HIFA: Festival Fashion Inspiration

Harare International Festival of the Arts is an exciting annual year festival that combines music, drama, the arts and of course FASHION! This year’s theme is to “Switch On”, so as a blogger, it’s my job to let you in on the festival fashion trends that you need to have a lookout for. Now there are so many festival looks and trends to go by, but since the weather in Harare has been a little off lately; with the cold spells and the sudden rain, its sure safe to consider a little incorporation of some warmer gear when attending this year’s edition of #HIFA2014.

The HIFA Festival Fashion Inspiration will be a two part feature that will cover the ladies fashion and the gentlemen’s fashion. The first part feature will cover the ladies fashion, which will be broken down into three stylish segments; Festival Chic, The Reluctant Rebel and Trend Darling (because to be honest there are so many choices to choose from for Ladies fashion).

 

Festival Chic

Festival chic is the epitome of good ol’ fun festival fashion that includes easy breezy summer frocks, maxi dresses and fun circle skirts. Make the most of your summer frocks and minis at #HIFA2014 by pairing them with brogues, vans, espadrilles and boots to keep warm and fuss free whilst jamming to an energy filled concert. 

An all Black festival look is good to keep you warm, especially during an evening concert.

The Reluctant Rebel

Reluctant Rebel reminds me of a free spirit/edgy persona which really encompasses COMFORT as the main factor, whilst still looking good. Reluctant Rebel is what I would like to define as Grunge-Glam (which is a revolving trend right now), from the 90s a la Rihanna and Beyonce’s current fashion forward looks. Channel the fashion by bringing out a pair of cheeky shorts, graphic tees, statement jewellery and flat ankle boots. Comfort pieces are emulated through a good pair of boyfriend jeans, denim vests and long oversized tee shirts. Leather is a big trend with Grunge-Glam, but since real Leather is pricey, opt for the leather look alternative with the leather look jacket, boots and tassled sling bag.

Boyfriend denim to keep on stylish and warm whilst on the go.
Set from Signature Toscie

Grunge-Glam

All sets and photos taken from polyvore.com and pinterest.com

Trend Darling

Trend Darling translates to top trends right now which are crop tops and PRINT! Print is still alive and pretty much everywhere (and receiving more fashionable updates). Bring out your best and personalized print gear a la Tanya Nefertari, who does not disappoint with her print ensembles and 60s mod inspired collection. I’m a big fan of her print incorporation in her designs.

Be inspired to wear a Long print maxi and stand out from the crowd. 

Tanya Nefertari printed jumpsuit and Mod inspired shift dresses to wear at a
festival. Photos taken from TanyaNefertari.com

Crop tops are for the brave; I say this because they are tummy and mid-riff bearing. Look into this trend by opting for a crop top tee shirt or vest with a high waisted skirt, and finish off with tons of bold accessories. If you are a bit self conscious like myself, then add a cover up for your crop top in the form of a denim shirt or a knit shrug. Be inspired by the look below shopped from fashionbombdaily.com

Festival Accessories

Festival inspired accessories are usually two things; bohemian and edgy. Channel festival accessories through floral headbands, braided hairdos, jewel arm parties, long neck chains, John Lennon inspired sunglasses and flat ankle boots. Closed shoes are a must have because you will spend the day rooming around on grass and sand, so comfort is key and keeping your footsies under wraps is the best option. Another accessory to add is outer wear; since the weather in Harare has been unpredictable. Bring along a long cardi, leather look jacket, a sweater and a scarf; which you can tie around your waist for the time being.

Floral Headband and those John Lennon sunnies to match

Other than looking good, festivals are a great way to have some fun and learn something new in the arts department. #HIFA2014 is only around once a year, so make the most of this opportunity and dress up in festival gear; whilst at the same time taking in new cultures and practices from headlined international acts such as Dobet Gnahore and Josephine.

With that said, do share with me which of the looks above best represents your personality this festival season? Leave a comment below and let's get talking. You can also tweet with me @tendaitoscie and have your say!

Yours in Chic and Glamour;

Tendai Sophia

HIFA 2014’s full schedule is available for download on Google Drive and ISSUU. 

First Quarter of 2014: What I’ve Been Up To.

It’s already three months into the year 2014, and I must say it been off to a good start. It’s the first quarter so I thought to share what yours truly has been up to, and to get you geared up for April and the upcoming Autumn/Winter season. To start off I rebranded the blog, I broke down all of my favourite and most sentimental topics about all that is Zimbabwe and Harare fashion into easy and accessible tabs just for you! And I launched a brand new logo, which has received a lot of love, so Thank You. January was an exciting month because I did my first live blog interview with a designer, Natasha Kagoro of Black Excellence and I shared a guest blog article with shoe blogger Linda Dulani of the Shoe Tribe. Furthermore the 2014 Awards Season centred around rising Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o and her amazing red carpet choices, that yours truly had to give a shout out to the African beauty.

