AFW South Africa: Day 1

Day 1 of Africa Fashion Week in South Africa was concluded yesterday. Here is a recap of some of the Designers and their Designs

ENJOY!!

Simply Styling, 

Omosexi

Stefania Morland

Stefania is from Cape Town, South Africa. Her designs are inspired by the Earth and Life

Tart

Tart, which is based in Cape Town, South Africa, aims to meet the needs of the everyday business women

Marianna Fassler

There's not much you can say about Fassler that would capture all of her creativity and designs. From Saxonwold, Joburg, her work speaks for it's self!

Mataano

Mataano literally translated means 'twins'. Mataano is is designed by twin Somalia sisters

Africa Fashion Week (London 2011)

So I know I said I wouldn't be back until after Dec. 9, but I am supper excited today!! Why?!?!

Today is the start of *drum roll*.......

That's right, in case some of you may not have know, Africa does have it's out fashion week where: African and non African designers from all over showcase their latest African inspired creations, African Models are exposed to modeling agencies and African culture is praised!!!

So Africa Fashion Week has started today the 20th of Oct and ends the 22nd of Oct. and is taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Africa Fashion Week usually takes place in New York in July and in South Africa in October, but luckily for the first time, London has participated in this wonderful fashion week. Their fashion week started on August 5th and ended on August 6th

Here is just a recap of some of the beautiful designs......

                  

***stay with me for the next couple of days and i'll keep you posted about AFW South Africa***

Proverbs are the Palm-oil with which Words are Eaten

Ever since I was young, I've always enjoyed listening to Proverbs and relating them to situations in real world. Proverbs are powerful and they serve as mirrors of the cultural values of communities.

"Like several other African peoples, Yoruba proverbs are used to drive home a point, to show the credibility or the foolishness of a person or a situation, and to issue warnings, among others" - Anthonia Yakubu

So according to the Yoruba believes, the older you are, the wiser you are (which I personally don't agree with because I've met foolish old people). This is a culture where respecting the elders is even infused in the language. Since the elderlies are the ones who say proverbs then proverbs are "wise words." Owe l'esin oro (Proverbs facilitate the understanding of one's speech).

As we all know in many African cultures, women are treated as minors and are seen as inferior beings compare to men. Even today, women are still way off the mark and one of the reasons for this is Yoruba proverbs. Gendered proverbs is on of the major tools used in conditioning men and women. Some of these proverbs, across various cultures ridicule women, giving them degrading traits such as; envy, gossip, fickle-mindedness, wickedness, greediness and materialism. Women are even considered to be sexually insatiable.

These are a few examples of proverbs that belittle women:

Obinrin l'eke, obinrin l'odale (The woman is a gossip; the woman is a traitor)

E ma je ka finu han obinrin; ibi ti oju re o to enu re debe (We should desist from revealing our secrets to a woman; her mouth speak more than her eyes see)

B'obinrin ba gbon l'agbon ju, penpe laso oko re mo (A husband's undersized clothes indicate his wife's excessive cunning)

Gbogbo obinrin lo ngbese; eyi to ba se tire lase ju laraye n pe lasewo (All women are sexually voracious; but it is the one that does hers in excess that people call a prostitute)

Basically, these are warnings to men that women are gossips, cunning and promiscuous (Really? Only women do these things *raised eyebrows*)

My question is, are we still willing to conform to this status quo?

Coco

Destination Escape

This past weekend, I needed a get-a-way from my hectic study schedule, so I decided to leave Jacksonville and visit a friend in Daytona.

Friday night was spent chilling, and going to a whack party....but Saturday made up for the foolishery of Friday night

I started my Saturday off, watching a very intense soccer tournament

And when I said INTENSE, I mean intense enough for someone to break a drum because a team member missed a goal lol......Evidence ------>

While watching the first game, I heard and saw nothing but bikes on the streets. Wondering what was going on, someone told me that it was Bike-tober Fest at Daytona Beach....So I went to Daytona beach to check it out......

Most people that know me, know that I love bikes....I think they are so sexy, and I really want to ride on one.....anyways...I saw a lot of interesting bikes

And very INTERESTING people lol

Yes, that is a face tattooed on the back of the guys head with his hair cut to resemble eyebrows and mustache lol (crazy)

Anyways, after this eventful walk on the beach, we went out to an ASA party (finally partying with Africans), really wasn't that great though, (had me missing my DMV peeps) but I still made the best out of it!!!

Well that's my weekend adventure, unfortunately, I won't blog again for about 5 weeks 

I know, it's sad, but I only have 5 weeks left in this semester and I need to go invisible so I can beast these finals coming up.....

No worries though, Coco is here and I know she'll entertain you all.......

Until then, Stay Blessed and keep me in your prayers,

Omosexi

Exposed Soul

My music inspiration of the week is a New York born, Canada raised artist who exposes his soul through his lyrics. Although sometimes sad, his songs tell of his life experiences. Justin Nozuka, tells the story that his soul wants others to hear

I first fell in love with Justin when I heard "After Tonight." From then on, I've been hooked. 

I actually got the chance to meet him last year at a concert in DC and I must say he is incredibly humble. 

Story: My friend Jem and I had bought tickets to see his concert, which was on a Thursday at 7pm. I had a class in Baltimore that day (actually an exam). So I rushed through my exam and started speeding to get to the concert in DC. While driving, Jem was texting me (smh breaking all kinds of driving rules, thank God I didn't get pulled over), telling me that Justin was performing and that he was finished and getting ready to leave. Can you imagine that Jem asked him to wait a little longer for me cause I really wanted to see him...and guess what?!?! He actually did wait....I got to meet him, take pictures and actually have a 20 minute conversation with him. He asked about my family, school, etc.  

I was beyond surprised that he was that interested in me, and I fell in love with him even more. lol

Anyways, his openness in his music, is an inspiration for me to be open about my life. Why try and hide things? Let other's know so they can learn from your experiences. 

Hope you all enjoy him!

Loving Justin always,

Omosexi 

You will Marry ME

Yes, you will marry me!! lol. I found this cute little video that I just had to share with everyone. Although amusing and adorable, it does beg the question "Are guys raised to fear marriage?" I've been wondering that for a while now, and this video definitely peaked my curiosity. I mean if they were raised to fear marriage, it would answer a lot of questions (Why do guys wait until their late 20s early 30s before considering marriage? Why are men so afraid of committed relationships? etc.) 

Anyways, hopefully I'm not overgeneralizing the male population. Anyways, back to my Contracts reading.

Have a Blessed Sunday,

Omosexi

Eye Àdàbà (The Dove)

So Previously, we talked about Asa and how much of a beautiful musician she is. I don't want to bombard you with Asa (this just shows how much we love her :D ) but I just have to go into detail about how good she is lyrically and how her songs are so inspirational. Eye Àdàbà is one of her songs from her self-titled debut album. Even though this song is so short, the lyrics still hold a lot of power. This is a song that can speak to everyone in different situations. This song was written in Yoruba but here is the English:

I wake at dawn

As it dawn's upon me

I wake up to the sun

Shining upon me

I see doves in the sky

Birds flying high

Then in silence

I pray for peace

For my people

Although some of the meanings are lost in translation, the English lyrics still means a lot. It is a very optimistic song. Even in hard times we can still see the positive things around us and since there is still life, we can pray for peace for us and ours.

Even if you don't understand Yoruba, this is still a nice song to listen to.

Coco