait to see what's out in the stores for the forthcoming season. Military Jackets are very much still a fashion essential, High waists and wide belts are still on the scene, and chunky jewelry still rocks.

Remember, looking good is feeling good and making an effort. Love yourself cos he loves you (you know who).

Fabulous Love.

Wedding Scoop and More...

Remember my blog on 'a little bit of this and that'? This is the concluding update.

OK, so the wedding's over and the melancholic feeling has set in when you begin to think 'when's my wedding gonna happen?'.

I got back to London to discover that the Housing Association has received a court order to regain possession of the property, the estate agent has closed up shop and gone AWOL, and the estate agent has instructed the power company to turn off the electricity. I haven't felt this despondent in a while and its a weird feeling. Cold showers (not anywhere near the type you have in Boarding school) are a reality of my current adult life and I don't want to say anymore . My mum has been my support, calling me twice a day to make sure I get through this time and hope that the property I am about to rent comes through quickly.

The wedding was so much fun and I can now show you some pictures. (Drum rolls), here they are:

The Bride's Dress was from the Eden Collection by Maggie Sottero, her Pearls were from House of Fraser and her shoes were from Dune. The Bride's ring was from the Wedding Ring Workshop (http://weddingringworkshop.co.uk/).

The Bridesmaids had dresses from Davids Bridal, a leading American Bridal Store (http://www.davidsbridal.com/). We had corsages from a local flower store on our wrists, our hair was professionally handled by Louise Behrend, an upcoming hair stylist in Nottingham (details can be made available on request), our shoes were themed by the Bride (she made it absolutely clear we had to be in Gold or green shoes because our dresses were iridescent green/olivine), and our pearls were from House of Fraser.

The photographer for the day was Jide Alakija (http://www.alakija.com/), and I am really looking forward to seeing his pictures because he is absolutely the best photographer I know right now (taking into consideration my Nigerian roots). The food was great and was provided Mrs Margaret Kuforiji of London. The venue was decorated by Annette Bryan of Nottingham and the Cake was by Dr Tosin Bolarinwa.

It was a beautiful, wonderful day and I am not over it, not for a long shot anyway.

Not I can begin to reveal some of the nitty-gritty you need to know about the countdown to a wedding. Let's see how it all goes down.

Fabulous love.

Found an old video from New Orleans

Recipes I want to share

The bridesmaid dresses have finally arrived and the panic has subsided. However, you know how we women do, the runaround on matching accessories and wedding colours is just setting in. Tonight, we count down to the wedding we've been waiting for and look forward to seeing our friend become a Mrs (pronounced with the Nigerian vernacular).

Uhhh, I can't wait (and I'm not the one getting married).

My mum has always been my inspiration for being stylish, fabulous and yet still fashionable. I have observed her over the years and learnt that the complete package of a stylish woman is being very well groomed, well-mannered, confident, fashionable & trendy regardless of age and stage in life, and a very good hostess.

As a Nigerian, I know and have seen it confirmed over and over again that food is an important component of the culture, traditions and social life in Nigeria. You can turn out well for any meeting, party, engagement, or social gathering but ultimately, people will make a comment about the food served and eaten before the talk deviates to what anyone was wearing or not wearing.

My mum's restaurant is more than a business venture for her, it represents her friendships over the years (its been there for at least 20 years), her growth from young mother to a mother with grown children, the many changes of governorship throughout its existence (its based in Alausa Lagos state where the Governor's office is located), a hub for business transactions and deals (the restaurant is surrounded by many banks and government agencies such as Ministry of Lands and Justice), and mostly many years of me meeting loads of people and learning to interact with each and everyone of them in a unique way.

Food links people and brings people together. It helps break barriers and can certainly create a common denominator. Its definitely an easy topic for breaking the ice at social engagements, and above all, its a necessity for all human beings.

No woman should get caught avoiding food. You should love it, embrace it, celebrate it and definitely eat it (don''t go starving yourself to become a size zero, size zero clothing are not sold in Nigerian stores)

In the meantime, my first recipe to share is for Ogbono Soup. Its my favourite and easiest soup to make and with Eba, cbecomes my best friend anytime anyday.

