From Tanzania to Trinidad - Hand Crafted Jewellery from URU

They say 'less is more' and for me, in everyday life, this is true. Simple works. But simple does not have to be boring. Your 'less is more' can still be a  bold, personal statement.

That's why I absolutely love the URU concept and URU has come to Trinidad and Tobago. On a visit to Tanzania, Al Murray discovered these one-of-a-kind accessories and was immediately sold on the URU brand.

They are beautiful and I felt that there was a shortage of quality, non-garish jewellery in this country. I’ve always liked seeing women with simple yet classy pieces and this fits the bill. I’ve always lived by the mantra of less is more.

The pieces are absolutely gorgeous. but yet so effortless. For someone like me who sticks to simple pieces on a regular day running around town, hitting up Massy Stores or meeting the girls for drinks, URU is perfect.

This was made for me in mind - clearly!!

They aren't just for women though, as URU's simple elegance works on men as well. I for one, love simplicity when it comes to jewellry on a man. This is effortless, clean and yet, still trendy. Love.

So simple but yet so sexy

URU comes from an ancient Swahili word which can be best summed up as "an essence" - the mythological status of a diamond; the mystical attribute which fuels the age-old belief that these stones bring the wearer strength, prosperity and respect.

And when one thinks of diamonds, one immediately thinks such pieces would be way out of one's reach. But URU started actually as a hobby for a fisherman in Tanzania who made hand bands from fishing line and sold them on the highway. Fast forward to today and these handmade bands have been refined and the precious metal and stones added to create fashion accessories that are both simple and high quality.

There are pieces fitted with real diamonds. The beauty in the pieces comes from the uncut nature of the gems that the bands are fitted with. These gems are sourced in Tanzania and are bought from small scale miners there. It is important to note that all the gems are conflict free, and the bracelets are handmade by skilled artisans and tradesmen. The gems range from tanzanite, tsavorite, red spinel, emerald, and as mentioned earlier diamond. All the gems are bought and fitted into the pieces in their ‘rough’ state, which makes them more affordable than pieces featuring cut stones. The distinctive bracelet combines the URU stones in their moulded metal mounts with a handmade bangle, created using a wrapping and knotting method employed for centuries on the dhows of east Africa. The fisherman’s technique was refined to produce the bright, contemporary designs you see today including the elegant sliding clasp.

Every URU bracelet has 40-60 metres of thread, which is knotted by hand. It takes up to 5 hours for just one piece and no two bracelets are the same.

The URU bracelets are all made by hand - woven carefully by skilled artisans in Tanzania

They come in a variety of colours allowing you to match your bracelet to your mood or your outfit. Also because they are unisex,  if you have a significant other you can swap bands when your mood or outfit changes.I like that! There are also leather pieces, like this one.

For the girls (or guys) who love pink - Ostrich  leather/tanzanite

In fact you can do just about anything with your URU bracelets. You can wear them on a piece by piece basis, or in multi-coloured stacks. URU is about you really - your personal style.

URU under the bright Caribbean sun! Love.

Prices for the bracelets depend on the style of the bracelet as well as the type/size of the gem.

URU TT is currently based in Mount Hope, Trinidad but for enquiries or showings you can reach them via any of the following:

Mobile: 1-868-791-0525
Email:aleminc29@gmail.com 
Instagram: URUTrinidad 
Facebook: URUTT

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Fat, Fun and Fashion in 'American Hustle'

So one of the movies I was eagerly anticipating in 2013 was American Hustle, starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner.

The movie is a fictionalised account of the ABSCAM sting operation conducted by the FBI in the late 70s to snare crooked politicians. I must say, the movie exceeded my expectations. It was crazy, fun, hilarious at times, and riddled with solid performances, particularly by Jennifer Lawrence, and with a bit of personal bias here, Christian Bale. Jennifer Lawrence's performance was fantastic -from whacky to vulnerable - she was perfect, and a great foil to Bale's Irving Rosenfeld.

However, let’s get to the meat of the matter, the critical word here being MEAT. Christian Bale put on an extra 43 pounds on his Dark Knight Rises frame for the role of Irving Rosenfeld in American Hustle. Now while I knew this, seeing it before me was a bit jarring. Gone was the hunk who saved Gotham and did those sexy push-ups in his bedroom in the Wayne mansion. Here was this slob with a really, really out-of-this-world combover. The opening scene which shows him perfecting this hairstyle, and later, where Bradley Cooper's character messes it up - priceless!!! But oh, this non-sexy Christian Bale took some getting used to.

Christian Bale (left) pre-Hustle - ever so sexy; Christian Bale (right) in American Hustle

That gut really was something else. Ugh. And look at those legs!

