OOTD: Motownphilly Back Again

Such a dark, dank, and rainy day here in Indianapolis. had to take my OOTD inside...in a stairwell. Remember back in the 90's when Boys II Men and Mary J. made it cool to wear neckties. I had so many neckties in high school, it was an illness...Looney Tunes ties...solid colored ties...crazy! Anyhoo, I thought I'd reach into my high school days and do something fun. Yeah...I forgot my accessories today. Kiran and I are not morning people...so we fuss and fight and cry every morning. These were one of those mornings!

Shirt: Roaman's ~ Jeggings: Torrid ~ Necktie: Walmart ~ Vest: K&G Fashion Superstore ~ Boots: Old Navy

Have a GREAT day...thank God for the short week!

Janelle



OOTD: Houndstooth & Leopard RAWR

Angela and I have a great past time...going through Facebook and finding ghetto pics. It really makes the work day go by fast and it brings joy to our lives. We've noticed, so many people are doing impromptu photo shoots. So at work this morning, we decided to have our own mini photo shoot outside of our office.

On Janelle: Scarf: Lane Bryant ~ Blazer: Ashley Stewart ~ Tank: K&G Fashion Superstore ~ Jeans: Lane Bryant T3 ~ Purse: Goodwill

On Angela: Sweater: Lane Bryant ~ Cami: Lane Bryant ~ Skirt: Old Navy ~ Tights: Avenue ~ Boots: Lane Bryant

And for my ghetto pic of the day...naturally a prison pose. It was kinda hard to stand up after this...I need to do some squats!

Janelle



Reflection: Give Me Some Candy Lady

Picture taken from Candy Land Wiki

So I was playing Candy Land with Kiran last night...you know spending some quality time with the kid. She picks her card and it takes her to Peanut Ville or something or other and she screams in excitement, OOOHHH I'm winning...I get to go to the Peanut Lady!! She's big and fat just like you! 

The fat girl in me almost forgot Kiran is a five year old and wanted to punch her in the mouth. Instead I shook it off and said that is not nice then nothing else was said. Kiran looked at me like what did I do?!?! We wrapped up the game, I put her little butt in the tub for bath time, then completed our nightly ritual.

Once Kiran was in bed, my emotions got the best of me and I ate eight chocolate single serving bars from her Halloween basket. Take that little one...the big fat lady is smashing your Crunch bars!!  As the chocolate overtook my mouth, I came to and couldn't believe the comments of a kindergartner would cause me to go into a depression...and later possibly a diabetic coma. 

Then I pull myself together and remember Kiran is coming from a background that is engulfed in the obsession with size. My sister is a size zero and still thinks she could lose a few pounds. One of the reasons she had an issue with Kiran not being involved in her dance classes as much as she told my mother...she didn't want Kiran to sit over my house and get fat. 

It also brought me to the realization I still have a ways to go before I'm truly comfortable in my own skin with  my own size. Yes...I do stand to lose some weight health wise, but I also need to re-evaluate the situation and see why that comment got under my skin.

I will say this...it's time for Kiran and I to have the beauty and self acceptance talk. I don't want her to obsess over weight the way her mother and I do. I don't want it to control or take over her life. I don't want her to look at someone and the first thing she sees is weight, height, race or disability. I want her to be a healthy young woman inside and out, but first I have to deal with some demons myself.

I will say this...at least Gamma Nutt knows how to accessorize!

Janelle

Indianapolis Welcomes Pattern

Last night, fashion professionals from Indianapolis and the surrounding cities got together at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art to introduce Pattern. Pattern, birthed from the Indianapolis Fashion Collective,  is a new fashion hub fostering creativity, ingenuity and bringing the fashion community of Indianapolis together for networking and growth opportunities.

Five fashion related businesses got to introduce their services to the guest that attended. They were Aesthetic Design Style House (the fashion services company I work for), Bullet Boutfits (a roller derby clothing line), T.Party & The Snappy Dresser (Kaitlyn Elise's t-shirt company and personal shopping/styling boutique), Minx Vintage (a blog and vintage boutique), and LModelz Model Management. 

 

It was great to be in a room with some AHMAZING and extraordinary people. Pattern will be meeting once a month in different venues throughout the city of Indianapolis. If you are in Indy, you have to make sure to attend one of the future events.

 

 Designer, Co-Worker & friend Amber Fitzgerald with her bestie from England, Emma Jesson

The cutest outfit I saw at IndySwank, a boutique located in the Murphy Building in Fountain Square.

The museum was a wonderful place to host this type of event.

Leslie Turner, Owner of LModelz Management & Designer Catherine Fritsch

Professional Makeup Artist, Kathy Moberly & My friend and boss lady, Julia Rutland of Aesthetic Design Style House

To learn more about Pattern and the fashion community in Indianapolis, make sure you follow them on Facebook and visit their website, IndianapolisFashion.org. 

