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Beware of Pyramid Schemes in Disguise

I'll tell you a story, but first, the familiar questions: Do you want to be financially secure? Do you want to be your own boss? Do you ...

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Fashion For A Cure

Starting a charitable organization is a big deal. It takes dedication for a project like that to grow and keep growing. It is not a must to start a charity in order to prove that you are in support of a cause. You could always donate and help charities that support your beliefs and values. I would advice every individual to give a gift by donating to whichever charitable cause they support.


These are photos from SIUE's African Student Association's Fashion For A Cure. Enjoy!













(ukoemem - Author, Ola Y - Editor)

Monday, December 20, 2010

Holiday Dress up



Fashion is part of your lives whether you intend for it to be or not. As long as you wear something daily, it is your own kind of fashion. I have been interested lately in fashion and the holidays. Have you noticed that some holidays have some kind of dress-up activity? Sometimes, it's just a kind of outfit like scary costumes for  Halloween. It may just be colors like green for St. Patrick's Day, red for Valentine's Day, and green and red for Christmas Day. It may also be eye-catching accessories like shiny beads for Mardi Gras. No matter what we do, we always include fashion. Be grateful for those who make outfits and accessories and also think of the best color combination for us to look good. Watch "The Devil Wears Prada" and you'll see how hard it is to come up with fashion ideas for the masses.

(ukoemem - Author, Ola Y - Editor)

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Copying Fantasy






Do we like fantasies because they are good escapes from real life? Do we also like fantasies because we can be in control of how we want them to feel and look like? I think we do. Take these scenarios for example:

Scenario 1 - (Back in the day)
Question: Who is your role model?
Answer: 1) Ghandi because he is an inspiration
              2) President Clinton because he was a cool President
              3) My mother because she seems to have the best advice for me

You get where I'm going right?

Scenario 2 - (Now)
Question: Who is your role model?
Answer: 1) Jacob Black cos he's hot! Woohoo, team Jacob for life!
              2) Dumbledore because he is very powerful
              3) Damon Salvatore cos he is a bad boy and I'm a sucker for bad boys.

What's happening to our thought processes? I get lost in fantasy land sometimes, I confess. But I always remember to separate fantasy from reality. These days, with the influx of more fantasy books, movies, and TV shows, fans mix them up with real life more easily. I just hope we don't forget the real heroes who live among us.


(ukoemem - Author, Ola Y - Editor)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Meet Zinnia




A fun-loving fashionista who loves languages, culture, travel and fashion shows. She currently lives in Boston and aspires to live in NYC or Paris in future working in the fashion industry. She has done some exciting work in Boston Fashion week three years in a row. As a model recruiter and backstage manager for major runway shows at fashion week, she enjoyed her time meeting and working with diverse groups of models and designers from celebrities to ones emerging. Her responsibilities include everything from holding auditions to choose models and managing models, designers, volunteers. She is also responsible for all the little details that are necessary to ensure a smooth fashion show such as the timing between models on the runway, working with the DJ to ensure smooth transition of music between each designer segment, critiquing model poses to make sure they are consistent and many other details. Also, one of her main tasks is pairing models with designer’s outfits based on specific heights, sizes, and looks.

When asked what her favorite part is of being involved in fashion week, her eyes gleam as she says, “It is definitely gotta be the crazy circus of models and designers running around backstage in a frenzy right before the show. It is more fun to see and manage that than the actual show.” She laughs then and says, “of course the actual show is fabulous.”

Zinnia’s favorite fashion icon is Coco Chanel. She loves the simplicity and elegance that goes with the brand. Zinnia is soon starting her fashion and wardrobe consulting services. She also blogs about fashion and lifestyle. Do check her blogs out at http://www.facebook.com/l/d4b49fSUFLIUF0OeBUjeePWIN7Q;www.zillionideas.wordpress.com There, Zinnia will talk about fashion, runway, arts, and travel. You can reach her at madon.zinnia@gmail.com for questions about her services or blogs.

 

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Running Shoes That Could



Do you remember a children's story called "The Little Engine That Could?" Well, this is not about that. I am calling my story "The Running Shoes That Could" because of my running shoes that have survived the summer, winter, spring, and fall of many years. Despite the hardship, my running shoes are still strong and in good condition. I foresee its survival for more years to come, I think. Have you had something that had lasted for a long time, and is so old, yet you find it difficult to dispose of it? This is the kind of attachment I have with my running shoes and I plan to keep it as long as I can. Shout out to Adidas for making a pair of running shoes that are a heck of a fighter.


(ukoemem - Author, Ola Y - Editor)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Bye Bye Mini - Hello Lengthy!


