A Diva State of Mind

I logged in on Facebook last night and a link to a pair of vintage leather jogging pants was staring back at me from Sui Generis Boutique (SGB). It was posted by Jackie from Her Goody Bag. Sigh….How did she know I wanted these pants?!?

Leather pants are a major trend. For awhile we’ve seen skinny and slim leather pants but leather jogging pants are becoming just as popular.  Celebrities including Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Beyonce and Lala have worn them. They are great because they can be dressed up with heels or worn more casually with sneakers.

Of course I clicked on the link to check out the pants. They are made of genuine leather, in my size for under $100! I coudn’t pass that deal up (they should arrive at my doorstep in 7 days)!

Sui Generis Boutique (SGB) was created by Halimah Suad. In over seven years of being an avid vintage globetrotter, Halimah has developed an eye for the most desirable and wearable pieces. She selects pieces that can be mixed and mingled with modern looks.  She has a great selection of pieces at very affordable prices.  Here’s just a snapshot of some of the pieces available at SGG Vintage:

For more information and to view all pieces available, visit www.sgbvintage.com.

PMK (Perfectly Made Kicks) Customs is a custom sneaker company that was created to provide customers with hand painted custom footwear. Like many celebrities, Beyoncé is a fan of Isabal Marant sneakers (she wore them in her “Love on Top” video), so PMK has teamed up with her to take the sneaker to a whole new level.

The “King Bey” sneaker was given the “Eden Treatment,” which uses a hybrid of land and sea skins: stingray, ostrich, calf’s fur, crocodile and anaconda. That’s a lot of animal!

PMK’s goal was to redesign a sneaker that produced a feeling of elegance but also exuded Beyoncé’s sweet and fierce persona.

Isabel Marant sneakers are the reason the wedge sneaker is such a major trend. I mean, the wedge sneaker is everywhere in various styles and price points. I wrote a post last year on where to purchase them for less because the trend is so popular!

What do you think of the “King Bey” Isabel Marant sneaker? If they were available would you purchase them or this look for less?

For sale inquiries contact [email protected]

Source: PMK

On Friday, Kendrick Lamar released a video for his single “Poetic Justice.”  The video takes place late night in California, with a crowd hanging out around their cars, playing dice and drinking. Amongst the crowd, Kendrick flirts with his girl but love soon turns to tragedy. A third party fires shots in the crowd and both parties are gunned down. The slow motion of the video does a great job adding to the drama of the video.

Besides the great cinematography, I appreciate the leading love interest not looking like a typical video vixen. Kudos Kendrick!!

Check it out.

Love this song! If you don’t have Kendrick Lamar’s album good kid, m.a.a.d. city, do yourself a favor and get it today. Available on iTunes.

Two years ago I wrote the article “Yes, Women Should Carry Condoms.” That year marked the 30^th anniversary of the first AIDS case. Considering HIV/AIDS cases are the highest among African America women, I thought it was important to remind women that we are in charge of our own safety. While many rely on men to carry protection, at the end of the day, we are responsible of what happens to our bodies.

Yesterday I came across an article by Chevy B titled “A“Woman” Carries Condoms. A “Lady” Doesn’t…”  Chevy is big on gender roles and claims that only a “certain type” of woman carries condoms. While I agree that ladies should take their time getting know a guy before engaging in sex, I don’t agree with the idea that only a “certain type” of woman carries condoms. The article is too long to post here, so I’ll highlight some areas that I thought posed as a dangerous message to women:

The woman who carries around condoms is known as “Ms. Ready, Willing & Able” or a “Jump Off” because a female carrying around condoms gives off the impression that she is ready, willing, and able to jump on/off of any guy at any given time. No patience, no restraint, no value!!! Sex should be given to a man once he’s earned that privilege. Once that privilege is earned, he knows better than to show up unprepared. A responsible adult male doesn’t need a woman’s assistance when it comes to carrying condoms… believe me!!! Sex is on his brain all day and all night; He will be prepared!

Jump off- A female who’s ready, willing, able to have sex anytime, anywhere, with anyone just for thrills.

A prostitute carries condoms everywhere she goes because sex is what she does for a living, and she has to protect herself from HIV/AIDS/STDs & pregnancy from the random men she sleeps with. It’s literally “her” job to make sure she is protected because the men approaching her care nothing about her health, and clearly they care nothing about their own if they’re willing to sleep with a prostitute. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense for a prostitute to carry around condoms on a regular basis.