Janelle

This Week's Fashion Inspiration: Men's Wear

I got my Harper's Bazaar this past weekend. I love fashion magazines, Jason would even say I'm obsessed with them. I've done A LOT better! In the past, I subscribed to every fashion rag there was. I had laundry baskets full of magazines...I didn't want to throw them away just in case I saw something I wanted to copy or something that caught my eye. Now I only have one subscription now that my Vogue has expired; Harper's...you're my only friend!

Black, white and red is my FAVORITE color scheme. I could dress in those colors at all times. In fact, I have to make myself by some color in my wardrobe. But these two pics from Harper's caught my eye this weekend and they are my fashion inspiration for the week.

I love menswear! In the fall and winter, I barely wear dresses or skirts. Hey...don't judge I live in Indiana and with the cold and snow, skirts are sometimes not an option...AND I HATE TIGHTS AND PANTYHO!!  (Yes I call pantyhose, pantyho, I had a friend in college and that's what is mother used to call them...it's stuck with me ever since.) I'm really stocking up on menswear pieces and I plan to post a menswear OOTD soon. In the meantime...feast on this!

Janelle

Reflection: Race Relations in the Indianapolis Fashion Industry

Indianapolis is one of the most segregated cities in the Midwest. I've come to terms with that...really I have. I grew up in a world where there was no color. People gasped at me when I brought a white man home to visit my family. What did your family say? Say about what?!?! Well....you know about Jason being white? Umm...my family didn't say anything. I don't think they even noticed. I've been in love with every race there is...I'm an equal opportunity lover. (I haven't dated an Asian though, need to fill that void...no really just kidding!) And it's not that I'm naive about race, hatred, and exclusion; it's out there and it's stronger than ever. I just try not to let it rule my life.

This time last year, I decided to follow a dream of mine and work in the fashion industry here in Indianapolis. I didn't know much about our fashion scene, but I knew one was out there. So I started researching to see where I would fit in. I have met so many new and exciting people since I've started to surface among the scene. Too many people to name...but you know who your are. I've also learned of many catty fights and division in the ranks. What do you expect? It is fashion...the mother of all cattiness, but I didn't expect any racial division. I don't know why, it's Indianapolis.

In Indianapolis, we have the black clubs and the white clubs...black stores and the white stores...black salons and white salons. Now don't get me wrong...there are some people of both races that break the mold. They don't follow the status quo and visit places that cater toward the opposite race. But the fashion industry....really?

I saw on Facebook last week a boycott against Midwest Fashion Week because it's founder, a Haitian male has been accused of purposely not promoting African American models and/or designers, because he's ashamed of his African heritage. I was floored, because this same issue was on the tongues of some when the Indianapolis Fashion Collective started. Many people said the organization was full of elitist and didn't want to particpate because they saw no representation of color within the ranks or there was no representation from IFC at the "black" fashion events. STOP PEOPLE!

Are people being too touchy? Are people looking for something to bitch about or does the Indianapolis fashion industry have a problem with color? I think certain people do, we cannot change the ignorance of those who choose to walk down a path of intolerance. But what we can do is support each other, whether that person, model, designer, photographer, or corporation is black or white or any other ethnicity or creed. Let's stop focusing on and fueling the color line, but lets step over it. Because Indianapolis is filled with talent from all sides; just think if we truly all came together and worked on making Indy the new fashion hub of the Midwest. We would be unstoppable.

Janelle 

Weekend Love & OOTD

This weekend was my anniversary celebration. Because our anniversary was during the week and we had the little one, we had to postpone our festivites until the weekend. Jason and I went to our favorite restaurant, Ruth Chris Steak House, and we came home to a nice bottle of Easley's Reggae Blush wine. Thanks to the beautiful staff at Ruth Chris for making our anniversary wonderful!

In front of the basis of our fights for the past few weeks, the Great Camero Caper of 2011!

Yes...and I took pictures of what I wore...WHAT?!?! This is one of my favorite outfits. It's so light and comfortable. Plus the whole outfit cost under $25!! Yeah...no lie!

Cardigan: Cynthia Rowley Marshall's Clearance $9.99 Dress: Norma Kamali Walmart (Online) $12.99 Boots: Old Navy ~ Two seasons ago

Fashion doesn't have to be expensive!

On a side note, today is picture day at Kiran's school. Ugh for picture day...getting her dressed in the morning is like a part time job, now just add tights. So here is her OOTD...

So early in the morning...

Janelle

We've Come A Long Way, Baby

No...I'm not talking about Virginia Slim cigarettes! It's Jason and I's fifth anniversary. I can't believe it's been five years. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. It's been one crazy ride. I've been blessed by God to find a best friend, a lover, a confidant and a kindred spirit all wrapped up in a 6'2 package.

