So tell me, what makes a (style) blog successful?

   I know how much you guys love my outfit posts (and I'm very grateful for that) but if you've been following my blog from the beginning, then you know I strive for great content and not just pretty pictures. I want my blog to have a focal point so that if you ask me, "what is the purpose of your blog?" my answer would not be, "to show what I am wearing". 

I recently came across this old post from one of my favorite bloggers ever (and whom I had the pleasure of interviewing), KT REED OF KTRstyle and she talked about an issue which has had me pondering in the past. Actually, she brought up 2 points- What makes a blog successful and closely tied, What makes a blogger?
Now this is just my opinion and please feel free to disagree but a blog should be more than "Look at me with my Givenchy purse" and "I got these shoes for free" or "follow me, follow me, follow me!" I like to come back to a blog for content. Sure, I've been guilty of trying to build up my following but trust me, my comments are always sincere. If I do not admire nor appreciate your style nor your writing, I will not follow your blog for following sake.I am pretty good at knowing the "show offs" versus those that do it for the fun and passion.

A La Mode Casual Fridays

"Sometimes, it's the simplest and cheapest pieces that end up being your favorite."

That is the case with this outfit as well as a few others as well. I may have a $100 jacket here or there but it's a lot of times the simple things in my closet which I cherish the most.

Dashiki 2.0

My love affair with dashiki continues...

Also, say hello to my co-star in today's post...my nephew Caleb! 

Greek

I was never the cool girl in school...never was, never will. I was either blending in with the crowd or wishing I could blend in with the crowd. I have been called all sorts of rude names behind my back and to my face and have had some of the worst nick names ever. How does "gorilla", "fatty"or "massive legs" sound? Well, my own "coolness" kicked in after school.

One thing I did have that attracted the best of friends to me, was a good heart. 

Some days I want to just...fly away

Do you ever feel so overwhelmed at times that you just wish you could go to a far away country where no one knows you and just..stay there for a while. No banks nor phone companies calling you, no work-just you and the world. Well, I've been feeling like that a lot recently and if I had the means, I would definitely go somewhere like Dubai or the Bahamas or St Lucia! One can only dream right?...

And if you don't know, now you know...

Here's a tip for my fellow bloggers. Although I take 99% of my pictures on my own, I do like to get my pictures taken by someone else whenever I can and I have been teaming up with Jacky from sincerelymissj on some occasions to take each other's blog pictures! Jacky and I actually went to the same university so she's no stranger, haha.

"But we'll never be royal"

This past weekend was a long weekend for us here in Canada as we celebrated Victoria Day-well I personally didn't do much celebrating but I did hear and see some fireworks in my neighborhood!

White

There's some stupid unwritten rule I had read somewhere: "no white (especially white shoes) unless it's Labor Day."
 Well that's one of the most silly things I've ever heard! I think white is such a loud and vibrant color without doing much and there's just something about a lady in all-white.
Today is my country's National Day so to celebrate, why not do an all-white post?!
The skirt and top are both from H&M-2 very different sections of the store, lol.
I loved the mixture of the different textures of the fabrics and they ended up complimenting each other.

*Avez-vous deja entendue parle d'une certaine loi dans le monde du mode qui interdit la portee de la couleur blanche a part la journee de la fete de travail? Je pense c'es l'une des choses les plus stupides que je n'ai entendue de ma vie, haha. 
C'est la fete national de mon pays, le Cameroun et j'ai decide de feter avec cette jolie tenue blanche!*

Dashiki Dashiki Dashiki Dashiki

Even though my seamstress is tired of seeing and sewing Dashiki print outfits, I can't seem to get enough of it and it doesn't seem like you can neither, judging by the number of people who have asked me how/where to get theirs.
I wore this outfit to work (minus the heels) and it does make a great casual Friday look, don't you think?

Coming up

As most of you know by now, I am a huge advocate for up and coming designers-especially African designers.
 While I was in Texas, I had the pleasure of wearing my first piece from cjaj09 and boy was it a hit!
The designer had approached me last year to take a look at her site and I saw some pieces I could work with but this skirt captured my heart. It's a unique piece as no two of the items on the site are exactly the same, even if 2 people purchase the same product, the pattern or color would be slightly different.

