A Diva State of Mind

I feel bad for the younger generation. Unless they have older siblings or parents who love Lauryn Hill as much as my generation does, they have missed out on why we love her so much!  The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a classic album of the 90s and those of us who grew up listening to her have been craving her music every since.

Maybe L Boogie heard our pleas for her to return to the music scene.  She recently released a new single “Repercussions” Is this a sign that an album may be on its way in the near future?

Check out the single here.

You can also check out Lauryn Hill at the Rock The Bells concert this summer in LA, San Fransisco, New York and DC.

Tis the season for engagements and weddings! It seems like every time you turn around, someone else is getting engaged or getting married. One of my friends will be getting married next weekend;  as she prepares for the big day, I’m still trying to figure out what’s appropriate to wear to her wedding.

If I’m struggling to determine what’s appropriate to wear to this particular wedding, I’m sure there are a number of people out there going through the same thing!!!   So for all of you ladies out there who are attending weddings and need something to wear, here’s a little guide to help you along your way.

Outdoor Garden Wedding

Outdoor garden weddings are not only romantic, but they allow you to be a little casual too, at least when it comes to your shoes.  If the wedding you’re attending is in the grass, you may wan to opt for cute, flats or sandals versus 4inch heels. You’ll spend more time enjoying the ceremony and less time worry about your heel getting stuck.

Prints and bright color dresses are appropriate and fun for this type of wedding. It’s during the day and outside, so lighten up the color versus wearing traditional black.

Day Wedding   (Indoor or Outdoor, but not a garden wedding)

Prints and bright colors are always fun, but you can also opt to wear a solid color dress as well, but try to shy away from black. Lighten up your look with colors like yellow, purple and blue, especially if the wedding is during the summer.  Instead of flats, pair your dress with some fly heels. 

Evening Wedding

The wedding I’m attending is an evening wedding that begins around 7pm.  Cocktail dresses are appropriate, but nothing too short and tight.  You don’t want to look like you’re going to a club and you definitely don’t want to be the center of attention. Black is always a safe choice that you can accessorize with color shoes and great accessories.  If you want to add a little color, look for green or teal, purple and navy blue cocktail dresses, especially for spring and summer weddings.

Black Tie Wedding

Do I really need to explain this one? If the invitation says Black Tie, that means you need to dress the part! Ladies, pull out those formal dresses.

Beach Wedding

I wonder if shoes are required. No need wearing shoes if you’re going to be in the stand. You’ll have to talk to the bride and groom about this one.

Great places to shop include Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and White House, Black Market. Remember, NEVER WEAR WHITE to a wedding unless it’s your own!

For those of you with experience attending weddings, if there is anything I’m missing, please chime in!

We all grew up listening to Brandy and watching her on “Moesha”. Well Ms. Moesha has definitely grown up!  She recently posed poolside for 106g Magazine Volume 7 issue.  I love the bangs on her; it’s a much better look than the lacefront!
 
As she prepares to take over the “Family Business,” continue to raise her daughter and get back in the studio, this diva is back and ready to take over!! 

Click each photo to enlarge

These shoes are HOT!!

Shoot, if Brandy can do a photoshoot, why can’t I?! I’m just sayin…

Photographed by Steven Gomilliom and Dennis Leupold, Looks by Ana Lockings, Veda, YSL, Dannijo and Alexander Wang and Swimwear by William Tempest and Malia Mills

Source: Clutch Magazine

There is nothing wrong with tattoos.  It adds a little edge if someone has a tattoo, especially on a guy who has a nice chest and arms. I’ve even been thinking about getting one myself BUT I am not a fan of tattoos that resemble a person’s body part or someone’s name.

I just don’t understand why someone gets the name and/or body parts of their “current” boo on their body. And they always put them in the worst places!  Do they know it’s permanent? Of course they do!  Now I know getting someone’s name permanently inked on your body is suppose to represent your love for them; well for the person I do end up with, if you really love me, PLEASE DON’T GET MY NAME TATTOOED ON YOUR BODY!!!

Kenyon Martin is a prime example of body art gone wrong! Besides being a basketball player, he’s also known for his tattoo of rapper Trina’s lips on his neck.  But when the two split, it was time to “remove” tattoo.  Now I’m not sure how much laser removal would’ve helped, so he opted to cover up the tattoo instead.  And from the looks of things, he should’ve just kept the lips instead.  What is his new tattoo suppose to be?