A woman carrying condoms is a huge reflection of her character. It’s far deeper than “I want to be safe”. It’s symbolic of impatience, ambiguity, and promiscuity. Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, 1st Lady Serita Jakes, and hopefully your mother are less likely to carry condoms because they are ladies of strong character, good morals, values, and principles. They respect their bodies, their families, and their reputation enough to have sex “exclusively” with the man they married. Buffie Da Body, Lil Kim, and Remy Ma… on the other hand are more likely to carry around condoms because they exhibit poor character, and lack a good set of morals, values, and principles.

What about a man who carries condoms? Does that make him a jump-off too?? There are plenty of guys walking around with condoms in their pocket but I don’t hear anyone calling them jump-offs. That’s right, that is part of being a man.  Talk about a double standard!!! SMDH!!!

I agree sex should be given to a man once he’s earned the privilege, but just because he has earned that privilege does not mean women should rely solely on him to be responsible. What if he forgets? What if two people in a committed relationship decide to have “surprise sex” and he doesn’t have a condom? Both parties engaging in sex should be prepared at all times!

Junior year I moved into my own apartment and my dad gave me a small box of condoms.  Believe me, I was NOT getting it in, but my dad wanted to stress the importance of being safe and protecting myself.  Does that make me a jump-off because I had them?

In a perfect world, people would not have sex until they were married. But guess what, it is 2013 and people are having sex before marriage.   It is dangerous to tell women they are jump-offs if they have condoms.   It’s an offensive way to say that women should not be responsible for protecting their bodies if they decide to have sex.  Just because one is in a committed relationship DOES NOT mean their partner is always going to do the right thing.

Many men have argued that women who have condoms are looked down on; they aren’t the marrying kind.  Maybe those men are insecure, because I would think any GROWN man would appreciate a woman being just as responsible as he is when it comes to having safe sex.

You can read the entire article HERE. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section!

Style for Hire likes to feature what stylists in the network are wearing on Pinterest. Last month, Style for Hire featured the outfit I wore for a New Year’s Eve house party. I wore sequin leggings from The Limited, paired with a white blouse and one of my favorite clutches, the Love, Cortnie leopard print Ashleigh clutch.

After posting the picture, Jenn R. asked:

“I have an all black party to attend. Can I do a leather peplum top with sequin leggings?”

Absolutely Jenn! As much fun as it is to mix prints, you should also have fun mixing textures.  Sequin and leather is a great mix to create a sophisticated and edgy look.  What’s also great about an all black silhouette like a peplum top and sequin leggings is that you can still have fun with accessories by adding statement jewelry, a fabulous leather heel like the Jessica Simpson pair featured below and red lipstick and nail polish to pull the look together.

By the way, you can wear sequin any time you want! Don’t feel restricted to wearing sequin only during the holiday season.

For leather peplum tops for less check out Piperlime, Urban Outfitters, Dillards, EXPRESS and Macy’s.

Another way to mix leather and sequin is to wear leather (faux leather) pants and a sequin top or one with sequin details. Leather pants are a  major trend this season. I love the idea of mixing sporty tops like sweatshirts and graphic tees with more sophisticated pieces like leather skirts and pants.  Add color to the look by wearing a bold plum lipstick and cobalt blue clutch. Yes you can wear purple and blue together!  These colors form a 90 degree angle on the color wheel, therefore they complement each other and can be worn together.

For suede booties for less check out Victoria’s Secret, Amazon, Nordstrom, Macy’s and Aldo.

*Click on the pictures for more information about items featured in each look. All pieces except the peplum top and booties are under $100. Great looks for less!

Have a style question? Submit it to [email protected]. If you are interested in personal styling services, please check out the personal styling page.

Big Sean is the latest celebrity to add “fashion designer” to his resume. He recently announced the launch of Aura Gold, a fashion and lifestyle company. The first label under the company is a fashion line called Finally Famous.

Finally Famous will feature tees, sweatshirts and varsity jackets.  Big Sean says:

“Launching my own label is a dream come true for me. Even though I have a lot to learn about fashion and the industry, I do know what I like and the small details that make something stand out to me. I look forward to evolving the line with more colors, fabrications and offerings to show the other dimensions of my style progression over time.”

I’ll admit, when I saw that Big Sean was creating a fashion line the first thing I thought was “Do we really need another celebrity fashion line of tees, sweatshirts, and varsity jackets?”

Celebrities, specifically musical artists, have been expanding their brands into the fashion industry for decades.  J.Lo (Jennifer Lopez), Rocawear (Jay-Z) and Sean Jean (P. Diddy) are just a few fashion lines from the 90s that were successful during that time.  But if you think about it, a select few were able to venture into the fashion industry.  Those that did were at the top of their game and having an “urban” fashion line expanded their brand, allowing them to reap the benefits for years to come (global success, expansion into others areas of endorsements, etc).