It was great!!! He has already lost a good deal of the flab (what's the secret, Chris?) and is almost back to his pre-Hustle size. All this weight gain and weight loss, which he in particular is known to do, cannot be healthy, no matter how healthy it makes his bank account.


David O. Russell, the director of this movie did a great job in making super sexy guys look a hot mess. It was bad enough having to watch Christian Bale look like the Michelin man. But then, there was also Bradley Cooper with perm rods in his hair every night, to transform his sexy coif into the white man jherri curl. I was really not feeling the white man jherri curl, Bradley.

Bradley Cooper in American Hustle

I also loved the late 70s fashion. Not all of it was bad. The 70s represented a very fierce decade, and between the drugs and corruption, there was still a gleam of light in the fashion industry. Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence rocked the bling, the boobage, the hair and some pretty swanky outfits.

Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle

Amy Adams is 70s fierce

But the movie was great fun. I was over the moon with the appearance of my fave actor, perhaps ever, Robert de Niro, which I was not at all expecting. Also, if you are a lover of 70s music, as I am, the soundtrack is bangin'. The movie is well deserving of the hype around it, and its award nominations so far. It's a great psychedelic ride - a ride I really enjoyed. My kinda film!

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Effortless Beauty, My A...

I hate going to the salon. I like what I get out of the visit - cute hair, cute nails, cute eyebrows, cute skin - but I hate the actual process.

With the Christmas season in full effect and all the ridiculous awesome events that become necessary in my world, I often take advantage and get myself in some kinda order. I cannot tell you the last time I had a manicure for example but bet your last dollar, the season is a catalyst for my nails being rescued from myself.

Had I tried to do this myself on that day, it would have been a mess. I just have NO TIME!

With one party on Friday, I called ahead of time and booked my appointment with my hairdresser.

My hairdresser - nice lady, super talented with a pair of scissors, a jar of hair dye and the like - but so chatty. I don't mind chatty, and salon banter is among the best kind of ole talk any woman can find. But I do not appreciate it when it compromises my time. She chats and when she chats, she stops whatever she is doing to get her chat on. I prepared myself for maybe an extra half hour for the most. How naive of me.

So I get there for my 9am appointment and one woman is on the chair, with a relaxer being applied, and another is waiting. No assistant in sight. Bad mood begins...now. I mean, I had volunteered to come earlier to avoid all this, and was assured that Friday was a slow day and I would be in and out. I had a FULL day ahead and having already not slept well on Thursday, was loathe to spend all morning smelling relaxers and hair colour.

But sit I did, and sit I had to. After applying first relaxer, she hustled me into the chair and started in earnest on my coif, but then lady in the back says the relaxer is burning and she hustles to rescue her and then hustles me out of the chair again to start on relaxer #2. Still no assistant. Bad mood grows.

Still, in trying to avoid being a bitch, I decided to use second relaxer application time to get a simple polish - since a full manicure was going to be impossible with my time now being wasted here. But chattiness is clearly the M.O. in here cause my simple polish became a funeral procession, with nail polish wand in mid-air on many an occasion while nail polish girl made a point with her hands. Multitasking - one can argue one's point and still get the nail polish job done in quick time. Every time she took that brush off my nail, and waved it around while arguing, I cut my eye at her so hard she should have exploded. I mean, WTF!!!

In the meantime, I am glancing over my shoulder to see where relaxer #2 is at and she is almost done. But then, relaxer #1 needs to blow dry and style. Flabber-effin-gasted. But then it works since nail polish wand is still everywhere else but on my finger nails. By this time, I am so vex I could burst.

After hairstyle is completed, I see another woman, who came in a good hour after I did, hustling her rotund ass to the chair....MY chair...trying to get her hair 'did'. Well, it was at this point, I just could not hold it in any longer!

Me: Excuse me. You just got here. You have to wait cause I am next.
Her: But you are polishing
Me: I will be done in 5 seconds (cut eye at nail girl, who took the hint) and my 9am appointment is already long overdue so unless your appointment was at 8.30, I am next. (and in my mind, I say "yuh better haul yuh ass back to your seat, lady")

The cut eye she gave me, could not begin to rival the cut eye I gave her. Hairdresser also took the hint and burnt time making herself a cup of coffee so she could resist any temptation of doing Fat Mama's hair and avoid a cussout. I was now Scary Client.

Finally, I was in the chair again, and finally, she was working on me sans interruption until they started talking about the news, specifically the news about the little girl who was found dead in her home in Maloney, and in her deep emotional investment in this conversation, she snipped not the ends, but a wad of hair as in her mind, she had already consulted me on this style she wanted to give me, when in reality there was to be no new style - just a cute colour. I was too vex to react. Paralysis by vexation!!! I found the strength to mutter to myself and to my God - Sweet Jesus - cover this lady in your blood and with your mercy, or in other words, don't let me physically harm this woman! Needless to say, whether I wanted it or not, I was GETTING a new style, and I left that salon, at 1pm, with hair I hated, and with no time to do the 99 other things I needed to do that day. Just enough time to hustle back to my car, grab some toiletries and rush home.

