I love me some white..

White rucksack; Asos, White platforms; Topshop, KISS shorts; River Island, white spike detail shirt; River Island, peplum top; River Island.

Hey guy, hope you are all well.. this is a short post illustrating how much I am loving the colour white right now! The colour just seems so sleek and classic to me at the moment.
As summer is practically here already, I am trying to get myself into more summery shades and white is definitely one of my faves.. I am currently having to take pictures of myself because I am away from home on my lonesome. But I will have an ootd very soon with loads of pictures. Hope you like this post :)
Chan
xx

Lets talk braids..

Solange knowles braids in a high bun

Solane Knowles braids down (around 30 inches in length)

Brandy instagram picture with braids

Brandy with Marley braids (two strand twists)

Janet Jackson Poetic justice braids

Dookie braids (thicker plaits)

Lashontae braids from Instagram

My 90s look with a high top knot

ME IN MY SENEGALESE TWISTS (two strand brids)

Relaxed look with beenie hat

High pony tail for work

High side ponyail


So lets talk braids..

Hey guys hope you are all well, I thought I would post one of my favourite hairstyles that I am rocking at the moment. The first few pictures are of a few celebrities that have inspired me to have these single braids. This was a big step for me as I havent had braids since I was little lol I remember my mum having single braids all the time (in the 90s) when I was little so I thought I would encapsulate her and try it out myself :)

Many of you may want to know how braids are created and where they came from.  Many people call these 'poetic justice braids' as this hairstyle was made extremely popular by Janet Jackson in the 90s film. The next section describes hair braiding in a little more detail:

History of hair braiding
Hair braiding has been the most enduring style in the Afro-Caribbean tradition, some styles include box braids, cornrows, twists or dread locks.

Records of African hair braiding can be found in many historic artefacts and stone sculptures that can be dated all the way back to before civilisation. The oldest known image of hair braiding was traced back to a place called Saqqara located on the Nile river during the first dynasty of Pharaoh Manes. 
There are a variety of hair braiding styles. In African tradition these styles were not used simply for beautification purposes. Many of these african braiding styles were created to symbolize a persons rank in the African society. Hair braiding in the African culture was seen as a non-verbal form of communication. Depending on the style used in the hair, that style tells information about that persons life.The most elaborate braiding were seen as a privilege, and worn by married women of the tribe. The hair of these women were typically braided up into styles of butterfly wings or plaits.

Rocking box braids/twists..
Aside from just looking great, braids are an easy convenient way to protect your natural/relaxed hair. The braids are created using synthetic or human hair which is attached to your own hair and plaited/twisted to intertwine with your own hair and create te desired style. (box braids tutorial here and Senegalese twists tutorial here) 

Okay so the super-thick long box braids/twists that we are seeing now are a direct throwback to the 90s when stars like Janet Jackson, Brandy and Stacey Dash. Ladies these days are still wearing them in the typical 90s styles like in a high top knot with a bandana for a signature 90s look, down their backs with a middle or in a high bun at the top of their heads etc. Since solange Knowles starte rocking her braids in 2009, man women were influenced by this and decided to go back to their roots with this great versatile look.

My Senegalese twists..
Senegalese twists look fairly simple and easy to do, however the technique is quite difficult and needs to be done in a specific way: As you can see in the video link above, the two strands of braiding hair need to be twisted as the hairstylist is braiding. It took me a long time to find someone who could do my hair but luckily one of my friends at University is very talented and does a variety of different hairstyles so she did mine for me. I am still trying to master the technique, I think I will be able to do it soon but on someones else's hair, not my own. If I had decided to simply go for single plaits, this would have been so much easier, however I wanted something a little different, soft and less harsh looking. These twists are fairly easy to style and maintain, I actually prefer it when they are around 2 weeks old as it is easier to manoeuvre the hair and less of your scalp shows. I plan to leave these twists in for about 6 weeks, I have had them for about 4 weeks now and they still look great however I do need to clean my scalp with witch hazel now and again to diminish product build up but other than that I am loving this 90s style and plan to have them again soon. I may try single plaits as they are easier to do.