Fantasia is another one that recently joined the club of body art gone wrong! She recently added a new Antwaun Cook tattoo.  It was a bad idea to get a name, but the location of her tattoo wasn’t a great choice either. 

To all of you out there thinking of getting someone’s name PERMANTELY inked on your body, think twice before doing so. Do you really want to walk around with the name of someone you really may despise 6 months from now?

In the words of The YBF, “Lesson learned kids: stop tatting names and body parts of your lover on yourself. That is all…”

Monica is back with her second single “Love All Over Me” from her album Still Standing featuring the fine Shannon Brown from the Lakers and Maino. Check out the ending of the video; she is asking you the fans to decide who she’ll end up marrying! She’ll premiere the video again this Friday featuring the guy fans picked.

So who would you pick for Monica?

For those of you who have it, how is Still Standing? My iTunes collection is in need of some new R&B. Would anyone recommend the album?

There is nothing like 90’s music. For those of you who grew up in the 80s and 90s, you understand how I feel. I miss Faith Evans, Biggie, Lil’ Kim, LL Cool J, 112, Dru Hill….

For the longest time I have said someone needs to throw a 90s party! Just think, a party where you’d hear nothing but SWV, Busta Rhymes, old school Mary J. Blige, Bone Thugs N Harmony and Blackstreet. Now I would take the task on myself, but I’m not a party promoter, so I’m not sure I could that pull off. PLUS there are so many parties going on in the city Sunday through Saturday, what night would be the best night to try and have that party without conflicting with the other 5,000 parties going on in one night?

Well for all of my 90’s music lovers, I have found the 90s party we have all been waiting for.  You are cordially invited to In Living Color: A 90’s Skate Party! Yes you read correctly, a skate party! I think the last time I went skating was for my 18th birthday.

Hosted by My Mood is Music, Mindstream Radio, and DMVIFF, the party will take place on Sunday, August 1st from 7pm to 10pm. Tickets are only $10. All are encouraged to come dressed in their favorite 90s attire ready to roll, bounce and party.  I guess that means I need to try and find some old Parasuco and Sergio jeans with a pair of princess Reeboks.  Those of you who live in the DMV know what I’m talking about!

Besides it being a 90’s themed party, I love that the event is also a fundraiser for local students. All who attend the event are encouraged to bring in school supplies for the 2010-2011 school year. So I’m going to need everyone to make a trip to Target, Staples, Office depot, pick up some supplies and meet me at the rink.

Check out all the info below:

When: Sunday, August 1st, 2010. Time: 7pm to 10pm

Where: Skate Zone, 1082 Route 3 South @ Capital Raceway Road, Crofton, MD 21114

Tickets: http://inlivingcolor90sskateparty.eventbrite.com

So who’s ready to relive their childhood and join me at the skating rink??

As much as I love shoes, it’s become harder and harder to find shoes that I really like and fit.  I have very narrow feet, so finding shoes that fit has become a daunting task. And of course, shoes that would probably fit are shoes that I, at this time, can’t afford.  My parents always told me, “when you get older, buying shoes for you is going to be expensive because you’re feet are so narrow.” Now I know what they mean!

While I could save money like I do for vacations and take a trip to high end retailers such as Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus, there may be another solution out there as well: Shoes of Prey and Upper Street

Shoes of Prey

Based out of Australia, www.shoesofprey.com is a online portal to handcraft shoes designed by YOU!! Customers have over 3 million combinations that include material (leather vs. patent leather vs. suede), color, shoe type (flat vs. pumps vs. wedges).  Heel options range from flats to 4.5 inch heels.

While designing your own shoes can seem expensive, the highest price paid on the site is $280.  Ladies like to invest in shoes, so if we can create a pair of heels that look just like a designer pair for less than $300, that’s a GREAT deal!!  I have been feenin (yes feenin) for a pair of nude pumps. That is a staple that should be in every woman’s wardrobe. After viewing this site, that investment may have to take place!

What I really like about Shoes of Prey is that they can make shoes narrower or wider for customers.  For me, that’s a bonus!!

Shoes of Prey on Facebook and Twitter.

