Elements of Style

What is it that makes you choose what you wear? Is it comfort? Style? Color? We all choose our clothing for different reasons. Some of us want to stand out, others want to blend in. Whatever the core reasons, the one thing to keep in mind is that there are certain basics which must be achieved before we can even talk about having style. What do I mean? I mean that whatever it is that we want to express with our look, we must make the conscious effort to keep within the boundary of style. Every style can be overdone and look cheap or done tastefully. It’s about balancing every item within the look. The single most important thing to consider when choosing clothes is your body shape. No matter how cute that dress is, if it was not designed for your body shape, you will end up looking silly. Ever body shape can be flattered by wearing the right cut of clothes just as great injustice can be done to a figure by wearing the wrong cut. The next thing to consider is color. Every skin shade has certain colors that enhance it and others that subtract from it. Some people look better in warm colors while cool colors work better for others. An easy way to find out which works better for you is to drape different colored fabrics around your face and you will begin to see that certain colors read better against your skin tone. It is even easier to have someone help you observe the effects of different colors.

After that, the next consideration is occasion or practicability. You don’t want to be the girl wearing a suit at a picnic or the girl wearing that Herve Leger stunner at a young child’s funeral. As long as you get these basics right, you can be sure that you are on your way to projecting yourself stylishly. Without taking these into account, one is likely to miss the style boat. Your attempt at looking like a rock chic will be unsuccessful if the jeans are the wrong cut for your body shape. Also the most stunning dress will look drab if worn in the wrong shade of green. Of course we all know that the flyest outfit will only make you look like a fool with money if worn to the wrong occasion.

It is when all these have been fulfilled that one can start ones style journey. With these conquered it is easier to navigate the murky waters of fashion to arrive at whatever style destination we set for ourselves.

I really hope I have been of help today. Till we meet again, hopefully soon.Remain fabulous.

Allow me to re- introduce myself.

Hello babes, my name is Ajiri Okah-Avae and I’m a fashion designer and stylist. I am very interested in helping women (and men) put their best foot forward, presenting themselves in the most advantageous light, assisting the best way I know how, in their quest for world domination (or whatever their goals may be). So many fashion writers and enthusiasts have written about fashion but my purpose here is to help women (and men), from the complete novice who is trying to become more chic to the fashionista who is open to new ideas, explore the world of fashion and with what they have available in their wardrobe (with maybe a few key items added) interpret it into their own personal style.

The natural question then is ‘what is style?’ I have heard and read several opinions on what style is, but I think the simplest way for me to describe it is this. Style is the way an individual chooses to present themselves to the world. Style of course is not just about the way we dress. Style includes (but is not limited to) the kind of car we choose to drive, the way we decorate our personal space, the kind of activities we choose for relaxation and other nuances that give people an idea about who we are and what we represent. Basically, our style is what people see when they first meet us.

In fashion, sometimes style is interchanged with the word ‘look’. However ‘style’ is a more involved term than ‘look’. What do I mean? Let me put it this way. In the morning, when we all stand before our wardrobes, no matter how big or small, we have an image of what we want to project to the world based on how we are feeling or the activities we intend to take part in, and we all pick our outfits based on that. That is picking a look for the day. Style, at least in fashion, comes into play when we stop and actually give deep thought to each piece in the ensemble and how they enhance our size and shape. When we say that someone has style, we simply mean that the person gives thought to the relationship between each element and how those elements enhance their person and their space AND that it comes off as aesthetically pleasing.

I hope to be able to help you navigate the sometimes fickle, sometimes confusing world of fashion, interior design, fine wine and food. I’ll be helping you broaden your mind on how to put looks together in a stylish way, critiquing outfits worn on the streets of Lagos, giving you tips on how to make your personal space more appealing, help you understand the little things that help make wine taste better, and share a few recipes with you.

I hope to meet you here again in a couple of days. Enjoy what I have to offer today. Remain fabulous.

