Starting All Over Again. Fashion To Elevate you.

Hello everyone!!! I am sure most of you who have been coming to this blog for the past few years wondered why I have not been posting. Wondering if this was a lost blog. Well it isn't anymore. I have decided to continue the journey although I am taking a slightly different route.

Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Ajiri Avae. I am a fashion entrepreneur from Nigeria, West Africa. I make African inspired clothing, I sell clothing and accessories and I also style. Last year, I even started an African inspired T shirt label.

This time around, this blog will be more focused on helping you, the reader to elevate your personal style and step out as the best you possible. So watch out for the new posts coming your way in July

Take care of yourself and see you in a few days

Reviewing Vlisco Ankara

Hello everyone!!! It's been a while since I put up a post and for that I really do apologise. Today I want to review Vlisco Ankara, especially since they recently came out with a new collection of designs. Now, because I used to do the whole Nigerian thing of accepting customer's fabric, I have worked with the fabric on many occasions, apart from using it myself.

I can testify to the fact that the fabric is the best quality in the market (and no, this is not a sponsored post). I have washed the ones I own many, many times with detergent with a washing machine and they are still as good as new, based on the fact that it is premium quality Hollandaise. But beyond that, what I find most attractive about their fabrics is the vibrance of the colours and designs. Their colours are so rich that it is rare to come across a dull Vlisco fabric design. And you know how much we all love our Ankara colours. Lol!!!

The only issues I have with them is that I really do not know (and have not come across anyone that knows) any Vlisco accredited store in Nigeria. All the ones I own and have worked with were purchased in England. I do know of a couple of shops that carry a few pieces but nothing major. Please, if any of you knows any of their accredited stores here in Nigeria, leave the information in the comments bellow.

I hope I have been able to add value to you. Yes, I know that the fabric is quite pricey, but it is worth it. Remain fabulous.

Ankara Street Style

Hello everyone!!! I was out and about in Lagos last weekend and came across this. I like the way she styled the Ankara bag. A lot of times, I see ladies style it in an overdone way. This is simple and understated with the bag being the focal point, which is how an Ankara bag should be styled.

I hope this inspires you and adds value. Remain fabulous.

Ankara Street Style

Hello everyone!!! I just want to give you another street style to inspire you. I saw her on the streets of Lagos this past Friday and I thought how it was an easy, breezy way to wear Ankara. The dress itself is very basic, it then depends on you to style it and give it character.

The purpose of this post is to remind you that you don't need an elaborate Ankara dress. Something basic like this can be styled to express yourself. So till I have something else to say, remain fabulous dolls.

Nigerian Designers At The Africa Fashion Week London

Hello y'all!!! I was looking at pictures from the Africa Fashion Week London and so I have decided to write about it today. More than 60 designers from Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, Botswana, Kenya, South Africa amongst others showed their collections. There was everything from show stopping designs to swimwear. I saw some of very wearable pieces on the runway but I also saw a lot of impractical clothing.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate Afrocentric designers. However, the fact that African fashion is still struggling to be taken seriously by the rest of the world, I think, should have been reason enough for the designers that came, to show wearable pieces that buyers for boutiques and clothing stores can pick up. I venture to say that the reason why our fashion industry is doing so poorly is that the majority of our designers that show internationally think that to create African inspired designs, the clothes have to be costume. I'm sorry but Selfidges and House of Fraser are not going to carry costumes. Neither are any serious boutiques. It seems to me that a lot of our designers have no idea how to edit their designs. They obviously think that success comes from how eccentric the designs are and do not realise that the clothes have to be wearable.

Another issue I have is the fact that the event seemed to attract the media as well as fashionistas but there were no buyers from boutiques and shops. That is the fault of the organisers. Personally, I have been approached by several organisers of fashion events to show a collection at their events and when I ask who will be invited to watch, they always say media and an audience but never buyers. That is always a good reason for me not to take part, especially since these events can be expensive to participate in. Considering the fact that the main objective of taking part in a show is to sell your clothes, the fact that there were no buyers nor were there any serious British fashion editors there, in my opinion, means that the designers that showed weren't given value for their money. Because I can bet that most of the visitors at the event did not buy anything.

The reason why I decided to write this is to bring to our attention the fact that our fashion promoters need to do more. The only person out of all of them that impresses me is Yemi Akerele of Style House Files. Her company has gotten a good number of her clients into major stores abroad. That is what a fashion promoter does, not just a fashion show that is mainly covered by African media.

Anyway, that is my rant for the day. Maybe next time I want to rant, I will make a video instead. I hope I made sense and that this piece will help any designer who reads it to decide which events are worth the investment. I also hope that it will help the promoters restrategise to give their participants better value. In the meantime, remain fabulous, doll!!!