2007/2008

2008

2009



2007

2009

Here's to many more years together...love you DJ Wonderloaf!!

Janelle



Fall is Death...LET ME EXPLAIN!

Fall is my FAVORITE time a year. I love wearing sweaters and drinking warm apple cider. I love the brisk wind as it whips through my open windows at night as a snuggle with Jay because we've got no where to go.

It's a season of transition. In my mind, fall is...well death. WAIT!! LET ME FINISH!!  Look around you. Look at the trees with their reds, oranges and yellow leaves or barren with skinny twigs blowing in the breeze. Gestation dying...animals preparing for a seasonal death. Halloween and the Day of the Dead, two holidays that focus on the afterlife or all things fearful. Fall is death, but sets us up for preparation of a new year..new lives.

Now to get prepared for winter and wait for the other transition period...spring. The season that brings life and fruitfulness.

I have a group of friends...we play together...we drink together...we eat together...we cry together...we do everything...well together. But once in a while, we like to get our families together and do some bonding. For our fall outing, I decided we celebrate the season by going to Waterman's Family Farm here in Indianapolis, IN. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day.

Kiran with her second pumpkin of the season.

Donovan searching for that perfect one.

The kids running without a care in the world.

Indiana is so beautiful this time of year.

Kiran vs. Donovan the saga continues!

Welcome fall...oh how I've missed you!

Janelle

Midwest Fashion Week: October 19th - 22nd

One of the things that makes me proud to be in fashion in Indy is Midwest Fashion Week. In it's five year inception, MFW has grown from a small local event to one of the region's hottest fashion tickets. Midwest Fashion Week is hosted twice a year, once in March and the second is in October. Last MFW, I got to meet the AMAZING ladies from Eliza Parker.

The theme for MFW this quarter is Fashion is Empowerment and is sponsored by many of Indiana's leading companies, fashion houses and media. The itnerary has recently been posted for the October's events. I hope to get to at least one or two functions during the short week of festivities. To view the complete schedule, check the website.

Janelle

Natural Hair Topic: Henna

It's the fall, so it's time for protective styles for my natural hair. During the cold weather months, I do a LOT of wigs and scarves and underneath I usually put my hair in twist. My hair is growing and I'm almost at my one year big chop anniversary. 

I'm always looking for ways to elongate my curls and provide moisture to my hair. As a 4b hair type, those are the two things I struggle with the most. This weekend I did a henna treatment.  Henna can be used safely on ALL hair types and makes your hair stronger, provides a red tint to your locks, makes your hair shiny and it has NO chemicals.

I've tried it before thinking it would change my hair color dramatically, but I don't think I did it correctly. This time I used the information I got from two of my favorite natural hair care blogs, All Things O'Natural and Curly Nikki to help me with my henna journey.

What I used: I got this recipe from the Curly Nikki website:

1 100oz package of Henna from the Mehandi website 

2 cups of tea (Sleepytime tea which is a mixture of Chamomille and other teas)

Honey

2 caps of Apple Cider Vinegar

You mix the ingredients until you get a "chocolate pudding" type consistancy. I parted my hair into sections and applied throughout. Here is the worst part...I didn't use gloves so my hands are STILL dyed orange. I will stress to everyone...USE GLOVES!! AND PUT A TOWEL ON YOUR PILLOW WHEN YOU GO TO SLEEP...I ruined a pillowcase!

I kept on my hair for 12 hrs (well a little bit more...because I had meetings and errands to run). I washed it our with Aussie Moist conditioner and then shampooed with Creme of Nature's Coconut Detangling Shampoo. I then deep conditioned my hair, rinsed and put it back in twist with Kinky Curly's Knot Today.

Henna in da hurr...LOL!

I will have to say, detaingling was a bitch, and that was with the Knot Today. Next month, I have to work on that somehow. My hair does feel softer and my grey hair (what few strains I have) are an auburn brown color, but still no dramatic change in color. I think it will take sometime to gradually pick up the color after a few treatments. I will do henna again, and will try to do it once a month for now on.

Just me..no makeup...henna soaking in.

Have any of my natural friends tried henna?

Janelle

OOTD: Anything For You

I never do "outfits of the day" (OOTD), because I usually look somewhat of a hot mess when I go to work. This morning I got some energy, Kiran got up without coercion and I decided to actually dress for work today.

Now excuse my photos, I make Jason take photos of me but he always has an issue with doing it...so I'm usually yelling at him...he's yelling at me and annoyed. So I guess that's why I don't do many OOTDs...LOL!!

Cardigan: Lane Bryant
Tank Top: Torrid
Belt: Torrid
Pants: I haven't the slightest idea...
Shoes: Shoe Carnival

So there you go...I will get better with my OOTDs and find a more willing photographer!

Janelle