Rumor Has It…

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Vogue Italia would be creating an all black edition of the magazine. According to those wonderful girls over at Fashionista.com, it looks like IMAN will grace the cover. I-can’t-wait!!!

Old Navy Goes Tribal…Sigh

So I went shopping on 34th street yesterday.  I made a quick sweep through Old Navy to see the new summer items. When I got past the double doors… there it was! A huge poster of 3 models wearing some of the featured items in the front of the store. Apparently, the jungle, urban, or tribal look is in. Sigh…

The first thing that struck me was that in this Caribbean themed display the black, dark-skinned model was in the center of the spread and prominently featured. (I’ve always heard black models get the most work, if any during the summer months because clothes are usually brighter and look better against dark skin.)  Secondly, the black model was wearing a beautiful gold lame one-piece swim suit. Her hair was natural and her skin was glowing. It was here that I stopped being proud.

How To Display A Black Woman On A Cover

Oh, Miss Anna… I’m coming for you again. You and the photographer Annie Leibovitz are in a quagmire aren’t you? People are still writing and writing about that King Kong cover you did for your April Shape issue. What was once something that only seemed to matter in the blogoshere is now major news. Even The Today Show did a segment on this. Basically, y’all done f-ed up!

I found the above picture of Jennifer Hudson in a recent photo-shoot. I’d love to know what magazine will feature this photo. Please note: When placing black women and black men for that matter on the cover of your magazine you don’t have to make us look menacing, hulking, scary, silly, dumb, or less than. Yes, Lebron is a basketball player but he’s not the dude on the block and Vogue isn’t F.E.D.S.magazine. Lebron looks like an ape on your cover. Is that what you were going for? Well, if not, that’s what it looks like. Listen, we already look beautiful. Just get us decent clothes and a proper stylist and let-us-WORK!!! Take a look at the Vogue website, they seem to be using a better photo. Now why couldn’t this photo be used?

By the way doesn’t J-Hud look beautiful? This is a cover shot!

Beautify Me: They Segregating Hair Products, Y’all!!

Having hair that goes against the norm (not straight), I am always in search of the best hair products for my style. That isn’t always easy, but I’m willing to try almost anything. Recently my mother asked me if I had ever thought about using mayonaise, “you know… for the shine,” she says. That statement brought back a terrible memory of grade school when my mother thought putting cold coffee and coffee grounds on my hair was a good idea. Smelling like Folgers Crystals didn’t go over so well with the private school set. I quickly told her that I hated mayo with all of its purported uses and that black hair in its natural state doesn’t reflect light. Plus, Mom, my hair is matted into beautiful locs. They definitely won’t be shining any time soon. Oh, Mom… Gotta love her.

I am wililng to go to anywhere for a great shampoo and moisturizer. I’ve been to street fairs, hair salons, hair shows, and yes, the “‘hood” beauty supply store. I tend to try new products every week, one for moisture, a shampoo, an oil maybe, and even setting lotion when I want tight ringlets.  But nothing is more annoying than having to go into the local drugstore to fill a perscription or get a roll of toilet paper and find yourself running around the store trying to find the “black/ethnic hair” section. Where the hell is the Luster’s Pink Lotion? And, why the fuck is it in the back of the store by the markdown products??? 

I Told You Erykah Was The Shit!

So, Vogue UK is reporting that Erykah Badu will be the new face of the yet-to-be named Tom Ford fragrance. Didn’t I tell you Erykah was a style icon? Well, it looks like Tom Ford thinks so too. I cannot wait to see the spreads in the magazines here in America. (Will Miss Anna allow Erykah into her precious Vogue? LOL!) I’m excited to see the photos and I would think they would be fashion forward and edgy. (But secretly, why do I hope Erykah brings her own stylist with her to the photo shoots?) Mr. Ford, Erykah has a lot of adoring fans… do her justice, please!

Check out Najwa Moses of Styleholics.com interviewing Erykah about becoming the new face of the Tom Ford Fragrance.

