RELAXED SUNDAYS

I love chilled and relaxed Sundays where I vegetate in the house the whole day and just as the sun is setting get out of the house to look for a sundowner and psyche myself for the week ahead. As you will probably notice my style is generally quite simple. With time, and as I have grown older my style has become more minimalist don't get me wrong I still love me some colour Am an African woman after all, but I find I need clothes which transcend trends and therefore stay in my wardrobe for a while. Black, grey beige, denims and whites basically neutral colours have the magic staying power.

I always feel for a plus size girl you always need to be careful about the proportions of the clothes you wear. For example this t-shirt dress is quite short but because it is loose with a high-low style it flatters without being to risqué

 

Dress Woolworths, Bag-Mango, Shoes- Zara

PLUS SIZE SHOPPING IN KENYA

Does Kenya have a plus size industry you would ask? And I would say yes and no. Yes because most African women tend to be on the curvier side with the vast majority being between size 12 –size 16. As result you have (and this is where my no comes in) an accidental plus size fashion industry because most Kenyan girls are generally curvy. So the plus size fashion industry in Kenya is not an industry per se, but it’s just how we are anatomically built and as a result almost everyone will buy plus size clothes seeing as plus size is any size from 12 and above. So how about the fewer number of women who are sizes 18 above, where would you go to buy clothes that suit your style and size:

Cheap

Well for cheap clothes, you can look no further than your nearest second hand stall. The most common second hand markets are Toi and Adams arcarde just off Ngong road. Here you will find lots of vendors with lots of cheap variety of second hand clothes many from various international brands and many quite new. You could also go to Gikomba where all the bales are opened; but this needs stamina and grit. When I was younger these were my usual haunts for cheap clothes and one of the best ways to spend an afternoon with girlfriends. Of course there are several second hand retailors dotted in various markets all over Nairobi and in Kenya. So put on your flat shoes and go grab a bargain

Cheap to Average
Your good ol' tailor. I think this is the most fun for me because I get into the creative process of designing what I want to wear, fabric choice, colour and style. My tailor Maurice is probably one of the best tailors I have ever met, constant fights on delays not withstanding. Tailors in Nairobi/Kenya tend to vary in price. If you are big girl and you see something in a shop not your size, don't despair, just look for a good tailor. The fabric shops I highly recommend are Memsaab in Westland's Nairobi (a bit pricey but a huge selection of the best fabrics you can imagine) and Nairobi textiles within City center down town.

Average

In the middle on Nairobi town are what are called exhibition stalls. With individual vendors renting small 6 by 6 glass stalls which are crammed with cheap Chinese imported clothes and shoes. I have to confess I am not a fan of exhibition stalls. I find they do not make for an enjoyable shopping experience what with vendors haggling for you, the excessive bargaining for over priced clothes and the quality of clothes is usually questionable (I stand corrected) however you could find some fashionable clothes here; I see many stylish women in beautiful body con dresses bought from exhibition stalls.

The other average shops are Mr. Price shops a South African brand located in most major malls in Nairobi. They carry quite a variety of trendy and hip clothes at surprisingly low prices. Up till recently they had a dedicated area for plus size shopping, however this was stopped as they felt that they were not getting as many plus size clients. I used to get my denim from here but not anymore which is disappointing

Expensive

Woolworths is another South African brand that is quite popular in Kenya. It has good quality clothes hence the higher prices. The other advantage with Woolworth’s is they have regular end of season sales with pretty low prices so look out for those. Woolworth’s is actually my favorite store in Kenya and this is because the clothes they stock appeal to my minimalist style. They have a wide variety of basics and beautiful denim. They do have a wide variety of plus size clothes and you will likely get good variety of plus size clothes in stock

Truworths is part of the same South African brand as Woolworth’s and Mr. Price is way more expensive for its sister store brand but with good reason. The clothes are really well made and the quality of fabric is superior. Sales unfortunately are not that often. But I love the Truworths store for various reasons. It is the one store that really has a good selection of plus size clothes. As opposed to many stall that will have a separate plus size section, Truworths will have same outfit from regular size to as large as size 24-26 which is amazing. I have without fail found my favorite denim pieces from this store

Dichotomy I must confess is a store I discovered very recently on my first visit to the newly opened Garden city mall. the store is beautifully and simply designed similar to luxury store you would find in fashion capitals of the world. I have not bought anything here yet, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this high end retail store has beautiful clothes in store up to size 20 and they can have your clothes made to order if the sizes are too small for you. How amazing is that. I will do a review of their clothes once I get something. The fabric used here is rich and luxurious. What makes me love this store so much is that it’s a Kenyan luxury store with clothes made locally in Kenya. If you of the buy Kenya build Kenya mentality, then this is the store for you

These are current shopping favourites. Tell me below if there is any place I should try looking for plus size clothes

BARCELONA

I was in Europe in the summer for work in Barcelona and I took advantage of my proximity to England to visit family and friends. Spain is so beautiful, Barcelona blew my mind away and the people are equally nice. Just watch out for the pick pockets. I was pick pocketed at the airport immediately after arriving, which made the start and the rest of my trip really challenging. But thanks to technology my family were able to send me money ASAP. So all was not entirely lost.