All you need is Ground Ogbono, Palm oil, Dried Fish or Beef/Meat cubes, Stock cubes (Knorr), Salt, Water, Dried Ground pepper or Smoothly blended fresh pepper (this is hard to achieve even with the best of blenders).

The steps to take are:

• You boil your dried fish/meat/beef till its soft and tender.


• sieve the stock of the fish/meat to remove all rough particles as you need a smooth texture for your ogbono.


• pour your ogbono powder into a bowl and pour a good portion of palm oil on it, place in the microwave for two minutes to allow the oil melt and the ogbono powder gets malleable and soft.


• Place your sieve meat/fish stock on the fire till its at boiling point (with the fish/meat put back in).


• then pour in the mixture of ogbono powder and palm oil.


• put in your one stock cube and some salt, and then begin to stir the entire concoction.


• make sure you pour in more water if the concoction gets too thick immediately as it should be light and not too thick.


• leave to simmer on low heat for 10mins, stirring one in a while.


• serve with your accompaniment, eba/amala/iyan etc.

I'm not sure this helps anyone but as it is my favourite, I couldn't help but share this recipe.

Favourite of the Week

You all know that I can't seem to go a week without checking something out and deciding what I would absolutely love to wear or have.

I haven't been a fan of Next Retail Stores for a long time (infact probably never, I worked in Next Clearance and my criticism stems from that era) because I tend to find them boring and drab but lately, in a bid to be seen amongst the simmering competitive stores on the high street, they seem to have stepped up their game albeit it still isn't highest on my list of essential fabulosity.

T o give them some kudos for their response to changing fashion dictates, my faves for the week are from Next.

Considering the fact that the Autumn & Winter seasons will soon be in full swing, sweaters are a necessity for all wardrobes and there's no need to go for the boring browns and blacks. The first two faves are my idea of nice versatile sweaters. The multi-coloured sweater gives off a air of the woman not afraid to take the masculine cut to the feminine world. Combined with a shirt or t-shirt beneath, your skirt/trousers and boots, you would have no problems portraying a trendy, comfortable image.

There'll still be times when you want to look feminine and sweet so my next two faves should help you on your way to that image. The blouses are body hugging and would highlight the right areas. You can take your cue from the total combination portrayed by the women in the photos.

The last two faves are my idea of night time sophistication and glamour. Gold is my favourite colour of the season and that dress captures my heart for the grown woman who wants to look the part. The black & metallic coloured dress is one that shows off your ability to try new glamour and not the traditional dated excessive looks expected of woman in the past.

Well, these are my current favourites. They are all from http://www.next.co.uk.

One tip I would give the girls is that, most items found online don't tend to be in the stores. Its a move to encourage online shopping and not duplicate the processes. You can try and find these items in the store but be warned, they most likely won't be there.

What's Food got to do with Style?

Okay girls, I need to share this joke and its on my mum (by the way, she's reading my blog this days so I might not get away with this).

With the introduction of the mobile phones in Nigeria, I swear that she's become the CIA. My mum uses her phone as a monitoring device not a communication tool. Her kids get hunted down wherever they are (laughing seriously hard). I don't mind this cos I'm hundreds of miles away and I miss her so its nice to hear from her everyday, however, I can't say the same for my sisters who see her everyday yet can't get away from being found out if they went anywhere un-arranged. Apparently, my sister went to a party without telling my mum so my mum called everyone humanly possible before finally tracking my sister down to her party, it was hilarious when she related the scenario to me and it was cute too cos its not safe to leave your kids out there without knowing what's going on with them.

Also, I was talking to my flatmate about guys and my home phone rang at exactly that time, guess who it was (need I say more). I told my mum and flatmate that my mum seems to have a radar for exact moments when I'm talking about men cos she always seems to call when I'm having such a conversation or in the middle of a night out with my girlfriends and we are talking about men.

