uMbhaco!

Beauty is pain. Or in every fashionista's case fashion can be painful..

This lovely floor length skirt is a traditional Xhosa design known as uMbhaco. It has been made in a wrap around cut and fashioned from very heavy material. I had to walk with purpose and poise just to carry this look.

Women have been suffering for beauty and fashion for centuries, so what’s a little heavy skirt in a girl’s fashion journey?

Traditionally this skirt would be worn with a matching shawl, also made from heavy material..a lot of beads, a turban and facial art work.

I didn't go for the entire shebang because I wanted to keep the look traditional with a little modern edge. The Zara necklace added a modern interpretation of the beads and a refreshing splash of color.

I love the high waist of the skirt and the fact that it fits perfectly thanks to the wrap around design. The A line cut is always flattering with the right length.

To keep the skirt informal, I dressed it down with flat sandals.

For a more dressed up effect in the evening you can wear this skirt with a strapless bustier in denim or black.

The black cotton t shirt is from Woolies, the skirt was made for me by Mzanzi designs Emporium in Maponya mall.

THE TURBAN TUTORIAL!

I have been promising to do a turban tutorial for a while now, well finally here we go.
There really aren't any hard and fast rules about this, just get a feel of what works and how the wrap feels and looks on your head.
Before you can start experimenting with what your style is, try my tips first until you are comfortable and have developed your own instincts.

Step 1:

You will need a square scarf. A square is much easier to work with than a rectangular scarf. If you can find a triangle scarf that is big enough to cover your head then that's great too.

Start by laying out your scarf on a flat surface..

Step 2:

Fold your scarf into a triangle as shown below. Is you are working with a rectangular scarf your triangle won't be perfect, just ensure that you have three sides after the fold.

                          


Step 3:

Next you need to put the cloth on your head, such that you have two sides that you can tie comfortably on top of your head.

                         

Tie the two loose sides on top of your head; you can tie it on the side so that your turban hump is not directly on the center of your head.

It depends on you how tight to make it, just make sure its not too tight that you get a headache. If you are working with a silk scarf like me here, you may need to tighten a bit more to strengthen the grip of the silk on your head. Cotton is the best fabric to use, its breathes so you are no too hot and it stays put.

You have two choices here, you can take the two strings and tie them in knots on the top part of your head over and over until the strings are short and can be tucked in easily; or you can do as I have here and tie the two strings at the back of your head. This ensures further that the scarf stays in place.

Step 4:

You are now left with one string/ piece in the front of your head; This will need to be tucked in. There are a number of ways to do this, if you want a hump then loosely tuck in on the top of your head ensuring that you don't pull too much and you leave a soft high hump.

Alternatively, you can go for a flatter top, if you do this correctly it can look like you are wearing a slip on turban rather than one you made yourself.

So grab that loose piece on top and pull it to the back, making a nice ruffle on top so that it is not too flat. Tuck in the piece at the back of your head on the edges to the turban, if it doesn't reach that far back; then pull the front piece back as far as it can go and use one of the two pieces you tied at the back earlier to create a knot with this piece. Once the knot is tight the head wrap will feel firm and in place.

As you continue to experiment with the turban, you'll find better ways to wear it and you'll soon realize that each scarf guides you as to how to wear it.

Below are pictures of how I have worn the turban before.
I hope this helped, and remember a turban look is not complete without the right amount of attitude. 

This is an example of a rectangular scarf that wont be a perfect triangle  therefore I opted to ties the two strings on top over and over creating little knots until I could tuck everything in. So no strings go to the back here, everything is nicely tucked in at the top. 

I did the big hump slightly on the side here, this scarf is very big so I could tuck the top piece at the back of my head whilst still leaving the hump nice and high. If you use a smaller scarf the turban will mostly likely be flatter and the bigger the scarf the more volume you can get.

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About the scarves:

- The blue scarf is from Forever new
- The black and white scarf is from Mr Price
- The brown scarf is from Woolies

50 shades of orange..

Ok, so its really just 3 shades of orange..
I love this girly look, I wore it on a sunny warm African day. I played with different shades of pink, salmon and orange.
Using the same colour three or four times on the same outfit can really look sophisticated and fun; I did it with three different shades of pink. I tried to create a continuous smooth colour palet with my oranges and pinks from the top to the shoes. This look is the opposite of colour blocking. I then attempted to create some sort of deperation with the different colour belt.

The lovely colorful belt is from Mr Price, It came with a pair of pants that I'm planning to cut and make into shorts..I'll update you on that later.

The skirt is from Forever New, the shoes from Nine West and the top cost me R35 at Mr Price..Yay!

JUST DO IT!

I love this red floral skirt from Mr price, I don't quite remember how much I paid for it but it was for sure below R100. Don't you just love a steal?

Its tulip shaped with a floral print.

In this look I mixed a lot of things; firstly the turban, my all time favorite piece of clothing which I have blogged about too many times!.. then there's the comfortable sporty t-shirt and of course the beloved belt and If I could I would belt everything.
I got this belt at Edgars for R100, it really fits in with everything. What a great buy!

I was going for a confortible look here with efortless chic..

There are many ways to style a turban and I'll show you one of the ways soon.  If you a interested, watch this space and get your scarfs ready.

About the outfit:
- Skirt- Mr Price
- Shirt- Nike @Nike
- Bag- Aldo
- Scarf used as a head wrap- Forever new
- Belt- Edgars

SEQUINS..

A little glits and shine is acceptable during the day. . .Thank goodness fashion has decided to be accepting of bling in daylight.

Bling in the form of sequins is soo hot right now...Spice up your outfit with opposites; i.e. Balance the sequines with less glitzy, less dressy pieces.

Instead of heels, wear this look with sneakers or flats to create that contrast.

I have a sequin skirt that I have always felt is too dressy and shiny as a result I haven't worn it much.

With bravery this weekend I wore it, I attempted to loosen it up by pairing it with a loose fitting knit jersey and I swapped the heels for flats.

I liked the results, still super chic but a lot more relaxed.

There really is no need to fear sequins...

About the outfit:

- Skirt- Thula Sindi

- Jersey- Forever  new

- Flats - La Boutique
- Clutch- Nine West

The perfect pair of jeans

Finding the perfect pair of jeans can be a struggle.. The right cut, the right length, the right fit..all important considerations. The perfect pair of jeans has a way of making you feel like a million bucks. It hides all the stuff you want to hide and highlights your best assets.
Denim is one of those classic trends that never go out of fashion.

I love my jeans just above the ankle, low cut without showing any under garments and well fitting without being too tight..
I always go for as little embellishments as possible. If the jeans must have glitters and diamante on them, then they should be dead cheap so that when I get sick of them I don't feel bad about how much I spent on them.

There are no rules on how to wear jeans; anyhow goes. Wear them with heels, with flats or with a blaser for a casual formal look and with a tshirt for a very casual feel. Anyway you want them will do.

I was going for comfortable casual chic..

About the outfit:
- Jeans- Edgars
- Top- Zara
- Shoes- La Boutique
- Bag- Woolies

Africanprintfashion.com

MsK is a the voice behind Africanprintfashion.com. This New York blogger focuses on African prints and African designers.
MsK showcases an African print streetstyle section every Friday showing gorgeous African fashion on normal people. All you do is snap yourself wearing an African designer and send the pic to her, if she likes it she publishes it.
I follow her blog for inspiration.

She shared my style with her readers today. Take a look.
http://www.africanprintinfashion.com/2012/11/share-your-style-friday.html