I got home so hungry and so vex, I cleared the house (lol). But ever the optimist, I willed myself to make it right, saying cute accessories and a wicked green smokey eye would rescue me from total catastrophe.

My awesome necklace against the matching wrap in case I got cold in my
solid green strapless dress. Gotta love fashion recycling.

And it did. And actually, the hair was very, very pretty. Maybe it was my mega annoyance at the point in time, but I got home and I loved the hair. And I looked hot. I was tired and had a headache from eating nothing at all all day, but the night was a blast, and by the time my head hit the super comfy pillows at the hotel, I was exhausted but with a smile on my face. Still, it was a helluva day!

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Packing: Every Woman's Nightmare

I hate packing.

Even though it may be a short trip, I still hate it. It can be so tedious, especially as a woman, cause we all know, we gals are planners and we can then become indecisive. We think ahead and over think. And we have different needs to men. They can wear just about anything and look any old way. We just can't!

But I am getting better and with all the airline restrictions now, it has become mandatory to just leave some things behind. Gone are the days I would have an entire mini carry-on just for my toiletries. But some good tips I have tried to stick to in recent years.

Choose a foundation colour - Especially if like me, you're an accessoriser and your blouse has to match your shoes and handbag etc. Stick to a colour family and take just the accessories you need for that colour family. Or...

Play it safe with the accessories -  You cannot go wrong with black or brown sandals/heels, and a simple necklace and some diamond/gold/silver earrings. Don't overly stress yourself out with the accessorising. Have you seen other tourists lately, waist pouch and all? Once you don't look like them, you have won half the battle already!

Bronze palette - always a winner!

The Toiletries!!! - Here is my challenge. My dressing table is like a shop. Anything you can think of is on there. You need lotions and smelly stuff and hair stuff and night time stuff and mouth stuff. lol. How do you decide what stays and what goes? Well, you can't. But hey, day cream can work as a night cream. So what if you smell like vanilla for the entire vacation? Do you really need to smell musky or floral too? Make vanilla your signature smell for the trip. You also cannot go wrong with a bronze eye palette. It goes with almost everything, so you don't need to take the entire makeup bag! MAC will not burn to the ground because you left all your minis at home. Do you NEED to exfoliate or do a glycolic peel? Do you?

Don't overdo it with the "just in case" items - This is the REAL problem. The "Oh let me take this blouse just in case we go to a club, and this one just in case it is cold that night". Then there are 15 extra tops in the suitcase that you NEVER wear. I am not challenging the "just in case" items but keep it rational!!!

Plan (sensibly and without neurosis) - You can either write it down or lay the clothes out - but plan the outfits strategically, so you know what you are going to wear when. And stick to it. This way you pack just what you need and don't over-pack. You need space for souvenirs and other things when you're coming back home!!

Let's see how I do with this. I can give it, but can I follow it???

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Men - From One Awful Extreme to Another

Yesterday I saw the most ridiculous thing - a not-so-young creature,  in a shirt that was clearly picked out from the children's section, and it was so tight I wondered if the creature could breathe. Not to mention, the overly tight skinny pants which showed the "fullness" of the letter "I" shape.

The creature was a man.

Men's fashion has gone to the other end of the spectrum - from overly baggy, loose clothes - complete with pants falling off the waist - we have now evolved to men in slim to skinny fit clothes. And there is a difference - slim fit I can tolerate, cause it is not meant to be tight but instead is meant to accentuate the man's body.

Men's Slim Fit can be very sexy, if done correctly

Skinny fit in my opinion should be limited to teenagers, still finding themselves, and male models. The end.

Men's skinny fit is not it

This is not a sexy look. I don't think so anyway, so if it works for you and your man, great. The man yesterday was not a tween. This was a full grown homo sapien, with flecks of grey hair, so what were you doing, man?

Slim Fit shirt - very sexy

Like women, age appropriateness is key. The skinny fit look, while great for teenagers and angst-ridden 20-somethings, may not work if you're clockin' 50 - no matter how debonair and handsome you may be. Just don't do it.

Also, I would not wear an outfit that accentuated all the parts of my body I need to work on, so why on earth would a man, not in the best of shape, want to stuff his pudgy bits into a too-tight shirt?

Please, get some guidance on what works for you, size-wise, age-wise etc. Thank you.

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Spanx - Surely a New Method of Torture

(The blog looks different, doesn't it?)