I love my mum with all my heart and won't change her for the world (I hope you are loving the jokes on you, mum)

Since my Mum's a restaurateur, it didn't take much to make food a part of my passions. However, I didn't discover this passion early in life, believe me, it took years of battling with my dad to get me to the point of managing to cook something without burning it or killing it with salt. My dad made me learn the basics and then I had to work my summers of senior secondary and university education, running my mum's restaurant so I finally got there.

Now, I love entertaining and cooking for friends and family. I seriously believe that food is a fundamental component of being a stylish woman because all the dresses, shoes, handbags, and accessories in the world won't fill you inside and won't keep you looking and feeling healthy (I know that's what God created food for). You need to be able to take care of yourself and your family by feeding them and keeping them nutritionally stimulated (Remember the Provs 31 Woman?). I know they say 'Food is the way to a Man's heart' and its a cliche, but in London, its a reality (the men here are always looking for women to feed them even though I think they also need to learn how to cook).

As a tribute to my mum, I'll be sharing some favourite African recipes I have loved over the years and been taught to cook by my family. I have been told that my mum's recipe for snails (a notorious Nigerian favourite) is out of this world, so I'll let you in on the secret of what she does. Other string of favourites are Ogbono, Ila Alasepo (Stewed Okro/Okra), Okazi Soup (an Ibo soup my university flatmate loved). Gosh, where do I start from?

All this and the Wedding expose will surely keep me busy for the rest of the year.

A little bit of this and that

Well, the hen party went off without a hitch and it was a three-hour boat cruise including a barbecue and some disco. I have to admit that it was a last minute feat to get pull off a final 'adieu' to my very lovely and generous ex-flatmate and I hear she was pleased with the end result.
The dress code was 'sassy dresses' and in order to ditch the normal traditions of 'L' plates, weddings wigs, cowboys hats and sashes which are synonymous with hen parties in UK, we went with 'Masks'. I was kinda worried that the girls would rebel against the idea of wearing something over their beautifully made-up faces, but they ended up being such good sports. All girls had black 'batman' masks and the bride had a 'butterfly' mask. The food was good and the music was enough to get you on your feet. I bet you want to see some pictures, I need to get the permission of the girls to display evidence of the night of crime.

The wedding is fast approaching and the bridesmaid dresses haven't arrived, my finger nails are fast disappearing and I'm not sure what next I would be nervously biting on. Believe me, I am really praying cos there's no back-up dress available.

I was reading an article this morning on the Internet, http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbafricannbsep18,0,6926604.story. Its relating the amazing increase in sales of Nigerian DVDs in Florida, USA. Apparently, the Caribbeans in Florida have discovered a new-found love for movies from Nigeria and Ghana. This is good news and nice to know.

But, this isn't the first I have heard of other nationalities loving Nigerian movies. I have this little friend from a francophone country who lives and breathes Nigerian movies, she told me she learnt English watching these movies since she didn't grow up with English as a first language. Its amazing to hear these stories cos I hardly watch Nigerian movies (particularly since I don't have a lot of access to it).

The main reason why I don't watch Nigerian movies is because I can't seem to get away from the wardrobe malfunction/disaster that always occurs. The story line and acting works well for me but the lack of cohesion between story line and wardrobe grates my nerves so much, I could easily have a break down screaming at the TV when I see the clothes worn by some of the girls/women in the movies (even Tejuosho/Yaba wouldn't sell some of the clothes I've seen). And believe me, its not just the movie industry, the music industry is just as guilty.

See, this is me on my fashion high horse and I'm going to disembark now. What's your opinion on the Nigerian movie industry. Read the article and let me know.

What's New & Hot

So I have decided to deal with my single status, a day at a time and see how it goes. One thing is for sure, if anything exciting comes up, you'll get the inside scoop (something the paparazzi always want to have, except that in this case, they are not interested in my life issues).

However, the hen party fever is seriously catching on and we are having an exciting experience this Friday by going......... (you didn't seriously think I would tell you before the girls have had all the fun). Trust me, I'll be bursting to tell you by the end of the weekend but it would be well out of the way by then.

