~ The Ladies who Lunch ~

I came across this cover of Elan (free Sunday style supplement for 234next) on the internet and i fell in love with the photo. The first thing that came to mind was my blog header picture (the ladies are Nigerian btw) ~ fabulous ladies who lunch. What's even more amazing is the lime green suit is made out of aso-oke. A lime green aso-oke suit? Who would've thought those two could ever be in the same sentence! Loving the purple and white hat, they make the ladies look timeless. The dresses were made by Kemmy Oguntosin Solomon (owner of KemKem studio) and retail for N69,000. Not bad, at all. Need to find out whose responsible for the styling. Fabooshness!

Images re-blogged from Xolqrcexo.

~Ndidi Onukwulu~ The contradictor.

Ndidi Onukwulu is a Canadian Nigerian Jazz/Blues singer. I heard her when i was randomly listening to the radio and was immediately drawn to her voice. There was a faint hint of the old Amy Winehouse (the Frank days), a twinge of Norah Jones and something else i couldn't quite put my finger on. I googled her once i had the chance and hours after listening to every track on her myspace pagei knew i had to do a post on her. Not only is she amazingly talented but i realized the thing i couldn't quite put my finger on, was her. There was something different about the way she performed, the way she belted out the high notes, the way she sang.So incredibly individual, i quit comparing her and just listened. Ndidi's father, Ernest Onukwulu was also a jazz singer which gave her a feel for music at a very young age. She integrates Nigerian music into her performances to give her an eclectic sound. Her album, 'the contradictor' got its name from the contradiction between the upbeat music and its more serious themes, in addition to the elements of Ndidi's personality. Just by looking at her i get a huge sense of a contradiction (in a good way) - this prim & proper pretty girl with an angel smile, all tatted up like some biker chic.- gotta love it. My fave song off the album is 'He needs me'-which i've shared with you lovelies below!  For more information, check out her myspace page ~http://www.myspace.com/ndidionukwulu. ❤

~Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, Adaora~

Adaora Akubilo is  Nigerian model, discovered at a Sports Illustrated swimsuit competition. She's currently represented by New York model management. There's not alot of information about her much to my surprise because she is absolutely stunning. When i saw her, i immediately thought of Cover girl. There is something so simple and innocent about her beauty that makes her stand out. That's why i've named her Model of the Month!! Hope to see her as a Cover girl one day, i mean come on, who can pull off 'all back' like that and still look so FIT?

~Bleeding Fashion~ OPÉ the Style Artist

Opé is a Nigerian American fashion stylist, creative director of fashion photo shoots, image consultant and personal shopper based in NYC. Yep, a mouthful of amazingness!! Surprisingly, she has no formal training but says she has been drawing ever since she could hold a pencil. Before getting into styling, she worked for designer Betsey Johnson for a number of years and  considers Ms. Johnson an early influence but sites designers Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood  as inspirations.  Her styling is so over the top & avant-garde, i find it breath taking. Her creativity shines through her shoots as each picture depicts a different story. I love seeing different kinds of art and ope is a reiteration that art truly comes in different forms. She paints and sketches and describes fashion styling and creative direction as a 'way to extend artistry on to the canvas of real life'. 

When beginning work on a project,  Opé  issues the following caution: “When cut, I bleed fashion…” Argh, loves her!!!

Check out her website: http://www.opestyle.com/

                                                                                                ❤

---A F R I C A N I S M---

Afrikanism
I wait for another artist who speaks

Speaks about truths

The ugly truth.

I wait for another artist who says

Says the things that need to be said

So ears can hear.

I wait for the death of marxism

the demise of capitalism

and the birth of Afrikanism.

R.I.P Fela.

An original by Nicosi

~Too Cool For School~ Oroma Elewa

Nigerian born, Oroma Elewa is the editor and creative director of Pop'Africana Magazine. The magazine is an extremely innovative perspective on art, fashion and style. There has been an international anticipation and buzz that has been bubbling for over a year now about the mag and has even been described as the African VOGUE. Oroma started the magazine herself with no external funding which i think is truly commendable and applaud worthy. 

However, this post is not entirely about the her magazine, as fabulous as it is, its about the girl herself. Her style to me is so chic, its sinful. Her individuality is reflected in every single thing she wears. She's not afraid to look silly, taking risks with shades of lipstick I could never have the balls to rock but somehow, she always gets it right. There's something authentically fabulous that she has going on, that made me inclined to do this post about her and share her distinct dress sense with y'all. Check out her blog ~http://popafricana.com & be sure to pick up the FIRST edition of Pop'Africana which she describes in three words as ~ 'bold, inspiring, and distinct'. Loves her.

 The Official First issue of Pop'Africana hits stands in New York, Paris, London, Berlin on the 29th of April 2010. Cannot wait to pick up mine- as they say in Nollywood; 'GRAB YOUR COPY, NOW!!!!!' :-D

Link: All images are from http://popafricana.com -