 

Beautify Me: My Hair Story

My girl Bella over at Afrobella.com had an amazing post yesterday about comments made by a former employee of Glamour magazine. In case you don’t know the story, an editor from Glamour made a stupid ass statement to some female attorneys last year. The editor thought Afros were not a good look in the work place. (Oh word?) This statement set off a firestorm. (Sistas wore her ass out in letters to the editor.) Readers wanted an explanation. You can read Glamour’s response here.

In an effort to keep it 100 (%) with it’s readers, Glamour formally addressed the issue with a round-table discussion of professional black women in corporate America and how their hair has affected their jobs in the March 2008 issue. I was especially interested in the article, “Your race, your looks,” as a former co-worker, Jami Floyd of Court TV  (now truTV) was interviewed.

The Afrobella.com post as well as the Glamour article got me thinking about my own hair story.  Currently I have locs, which I love but it wasn’t always that way. Before locs, I too, was a slave to the creamy crack and relaxed my hair. And before that I had braids, a natural, a weave, and yes, a Care-free curl (don’t laugh). My hair styles have run the gamut over my 34 years. But it wasn’t until I cut it all off and began the locking process did I truly love my hair and begin to love me.

Breaking News: Model Naomi Campbell Hospitalized

According to the Associated Press, Naomi Campbell has been hospitalized in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  According to her publicist, Jeff Raymond, “Naomi Campbell was admitted to hospital … to have a small cyst removed.” The surgery was a success.

Naomi is under the care of Dr. Jose Aristodemo Pinotti. His specialities are infectious diseases and gynocology. Ewwwwwwwwwww… what the hell did she catch down at Carnival?

Where are the Ethnic Models? Ajuma Nasenyana’s right here!

Ajuma Nasenyana was born in Kenya in 1984. Her look is so striking, but honestly you probably haven’t seen much of her unless you have been to London Fashion week or read French Vogue.  For some reason many designers, agencies and magazines don’t want to use her or other ethnic models. But when Ajuma does get to strut down the catwalk she is unbelievable.  Check out Ajuma in this youtube video. The video is pretty long, but she’s at 3:02.

In 2003, Ajuma won Miss Tourism Kenya and was actively scouted and articles were written about her.  Wikipedia states:

“Gamma photo agency came to Kenya to do a story on [the Surazuri Agency's] scouting work and were so taken with the 5′10 beauty that she became the main feature of the story, which late ran in Gala Magazine, France. The pictures that were taken on this shoot were to provide the basis for Nasenyana’s portfolio, and these were duly presented to top international agency Ford Models, who signed her up for the Ford Models Supermodel of the World Competition.”

STYLE ICON: Rihanna

  

She’s a Bajan beauty direct from the parish of St. Michael, Barbados. Some have said she’s a Beyonce look-a-like, but not anymore. Because of the angled, jet black bob and more recently a Twiggy inspired do, Rihanna single-handedly has all women running to their hairdressers with pictures from magazines and computer screens.

With her success in the music industry, Robyn Rihanna Fenty is an in-demand superstar.  But even at the young age of 20, she is a fashion trendsetter.  With each passing photo spread she becomes more and more fierce!

I like her new songs and believe me they get heavy rotation on the radio. But my favorite, by far is her first song, “Pon de Replay” where she stayed close to her West Indian roots. Big up to the Bajan massive!

Gimme Those: Gucci… What else?!

Happy President’s Day! Guess where I’m going today?  Shopping, of course. But here’s a little of the luxe life for you shoe obsessed fashionistas.  By any chance have you seen these Gucci Sevigny High Heel Sandals in Gold? (They come in black but they aren’t nearly as fierce.) These shoes are, for lack of a better word… SICK!!! So, for those of you with an extra $700 to spend, you can go here!

 (Update: 2/19/08:) In reading other blogs that I love, Fashionista.com has done a great piece on the above-mentioned shoe in their wonderful series: Adventures in Copyright.