African Fashion + Designers!

The inspiring looks coming out of the continent of Africa and from fellow ex-pats are INCREDIBLE! Traditional prints and creative designs are giving fashion-forward men and women a reason to feel sexy and proud!!!!

Personally, mixing traditional prints with items I buy locally in Saskatchewan is a great way to highlight both aspects of my wardrobe!

Below are a few designers and items to share:

Botswana Fashionistas with their lovely colourful accessories - The Khoi Fro

Loved this collared-coat....very striking!

Also mixing contrasting prints has become a wonderful trend!!!

Kente cloth design print dress shirt

Traditional embroidered tunic shirts on wax printed fabic....an old classic but with a modern slim fit

Ankara-style fabric in a playsuit design! Playsuits are becoming summer essentials for Lady J

African-print with solid colour for South African Fashion Week

Sober - Spring/Summer 2014

Also stay tuned for my upcoming highlights of AfroFest Regina over the weekend where I hope to catch more amazing African-inspired styles and cultural happenings:)

xoxo
Lady J 

Midtown Plaza: Saskatoon Fashion & Design Festival 2014 (SFDF)

Hi fashionistas:

I am so proud of the Saskatoon Fashion & Design Festival, is here!!! With series of events happening all around town from Thursday May 29th - Sunday June 1st!!!

Scheduled events range from gorgeous fashion shows to meet-ups with the fashionable-set of Saskatoon:

May 30th: Hosted at "Green Ark Collected Home" (212 20th St. W.) SFDF and Momentum are presenting Fashion Illustrator Racheal Meckling's latest work and also an industry mixer to celebrate from 7-11pm!

May 31st: SFDF Runway Show - at the Mercedes-Benz Dealership (715 Melville Street). Tickets range from $45 - $150 | age 19+ | Doors open 8:30pm. 

June 1st: SFDF POSE - at the River Landing Amphitheatre (414 Spadina Cres. E.) Free Admission | 12Noon-5pm. This showcase will give those up and coming Saskatchewan designers a chance to get noticed by all!

On the other side of things, take a look at the highlights from the premier event yesterday, "SFDF In Fashion" at our local Midtown Plaza Mall: 

Wait! first let me take a #selfie (with fellow Fly Girl, Philemina on the left!)

Getting a fashion tutorial about mixing different looks with a floral-print dress:

Make-up and hair workshop to help you get that natural glow!

The fabulous crowd, taking in all of the action:

 

Our lady on the far right here, went home a raffle winner of very fashionable goodies:

Please feel free to stop by and say hello and also keep up with continued highlights by following me on Twitter!!!

xoxox

Lady J 

Beauty in a Patch?

Hey all:

Has your life as busy as mine? *whew!*

By the way have you seen this controversial video from Dove?

*Spoiler Alert*

How did you like it?

When I first saw it, I wanted to call shenanigans....I mean a beauty patch, like really? I thought maybe it would be damaging for the wearer, full of "happy hormones" and "artificial chemicals"....but artificial is right "beauty is a state of mind" and no one can tell you otherwise!

Although this was just a placebo effect on the women involved, it's a larger commentary on idealistic beauty standards that the media puts out there about the "right size" and the "right" combination of features.

As the media begins to diversify with bloggers and other user-generated content such as you and me, the stage opens up to voices of women who have overcome obstacles as well as grow and continue to be filled with self-acceptance. It is a life-long trek for many, but it's possible. Take care of yourselves!

xxxxxooooo

Lady J 

Where did you get those Cheekbones?

Hello beauties!

Have you ever wondered how/why some women have the most fantastic cheekbones and sculpted features
you have ever seen? Yes, sometimes it is just genetics but for many ladies its all about countering.

Photo credit: Stylelist Canada

Countering allows for more definition, by highlighting the natural peaks and valleys of face to create stunning symmetry to your features. So you can virtually widen or narrow features just with pigmented foundations and highlighter creams.

Check out this article for more tips!

xoxoxox

Lady J

Shopping in Saskatoon - Part 1

Hi fashionistas:

So over tea with friends the topic of shopping locally here in Saskatoon, SK came up (surprise, surprise)! Although both of the ladies were new to the city, one of them expressed her bordeum with the local malls and their limited amount of unique pieces as well as sizing that would be appealing to her petite and curvy figure. So she asked, "where do you shop Lady J?"...

As a self-proclaimed shopaholic *hand-to-heart* I thought I would create a 3 part series of my favourite boutiques in Saskatoon, to guide those newbies in the city as well as people who want to find different places to pick up wardrobe pieces, and not be another girl at the party wearing the same outfit as 10 other women there (true story...but I exaggerate) this is for you:

Fly Channel Fashion
101 -- 733 Broadway Ave. 
Saskatoon, SK 
Fly Channel Facebook Page 

This is a wonderful little boutique, that a friend took me to way way back in high school! They get a lot of their merchandise from Asian countries with colourful prints, interesting and clever design elements to their clothing as well as accessory items. I have gotten many great pieces from there throughout the years including a rainbow tote bag, ruffle blouses and my newest tangerine maxi dress (my wishful thinking for warmer weather):

There you will find Ling, with her friendly aura who is always available to give amazing styling advice for how to wear and enhance the item(s) you hope to buy!