Outfit Of The Day.

Hello everyone!!! I trust that the week is going well, so far. I just want to do a quick outfit of the day post. I have to admit that I took the picture a few weeks ago and am just getting round to posting it. But then, I guess better late than never.

The dress is just a simple, classic linen dress with Ankara details (an Ajiri Avae dress) that I dressed up with high heels, clutch bag and a cocktail ring. It can be worn casually as well, with ballet flats or sandals and and an everyday bag. Such a versatile piece of clothing. I hope this look inspires you to add more Ankara flavour to your wardrobe. Remain fabulous, dolls!!!

P.S. Have you liked my facebook page yet? If not, hop over right now to be part of my community. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ajiris-Style/229050093848224.

Ankara Street Style

Hello everybody!!! Today, again, I want to help open your mind to the possibilities open to you in terms of your Ankara. I saw this chic inside Unilag and think it's a simple yet nice way to wear your Ankara. She mixed the fabric with what looks like raw silk. I love the Sun flower detail. Nice for church, right?

I hope this look inspires you. Remain fabulous, girls!!!

Ankara Street Style

Hello!!! How has the weekend been so far? It has been raining here in Lagos so I've had a very laid back day. Today's post is another street style photo. I love the Ankara Jacket the first lady is wearing. So stylish and casual. It can be worn on Jeans, a Pencil Skirt or even ankle length fitted trousers. I hope y'all like it as much as I do.

So enjoy and be inspired. Hope to be back with a new post soon. Remain Fabulous!!!

Street Style.

Hello!!! Sorry that I have been gone for so long. Just want to put up this street style picture of a girl I saw in Unilag. Ankara jacket worn on jeans. Nice but casual chic. Enjoy and be inspired. Remain Fabulous, dear!!!

Ankara Street Style

Hello. Today, I have another street style picture to inspire you. This time, our subject is wearing an Ankara skirt. She wears it so effortlessly with a white t shirt. The look is so easy but believe me, this is one skirt that can be worn in so many different ways.

Ankara skirts are easy to pull off so I encourage you to get yourself one and experiment. Remain fabulous.

Ankara Street Style

Hello!!! Today, I'm starting a new kind of post that I will be calling Ankara Street Style. I will be putting up pictures of normal women, going about their business, but using Ankara in a contemporary way. This first girl I came across in Unilag, Lagos. Her Ankara mix T shirt caught my eye and I love the very classic way she styled it.

Her style is so easy and effortless, yet so African in a contemporary way. I love it. You too can look into bringing Ankara into your wardrobe with a simple T shirt. It's very easy to wear in your everyday life and easy to style, too. I hope this inspires you. Enoy and remain fabulous.

Lanre Da Silva Ajayi Now At Spiga2 Concept Store.

Lanre Da Siva Ajayi has done it again!!!!

Hello everybody. I'm so excited to give you this news. As proof that hard work and creativity pay, LDA after mentoring with the duo Domenico Dolce and Steffano Gabbana, now has her line stocked at their concept store, Spiga2. She is the first African designer to be selected to retail there. This is by no means her first of this kind of achievement. Her work is available at Selfridges in London (thanks to Ndani) and she has taken part at the Patti Immagine Trade Show in Florence, Italy among others (thanks to Style House Files) amongst others.

As a designer, I must say that she makes me very proud and also hopeful for what the future holds for more of us African designers. Kudos to Mrs Ajayi and more grease to her elbows.

Remain fabulous, darling.

Ankara Dress Outfit Of The Day.

Hello everybody!!! I was on my way to church, this morning, and decided to take a quick outfit of the day photograph. It's a simple dress that is ideal for most churches in Nigeria. It can be dressed up or down, depending on how you accesorise it. I accessorised it with wooden bangles that I got from a mall in Abuja some years ago. The fact that they are made of wood makes the outfit a little less 'serious'. The dressiness comes from the black and gold shoes with the gold bag. The shoe was a gift and the bag was from Debbenhams about 2 years ago. The dress is from my clothing line

I hope that this gives you ideas on how to wear your Ankara dresses to church or semi formal events. Enjoy a great week ahead and remain fabulous.

Classic Ankara Dress

Hello!!! It’s been a while. I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to put up any posts in a while. Work has been hectic. I came across this picture of Yemi Akerele in this fabulous Jewel By Lisa dress and was reminded of how well Ankara has blended into the modern and sophisticated woman’s everyday wardrobe.

This dress is a neutral classic. The colors on the dress are all neutral, so it can be worn with almost any color of accessories. The fact that it is a classic means that it can be dressed up and dressed down to suit the occasion and also, it will still look on trend in the next ten (10) years. I love the bead work because it takes it out of the ordinary and makes it a head turner. It also has the added bonus of not requiring a necklace and maybe even (depending on the hairstyle), earings. These are all key elements you should consider when investing in that extra special Ankara dress that you can turn to over and over again.

