Things you want to know before.......

.......you go all natural with your hair.

I’ve done this transition a couple of times and frankly there’s this horrible in between moment where your hair acts the equivalent of a toddler on a sugar rush – totally out of control!

Here are some things I wish I’d known up front that hopefully will help you should you feel the need to return to your hair roots!

Your natural hair is nothing like your friend Tasha’s natural hair (or whichever superstar natural do you were coveting) I had my heart set on Tracy Ellis Ross’ long ‘fro. Turns out, in its natural state, my hair doesn’t do long, it does big and the longer my hair gets, the bigger my head. Also, to get it to look “long” required more time and products than my normal perm. Go figure!

You could end up looking like a child. “You look so young” was the first thing my stylist said when he’d finished doing the deed (chopping off the unwanted tresses). I looked in the mirror and I saw my 14 year old sister looking back at me – not an inspiring professional look!

No matter what India Arie says (or sings), from most people’s perspective, you are actually your hair. They take one look at your hair and judge you. Because our hair doesn’t grow as long as Caucasian hair, growing it out can sometimes be a life-long battle and you cutting it can be interpreted as a sign of “quitting”. Crazy, but true!

You could become a militant. I found myself preaching the joys of natural hair to all and sundry. Particularly to the girl spending 3 hours at the salon getting her hair retouched and all while I popped in for my 30 min mani-pedi (they have two girls work on me at once, I’m not known for my patience!). Bottom line, it’s a personal choice and it’s not pretty when you try to force it down people’s throats!

But just before you think it’s all impending gloom and doom....

Men seem to like it. I have no scientific evidence of this other than the fact that with my hair as it is now, I do not attract comments on it from random men. When it was natural, random men felt compelled to compliment it – all the time!! 

Hopefully I’ve shed some light on the subject. Follow my girl on Twitter for more updates on how to keep rocking whatever style you have, the African way.

Bye!

Sweet little nothings.

It’s a natural progression (in my mind anyway!) from my last post about swimwear to this post about..........lingerie!

If you don’t love the feeling of having your very own naughty secret brought on by wearing something sexy next to your skin then I’m afraid we can no longer be friends! 

Seriously though, I love lingerie, I think there’s something sultry and sassy about it, something essentially feminine.

So as usual, I looked around to bring you the best of what I could find. To be honest, there aren’t that many lingerie designers in Africa, at least not many that I came across. If you know of any, please do let me know.

One interesting story is a brand called Nafytoo.

What I found fascinating about this particular brand is that the designer, Senegalese Nafissatou chose to design lingerie despite being from a mainly Muslim country where such topics are taboo to say the least.

She uses light cotton materials and a lot of crochet detailing and glass pearling.

The one thing I wondered though, was the practicality of her designs for every day wear.

Have a look at her website though and tell me what you think.

Another Senegalese lingerie brand in a similar vein is Kira Creations. 

I found another lingerie designer and immediately thought “Yes! Her designs are much more accessible” then instantly felt ashamed of myself. 

What it actually is, is that the designs are more in keeping with lingerie as we’ve come to know it, Western style. I guess it boils down to personal preference but I’ve decided that in order to be truly Afrocentric then I’ll embrace what’s outside of my usual comfort zone so I’ll be switching things up and getting some Nafytoo lingerie for starters to wear under whatever fabulous African outfit sits atop it best!

That’s just me though! The designer I was talking about (before I got sidetracked) is Nigerian Patience Torlowei. She is based in Belgium and her line is called Patience Please.

To be honest, I didn’t get much of a sense of Africa from the designs I saw but don’t take my word for it. Check out http://www.ptorlowei.com/ and make your own mind up.

So, calling on all African lingerie designers – holler if you’re out there!

The swimsuit

So, are you a tankini, one piece, bikini or tiny piece of butt floss kind of swimsuit girl?

Believe it or not, I’ve never worn a bikini. I used to be shy, then I had all sorts of body issues and wished I’d worn one earlier but now, at the ripe old age of (yeah right, like I’m about to go there!)...I’ve decided to hell with it, I’m going to wear a bikini and whoever doesn’t like it can take a flying leap!

Being the Afrolicious diva that I am, the first thing I then thought was hmmm, I wonder if I can get my hands on some African inspired swim wear. Well, here’s what I came up with.

Mara Hoffman’s Spring 2011 collection of swimwear is African inspired!

You can see the entire look book here but this is a sample of what she has in store.

Courtesy of fashionologie.com

So, what's the verdict? Hot or not?

My personal opinion was that somehow they just weren’t African enough. Mainly because the designers weren’t African.

So I set about trying to discover African designers of swimwear. Guess what? They actually exist!!!

If you’re up on your African fashion then you’ve heard of Black Coffee, Stoned Cherrie and Aya Morrison just to name a few. If you haven’t, quick download: Black Coffee and Stoned Cherrie are both South African design powerhouses. Aya Morrison is a young Ghanaian talent. 

So I sifted through some of their designs and decided to share my favourites with you.

Aya Morrison designs

Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! Sexy, sassy and definitely with African flair. Do you think I was swayed by the models?! 

Then there was also Bantu Wax Beachwear designed by Kenyan Yodit Eklund. As well as looking good, these designs are socially conscious and support local economies.

I’m also loving these.

What do you guys think? Do you know of any more African designer swim wear? If you do, please share – I’m dying to get my bikini on!!

See you soon!