Coming soon....Part 2

xo
Lady J

What was yours is loved again!

Hi lovelies!

Over the weekend I hosted a "Clothing Swap" Party!!!! For those who are unfamiliar with this, its a party where fashionitas can exchange their clothing and accessory items for another's! Essentially refreshing your wardrobe without spending any $$$!

So what happens when two or more ladies want the same item, one may ask? We, battle for it! Well not really....we have our other guests vote on who is rocking that item the best!

Loving the potluck table...the snowflake lanterns... were a hit with the girls:)

Cute cutlery set by pt trademark of Present Time on farminista.com. 

Fashion cuties, my blazer has a new life...hot hot hot!

Who wore it best?

A new tank top for this girly!

*This is a democratic process*

 take a look at those hand-made "Judy" voting signs made by yours truly!

Ended the night with some specialty tea, a gift from a "Fashionista Angel", Roxanne Woodley..."Be Cool" was my favourite flavour of the Kusmi Tea!!!

That was like shopping at 12 different stores in one afternoon and saving 100% of my cash!

Till next time,

oxo

Lady J

Style Watch: Fabulous Boots

Hey all,

Have you missed me? I am out of hibernation now and ready to continue blogging for your style-viewing entertainment!

So of course with the weather change into Winter, every fashionista is looking to add another pair (or two) of boots to her ever expanding wardrobe!

Below are a few of my favourites:

Photo Credits: Google Images 

What will you be rocking this season to stay warm and fashionable?

xoxo

Lady J

Featured in "Bridges" Saskatoon's Local Newspaper!

Today has been an excellent day!

Honestly, I haven't been able say a bold statement like that in some time...it's always the day starts out well and then...(you know the rest) and/or it was a good day, then you are dropped a bomb that changes everything!

Well today, I was featured in a weekly Saskatoon paper under their #SaskatchewanFashion section which made me beam all day long:)

Click the link to view the full article:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/bridges/Josephine+Mensah+Looking+stylish+budget/8923900/story.html

Also thanks to the staff at the Star Phoenix for making it happen!!!

Style Watch: Fall Capes & Wraps

Hello loves,

Now that the Fall season is officially upon us....What are you filling your wardrobes with?

As for me I'm doubling up on some of my summer clothes and adding layered items to transition into this cooler season. One item in particular that I am noticing all over is the cape/wrap. It looks like everyone and their mother is using capes as an alternative to the traditional Fall coat. Take a peek at some cute styles:

Bright hues:

 Even fur-trimmed:

More classic cuts: 

Metallic and sequins (My personal fav, surprise suprise):

*All images are courtesy of Google Images

So as the leaves continue to change colour and the air becomes more and more frosty what is your favourite item of Fall?

xo

Lady J 

Queen City Wedding!

Hello there!

I just came back from a wonderful wedding of a very dear family friend held in Regina, SK, nicknamed the "Queen City"! The ceremony/reception was fantastic, the guests were fabulous and the music was popping! I still can't get some of those songs out of my head!

Take a look at some of the great highlights of the day/night:

My beautiful sister, Regina and me...Yes, the irony is not lost on us that she has the same name as the city we visited lol!

Such a romantic ceremony with the lovely bride and her groom!

Getting ready for the reception = "make-up magic":

I grabbed this little golden dress from a side-street store in Montreal earlier in the summer...Also do you recognize that the shoes and clutch were from the blue dress pictures above? 

Style Tip: Remember it's always best to pack accessories that can double up with different outfits to cut down on over-packing (took me years to learn that trick):

Love it Reg!!

Gorgeous centre-piece at the reception! I wonder how they got the flowers in there and kept them from wilting???

Yummy salmon meal:

Re-entrance of the Mr & Mrs.in traditional Nigerian dress:

The great thing about weddings are the beautiful reunions with long lost friends (WARNING: high levels of glam style ahead)...hehehehe:

Another set of sisters, rocking their formal Nigerian attire with gele head wraps, there are so many amazing ways to tie it, check out this tutorial!

A few members of the bridal party:

Make it rain:

Oh, what a night! We basically went back to the hotel barefoot from all the jumping and dancing around:)

Sunday morning, we decided to go out for brunch at the Radisson Regina  and then headed back Saskatoon! I wanted to take the chandelier with sconces in my bag, but my sister advised me not too....*sobs*

How did you spend your Labour Day weekend?