I remember saying once, If I ever get to the point in my life where I need to buy and ultimately wear Spanx, I will shoot myself.


Pass me the gun!

I walked into the lingerie store yesterday and there I was - in the control undies section. I could hardly believe it myself. What a nightmare. I now understand the pain of the corset wearing ladies back in the day.

The sales girl was happy enough to show me all the various versions of this thing, while trying to be part of a fake sisterhood.

Oh yes. I have a pair of these. These are good.

She said this with a straight face as I did an internal eye roll because this heifer was as fat as a spaghetti stick with no obvious signs of lumps or bumps. Lady, gimme a break!

There was one brand of torture wear - it has to be torture to yank yourself into these contraptions, and risk fainting after an hour of having your guts compressed to their breaking point - called Body Wrap. The thing looked like mummification of the living. I could not understand how anyone could feel comfortable in that. Lingerie sessions are usually fun and sexy but this one was rather gloomy. On top of it all, these predators are making a killing off fat people. These things are not cheap. I mean, wow...I have to pay through my nose for your product to literally suck the air out of me?

I put Body Wrap, Spanx, Maidenform and all the other sick brands back on their racks and walked out the store in total denial, and without making a purchase. I have somehow convinced myself that in 6 days I can somehow miraculously transform my body from Michelin tyre dude to Heidi "The Body" Klum and can tell Spanx et al to bite me. I say this after confidently and unabashedly eating 2 chocolate chunk muffins and having a couple vodka spritzers today, not to mention the roti lunch. Lovely.

In reality, I will most likely be back in the store on Saturday morning to get me something so that my ass does not look like a satellite at my event that night. It does however give me yet another wake up call that I need to get myself back in gear with the workouts and also quit snacking. Seriously.

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Every Kitten Heel Does Not Have Its Day

The Kitten Heel

While watching this week's episode of "Basketball Wives", an important, yet apparently unacceptable trend reared its ugly head. The women, in between pulling each other's weaves out and calling each other "bitch", were aghast that one silly "wife", Kenya, was actually wearing...wait for it...kitten heels.

Now in case you needed reminding...

The kitten heel is the unhappy medium between a flat shoe and the seductress high heel. I will admit to owning shoes with kitten heels. Walking on sex bomb heels is not comfortable, and sometimes you want a bit of a heel. But I will admit, a kitten heel is no stand-in for a good and proper sexy high heeled shoe.

The sexy high heel

The kitten heel does not evoke the same sensual emotions which a high heeled shoe does. Men don't get tongue tied over a women's legs in kitten heels. The kitten heel does not elongate the leg or give definition to the calf. They are just   there.

But Michelle Obama wears them. I am sure a few of you own a pair. I admit to having a couple pairs. I prefer a high sexy heel, but they are not always practical or comfortable are they? So what do you think? To kitten or not to kitten?

Poor kitty.

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From Oompa Loompa to Glamazon!

Fierce as Tyra

I have a couple events coming up for which I needed formal evening dresses. Now that I am more oompa loompa than Tyra, I could not realistically depend on my stash of glamazon dresses in my wardrobe so I had made up my mind to face the store, face the horror of shopping for a dress. Now as I mentioned in an earlier post, shopping here can be traumatic. Add the fact that I am a wee bit (a lot) fatter than usual, I was definitely not looking forward to this.

It started off really shaky, but I would just like to say thank you to Peter Elias for saving a diva from potential dress failure. Not only did the store have dresses that looked halfway presentable, but all the dresses I tried on looked absolutely brilliant. I mean, the guy is not called the queen-maker for nothing. Having dressed several of our Miss Universe delegates in the past, I was really hoping for miracles. And yes...he still has the magic touch. I felt quite chuffed as the Brits would say, as I tried on dress after dress and got not just the "I am being paid to do this" accolades from the staff, but the genuine oohs and aahs from the other customers who kept asking for their size in the dresses I was trying, and from the husbands there with their wives (on the down low, of course...lol). It was fun. Shopping was fun again.

I could have bought all the gowns I tried, but woman cannot eat a dress when starvation hits, so I only got two. But I am happy...and for a moment, I did not feel like an oompa loompa but I felt like the diva I know I am.

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No Neck-idness Allowed!!

Over the past couple weeks, a few people have commented on various necklaces I have worn while out. Since I have not done a Fashion post in a while, I thought I would share these necklaces with you - just because I can. I love necklaces. Love. I think I have a pretty awesome neck. lol. So I like to dress it up ever so often. So here we go...

So first is this multi-hued necklace.

Multi-hued bead necklace

The photo probably does not do it justice, but this one is quite a conversation starter. Hmmm...you actually get a better look at it from this obviously cropped photo of me wearing it at a sporting event.

