Thursday, October 20, 2011

Welcome To The Jungle

C: I must say, this Howard Homecoming week has been nothing less than fascinating. Wednesday night we hit up Fashion Show II at Cramton Auditorium. The time spent checking out the rest of the fashion forwards in the crowd before the whole spectacle began felt like a fashion show in itself. There is nothing I love more than seeing so many people with styles so distinct from each other. Personally, when it comes to cultivating my own style, there is no better inspiration.
“Empressions: Dreaming a New Dawn" consisted of seven interchanging scenes with a modern day twist on the tale The Emperor’s New Clothes. Scene one, An Intimate Dawn, featured models in jeweled bras, panties, and brightly colored pajama sets by Urban Intimates. The designs were perfectly sexy and the models had an air of confidence about them that aided in flawlessly kicking off the show.
The Suave Saharan scene really caught my attention. I’m currently in a tribal print stage of my closet life and designers Nichole Alabi and Man vs. Machine made sure there was plenty to go around. The line featured 80’s inspired blazers and satin jumper’s with African prints incorporated throughout. Simple, yet so fun at the same time!
One thing I will say the Howard Homecoming Fashion Shows always excel at is showcasing a wide range of body types when it comes to their models. The curvy women, I have to say, stole the show this year. This was ever apparent in the Gracious and Grand scene with bold designs by Queen Grace. I really would have liked to see colors other than the gray-scale on the ladies during this section, however, the superb tailoring made up for it in the end. Coupling the curvy divas in this scene were the immaculately clad male models in European-style suits. NINH clearly knew what they were doing by pairing slouchy beanies with semi-skinny jeans and tailored blazers, giving the models a futuristic look while still maintaining a that laid-back Euro air we all love.
The show ended seamlessly with A New Era, featuring designs by Dominique Auxilly. This was undoubtedly my favorite line of the night because of its versatility. I felt like this was a line made to celebrate womanhood. Complex frills, audacious patterns and light chiffon fabrics surpassed the idea of what an evening dress is supposed to be.
By the end of the night our fashion appetites were certainly satisfied. HU managed to deliver, once again.
 
Hope you enjoyed!
oxo

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Poets at Night

I: Hello all! Sorry again for the humongous gaps between posts: we try, we really do, but college really takes a toll on a girl's time. Anyway, as you guys may not know yet, I attend Howard University. It happens to be our Homecoming week, and so of course there's loads to see and do. I attended the Poetry Cipher at the beautiful Lincoln Theater on U Street last night, and I have to say it was phenomenal. Amid an ethereally designed stage set, complete with everlasting "flames," jewel toned lights, and of course, the fog machine, students and DC natives alike gathered to pour out their hearts. I had chills the entire night, which is usually not the case when you're sitting in a packed venue. There's just so much raw talent and intense emotion walking the campus around me, it's really a little inspiring.
    One of my favorites was a raspy voiced, Kimono-clad New Yorker named Queen Godis. Her effortless grace, wonderfully eclectic choice of attire, and her halfway between rap and poetry spit was captivating. (And of course, the woman had flawless skin- I could see it even from my somewhat nosebleedy seat.) Here's a video that I snagged from diversecityblog.wordpress.com. Of course, I happened to forget my camera in the rush to get out of my house- typical. 

      The second was a duo, comprised of D.C. Poets Ya-Ya Bey, and Rasheed Copeland that spun overlapping tales of women lost in a cycle of self deprecation and the men that promote it. Bey's charming mannerisms and eerie singing voice coupled with the emphatic, purposeful monotone of Copeland's rhymes were enough to bring the audience to raptures. Another video, this time pilfered from PenelopeAirplane on Youtube. :)

 The other performers included Omari Hardwick, Erin Rigsby, and Cameron Clarkson, all students here at HU with completely different topics and styles of rhyme, but all incredibly talented. There were reoccurring themes of self-respect, heartbreak, lovemaking, and broken homes. They had all experienced these things, lived to tell the tales so eloquently, lived to weave their stories through an unbelievable command of prose. 
      I think that's why I found it so beautiful: it was all so real and I could tell that it had come straight from the small collection of gifted hearts on that stage. 
         The headliner of it all was Talib Kweli, the outspoken New York-born rapper with some of the most relevant, truthful spits I've ever heard. He was down-to-Earth, still not big enough to be big-headed, and he had this boyish appreciation for our enthusiasm that I love in any artist, especially a rapper. In a time full of pimpin', gun slangin', booty ogling fools rapping simply to stay current, Kweli is truly a blessing. The refreshing burst of humbleness and true mastery of lyrics was honestly one of the best concert experiences of my life. 

Adventure Time

D: The beautiful weather we had on Monday ignited some excitement in the minds of some of my friends and I, so we thought it would be a great idea to venture out into the creek and take some pictures of what I was wearing.
I decided to crawl into the sewage and explore.......it was a pretty clean atmosphere, don't you think?
 One of my favorite vintage belts. I love the intricate design on the buckle.
Wearing vintage everything :)
Well I'm off to start my lab report, have a great Wednesday!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

College Fashionista

D: I do apologize for the complete lack of posting. I've been so busy with various projects, classes and just simply getting adjusted to my college campus. I was recently featured on College Fashionista, to showcase their street style section. My friend Helen is a writer for the site and took these beautiful photos.

 The main focal point of her section is accessories. So that day I centered my outfit on a statement necklace I purchased from a random boutique I came across in Manhattan. I wore a military inspired shirt over my favorite black unitard that I've completely worn out, along with my trusty taupe colored boots.
olive jacket: vintage
necklace: vintage
black unitard: american apparel

I hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday!

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"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." -Cecil Beaton
Disclaimer
All photos are taken by me with my Canon T1i unless stated otherwise. All design sets are created by me using Photoshop or Polyvore. Questions? E-mail me: dryycleanonly@gmail.com
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