I like the fact that Fashion has a confusing style cycle. We associate fashion trends to the years they are popular but this would become difficult as styles come back after years of absence. We won't be able to call the 90s the year of minis if minis show up in 2011. Then it is not right for me to say bye bye to minis as more people re-embrace floor sweeping lengthy outfits. My bye bye should be temporary because it won't be surprising that as the seasons change, designers would want to shock us with something different. Who knows next season may be a spread of micro-mini outfits. Fashion lovers, do not close any trendy chapter because designers would definitely open them in seasons to come.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Black and Red




You know how people say all shades of red lipstick fit black women, I don't think that's true.


Sometimes you see black women in red lipsticks and your first thought is "what were you thinking?" This mistake stems from the fashion myth that everything goes well with black, especially red. Do not forget that black has different shades and so does red. I remember watching "Good Times," a show from the 1970s, and most of the time, the black ladies wore red lipsticks that made them look like they just had a sip their kids' black currant drink. It did not look flattering at all. Then I tell myself that wearing those shades of red were a fashion trend that would not repeat itself again. But no! As long as a black girl enters a cosmetic store with the belief that "red fits black," the mistake will continue. Black women should sample different shades of red lipsticks before settling for their choices. You want to avoid stares that are uncalled for, right?

Beautiful Photo: D. Ambugo

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

KAT GRAHAM


Should I call her a quadruple threat or what? Most of us ask ourselves what we would like to do with our lives. We find ourselves trying to figure out if we are good at anything? How about making a list and learning to do what we like. How about fighting to get there because if we waited, our dreams would slip by us and it would be too late.

At her age, she is an actor, musician, dancer, and producer. I am not even including her sense of style. In my fashion booklet, she's is one cool fashionista. Her fashion sense is unique and she makes accessories that are just - wow! She has achieved this because she is a go-getter. Why can't we?

I learned about Kat Graham when I wanted to listen to "boyfriend's back" on You Tube. That was not the version I intended to watch but I recognized her because I watch the show, "The Vampire Diaries." Then I kept stumbling on her work and was impressed on her achievements. My thought was if she can do it, I can. Some people may argue about her connections but I'll say that you too can make your connection if you go out there. I'm not talking about physically traveling around but making use of the technological opportunities we now have, You Tube anyone?

I'm happy we have someone like Kat Graham to remind us that we can achieve our dreams if we are willing to put in the hours. You go Kat!

www.katgraham.com

(ukoemem - Author, Ola Y - Editor)
Special Thanks to Emeka Ibekwe for the wonderful drawing.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Pajamas - Indoors Only



I get tired of going to classes and seeing some people in their PJs. I understand the need to rush when you're late for classes. But I do not understand why you cannot change from your sleepwear to another outfit. In my Opinion, it's better to wear crumpled and rumpled outfit than some colored sleepwear with teddies and princesses on the fabric. We all know what PJs are for and we all know that the only place you can wear them is indoors. Why wear them at public places? Giving anyone the idea that you just rolled out of bed is definitely not cool. Public PJ wearers, take my advice and prepare ahead so that if you need to rush, you'll have an outfit ready for you into slip the next day.

(ukoemem - Author, Ola Y - Editor)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Men's Department

dariuszman

I entered a shoe store and saw a pair of sneakers that caught my attention. I tried it on and liked it. As I was admiring this pair of shoes on me, I noticed that everyone around me were guys. I was at the male section of the store. I took off the sneakers and returned it on the shelf. I went to the female section of the store and found no pair of shoes like that. I was disappointed, but I knew I wasn't going to leave the store without that pair of sneakers. I bought it. At work, a friend admired the sneakers. I had to confess that it was guys'. He said, "you wear it well. I don't think I can pull off girls' shoes like that." I was like, "No you can't" and we laughed.

Later that day, I watched "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" and a guy was rocking a pair of Gucci heels. I couldn't close my mouth due to the shock. All I kept thinking was, can that be comfortable? If the pair of shoes wasn't comfortable, he hid it well. Then this experience got me thinking about how it wouldn't seem too unusual to find a girl wearing guys' pants, ties, boots, and so on. Of course we call them tomboys. What about the guys? I had a friend that nearly strangled me when I told him I loved his skirt. "For the fourth time, it is not a skirt, it is called a kilt," he screamed. But Givenchy showed skirts for men in Spring/ Summer 2011 collection. Is the line that divides male fashion and female fashion getting blurry? What do you think?


(ukoemem - Author, Ola Y - Editor)

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Lingerie Outing

KrzysztofB


Maybe in the future, we will do without clothing all together, I thought, after attending a party and noticing that more girls wore lingerie out. It seems like from generation to generation female clothing gets skimpier. Undergarment used to be a separate article of clothing before the actual clothing but I cannot say the same nowadays. The laces, gathers, and corsets are now an outfit which should be wrong. I might add that girls are not leaving anything to the imagination anymore. This is sad. If this continues, what are female clothing going to look like in the future?

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