*J'espère que d'ici vous aurez constaté que j'aime bien collaborer avec des couturieres moins reconnus, surtout les couturiers africains avec beaucoup de talent.
Durant mon sejour au Texas, j'avais l'immense pliasir de porter finalemt une jupe de cjaj09 qui a attiré beaucoup d'attention. Cette création est la seule au monde, et j'aime bien ceci avec cjaj09-les vêtements sont tous uniquent.

"Child blow your horn now"

I normally stay clear of Ankara jumpsuits. I find that they tend to either manage to make me look fatter, are too stiff or give major camel toe. The latter was true in this case but nothing that a little tugging couldn't fix.
This jumpsuit also had me doing something I never do- go bra-less!! Hahaha

I just had to try it on when I went to my designer's place to try on a dress. It fit me like she had sewed it with me in mind! Haha.
I love the print as well as the sort of 60's cut and I couldn't stop playing Beyonce's "Work it out" when I put it on!

P.S. While we're here, let's not forget to remember the over 200 girls who should be wit their loved ones but got abducted in Ngeria and forced to convert to Islam. #bringbackourgirls!!!!

Old, but I'm not that old. Young but I'm not that bold

This outfit came to me during the Winter but with it being so cold, I knew I would have to store it in the "Outfit posts ideas" part of my brain (yes, a portion of my brain is dedicated to outfit post ideas. Please tell me I'm not alone...
* Cette tenue m'étais venue en tete pendant l'hiver mais à cause du froid, je savais que je serais obligé d'attendre le beau temps pour la porter! Il existe une partie de mon cerveau dedié juste aux tenues que je vais porter-j'espère que je ne suis pas la seule qui reflechisse comme ça, haha!

Miss Afropolitan 2014 is...!

My beautiful people! If you follow me on Instagram then yo would know that this past weekend I had some judging duties!
I had been contacted last year by the folks over at the Afropolitan Week of Fashion and Arts to see if I would be interested in being a judge and I had agreed.
The ceremony took place on Saturday downtown Toronto and it was a huge success. It was extremely entertaining and the winner deserved the title-she was poised, classy, well informed about world events and articulate! It didn't hurt that we are from the same country, haha. So congratulations to Miriam, Miss Bamengoum, who is the 2014 Miss Afropolitan! 

All the ladies looked great and kudos to the make up artists and designers who dressed them! Also a huge shoutout to the creators; Kelly and Sourayath!

I got to meet the ladies behind KUWALA, an online destination for all things Ankara.

Blast from the Past

Good day my lovelies!
I love finding pieces in my closet that I haven't worn in ages!
I found these H&M shorts I had bought for just $10 about 3 years ago and they still look and feel great. I'll be honest and say I do sometimes wear the shorts to bed, especially when it's as hot as it is in Houston!

*Les culottes et cuisses sont sortis pendant mon sejour a Houston
J'avais achete ces culottes il y a environs 2-3 ans et je les aiment tres bien! Je dois avouer que je les portent de temps a temps pour me coucher le soir car elles sont si confortables!

SKin

Continuing on with my Texas trip posts, here is a sexy outfit I wore during one of the hottest days there-although everyday was so hot! Haha

Je suis de retour avec plus des photos prises pendant mon sejour a Houston. E|h oui, j'y suis alle avec une valise remplis des vetements! Haha
Voici un habillement sexy que j'ai porte pendant l'une des journees les plus chaudes!

Interview with Esosa E (AKA Ngozi) from the hit show "An African City"

 “An African City” is the latest "It" show out there for the young and independent African woman. It has been garnering so much media attention having been featured on CNN, BBC, BET, Ebony, Bella Naija and ELLE magazine, just to name a few so I am very excited to be able to interview one of the ladies responsible for this tremendous success.

My intention today is for my readers to get to know Ms Esosa Edosomwan better as well as gain further insight into the show. She is indeed an accomplished actress in her own merit having played roles in several movies and featured films before landing a role on this show.

I love you Houston :)

 First off let me start this post by thanking Kike of Styled By Kalack for the lovely feature which you can read HERE. I loved how the questions were different and also like the pictures she chose to use.

*Un gros Merci a Kike du blog "Styled By Kalack" pour l'entrevue sur son blog! J'ai bien aimé les questions qu'elle m'a posé et les photos qu'elle a selectionné.