MY FRUSTRATION WITH THE KENYAN FASHION RETAIL SCENE: A RANT

Almost anyone who knows me even for a week knows I love clothes. I love the fashion industry I love fabric. I read about fashion every day almost throughout the day. I read fashion blogs both Kenyan and Internationally. I read about fabric design. Last week i went to woolworths to see what they have in store. I usually wait for sales so that i can be able to afford the clothes they stock. Unluckily for me there was no sale on this particular occasion. I just got so frustrated and annoyed at the prices of the clothes. Some of the prices in this shop are completely unaffordable for most people. It would be so much easier for them to reduce the prices and have more clients that have this ridiculous prices that keep away a big percentage of would be customers.

Then yesterday while walking in town with a friend of mine I saw a street hawker selling shoes on the streets. One of the shoes that he was selling were the exact same shoe that i had bought from Primark at dirt cheap price on sale but the original price was still quite cheap. For those who might be have been to the UK, Primark sells ATMOSPHERE branded clothes at the cheapest price you can imagine. But this bugger was selling the ratty second hand shoe for a higher price than its original retail price. I happened to have the shoe in my vehicle and it had the price sticker still on the bottom of the shoe and i showed him the original price and the sale price that were on the shoe. Man!!!!! I was so annoyed. It is so frustrating getting good quality well priced and affordable clothes in this country.

It is also so annoying that we have destroyed our cotton industry and as a result we have had to move on to second hand clothes as a staple. Infact Kenya has the largest second hand clothes market in sub-saharan Africa, heck probably the whole of the global south. Because second hand clothes have become such a staple, it has developed a whole multi-million industry market that is actually fuelling economic growth. But at what expense. There is a farmer in Nyanza who cannot feed and educate his children because the cotton industry died. On my way to work every morning I pass by the shell of the once vibrant KICOMI fabric company. I think it is time we made a conscious effort to start reviving our fabric industry. This are the things that will help build our fashion industry in a sustainable manner.Create jobs not just for farmers but for fabric factories, designers, models, tailors and so many other side industries that develop from this. and the beauty of this is that it is sustainable and long lasting and actually a benefit to the economy of our country

NB: If you go buy second hand clothes and the brand reads atmosphere please make sure you bargain like your life depends on it because anything over kshs 500 is probably double its original cost

ANKARA WAISTBAND

Hey Everyone,
So if you if you read my last post i uploaded a photo of a skirt that i had modified by putting and Ankara print waist band. Tell me what you think of the final out come. I quite like it and I think its a simple and timeless look. Its amazing the things you can do with an old skirt that is hanging around the house. You will be seeing a lot more of this- me modifying clothes and giving them an african touch or just wearing more Ankara but in a way that reflects a modern African woman.
Have a lovely weekend

WHY I FEAR BLOGGING

I have to confess I loved the idea of starting a blog but truth be told taking photos of myself and uploading them on my blog really takes me out of my comfort zone. I am such a private person and I am so uncomfortable with putting myself out there. And having a fashion blog is definitely a big way of putting myself out there.  In addition my job is crazy busy, I am a doctor and I work in research so am constantly on the road to rural areas so sometimes it can get a bit difficult to get time or opportunities to take photos of outfits but this not withstanding I am determined to make it work this time. I always feel its a waste to put on something crazy interesting and unique and not chronicle it or share with people. I have been receiving constant encouragement from some of my dear friends to restart my blog makes me feel kind of guilty about not making my blog active.

Of late I have been reading many blogs on women who are plus size like me and I feel am getting confidence and motivation to start uploading and posting photos. Please check out blogs like

·      http://www.thenaturalfashionista.com

·      http://girlwithcurves.com

·      http://kenyalfashionblog.com

For me this girls are so amazing and so inspirational. They definitely challenge me to try to new things and to be more daring in my style. I will be highlighting others with time. 

With those few(ish) words, here are a few things that I have been upto and wearing over the last few weeks (the ones that I managed to take photos of.

You will notice my style has taken quite a turn. I am now wearing more vintage and I scour flea markets looking for skirts that old lady would envy long and conservative looking but I try to give them an edge and I always love the final results (more photos soon).

I love this look I think its so simple and elegant. The red belt gives the look a pop of colour

 Brogues at the rugby game
I went for a rugby match a few weeks ago and it rained like crazy and was so muddy luckily i had my faithful oxford brogues to save the day

Here I am with a few girl friends at the games. wearing a simple black dress and a cropped denim jacket

Like I said earlier my style has been changing over the last few months. I am wearing more skirts but making the look more me (if that makes sense at all). I bought this Zara skirt at the flea market and decided to add an african print at the waist band (more photos to come). What do you think of this look

Denim Shirt + African print skirt

African print comes full circle, there is definitely increased prominence of African print in mainstream fashion. I have always loved African fabric but with this new phenomenon, I have started incooperating African print pieces in my closet. What I particularly love about this trend is that African Fabric never really goes out of fashion, just like Denim and Khaki, its just a matter of updating designs with changing fashion trends. I love what I am wearing today; I paired an african print skirt with a denim shirt. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that denim and African print had been done and looked amazing. I also discovered an amazing Italian-Hatian designer called Stella Jean who designs amazing African print clothes and gives them a very modern twist. I have to confess that this is a look I really love and I will be doing more off in my wardrobe

Stella Jean designs

The beautiful and amazing Stella Jean wearing her designs

More Stella Jean (I think I am in Love)

And yet more Stella Jean (Definitely true Love)

Find more of Stella Jean designs on this link Stella Jean I think you will fall in love as much as I did

The Khaki Bomber Jacket

When you live in a hot part of Kenya like I do, the rare day it decides to rain; lets just say big smiles. All the cute jackets and blazers that had been put away come out. I love that my work place does not have a strict dress code and since i travel to remote health facilities doing research I try to dress in clothes that are on trend but are culturally appropriate for the rural folk that I have to meet. I have had this Khaki Bomber Jacket for about four months now, but I have never had an opportunity to wear it until now. The stripped T-shirt is from New Look and the jeggings are thrifted and flat pointed shoes I got on a trip to China. Just noticed my dreads are sticking out :-)))

Casual weekend in Tanks

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I live in a very hot town so weekends are a good way to dress down. On saturday I wore skinny white jeans which I got on sale at Debenham's, thrifted yellow tank and leather flats from Mr. Price

On Sunday I wore flared wide leg linen pants I bought in Peacock, thrifted tank, belt from New Look and wedges i bought on sale from Debenham's. Tell me what you think of this two looks.

The Pleated Skirt

Happy New Year 2013
I am so excited about the start of this year. I don't have any actual New Year resolutions but there is so much I want to achieve this year. I will be updating you all as time goes. In other news notice my new dreadlocks. I am going through alot of transition and this was just a way signifying amazing new beginnings in my life. Thank you for reading

Red Kitten Heels HnM; T-Shirt Dorothy Perkins; Belt New look Skirt Forever21