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Look of the Day: Maximum Mudcloth

Happy almost end of summer! I haven't been blogging as much this summer because I've been super busy working and having the time of my life. Fortunately, I've been able to fit in some fye summer looks. Introducing "Maximum Mucloth"! This past winter I picked up this fabulous mudcloth printed jacket on a thrifting adventure and I was stoked! While I've always adored African prints, mudcloth in specific was always one of my favorites. This is a vintage piece (of course) from The African Star straight out the 1980's/1990's. It's adorned with different prints ranging from primarily mudcloth to cowrie shells, people, animals, and even the words "Africa AD. 1590".

Mudcloth or "bogolanfini" (meaning "earth") comes from the West African country Mali and is a cotton fabric dyed with mud. Many Malian ethnic groups wear mudcloth, but the Bambara people are mainly known for wearing it. The cloth is made on a loom, hand dyed, and carries multiple cultural meanings from camouflaging to Malian women's initiation into womanhood. Like in many different cultures, different patterns on mudcloth signify different meanings.

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Photo: Africa Imports

Of course like many African and African inspired fashion of today, I added my own modern twist. I always envisioned this look with a 1990's ya dig:

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That's exactly what I did. The light blue shorts are vintage from Route 66 and the top is an airy, off shoulder, eyelet peasant blouse.

For accessories and jewelry, I wore my favorite cowrie shell choker, a beaded animal statement necklace, and my long grey socks from A'gaci I previously wore in my "Victorian Summer" LOTD to create a contrast. Did I mention I snagged the brown leather purse for a whopping 50 cents?! That will definitely be a staple for autumn looks.

My icing on top for this look was these dope chunky, platform heels by Soda. So late 1990's/early 2000's! I've had these shoes for years and I only rocked 'em once before. I think this really sets off the retro theme.

You guys will be seeing this jacket quite often in future looks because I'm that much in love with it! I think it's absolutely perfect for any season, but will be a big hit for autumn and spring.

Make-up Products:

elf Cosmetics Blemish Control Primer

Eylure Brow Pencil No. 10 Dark Brown

Marc Jacobs Shameless Youthful-Look 24-Hour Foundation in Y740

COVERGIRL Queen Natural Hue Mineral Bronzer in Light Bronze

Juvia's Place Nubian Eyeshadow Palette

Mented Cosmetics Lipstick in "Brand Nude"

Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara in "Blackest Black"

Makeup Revolution Luxury Banana Powder

BLAC Minerals Oil Control Powder

L.A. Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer in "Fawn"

Photography: Warren Alexander Photography

Shop Vintage:

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Look of the Day: Floral Garden Gawdess

What's summer without a romper?! I found this sassy, red and white floral romper this past winter and saved it for this perfect weather. It's a vintage 1990's piece from the brand Starshine Sunshine and super stinkin' cute. Floral prints are some of my favorites especially for the seasons of summer and spring, heck I'll even rock some in fall in winter too! The South Shore Cultural Center was a perfect location to shoot this flowery look!

In my last LOTD post, I rocked these super fly, retro cateye shades I snagged from A'gaci for the low-low and had to bring 'em back for this look. I also wore my crochet purse and vintage 1980's Coasters leather sandals too. Add a pair of doorknocker earrings, a gold chain and BOOM, straight 90's.

What I like mainly about this LOTD is how comfortable it is! I've been rocking this romper all summer because it's so easy and breezy haha. You can go straight casual or even dress it up with a metallic gold waist belt and a pair of heels for an evening look. Summertime rejoice!

Make-up Products:

elf Cosmetics Blemish Control Primer

Eylure Brow Pencil No. 10 Dark Brown

BLAC Minerals Foundation in "Cocoa"

Mented Cosmetics Lipstick in "Brand Nude"

Makeup Revolution Luxury Banana Powder

BLAC Minerals Oil Control Powder

L.A. Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer in "Fawn"

Photography: Warren Alexander Photography

Shop Vintage:

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7 Myths About Natural Hair

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

Throughout my travels on my natural hair journey, I've gained a lot of knowledge on hair from teaching myself and from doing research. The internet has been a super helpful tool for me in keeping my hair healthy and growing ranging from blogs, YouTube, to social media and forums. However, I've come across a lot of untruths about coils and kinks that may come from ignorance. For many years prior to the current Natural Hair Movement, there has been a lack of education on the maintenance on natural hair. Thankfully we're getting past this, but there are still some untruths floating around that I'd like to address:

1. "Natural hair products are too expensive!"