It's been a while.

Hello everyone, It's been a good four years since I last posted anything and I have decided to turn over a new leaf. So I'm back, a little older and hopefully, a little wiser. This will be a much more fun experience than my first go round. There will be Outfit of the day posts, give aways, first look at my latest collections, even video posts, etc, etc. For any returning readers, thank you for coming back, all new readers, thank you for stopping by. Hopefully, we will all learn something about style and how to articulate it, whatever our interpretation of it may be. Remain fabulous.

Designing a space.

next thing to do after deciding on functionality of a space, is to create a mood board. The function The of the mood board is to give you an idea of the feel of the room. By feel, I mean the style. Do you want your space to be homely, minimalis,tretro, themed, art deco, formal, contemporary, etc,etc,etc. your only limitation is your imagination.
The way to create a mood board is simple. Collect pictures of things and scenes that speak to you and convey the lifestyle that you was to project. These pictures could be anything from the kind of car you fancy, a dress or handbag that you like, flowers, your style icon. The point is to start seeing the direction that your taste takes you.
The reason why its best to make a mood board before you start decorating is so that you have a clear idea of what your taste is. That way you don’t end up with space that doesn’t appeal to you after all. It gives you a clear idea of things like colour scheme, funiture style and what the statement piece in the room should be. These are decisions that should be made before you even hit the shops.
Its important to have a lay out and a mood board before going out to buy anything because you need to be sure of what the space will look like before you spend the first kobo. You don’t want to get distracted when you hit the shops.
I hope that this will be helpful to those of you that are contemplating decorating your space . if you have any questions, feel free to leave it in the comment space. If you feel you need my help send me an email.
Stay fabulous.

Super Model of Nigeria

Last Sunday I attended the supermodel of Nigeria competition. Here are some photos from the event.
Stay fabulous.

The value of a plan

hello, it’s been a while I shouldn’t have left you without a dope blog to read. I trust that y’all are doing well. For a while I was stressing about what next to talk about because I have so many ideas. I have decided to touch on a bit of interior decorating.
I think that the first thing that must be considered before a decorating project is started is utility. The first step in deciding the direction to go in terms of the design of the space is to take into consideration what purpose the space will fill. All the color scheme and fabric choice in the world will not save a poorly laid out space.
Common sense dictates that the way you will decorate a dining area used for intimate family dinners will be different from if you entertain a lot. A kitchen used to microwave ready meals will be different from one used for cooking huge dinners and one used for baking. Things like how close the sink will be to the cooker and how large the cabinet space required is part of what the interior designer must consider.
As in everything else in life, a concrete plan must be devised before a single thing is purchased. It is ideal to actually draw out the plan that you can look at in the existing space so you have a real idea of how much sense your plan makes.
Stay fabulous

Bohemian rhapsody

Hey y’all. Sorry I’ve been gone for so long but my day job has been hectic. I trust that y’all have been having a blast. Anyway today I am going to be writing on boho chic.
What exactly is boho, you might ask. Well, its an eclectic style. I guess you can say it’s a “creative” way of presenting ones self. In the form of dress it tends to involve a lot of flowing, maybe even oversize clothes.
The bohemian look is a hark one to work because it’s a thin line between looking hot and looking “what is she thinking”. You really need to have a good eye to rock it. The pieces I think are essential for the look are gypsy skirts, embroidered tunics, kaftans, long flowing dresses, a messenger bag, sandals and ethnic jewelry.
As with every other style point of view, this are just the essentials and not by any stretch of the imagination all that is contained in the wardrobe of a true eclectic. I personally love to see a boho diva getting it right.
In terms of décor they tend to go for ethnic inspired surroundings. They also tend to love earthy colors like browns, reds and greens. I also notice a love of pattern especially flowery ones.
Anyway I’m sure in the future I’ll do a more in depth analysis of boho chic. Till then stay fabulous.