Upper Street

A friend of mine, Ms. B introduced me to Upper Street. www.upperstreet.com is also an online portal based out of London offering designer handmade shoes created by YOU!  While it didn’t state online, I’m sure Upper Street Shoes also has over 3 million combinations to choose from since the options, like Shoes of Prey, are endless. Unlike Shoes of Prey, Upper Street doesn’t offer flats, only heels. Heel height is 4” and 4.5”.

Price varies depending on shoe type, material and embellishments.

Upper Street on Facebook and Twitter.

Visit www.shoesofprey.com and www.upperstreet.com to learn more and begin designing your own shoes!!!

Chad Ocho Cinco joined the club of celebrities looking for love on national television. “OchoCinco:The Ultimate Catch” premiered Sunday on VH1.  And for those of you how didn’t get a chance to see it, you didn’t miss much.

After three seasons of “Flava of Love” and two seasons of
For the Love of Ray J”, “The Ultimate Catch” looks like a desperate attempt by VH1 to keep the “love” shows alive throughout the summer when there’s nothing else on TV and they know people will tune in.

The show started out with 85 girls competing to be in the house.  With the help of friends, football test and an evening ball, Chad was able to narrow down the number of girls in the house to 16.  All I can say is that I was bored. I felt like I wasted an hour and ½ of my life.  As usual, the women on the show were pretty, but lacked brain power. And the selection of women wasn’t very diverse either.  As someone said on twitter “why didn’t Ochocinco just go to Cuba or PR to film the show? The colored girls on the show are just a formality.”

Rumors were going around months ago that Chad wasn’t really a fan of black girls being a part of his final 16.  According to a member of the production staff, the final girls were pre-selected; after Chad’s disapproval and re-selection, the final group consists of Hispanics, whites and 2 Black girls. Now I’m sure no one is surprised that a group was already selected by the production staff. And while it’s disappointing there aren’t more black girls on the show, I think we’ve had enough on the previous “love” shows over the years that haven’t done us justice.  And any educated, self respecting black woman wouldn’t be foolish enough to sign up for this show (at least I would hope so). 

Like all the other shows, the women are “serious” about being with Chad and the show is overly dramatic already.  Don’t they know he most likely has already signed a deal for Season 2, so the “ultimate catch” won’t really be with him after the show??

The show should be called “The Ultimate Groupie.”

I guess the one good thing about this show compared to the others is that the ladies aren’t being disrespected by being called some foolish, degrading nickname.  For now that is…we’ll see what happens next week.

Sigh…

In the meantime, I’ll continue to watch The T.O.Show.  It’s actually a good reality show on VH1. 10:30pm on Sundays.

Source: The YBF

PRPS is a brand known for its denim, quality and attention to detail.  This year, the brand expanded its line to create PRPS Heirloom, a brand that “will combine the quality and attention to detail we are used to from Prps but at a more affordable price.” The collection has a vintage American feel featuring leather jackets, jeans, and knits.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the Heirloom look book:

Source: Denimology

The fabulous and recently engaged Zoe Saldana is the new face of the Calvin Klein Envy Campaign. Envy is the latest collection from Calvin Klein Underwear. Calvin Klein Underwear “Envy” is a new line of lingerie designed to create a more revealing silhouette. The introduction of Calvin Klein Underwear Envy completes the Calvin Klein Underwear Coverage Level System.

The Calvin Klein franchise is excited to have her on board.  ”We are excited to have Zoe Saldanaas the face of Calvin Klein Underwear, and Calvin Klein Envy, our new product launch,” said Bob Mazzoli, Chief Creative Officer of Calvin Klein Underwear. “Zoe brings the campaign to life, and her universal appeal will enable us to continue to expand our dialogue with our consumers worldwide.”

Zoe is no stranger to the Calvin Klein brand.  She has been frequently seen in the Calvin Klein Collection for various awards, galas and other media appearances. 

Zoeis excited to be apart of the Calvin Klein family as well.  “Calvin Klein has always put forth such beautifully executed campaigns,” said Ms. Saldana. “It’s very exciting for me to be associated with such an iconic, globally recognized brand like Calvin Klein Underwear.”

Look out for new Envy Calvin Klein Campaigns this fall!!! Talk about a true diva!! Work it Ms. Saldana!

Source: The YBF & Market Watch