It really is pretty

Yeah. That's much better. Quite a few people like...no...love this necklace. Maybe because I see it all the time but I don't quite understand it. I mean I love it but I still smile at the reaction it gets. I typically pair this with black, blue or purple, with simple earrings and eyeshadow in various shades of blue. My mother actually bought me this necklace - one of the rare times her tastes and mine have been in happy alignment.

This one I bought when I got back from London...

Earth toned braided necklace

... and it is really gorgeous and goes well with my earth toned outfits. It's pretty great - I really love it - and it always gets compliments. I tend to wear it with brighter hues or earthy hues.

I don't like wearing yellow gold by itself cause I just love silver and platinum too much, so when I feel an outfit calls for gold accessories, I go for a two-toned accessory approach instead and this necklace is gorgeous and just perfect for that.

Two-toned flat necklace - great if you want a bit of pop!

It's great if the blouse or dress is a low scoop neck or strapless.

I bought this one for an edgier look so I tend to wear it more at night. It's silver and black leather - heavy-ish, but totally awesome.

Silver and black necklace - evening look

I am really lazy with earrings for everyday life. For evening - formal evening events, I will do a conversation piece type earring and go bare on the neck. For going to the movies or the bar, I buy larger earrings on occasion but on a regular day, I am happiest with my diamond studs and not much else. And rule of thumb really is - if you are doing a chunky necklace, keep the earrings really simple. There is nothing worse than seeing overdone accessories, with overdone makeup as well. Ugh.

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The Tragic Life of a Fashion In-Betweener

Gotta love Apple Bottom jeans.
Thank you Nelly!

Shopping in Trinidad can sometimes be very difficult for me. Not because I don't like shopping (what? don't like shopping?) but because I am an in-betweener, and in-betweeners have a really hard time getting clothes that fit right or fit at all.

An in-betweener is that girl who is not the photocopy of a pencil, and is also not a cinnabon away from weighing 500 pounds. The in-betweener is the girl who is somewhere in the middle - not exactly skinny but not obese. Retailers here shop on both ends of the spectrum and then display these items for sale. Having discovered a hole in my work jeans, I ventured bravely (foolishly) into the mall to scout out a replacement pair. It's bad enough that my ba-dunk-a-dunk is outta control and I always...always have to buy a pair one size too large in the waist just so the jeans can get past my hips and ass (except when buying Apple Bottoms, which were made for the apple-licious figure. I love my Apple Bottoms!!). 

It is even worse when your options are size nothing and size 28. I mean, how does that help me? I appreciate that someone out there who may be really really skinny or really really fat can look swanky in some jeans, but now I have to perhaps sew up this hole until I book a ticket to Miami or New York - just to get some jeans!! Or anything for that matter. 

REALLY??

Annoying.

And I must apologise again for the sporadic blogging. Life happens. Work has been a bit stressful. I have been more than a bit exhausted every single day. I wish I could give you more adjectives but it can become a bit of a sad story if I do. I am okay. Just living. Thanks to everyone who still visits despite all this, and my own lack of regular reading of your blogs. I do try. I do. I am visiting today so keep an eye out for my comments.

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Say Yes to the Dress. I said No!

HIDEOUS!!!

I went to the mall on a mission - to find a simple evening dress for this party I have to go to next week. I do not want to go to the party for a few reasons - I am tired and predict I will be tired next week too, I don't feel as hot as I should feel for glamming up, etc etc

But I went to the mall with an open mind. I came home with a all-in-one bag crammed with bundles - groceries, cute camisoles, a nice cardigan, but no dress.

I am really aghast at what was on offer.

1. The usual - sequins and shiny shit. I think sequins should be banned! Okay, that might be a bit harsh cause when done right, sequins can be quite stunning. When. Done. Right. What I saw was atrocious. Dresses with what looked like gold spray paint and what looked like they went buck wild with the glue gun and the sequins. I sucked my teeth in annoyance.

2. Jersey. The sales girl pointed me to the "evening dress" section of the store and they had a lot of jersey dresses. God. Jersey is not glam. Jersey is "head to the supermarket/head to the movies/have lunch with the girls". It's not evening! God help me. Accessorised nicely on the mannequin, one dress looked halfway presentable but the mannequin also does not have lumps and bumps like normal women. Jersey is not it!

3. I tried 3 dresses and then noticed that 2 other women tried 2 of the 3 dresses I was trying. They had them in various sizes and in gross quantities. Not cute! Did not know them but I just thought, oh my God...what if they are going to the same party? Reminded me of a story about a VP who was too cheap to buy a really nice dress and bought one of these dime-a-dozen getups for the staff party, only to see the kitchen assistant in the exact same dress. I have never bought a dress locally for this exact reason. I have always had my dresses custom made or I have bought them on my travels. The thought of being a twin at this party was not appealling to me.