Also, I have gotten caught up in the 'what to wear to the wedding' frenzy and even though I'm a bridesmaid and my dress is all sorted, I've been having fun at the expense of the other girls by dishing out ideas, guidelines, and any little details they should remember. What you wear says a lot about you so please, please, please, always make an effort.

Moving on, Kate Moss has a new collection out at Topshop and even though I'm not a fan, a few pieces here and there have caught my eye. The collection covers a few essentials for each category of a woman's wardrobe and some of them have turned out classy enough to captivate me. I would say that these few pieces I like should appeal to and suit the different variations of women in terms of age, size and your location in the world (even Nigerians would wear sweaters during the cold Harmattan season, at least in the morning).

Well, have a look:

The frilly blouse is a favourite, because they are so flirty feminine. With a straight pencil skirt or straight sharp schoolboy trousers as seen in the collection, your statement can't go unnoticed.

The blue sweater is a favourite because of the combination of blue and gold, colours you can never go wrong with. Also, when combined with a white camisole or short-sleeved t-shirt on blue Jeans, the look is so simple and understatedly elegant.

The shiny camisole is a perfect solution to a night out without the stress of wearing something over the top. You can't go wrong wearing this over any pair of bottoms you've got in your wardrobe, some earrings and a bracelet (remember that the seasonal colours are gold and bronzy colours).

Since I can't stop expressing my love for dresses, I had to see if there was any dress in the Topshop store I liked and of course, here it is:

Smocks and short dresses are the rage now and so this would be my current favourite. Ball sleeves, a curvy neckline, jersey fabric so should absorb any light winds and just very simple. Would go with gold flat sandals and a pretty clutch purse. accessories would include chunky bangles on the arm and huge earrings on the ears.

I have still got my scoop on weddings coming up so watch this space.

Fabulous love.

Pictures from http://www.topshop.co.uk/

What's a girl like me to do - Dating?

My very dear friend is getting married on the 22nd of September and I have been drafted to shop for an entire outfit by one of the guests to the wedding (remember, I told you I'm a personal shopper). I'm also one of the bridesmaid and would love to show you the dresses we are wearing but you don't get a peek until the event has been held and truly ended. I'll give you all the tips on where to get lovely wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses, i.e after the wedding.

Since I'm surrounded by blushing brides and beaming engaged ladies, I would also have to give you an expose on engagement and wedding rings including the rules and guidelines men should follow, such as how much to spend on a ring (yes, there are rules governing this, tell your man). Watch this space.

However, considering the fact that I enjoy celebrating the joys of all my excited about-to-get-married friends, I should seriously contemplate my own position of being single. Don't get me wrong, I love this phase in my life but I also look forward to moving on to the next phase, being with someone. How do I do that?

I have gotten into a routine of being the happy-go-lucky single independent girl (my mum is cringing in her Nigerian self because no self-respecting girl my age should be caught without a man in her life, how absurd). You should see what I go through during a routine conversation with my mum, she is seriously praying and holding her breathe waiting for me to say the magic words "mum, I have met someone and he is the one........". (scoffs) As if it's that easy.

Who out there can tell me, how easy is it to get back into the routine of dating when you have been out of it for a while? I certainly am rusty and infact petrified and absolutely crapping myself thinking about it. Its so easy to remain friends with all the guys you meet (if they are nice enough to accept friendship where you tell them you don't want to date them) especially where you have supportive friends around you who are there for you and keep cheering you on, you think you have it all.

Another thing, how do I get to meet any guys when I love sitting here and writing everyday, tuning into the TV and catching some reality shows (I am not ashamed to say I am addicted to reality shows), going into the shops to see what's happening, and hitting the town surrounded by the comfort of my fellow girlfriends (they are called the "hot girls" who are on fire for God).

I have gone on long enough. If you wanna tell me you are on the same boat, let me have some comments, voice or typed. On the other hand, if you wanna see what we are wearing for the wedding, tune in after the 22nd. My expose on rings will be out in a couple of days.

Fabulous love