Obssessory Report

        Everybody has their kryptonite. My best friend is a shoe whore, my sister is a bag lady, and my great aunt has an extensive elephant collection. Me personally, my  passion is for accessories. If I was down to my last twenty and had one of those 'I have nothing to wear days', I would still spend my last on rings, earrings or a necklace. At work, my coworkers are always looking forward to what big ring or exotic earrings I'm going to show up in everyday. And customers always take notice.                  
        I see my accessories as a necessary part of getting ready everyday I feel naked if I have none on. The thing I love about them is its a simple way of transforming an entire outfit. A simple necklace or ring can transform day wear to club attire; can take an outfit from outdated to fashion forward. My accessory taste and love for them has grown with me, I went from matchy matchy headbands and bows in high school to a more sophisticated selection of adornment now that I'm vastly nearing the end of my college career. I recently realized my new batch of accessories have been both my gateway into a trend I've been hesitant to explore (prints) and also a reflection of my nomadic childhood and the places I've lived and visited. Guess that's the self - expressionism at its finest. Here are a couple of my new loves for summer time chi:



Earrings. $15. Random Beauty Supply. Can you say #score?!
Reminds me of when I lived in New Mexico and my parents would buy me dream catchers

                                      

Necklace. $7.50, K&G
The stone reminds me of petrified wood from camping in Arizona mountains



Ring. $3.50. Discovery
Has a kind of Aztec feel to it super comfortable and versatile

                                                       

Cross the Shoulder (Satchel) Bag $11. Pay-Half.
My new staple the different colors and prints makes it easy to wear with everything

                                                                                                            


                                                    

Does Your Rosary Hang Low?

            Most fads come out of nowhere and become temporarily popular for god knows why. With the devoted followers not really knowing the origin of what they are wearing; i.e. sagging pants, doorknocker earrings, and leg warmers. However, Ive spotted and eagerly taken part of a recent trend that started from the streets. Recently there has been an increase in people wearing rosary necklaces for nonreligious purposes. I was first aware of this new fad through my oxymoronic obsession with rapper Wiz Khalifa. Being the fashion conscious person I am I noticed he frequently wore bracelets picturing religious scenes on them and rosary necklaces. And as Wiz's popularity grew so did the tatted and enlightened members of Taylor Gang (if you will) sporting these pieces. 

            As a firm believer of fashion being  fun, I decided I too would be on a man hunt for my beaded wooden rosary. Granted these necklaces are meant to be used as a tool for prayer and worship for the Christian faith, specifically Catholicism the reason they are not rising in popularity has nothing to do with a rise in Christianity. Yet nearly every other black male I know owns one. My best friend owns several I would borrow his on days I wanted to feel a little tough or even spiritually aware. 

            On a random accessory run I came across a stack of rosaries for super cheap and did a victorious fist pump because alas my search was over. I proceeded to buy one in almost every color. 

its gaudy but pink is my favorite color =)

           It may seem like Ive jumped on another short term band wagon but that's the fun thing about fashion it doesn't always have to be taken so seriously or literal, sometimes we buy into things for reasons beyond us and that's OK because that's a perk of being young and wild and free. ;-)

Reppin'

     

My Gay Husband

            As I'm sure some of my loyal followers know I'm quite the adamant fan of a well dressed man. However, the more I keep on my track of these, lets call them pants saggers, a new wave of well dressed men have been catching my eye and making me stare in appreciation. The gay man. Being a student of art school, a fashion major, and also just because its become exceedingly more acceptable in this 21st century, I am constantly surrounded by gay men. Among other aspects what I've noticed most is that in general their way of dress is unlike the straight an narrow members of their species.

           Their way of dressing has such a range for from polished and preppy to outlandish and exotic. Its bold and experimental and just as cocky as their personalities to match. Coming from a girl who at one point felt bad for men because I thought they couldn't accessorize like women; I'm outright taken aback at the depth of detail and  artistic expression these individuals put into the attire. Some of these men I would down right marry based on their dress and swagger alone even if it meant a constant struggle to 'turn them back straight'. Yes my gay husband is definitely a force to be reckoned with here are a couple of examples:

Brad, Rachel Zoes former assistant

Glamo from Glam Factory

My friend Manny



another friend Dennis



my hubbie mike

         

Losing My Vintage Virginity

            I know what you're thinking. And no this isnt one of those 30 year old virgin stories; its merely the beginning of a beautiful friendship between me and none other than vintage shopping! I've always been weary of vintage shopping just because "vintage" to me translated as "old" "dusty" and most importanly  "out of style". My best friend has been trying since her first excursion this summer to turn me on to the idea and although I admitted her findings were promising I still wrinkeled my nose up at the idea. However, fastforward to me being in the middle of nowhere of DeKalb and truly understanding what it means to be on a broke college student budget for the first time; when another friend of mine walked in with her $2 firey red blazer that was nothing short of amazing, I caved.
            This past Sunday me and one of my dearest fashion frenzies (shoutout to Whitney) went on a mission to this local vintage store I had been hearing so much about. I was weary at first, as I browsed the racks and dodged the annoyed looks of the employees because it was 15mins to close. I was starting to think my prejudgements had been right as I reached the end of the first color coordinated aisle with no luck until I saw her. Yes her. A 3/4 quarter sleeve teal v-neck shirt with bronze buttons down the shoulder of one sleeve. It was my size and made of possibly the softest cotton I've ever touched. I raced to the register and pulled out my plastic who cares if Id only had $5 to my name? I had to have her. With the help of my NIU student discount I walked out of there with what is now my newest obssession that only cost me $1.70 and a whole new outlook on life and on fashion. It was a small first step towards becoming a vintage connoisseur but it certainly opened the gates to a whole new world. The moral of the story is to never judge a book by its cover and in this case the cover is the Salvation Army on Sycamore =).


there she is




the beauty is in the details



Add my styling and voila!