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SOLANGE KNOWLES LOOK FOR LESS!

New Look Aztec Espadrille Wedge Sandals: £29.99

DV8 Javelin Cut Out Suede Wedges: ASOS £120

Senso Zora Cut Out Wedge Sandals: ASOS £140

Solange 2013 trend board for less

1: Jill Sander sandle wedge, £285
2: River Island lime waterfall biker blazer, £55
3: River Island lime trousers, £30
4: Mac Lucky Green eyeshadow, £12
River Island: gold tone linked cross necklace, £6
River Island: Gold toned figure necklace, £3


Hey all,
hope you are well, I thought I would bring Solange to my blog (again)! I love her style and need everything that she has in her wardrobe. I was in particularly drawn to the silk yellow suit that she wore in 2011, hence why I decided to create a look-for-less trend board, the suit that Solange wore was pure silk so I am assuming it was quite expensive. However, the look that I have put together is quite reasonably priced, I threw the Jill Sander shoes in there just for those fashionistas who are willing to splurge.

So here it goes, The shoes are a nude coloured sandle which look great on any skin tone and compliment any colour clothing. Nude shoes are surprisingly leg lengthening as the colour slightly blends into the skin tone and makes it look as though you are walking on air (quick tip ;)). Neon is a big trend for Spring/summer 2013 which is why I chose a lime suit rather than a pure yellow suit, I was inspired by solange but I didn't want to copy it completely. As I work at River Island, its easy for me to see new trendy items fairly quickly, I have seen these pieces in the store where I work and just fell in love with them. The trousers and jacket are sold separately but on the website, these two items are placed in the 'wear it with' section. I believe the material of the trousers are very forgiving and will compliment any figure i.e petite women and a full figured female, I do not believe in restricting clothing to certain clothing sizes hence why this outfit would be great for everyone.

In the photo above, Solange is wearing a shimmery effect green eyeshadow so I found a Mac eye shadow which seems to match perfectly. The yellow in the suit brings out the green in the eyeshadow, these colours compliment each other very well and are a great pairing for Spring/Summer. I am trying to enhance my wardrobe colours for this this season as I am usually into dark colours and BLACK lol but for this season I will be trying to wear a lot of colour and WHITE!

The pop of gold jewellery gives this look a simple/luxurious feel, although the suit is popping already, the jewellery just gives it a new dimension!



Hope this inspires a few of my followers, its definitely inspired me..
Back soon.
:) x

white & denim

dungarees: River Island £45, White rucksack: ASOS £38, White polo neck crop top: random store in Southampton, Grey-white wedges: Office SALE £5

 Heyy guys, hope you are all well. I recently went back to my home town of Leicester from University, I caught up with a few friends and family. I also went to the cinema to watch Iron Man 3 and Fast & Furious 6, Iron man 3 was good.. :/ I was expecting it to be amazing, I was slightly disappointed, however once I have come out of the cinema I had that hyped up feeling like you do when you've just watched an action movie lol. But thinking about the film now, I would say the film was clutching at straws and incorporating as many different comic themes as it could.

I decided to wear something with a 90's influence, I LOVE the 90s trends that are coming back at the moment. I ave always dreamed of being a teenager in the 90s - simply because of the clothing.

TLC in dungarees in the 90s

Destiny's Child in dark dungarees


TLC and Destiny's Child were definite trend setters in the 90s and into the early 2000s, I remember wearing dungarees in school with top of my boxers showing like in the image above (Lol don't ask). I chose to pair the dungarees with a polo neck crop top to give an extra bit of the 90s feel, however if you are no a fan of the polo neck, you could also add a long sleeve crop top. These are sold in many high street stores such as TOPSHOP, River Island and I think Primark alternatively for a cheaper option you could order one from eBay - that is what I tend to do to save money. The eBay crop tops are fairly good, although the quality may not be as up to scratch as the high street stores, the ops may stretch out of shape quite easily, but I usually buy 2 or 3 as they are cheap.

Sorry dolls, I don't have pictures of the outfit that I wore to watch fast & furious 6 but I will be back soon with another blog post.

Hope you liked this outfit.

Chan :) x