I did not buy a dress. I jumped in a taxi and came home. I was not willing to shell out the money for one either especially as I am in the throes of buying a car. I will recycle something in storage. I washed one last week (it smelled musty from being in storage for over 2 years!!) and I am praying to God that this thing still fits me. Add this to the fact that I am going alone to this thing, with people I do not know, I'm just not excited. Can't wait for it to be over.

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Project Runway: Taking Fierce to a New Level

So I just watched last night's episode of Project Runway - The Unconventional Challenge - where the designers had to make a garment with materials bought from a pet store. Talk about fierce. I always love the unconventional challenges because it really brings the creativity to life. I said earlier this week that I have no crafty skills whatsoever but I do admire those who can bring life to the most mundane things - like pet stuff.

I must say, I really hated Bert's attitude last night. He won last week and thus had immunity from elimination this week and it seemed he was content to just coast on this fact. He sucked. You sucked, Bert.

Of course, I must highlight my Trini girl, Anya first. Her design was built from leashes and dog rope toys .

Anya's doggy design
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

It looked good but when I saw the top, I thought instantly of last week's design.  I just hope we see something completely different from her. But she is safe and lives to take part in another challenge. I love that I can watch my show and hear someone who sounds just like me.

My favourite though for this week, and he almost won it last night was Anthony Ryan's bird seed dress. I thought it was spectacular and if you did not know it was made from bird seed, you would probably want it. It looked great...amazing on the runway and was well executed for sure.

Anthony Ryan's bird seed dress
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

I also liked Joshua M's aquarium stone top and snake cage netting circle skirt, though I agree with the judges that his styling was just too much. The makeup was too garish, the shoes were hideous and the little tag thing hanging off the belt was unnecessary. But his design was gorgeous. I am amazed he made that pattern with the different coloured stones.

Joshua M's aquarium stone ensemble
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

The winner though was Olivier, with his blouse made from a dog bed and the skirt made from hamster cage filling. The model's eyebrows really did not work for me though. Looked very retro Star Trek.

Olivier's Pet Couture Winner
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

Next week the designers will work in pairs. Ugh. That can either make or break your design, depending on the person you are paired with. But what is also interesting, it is a fashion show featuring models on stilts so the designs are going to have be larger than life. Interesting to see how they use fabric and creativity to create a gorgeous, larger than life look.

Love this show. And does Heidi Klum ever gain weight? My God!

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Just a Little Bit of Bling Porn

I heart bling!

Bling. I love bling. I also love shoes and handbags and really great clothes, but I love jewellery. It’s funny that when people think of bling, they think of some tricked out, overly frosted, overdone person. That being said, I really loathe that look – rings on every finger, thick, heavy chains, with obscenely large pendants. It’s a trend especially among black men and it really boils my corn. Note to guys: you look like a drug dealer. Don’t do it.

But back to me. I prefer classic, less intrusive, yet beautiful pieces. You can make a statement without being in-your-face and gaudy.

I also rarely only wear non-yellow pieces. Somehow I never liked the way yellow gold looked against my skin, and always preferred items in silver, white gold or platinum. I would do a 2-toned piece though,  which allows me to keep my other accessory options pretty open.

My favourite purchase was undoubtedly my bling ring, which I bought on a whim one Saturday morning while walking through the mall. It was a rough week at work. I was a bit tired, a bit underwhelmed and there it was. Waiting. For. Me. It was worth every penny. I had to get it sized but other than that, it was made for my finger.

I also love blue, and is it any wonder that my birthstone is blue? So I have been looking forward to my graduation present and in times of blueness (the irony – the colour that makes me happiest is also used to describe sadness), I troll sites looking for bling. I found these gems this morning at Effy – awesome store, guys. I also found the soon-to-be-mine watch, cause I could use a new one, from Macy's. 

The power of the bling! I feel better already!

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When a Bra is NOT sexy

Plastic bra straps are a NO! Just don't do it!

This video (below) on being sexy, without being slutty, was too funny. But behind every joke there is always some level of seriousness. I agree with the four rules described in the video -

• show either legs or cleavage, not both
• draw attention to your best feature with accessories,
• don't wear very tight clothes but
• the NUMBER ONE rule - don't show your bra straps!

I cannot tell you how this annoys me. So you get out the shower, spend an hour or so of your life fixing your hair and your mascara, then you pick out your best strappy or strapless summer top, and then negate all that by wearing the wrong bra! It looks sloppy. It is the female version of men wearing pants that hang off their ass, thus showing their underwear. I don't even show my bra straps in the privacy of my own home. Worse, if the bra you are so intent on showing off is old, dingy and frowsy looking. Why would you want to show the world your dingy bra? Keep that under wraps! Please!