I took this photos on the bridge while walking to the Maremagnum mall found herein Barcelona city. It's a beautiful mall built on the Mediterranean and accessible via an opening bridge. So every so often pedestrian's have to wait on either side of the bridge to allow yachts to cross under the opening bridge. Barcelona is a shopping Mecca and Spanish brands like Zara, Mango and Stradivarius are found cheaper here. However since I was going to England after this I didn't do much shopping because I had luggage weight restrictions on the flight from Barcelona to England

My style in this post is simple and basic, summer in Spain is quite hot and humid so piling on the layers is really not advisable. Tell me what you think of this look.

Have a good week ahead

Flying over Cairo with a stunning sunrise younder

What am wearing: Boyfriend jeans and shoes- Truworths Kenya (old), White Tee-Mr. Price Kenya, Bag Woolworth's Kenya

NAIROBI WINTERS

I do not for the life of me know how to pose for blog photos. I always stand ramrod straight never sure what to do with my hands or am always caught unawares doing something random. Exhibit 1 above and 2 below

Poncho-Primark (UK), Boots Woolworths (currently on sale) Bag-Mango, Floppy hat-H&M, Long sleeved t-shirts- Mr. Price

Nairobi winters are a bit schizophrenic if you ask me, it will be freezing cold one minute and hot in the next. I wore this beautiful poncho (blanket....) that I bought in Primark on a recent trip to Europe for work. Its perfectly heavy for the cold but easy to shrug off or just drape on my shoulder when the temperatures warm up.
Happy Monday and the week ahead

TRAVEL DIARIES

So last week I did one of the craziest things. I work in a rural area and I just got a crazy craving for the big city (read Nairobi). I literally got into my vehicle and drove ALONE for 345km of horrible Kenyan roads to Nairobi. It was one of the most daring and best things I  have ever done. My parents were not amused, honestly when do we stop being our parents' babies LOL.  I did my Solo road trip with a beautiful music playlist and singing out loud most of the journey.

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS: I made a quick stop In Kericho (most beautiful place in Kenya) for a quick snack and a break from the drive. My cat eye sunglasses are from Zara. I got them in July on sale while on a trip to China.I checked online but they are sold out

WHAT I SAW: I love the tea plantations in Kericho. When I was a kid it would remind me of tennis lawn. I think it still does. This photo does not do justice the beauty of this place. Miles of green tea plantation as far as the eye can see

WHAT I WORE: Flat sandals with a golden band. I bought in woolworths in Yaya centre about a month ago. I checked last weekend and it was sold out but just check in the other branches in the malls in Nairobi and you might still find them in stock. I am in old tights I bought in primark a loooog time ago and a long loose HnM t-shirt that I got at HnM during my China trip in july

WHAT I BOUGHT: I bought some curios from a nice gentleman along the way. Would you believe there is a pizza inn at one of the view points facing mount longonot. I highly reccomend a drive out there. its about 60 km from Nairobi towards Nakuru. The air is crisp and its such a nice way to spend a beautiful day with your loved ones

Styling a striped skirt for the plus size girl

If you remember a few weeks ago I had a major rant about the state of retail fashion in Kenya. Well I decided to start doing something about the lack of clothes that I love or i can afford in the shops in Kenya.
I bought this beautiful striped fabric to make a skirt after obsessing about this skirt on blog here.

I have an amazing tailor who now understands that I am a slave driver about the quality of the tailoring of clothes. The Skirt had to be redone a couple of time to make it what I wanted. so here is the final results styled in different ways. Tell me what you think

Styled  with a denim shirt and belt with high brown wedges

 Red Kitten heels, statement neck lace i got from Woolworth's, red kitten heels from Angelo's

INTERIOR INSPIRATION

I will be redoing my apartment starting 2014. Its an old flat that was built in the 1970s or earlier so it has a lot of quirky details which I love. The main challenge with my flat is that the rooms are pretty small, so it will take a lot of creativity to make it stylish and livable for someone like me who tends to accumulate stuff.

 I am bookworm and a compulsive book buyer. Books are my one absolutely totally guilt free purchase. I don't think there is a bookshop that I can pass by without entering and buying a book. I buy about 4 to 6 books every month so by the end of the year i have anything from 50 to 60 books. Also I never give away my books. For me books are like my best friends. Weird thing about me I sleep with about two books on my bed every night and if I am stressed the number of books on my bed increase ;-///. So basically my house must have adequate shelf space to accommodate lots of books.

So I have been looking for some inspiration for my house and how to redo it. Its going to be a long term project probably a year or more

Here is some of my inspiration
This is my ideal room; quirky, eclectic and cosy

I see me in a corner of my bedroom with a cosy am chair and lots of books around me

My room is pretty small so I Love how this room has been designed

 sigghhhhh!!!!!!! dont you just love this room. Isn't it beautiful?

This is just so beautiful; I can see my guest room looking like this

 I got this tips for a small bedroom from pinterest

I will keep looking for more ideas over the next few months before i start my project