Nowadays, EVERYONE and their mama have a fashion line. And although that was the thing to do in the past, is that really the next logical step to expand one’s brand now??? Having a fashion line does not seem exclusive anymore and they don’t appear to be accepted very well in the industry, no matter how big the artist is (Kanye West and Rihanna).

Celebrity fashion lines are overrated. I am more interested in high end designer collaborations with mainstream retailers (i.e. Jason Wu + Target), although that too may become overrated if collaborations continue to happen more and more often.  But celebrities need to realize that being fashionable and taking risks with one’s style does not always translate to becoming a fashion designer/contributor for a fashion line.

I am not in the position to give advice on how someone should expand their career, but I would hope that celebrities really think about the decision to enter the fashion industry. Fashion stylists creating a fashion line makes sense.  But a rapper who wears jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts? Maybe not. Instead of a fashion line, maybe partnering with a beauty brand or favorite electronic brand would make more sense.  There are very few celebrities  (Jessica Simpson, Victoria Beckham, Olsen Twins) that have been able to start a fashion empire, be successful and remain relevant.

When it comes to expanding their brand, it might be time for celebrities to think outside of the fashion box.

What do you think about celebrity fashion lines?

There’s nothing like a man in a well tailored suit!!

Indochino , the pioneer and global leader in online custom menswear, will open a Traveling Tailor Pop-Up Shop at LivingSocial in Washington, DC from Saturday, March 2nd through Sunday, March 10th from 8am-8pm daily (918 F Street NW).

Following much success in Chicago and New York, Indochino has decided to bring its Traveling Tailor Pop-Up Shop to Washington DC, where their expert staff will take your measurements for you, and provide you with personal styling.  Learn which customizations work best to complement your specific body type, which colors are great for your skin tone, which collars will suit your face shape. Online measurement profiles will be created at the event; after that, creating a custom wardrobe of suits, shirts, outerwear and chinos is simply a click away.

Appointments are available from March 2nd through March 10th in 15 minute intervals for men to meet with one of Indochino’s custom tailors and stylists. Everyone who books an appointment will receive a FREE dress shirt ($79 value) with any suit purchase, one shirt per customer. Book your appointment now at:  http://www.indochino.com/dc.

Guys, if you’re in need of a custom suit, this is a pop-up shop you’ll want to consider checking out!

Check out the Forbes review of Indochino HERE.

Tom Ford debuted his Fall 2013 Ready to Wear collection during London Fashion Week on Sunday. The collection is bold and any woman that wore these looks would definitely stand out in the crowd.  Talk about a show stopper!  The collection is infused with black and white, various prints, lace and fur.

I’ll take the lace and printed pants, lace and black/white dresses and the boots please!

Source: Style.com

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (aka New York Fashion Week) ended yesterday.  For a week, designers debuted their Fall 2013 collections at the Lincoln Center and various locations throughout New York City. It is hard to choose a favorite collection because each designer has a unique aesthetic; however there are a few collections that really stood out and Diane von Furstenberg’s Fall 2013 collection was definitely one of them.

In the words of von Furstenberg “every woman wants to be glamorous and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s not about going to a party. It’s life as a party.” Her collection truly reflects that mindset with bright colors, bold patterns, metallic pants and skirts and suede pieces. The collection is feminine and fun!

Here are a few of my favorites. Check out the remaining looks from the collection in the slide show below:

“Wrapped in a swirl of twisted chain link, she steps into the night. With an effortless glamour, she winks at herself and smiles at her shadow … In sky-high metallic heels, she swaggers across the cityscape … She is the rock star and the muse of her own life. Her clothes are her friends. Life is a party.”   - Diane Von Furstenberg

Source: Style.com

I’ll admit, when “Suit & Tie” first hit the airwaves I was indifferent about it. I was excited for Justin Timberlake to return to the music scene after a six year hiatus (loved his previous albums), but I wasn’t sure I was really feeling this song.

Then I watched him perform at the Grammy Awards and I was sold! I loved his live performance.  He displays the same class and style he demonstrated at the awards shows in the video for “Suit & Tie.” The black and white video features JT and Jay-Z rocking their Tom Ford best while enjoying drinks and cigars. And it looks like JT still has those dance moves!

“Suit & Tie” is the first single off his upcoming album The 20/20 Experience. The album will be in stores March 19th!

Rumor has it Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z are going on tour together. If that’s the case, I’m so there!!