Now I do understand everyone's lifestyle and budget is different, but chile there are TOO many sales on natural hair products to sleep on. At stores like Walgreens (they also have a Balance Rewards program and you can always get points on beauty products), CVS, Target and on natural hair product websites for brands like Shea Moisture, Mielle Organics, Eden Bodyworks, Alikay Naturals, etc there are always sales ranging from BOGO to free shipping. I'll even do you one better and let you know you can find discounted natural hair products at stores like Dollar Tree, Rite Aid, Marshall's, and TJ Maxx.

Walgreens

Burlington

Contrary to popular belief, that 12oz $13 bottle of Alikay Naturals Coconut shampoo is going to last a good minute. My hair is thick as all get out and mid back length. I wash my hair once a week and a bottle of Camille Rose Naturals' Ginger Rinse lasts me about a month and a half.

TJ Maxx

Whole Foods

Target

Plus, you don't need a bunch of products anyway. I'm somewhat of a "product junkie", but I still keep it simple with shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, moisturizer, and oils. Don't think just because bloggers and content creators use fifty-'leven products, you have to the same. As quiet as it's kept, the current Natural Hair Movement was originally based on simplicity, cost efficiency, and low maintenance. While the original message has somewhat gotten lost in the array of products, tutorials, and seminars throughout the years, you can still go back to the basics and do what's best for you and your budget.

Keep it simple and find what works for your tresses. I tell naturals this all the time when asked for advice. Another option to save money is make your own natural hair products with ingredients like shea butter, black soap, essential oils, and mango butter. You can even use items from your kitchen like olive oil, honey, and avocado.

2. "Natural hair is hard to manage."

We have to stop listening to the old school fables aunts, moms, and grandmas told before they slathered a handful of Just for Me kiddie perm on our scalps at age 10. This myth goes back into the lack of education about natural hair. From my own experience, the key to keeping natural hair "manageable" is:

keeping your hair moisturized at all times
detangling your hair from the ends to the root if needed (I usually do this on "wash day")
finger detangling
don't take any opportunity for your hair to become matted or shrink too much. braid it up at night if necessary!
wash and style hair in sections

This is where patience and learning your own hair comes into play.

3. Protective styles = hair growth

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Photo: The Creamy Crack Rehab

I've discussed this before in a previous post and I have to be honest that I am seeing a trend of some people who may not be comfortable with their natural hair hide under "protective styles". Some even wear them constantly in order to "not deal with" their own hair. While protective styling is beneficial, it's not best to wear them all the time. Styles like braids, wigs, and sew-ins are great when your natural hair needs a short break, but be wary of major breakage on the crown and edges area from tight tension which can cause traction alopecia (from braids under sew-ins and styles like box braids), lace on wigs, wig caps, chemicals from weaves, and even from products like wig glues.

READ: What Black Women Need to Know About Hair Loss

Don't be afraid to opt for low manipulation styles like braid outs, twist outs, buns, twists, bantu knots, and more. If you want your hair to be healthy and grow, you're going to have to "deal" with it whether you like it or not. Simply rockin' a sew-in wont cut it and don't let people who already have long (natural) hair fool you into thinking protective styles is all it takes. Also keep in mind hair only grows 0.50 inches a month too with or without protective styles.

My personal motto is that when it comes to Black hair, there are no shortcuts and there's no easy way. Whether you have a relaxer, you're natural, rock wigs, or weaves, we just have to go the extra mile to take care of our hair.

4. "Natural hair isn't for everyone."

How the hell is something that naturally comes from me not for me?

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5. "The hair typing chart is discriminatory/useless."