February was a super stylish and fashion forward month; I interviewed a young, up and coming male designer Takudzwa Chikumbirike (second male designer on my blog), with his label House of Azalion. In the same month I plaited my hair, opened an Instagram account-yay (@tendaitoscie), and started a new gig as the Contributing Fashion Writer for the digital online magazine, Infinity Magazine; officially launching my rant over #TheGLAMProject styling (yes, its real). In the same month I was glad to attend the Meet the Industry brunch for FWZ 2014 hosted by Shamiso Ruzvidzo where I got to meet Style Maestro and Contributor to Deck Magazine Craig Zoowie (the same feature can be also be found on Deck Magazine with photos courtesy of Tnash Photography). For the brunch, I opted to wear my multi-coloured striped Henry Holland for Mr.Price dress which photographed super well (accompanied with my big cheery smile and my ability to clown my face *hides*).

INFINITY Magazine, current Issue 4

The month of March sealed of that first quarter of 2014 with a girls date to Vault Cosmetics make up studio and celebrating International Women’s Day 2014 with an inspirational article (one which was overdue because I felt I hadn't brought that to the blog for a while now). March was a busy month for me at school so unfortunately I was not able to cover a designer interview, but April will be that month I bring you a new designer.

Speaking of April, HIFA 2014 is just weeks away and what better way to start preparing than getting geared up for HIFAshion’s Trash Queen show, and of course your festival gear. HIFA’s theme this year is to get you Switch(ed) On, and what better way to do that than to switch on to 6 days of fun fun fun in Harare Gardens! Let’s also not forget Easter! It’s the second best family holiday season after Christmas, so lots of food, family, break(ing) and Easter Eggs (also gigs blow up this month, just to say bye bye to the sunny summer and welcoming home-y nights in for the winter).

So that was the Signature Toscie first quarterly fix of what is happening on the blog and the fashion scene in Harare. I’m writing this hoping that this year I will cover HIFA for you, because I’m becoming more and more busy as school slowly draws to a close for me (final year, final sem). So here’s to wishing me all the best and lots of hard work ahead.

Yours in Glamour,

Sophie!

My Weekend Ensemble: Floral Maxi Dress

“Go Forth and GlamouRIZE” is the closing statement by my favourite South African magazine editor for Glamour SA Pnina Fenster. It may not have much of a relevance to this post but I started this week off on a pretty good note. For starters, my styling venture “The GLAM Project”, had an official launch in the 4^th issue of Infinity Magazine (released Saturday), where I’m currently the Fashion and Styling contributing writer. I’m lending a hand to my good friend and Editor of the mag Sophia Michelle Chitemere (our line of friendship stems from our little sisters’ friendship). So its pretty exciting to say I'm broadening my horizon. I plan to do a blogpost very soon to let you in on my current fashion projects (which is besides school).  

So onto this week's Weekend Ensemble, which is my very floral strapless Mr. Price summer maxi dress that I purchased way back in 2010. I have had this sunny yummy dress for a while now but had not posted about it, and well Sunday, was a good day to give it that opportunity. I paired my maxi dress with my pink blazer, my favourite signature studded clutch (as always) from Mr. Price, bobble neckpiece from Bling Bling stores, topped off with blue summer sandals that I have featured here. I chose to channel a side swept hairstyle with my braids that I plaited into a braid and tucked in at the back.

My whole vibe right now is to embrace a lot of feminine pieces and that exciting essence of summer by wearing lots of skirts and dresses. I wish I had discovered the beauty of all of this a little bit earlier on in my life, because I will admit I might have spent half my life in denim and pants. But alas, it’s never too late to embrace just about anything, and right now is the perfect time for me.

I hope you love this ensemble as much as I enjoyed flaunting it during the weekend.

Yours in Glamour,

ST

A clutch adds an understated glam.

You could take this look to a braai or a girls day out.

Beauty Boutique: Vault Cosmetics

Upscale, adorable and super Chic is how best I can describe the interior decor of the beauty boutique that is Vault Cosmetics, the brain-child by Zimbabwean born and American based make-up artist Jackie Mgido. Jackie Mgido resides between Zimbabwe and America (where in Zimbabwe is her Vault Studio and America is her work-station). Vault Cosmetics has been a hot commodity make-up studio and make up line for quite some time now having launched sometime in early 2012. Their make-up artistry has been featured in a lot of local fashion projects, that include red carpet for Tsitsi Mutendi (whom they work closely with for the shoots for Jewel Magazine, and they did Lochnation's make-up for her cover shoot back in 2013).

Recently, Vault Cosmetics launched a lipstick line with Big Brother 2013 winner Dillish Matthews at an evening soiree hosted on the 13th of February. The Dillish Lipstick range covers Lipglosses for $12 and Matte Lipstick for $15. The full event and an interview with Dillish is covered in the March online issue of Infinity Magazine (where you will find yours truly in the Fashion and Style section with The GLAM Project).

Last week Thursday was my first visit to the studio with @TatRobin on our first hangout as bloggers (which was fun if I must say), and their studio is based upstairs. Originally the studio was based in Avondale along King George road under the Emirates Building complex, and they moved to Arundel Village in late 2013, to a much more accessible and epi-centre shopping location. You wont miss the studio because its a wide open entrance, with make-up displayed on compartments on each side.

