Maya Angelou

You cannot even begin to try to understand the power of a woman who writes, a woman who puts pen to paper is an immortal woman in my eyes. And that is what she is. 
The gift of being able to let my soul bleed onto the lines of an inked pad that I am emancipated from the shackles that gripped my mother's mothers mothers. I can be grateful today that my face is not my only weapon and that my words are my shield not only against the oppression that continues to plague young women but also because it is important to feel and to articulate and to be proud of the fact that I; Palesa, ngwana Kgasane, Tswana princess, am one of the fortunate ones. Thank you for paving a most incredible legacy mama Maya Angelou. I respect you and look up to you in the most indescribable way. Let your words live on and your memory be infinite, especially to those who hide in dark basements, finding solace in nouns and pronouns that do not expect anything in return from their bodies. I hope I never forget to sing, to write, to speak, to dance to SPEAK as a woman of Africa, as a woman of the world because us, we, we women are strong, we are internally beautiful in our shades of brown and hues of caramel and bright eyes and battered souls. I am realising more and more that we are gifted for reasons be-known to us but we should use these gifts fearflessly and unselfishly to let the words that are aching to shine through our golden skins and let those words be the vessel that keeps us above the waters of the ever-changing tides of life.- Rest in peace.

Normcore, a fashion trend or is it?

So, there is currently a new wave in fashion particularly in Western and European fashion called "normcore". Never heard of it? well let me break it down for you and also give you my interpretation and opinion on this not so new trend. Picture the average geek and what they would have looked like not so long ago, mom jeans, sandals worn with socks, checked shirts worn over tea shirts and an overall efforless and very unfashionable way of dressing. Think Steve Jobs in his iconic black turtle neck and blue jeans, of course Steve Jobs is a legend and did not need to be on any fashion best dressed list.Normcore is apparently fashion's biggest buzzword of 2014 reported by La Times website. And their article quoted a definition by trend forecaster K-Hole which stated that " "Normcore moves away from a coolness that relies on difference to a post-authenticity coolness that opts in to sameness.
"But instead of appropriating an aestheticized version of the mainstream,it just cops to the situation at hand. To be truly Normcore, you need to understand that there's no such thing as normal."
So in essence what this means is that one would opt to have the appearance of not caring what they look like whilst they actually do at the same time because they are choosing to actively be apart of the majority sameness group? Most fashion followers and critiques are stuck between not being able to decide whether this is fashion's next big thing or a big joke it has seemed to impact a lot of runway shows which have shown to have taken an increasingly big shift towards minimalism and clothing that looks worn and comfortable as opposed to new and avante guarde. I suppose it's all about looking like you got out of bed and grabbed whatever clean pair of jeans you have, a cashmere woolen jersey and a cap because who said you need to only be a guy to wear one? In my opinion it is a trend taken up by youth and although I hate this word, hipsters yes hipsters. The point is to look like you're down and out but you are enjoying it. The thing about normcore is that your clothes are not actually cheap or "thrifted" but high end in a casual  miss-matched way. Very casual. It's comnusing and it's strange because it is a trend but also not one at the same time, it makes for very interesting conversation among fashion lovers. It's an anonymous way of saying "hey, I care about what I put on" but not enough to be on trend... whilst you are on trend? Ironic. I am definitely for the plain low platform shoes and plaid skirts and dungarees, maybe there is a little bit of normcore in all of us.

also. follow my new tumblr, it's just a mood board of things I like: www.lifeoflafleur.tumblr.com

BLVCK

black.

                       

Winter Warmers

The title of this post pretty much sums up the idea of what I mean by the following sets, one can't have everything they dream of but while I'm a student and am currently unemployed I can still lust for these trendy goodies.As a student it is easier and much more cost effective if you can mix 'n match items. I would definitely wear all of the following items and I think that winter makes it easier to be fashionable because of layers and hats and boots, ah boots! what would you add to this list?

Winter Warmers by palesa-kgasane featuring short skirts

Monki sports shirt

Love Leather white shirt

Topshop top

ONLY button jacket

Topshop jumpsuit

Topshop red pants

Versus short skirt

Topshop high heel boots

Even odd brown scarve

Brian Lichtenberg hat

Warehouse fedora hat

Artist : Brianna McCarthy

Discovered this talented soul on Tumblr. I just love how this Trinidadian artist work captures the essence of the beautiful black woman, we need more artists like this out there. All her works have different titles and draw inspiration from a variety of places but one can see that there is a salient point that is carried throughout her pieces. It would be a dream to own one of her artworks in my apartment, once I get one that is, one day.
All picture credit from : http://briannamccarthy.tumblr.com/
enjoy.

xx

MET Gala Ball 2014

I am reluctant to actually create a post on any fashion event because I have a certain aesthetic that I want to uphold on my blog, one that shies away from glitz glamour and celebrity gossip because aren't there enough websites and magazines that feature that? right, anyway I hold a special exception for the MET Ball because of what it stands for, it is not only an event where influential people come to flaunt their attire so to speak but a celebration of art which saw the museum celebrate the opening of its exhibition dedicated to couturier Charles James, many embraced "old school elegance" in the most wonderfully romantic and edgy way. There were obviously some stand outs and those are the ones that I have chosen to feature in this post. From my picks, it is clear to see that I preferred the more minimal looks as opposed to those that took the theme too literally.(eek!)

Feast your eyes.

Rihanna in Stella McCartney standing next to Stella herself. 

Kristin Stewart the face of Chanel dressed in Chanel

Blake Lively in Gucci

Victoria Bekham in her own design

                                                   Cara Delevigne in Stella McCartney

                                               Gisele wore a Balenciaga gown.

Anne Hathaway wore a top and skirt by Calvin Klein Collection.

Hailee Steinfeld wore a gown by Prabal Gurung

Emma Stone in a custom-made top and skirt by Thakoon 

xx

Personal Style

I have always thought of style as something that one inherently has, not specifically something you are born with but something you acquire but at the same time either have or do not have the ability to possess. As much as that sounds superficial and maybe a bit stern I appreciate those who I think have a true eye for fashion and style. It is not in my opinion something that can be brushed off in the sense that the fashion industry basically runs a majority of the world and jobs in retail are becoming increasingly scarce. Another element to its importance is the fact that high profile publications such as Vogue and Marie Claire are run by women who have a very strong point of view on style, they are stylish and serve as muses and inspirations for many designers. In this case, I believe that because only a few hold the positions of being key players in the fashion world it is obviously not just a matter of buying "nice" clothes and looking "nice" but about evoking a certain message about who you are and what you choose to put out to the world through your clothing. It also proves that not everyone has this gift and that style can look different on different people but one can still say "wow, he or she has got great style.". I look up to people like Anna Wintour, Solange and Rihanna who have built their careers on their strong points of view on style and their fearlessness when it comes to being unique and not simply staying on trend. I found a video on Vogue.com where a group of style professionals were discussing their experience and shared appreciation for style. Here is a link to that video. Of course, none of what I say may be relevant or change any person's life but it cannot be denied that nowadays fashion is a big deal and image is the focal point of many careers and perhaps the key is not only to look at style from a "who is fashionable and who is not" point of view but from a discourse point of view, because clothes have their own language and the fashion world is a means of expression for many designers, models, buyers, stylists and even ordinary people like myself.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2014/04/16/the-vogue-festival-personal-style-and-do-you-have-it-film

xx