And let me emphasise, PLASTIC bra straps are not where it's at either and this is where I 100% agreed with the video. They are probably the worst idea ever concocted. Who thought wearing a bra with a cheap clear plastic strap was fashion-forward? Really? Ladies, the cheap plastic strap is simply clear. It is not invisible, which means I can still see it. My advice - spend a little money and invest in a good and reliable strapless bra. It took me a long time to find one that really worked for me, but when I found it, I made the investment. There are also different cuts of bra, with adjustable straps for different types of tops - racer back, low cut backs, etc. You can proudly wear your tube or halter tops this summer (well, not in England!!!), with a good bra!!!

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Maxi Friday

Earlier this week, with some inspiration from the awesome CP, I bravely wore one of my maxi dresses out and about in London. Since "summer" began, I had not worn any dresses because the weather has been less than summery. I had worn one earlier - in April - when the weather was well and truly hot. However, the erratic summer has not instilled any confidence in me. But I have decided to give the other dresses some coverage and today is slated to be a stunner of a day so will go spend some time outdoors and out of jeans.

I love this dress because it is comfy, has a full, floor length skirt, and most important, it is low maintenance - it did not cost much so I feel free to roll around in it. Add a cute belt and simple accessories and a matching shrug, and I am ready to roll.

And of course - Flip flops!

Happy Friday everyone!!

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Fashion Musings by Trininista

Yesterday's day out sparked a few OMG moments in my rational fashion mind and I just wanted to express just a few fashion musings today.

1. Try as much as possible to always put on a great show...or at least a decent show.

I love colour contrasts. You should too.

Looking good should not just be because you want to impress someone. It should be about how you feel and about feeling good about yourself. So even if you don't have a date, or you're not meeting anyone or going anywhere in particular, one should always aim to feel good about the way one looks. Aim for hotness, based on what hotness means to you. I don't know how many times I have to say this. Once. Twice.

When I got dressed yesterday morning, I had no idea I would eventually meet up with someone. I chose a t-shirt in my favourite colour (looking at my blog, do you need to ask what that is?), a pair of jeans and cute blue denim pumps. I accessorised with a blue pashmina and as the sun peeked out for a couple minutes, I used shades of green (MAC Greensmoke) and blue (Sacha blue something) on my eyes with just a touch of mascara (never leave home without it!). The end result was not Trinidad's Next Top Model but it was me and I was happy with it and felt I looked cute. So when with 5 minutes to catch my train, I got the text with my friend (a man) agreeing to meet me for ice cream, I was not scrambling to change into something presentable. And...I got a compliment, and coming from this dude - major win!

2. Don't be afraid of accessories.

One of my fave bracelets ever

You may think you can't pull off some of the summer styles, or may be a very easygoing, laid back kinda gal. I love comfort. Jeans, baby tee and flip flops. But you can always glam even the most middle of the road outfit and make it unique to you. Don't be afraid of scarves or cute hair accessories. Don't be afraid of big or colourful pieces of jewellry. Make them your signature pieces. A great necklace or bracelet can punch up any ole t-shirt. I have a cheap green t-shirt that I love wearing (i.e. beat to death) and usually pair it with jeans and gold coloured flip flops. For that reason, I add a great bracelet with it.

Yes. I wore blue twice yesterday. Bite me!

But don't overdo it either. My rule of thumb is, if the ears are busy, keep the neck free and vice versa - if you are going to wear a bold necklace, wear simple earrings. So I busied up the ears with these earrings last night and left my neck bare, but added a bold bracelet. I saw too many women with too many things going on last night - chandileer earrings with bold necklaces and huge rings and a million bracelets and let's not talk about the makeup...

3. Or let's. The makeup.

Gonna keep this one real simple. This may not be your bag of tea but it works for me. If, God help you, you are going to do a really heavy eye, like a smokey eye, don't add insult to the face with a bold, garish lip. A soft gloss would suffice. The bat wings aka fake eyelashes AND a neon lip just...wow...I am surprised these girls have significant others.

4. Please dress for your body

While I totally advocate hotness across the board, please understand that hot does not mean tight, revealing or short. You can look totally smokin' in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with some flip flops (I have convinced myself of this). It's all about the way you carry the outfit and yourself. And while I am not myself a skinny minny and I think beauty has nothing to do with dress size, it does have to do with dressing to fit your body. For example: Ladies, if your breasts require a size 36D bra, please do not try to squeeze those suckers into a 36C. I cannot tell you how much boob spillage I saw yesterday alone. Isn't that uncomfortable?