I however didn't get a makeover but I was more than glad to watch @TatRobin getting glammed up or "vaulted" by the Vault Cosmetics team, with a make-up session and threading afterwards. I'm no make-up marvel, so on that particular day I learned and picked up quite a few tit-bits on applying make-up and the process of keeping it on for the whole day. My make-up is usually basic, which is your eye shadow, mascara and lipgloss. So its safe to say that I cannot wait for the day to come when I get my vaulted look.

Vault Cosmetics is open from Tuesday to Saturday (not on Mondays), from 10am-5pm. Address is 1 Quorn Avenue, Arundel Village Suite 25. Some of their products include foundations, powders, lipstick, concealers, liners, lashes, mascara, threading and of course a Signature Vault makeover for $25 (bonus if you purchase something during your makeover tutorial).

Vault Social Media Platforms;
Facebook; www.facebook.com/vaultcosmetics
Twitter; www.twitter.com/VaultCosmetics

Thanks to the Vault Team and TatRobin, I've a new found appreciation for makeup (I'm starting to save for my very own Vault lipgloss).

Yours in Absolute Glam!
ST

Tatenda having her make up done by Make-up artist Doreen.

Vault Cosmetics logo

Dillish Lipstick Launch party back in February. Evening decor was done by VIP Hostings Zim

Becoming My Own Woman: Embracing Femininity

International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on the 8^th of March, the significance behind it is to celebrate women and their work and courageousness. According to the International Women’s Day website, the primary aim is to celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women while focusing world attention on areas requiring further action. The 2014 theme for IWD is Inspiring Change.

Growing up, I’ve always been inspired by femininity, glamour and female empowerment (hence change, and of course my project which covers young women at the forefront). I think I knew from a young age I wanted to be extraordinary, I just wasn't sure how. I remember my primary inspiration came from Media and Fashion. Yes, fashion is a bit obvious and at times it can be labelled shallow because all it really seems to occupy is clothes! But what most people don’t understand is that there’s more to fashion than just clothes. You can add in photography, graphic designing, image consultancy, business and marketing. So there’s a lot that goes on into the aspect of Fashion.

But alas, my inspiring change for International Women’s Day just comes from me. I’ve gone through a lot of stages in my life; from pretty little girl, to music-wannabe, to pre-teen fever, to my first pink outfit, to my first goth moment (just a phase), to starting over and finding myself, and now to me. A young woman who loves being silly, experimenting with new ideas, working on my fashion blog and chasing my dream whilst trying to look good through it all! Now my inspiring change is to become a Harare stylist and help young women dress, and my first start is my blog.

Basically my inspiring change has always been within me. I’ve realised I’ve inspired a lot of people around me just through my choices in clothing and fabric. I say this because I’ve gone as far as helping my friends to dress up and letting them copy because I just thought its ok. Sure it’s a bit obvious that all girlfriends dress up together, but I believe every situation is a bit different and has a story to it. It’s never dawned onto me that my quirkiness is admired by someone else (maybe it’s because I’ve finally mastered the art of dressing my tiny frame, which has been a journey on its own). It’s only recently that my weird feminine, classy fetish self has rubbed off on the most unlikely people. Why I say this? Everything I do is customized or try to customise it. When I’ve an assignment, I scribble my notes with a colour pen (pink or purple is my preference). And when I buy accessories, I believe it has to have life to it, which means it should have colour or be coordinative. I’m not someone who is an avid trend follower, but someone who is always busy creating something (sometimes I don’t know what it is). But what inspires me is everything around me.

I remember Mercy Mushaninga; as my mentor she taught me the ropes to being functional with your everyday choices; in other words work around your lifestyle, dress around your lifestyle so that you can be the best person you can be. In other words be who you dream yourself to be, and inspire other people along the way (If you imagine it, you might as well live it). I’ve been learning and teaching myself for the past two years to apply this, and I’m getting better at it with each remembrance.

Embraced being a woman is an interesting adventure. I will give an example of classic- feminine silhouettes that are old-school but coming back with a serious bang, especially during a time where being edgy and super sexy has become the order of the day. I've come to embrace the other side of fashion which is much more flirty, demure, dressy (with a snark of edge) without being too competitive, under-dressed and lost in Hip-hop trends. Its just headstrong and contemporary.

My blog has built me into becoming my own woman, incorporating my new logo.

For 2014, my inspiring change wish is to see women become their own and not conform to media expectations (its easier said than done). I think i'm becoming more comfortable and acceptable with whom I'm (societal expectation for tiny people is thin, which is NOT always the case nor true), and who I'm becoming because I know I still have a journey into my self discovery, but I have realised I stumble upon the same little details, for instance the colour Pink! I've realised its not a shame to embrace the colour pink because its a recurring element in my life (and I've realised it's becoming a part of my own woman). Be a better version of yourself and not that of popular culture (I'm siding with Jurgen Habermas and his theory in reason and rationalisation through communicative action - critical theory and social construction). Men never really succumb to societal and media expectations, so I personally urge you to become your own woman.

Stay gorgeous and glamourous,

ST

Being inspired by Grown Woman.
Photo Courtesy of Talkingwithtami.com