I hope I helped in some little way. Please, please, please, stay fabulous.

Discover......... Seku. Look Book.

Hello everyone!!! It's been too long since I put up a post. Been sooooo busy with work. I hope to do better. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue soon. I just want to share a new discovery with you. Seku is a young designer whose style I am really loving. Clothes for the young and young at heart.

Hear her: sEKu is a fashion brand that exudes fun, ease and affordability. It provides unique and quirky fashion for individuals who enjoy being different and do not live by fashion rules. sEKu encourages individuality by making available one-off pieces at affordable prices. you can shop sEKu at www.jumia.com.ng. you get free delivery to your doorstep anywhere you are in Nigeria!

So check out her work for yourself. I hope you like it. Take care of yourself and I hope to be back soon. Stay fabulous.

Ankara Skirt OOTD

Hello everyone!!! Today's post is an Outfit of the Day (OOTD) one. I wore this outfit to a wedding this past weekend. The look is very classic. It's a simple white shirt paired with an Ankara pencil skirt, which is a very easy way to bring Ankara into a contemporary wardrobe (I put a close up of the skirt). I wore black shoes with a bit of gold on the platforms to go with the gold clutch in a way that is not too matchy, matchy. Nothing says "classic" like a few strands of pearls, yes?

I hope that this simple way of bringing Ankara into your everyday wardrobe will inspire you. Take care of yourself and remain fabulous.

The Ankara Handbag

Hello. Have you been thinking of adding some Ankara to your wardrobe but don’t want the head to toe Ankara look? Or do you live outside Africa and don’t have access to a good dressmaker or designer that works with the fabric but still want to show off ‘ethnic’ fashion? How about getting an Ankara handbag? Very easy to style, it is one of those things that will give your wardrobe that added oomph. It will very easily turn your ‘tee shirt and jeans’ outfit into something notable.

There are a good number of African handbag designers that work with the fabric so getting one should not be that hard. Since it is clothe, it’s easy to clean and maintain. All you need to do is make sure to make the bag the focal piece in the ensemble. Yu don’t want too many things clamoring for attention.

I hope this short post has inspired you add a little variety to your wardrobe with an Ankara bag. As always, remain fabulous.

Everyday Ankara

Hello. I’ve decided to change things up a bit. Let me give you a little bit of my history. I did not become a designer that works mainly with Ankara by accident. Growing up, I hated clothes made out of Ankara. I’m not a big fan of the ‘skirt and blouse’ Ankara ensemble, which was one of two options that we had when I was growing up (It was either that or using the Ankara to sew ‘double wrapper’). I personally find it boring. I prefer to use Lace or Silk or some other fluid fabric to make ‘native’. So from the time I was a little girl, I couldn’t wait to start using Ankara for what I have always thought it is good for. Bare in mind that I don’t like most of the fabric available in the market, I find them mostly dull or garish.

My mission has been how to bring Ankara into daily life for the contemporary woman. Focusing how to create pieces that any woman can pull out of her wardrobe and wear on Casual Friday, or to go watch a movie, or to have drinks with her girlfriends, or something to wear to that lecture you are going to give. On how to take Ankara out of just being for weddings or church and into everyday life. The fact that Ankara is made of cotton, means that it is breathable and that is ideal for everyday wear in this our hot West African weather. Focusing on this has led me to come up with certain pieces that I think Ankara is well suited for which I think every woman that fancies herself a fashionista should have in her wardrobe.

So what are these pieces? They include a Skirt, a Cocktail Dress, a few Day Dresses that should include a long Summer Dress and a Wrap Dress, a Jacket/ Waist Coat/ Trench and Cropped Fitted Pants. The items can either have Ankara as their main or as their accent fabric. These items, in my opinion, should form the foundation of your Ankara wardrobe, pieces that you can work your already existing wardrobe around, pieces that if you own, you will find yourself reaching for, time after time. Notice I did not add The Jumpsuit to the list. This is because the Ankara print is characterized by its ‘busyness’, what with its bold and colorful design and so much going on that making it into a jumpsuit tends to come off as being too much. I personally am yet to see an all over Ankara jumpsuit that I like. For a Jumpsuit, it’s always better for the Ankara to just be the accent fabric, its job being to ‘lift’ the look of the jumpsuit.

I realize that this is just an over view of what I consider the foundation of a modern woman’s Ankara wardrobe. I hope that over time, I will be able to take each item and break down how to make it work in today’s wardrobe. What to consider when choosing them and how to integrate them into your wardrobe to create a look that is very contemporary.

Hope you stop by soon. Remain fabulous.