5. Heels

I love heels. I mean,duh...my blog title says it all. However, I am also practical. Last night, despite modern convention, I wore a pair of flat pumps to a night out in the club. This after too many hellish London nights, trying to find bus stops etc and my feet screaming in heels. So I left the heels in the cupboard and bravely wore my black flats. They were cute, stylish and went nicely with my pants. Guess what? Noone cared. Not the person I went with, not the people in the club. In Trinidad, where I owned a car and would just need to walk from the car park to the venue, heels on a night out were not an issue. Here, where everywhere entails a proper walk, and where last night, I spent about 15 minutes looking for the rahtid bus stop, flat (cute) shoes were required. I was happy to see other sexy ladies rocking the summer sandals and low heeled pumps and also quite amused to see the skyscraper heels and the women who sat all night in them. I mean, why come to a club if you're going to sit, sour-faced all night, and then quarrel with your boyfriend or husband because he did not drive and you now have to face the walk to catch your night bus?

That's it for today. I get these sudden urges to speak out against the atrocities I witness sometimes.

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The Suit Maketh The Man

So you will probably be hearing me rant about my Master's dissertation over the next several weeks. While I will not bore you with the mechanics of it, my sample is comprised of FTSE 100 companies. This means that I will probably be heading down to The City a few more times before this nightmare is over.

For the non-Brits, The City is a casual way of referring to London's financial district. It's akin to Wall Street in New York, I guess. The best part about this neck of the woods is that generally, my eyes are not assaulted by grungy fashion. Indeed, I am a sucker for a man in a suit. Sucker! So just sitting on a bench for 5 minutes, admiring the well dressed men first, and the people in general, second is a joy.

It's a huge deal. While I am wholly supportive of people expressing themselves through their clothes and so on, some of the fashion statements can be pretty darn scary. I don't get for example, why any woman would leave the house in a pair of ripped tights (pantyhose), or men wear t-shirts with obvious stains or wear their pants hanging off their asses. And worse than the pants hanging off their butts, is the yucky, grungy looking underwear which assault my optical senses. If you must participate in urban fashion statements, can you at least invest in clean, non-crusty looking underwear?

And speaking of tights, they are not pants, ladies. So unless you are wearing black boy shorts under them, please cover your ass with a skirt or dress (note, I did not say shorts - I never could wrap my head around the concept of wearing tights with shorts. It looks stupid!). I have seen too many white or coloured panties in the street under nylon hose pretending to be pants! And it was like the Daily Mail had read my mind, or just that the trend is so popular that it is everywhere!

So I sat on a bench on Tuesday and just enjoyed well dressed people, specifically the men I admit. It was like Christmas!

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Danger: A Trip Into Trininista's Handbag.

Today I asked my Facebook friends - what's in your handbag?

I then decided that Pablo and I would show you what was in my handbag! It was a long journey. lol.

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Wedding Minx or Wedding Jinx?

Is it bad luck to try on wedding dresses as a single, "no man in sight" woman? Or to go ring shopping?

Is it bad luck to not wear white for your wedding?

Growing up, if my mother caught me wearing a ring on my (engagement/wedding) ring finger, I would be reminded that it was bad luck and I would never get married. Well, I am living proof for sure that the old wives' tale is true! lol.

That being said, I think I have crossed the jinx line years ago and so, maybe trying on wedding dresses for fun would not do much more damage to my already tainted and irreparable nuptial fortune.

Weddings and brides and couples and rings and dresses were all around me today for some reason. I took that as a sign to say my piece on the whole thing. I think I am way past the age of the virginal white frock and I already know what I want - IF this grand occasion ever takes place. Colour. It's all about colour. I won't go as wild as a totally non-white dress. In my world of traditional women, this will definitely not go over well, especially with the maternal unit. However, something like this ...no...exactly like this, will be perfect.

Photo credit: David's Bridal

I have liked this style for a while now - the shade of blue may change but I defo want blue in there.

And of course you need the ring to match. I love sites like  thatallow you to design your own rings. I could spend all day doing this stuff! All day!! I just love bling! And bling loves me!

Sensing a blue trend here? It's my favourite colour.

And then there is the case of the black wedding dress.

Photo credit: Crystal Clear Imagery
Source: Style Me Pretty

This bride (above) chose an exquisite black dress to say her vows to the man she loves and I can already see older women around the world making the sign of the cross in absolute horror, but I don't know - I think she pulled it off. Maybe it would not work for everyone and I would not wear a black dress, and not just because my mother and aunts would bathe me in holy water if I did, but because it is not to my taste for my wedding. But I think she looks lovely.

So...would you wear black to your wedding? And do you think it is safe for me to grab a girlfriend, make up a wedding date, slip a ring on my finger, and go squeeze my booty into some lovely frothy wedding numbers for kicks?

Why not! I think it's a great girly day out. What have I got to lose? Well, according to some women and to old wives' tales - EVERYTHING!!!

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