There's a lot of debates in the Natural Hair Community on the usefulness or uselessness on the curl pattern chart. I find it to be useful and preposterous to assume it discriminates against any curl type. All the chart does is show your curl pattern and some suggest certain techniques and types of products to use in your hair. It's used in the beauty industry by professionals for styling purposes too. For example, a gal with thick, tightly coiled 4C hair wouldn't be 'round these parts doing certain techniques as someone with loosely curled 3A hair. Keep in mind the hair typing chart is not the end all be all, and you should always experiment with your own hair, but I do find it helpful.

6. "Men aren't attracted to women with natural hair."/ "They only like women with looser curls."

Now don't get me wrong, there are always going to be ignorant clowns, but personally I've never had an issue attracting men with my natural hair and many naturals can say the same. Some also believe that the men who do appreciate natural hair only like it when it's a Type 2 or Type 3 curl. Again, there's always going to be ignorance and discrimination, but there is appreciation for women with tighter Type 4 coils and kinks. To keep it a buck, texture discrimination comes on both sides as well. There are many woman-ran blogs, social media pages, and YouTube videos strictly promote loose curls and discriminate against texture.

Rock your curls for you and don't worry about the goof-balls who are still stuck on stupid when it comes to natural hair.

7. "Wash day takes all day."

Photo: dreadstop.tumblr.com

There are so many different methods, rinses, techniques, and treatments naturalistas use for their hair. Don't get overwhelmed with the ACV Rinses, pre-pooing, and bentonite clay masks. Usually these treatments are done when hair may be damaged or for an extra boost of growth. This is why it's important to do your own research and find what works for you.

As long as you're keeping your hair moisturized, deep conditioned, keeping your ends clipped every 3-4 months, and not stressing your hair or adding too much tension, you may not even have to do all those extras. Try to keep it simple at shampooing, deep/conditioning, leave-in conditioning, and moisturizing (LOC method) your hair for wash day and get into the groove of things before trying other methods.

All in all, it's up to you to find what works best for your hair. I have to reiterate that over and over. Even if you have a bomb ass hair stylist, you still have to put the work in because no one knows your curls like you do. Continue to do your own research.

What are other natural hair myths that need to be debunked?

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Look of the Day: Bantu Fest Badassery

Last weekend I attended Bantu Entertainment's annual summertime Bantu Fest. First off, the turn out was amazing and I had the most scrumptious vegan pulled pork from a food station called Turtle Island. So damn good, I'm still thinking about it. I even got a chance to do some photography and shot some photos of the gorgeous singer Amara La Negra.

I was actually inspired by Lauryn Hill's African printed dress during her May 2018 Brooklyn performance remixing Drake's "Nice For What", sampled by her 1999 hit song "Ex-Factor". If I had a matching headwrap, I woulda been drippin' too much sauce!

On a recent vintage shopping adventure, I spotted this beautiful African inspired dress from outside the store in the window. As soon as I stepped in, I grabbed her before someone else did! It's a vintage 1980's/1990's dress by Santė Classics. Not sure which African ethnic group the print is based from though. What I loved best about this dress other than the intricate design of warrior figures with spears and shields is how breezy it is. It's perfect for a hot summer day because of the thin fabric but can also be worn in multiple seasons and styled in different ways.

During another vintage shopping adventure, I found a couple of gorgeous vintage 1980's wood animal necklaces. This has been on my fashion list for the longest and I had to grab a couple! For this look, I wore my giraffe wood necklace since it has more of a neutral color theme. To add extra accessories, I rocked my crochet purse I wore in my "Summertime Fly" look and these fly ass red cat eye shades I got on sale from A'gaci. I love a good pair of cat eye shades! These are so retro and throwback and I got 'em for about $3 since the A'gaci store in my city had a closing sale.

Lastly, I wore a pair of vintage sandals I bought while thrifting. I've been needing some sandals badly this summer. I got these Coasters shoes for about seven bucks and what I like most about them is that they're genuine leather and are great quality. Looking back at this look, I kinda wish I had a pair of black and brown sandals to rock, but I'm still diggin' it nonetheless!