 February has officially been Black History Month, yet why stop at 29 days, let's keep it going! So much to learn, honor, and celebrate. Here's a run-down of some Styleposium favorites to watch, read, and follow. To Watch: Fresh Dressed  “The insecurity of not having anything - - Damon Dash, Co-Founder of Roc-A-Fella & Rocawear. Great Minds: Jamel Shabazz If you watched Fresh Dressed, then you've heard Jamel Shabazz, on the art of being F L Y.  What I see is pride and dignity. Portrait Artist, Kehinde Wiley  Book List: Vintage Black Glamour  Nichelle Gainer on her book, Vintage Black Glamour, available now. Fall 2016, Vintage Black Glamour presents, Gentlemen's Quarters. Talking About Hair with Un-ruly.com Follow this up with part 2 and check out other great shorts on un-ruly.com To Follow: Urban Bush Babes & Afropunk  GAH! So gorgeous. Major hair envy! Ciprianna Quann and TK Wonder of UrbanBushbabes.com  Fall down the rabbit hole of Afropunk.com Illustration by Mokshini at Afropunk NY. That's a wrap for now, but don't hesitate to keep exploring and learning. More personal style & slow fashion stories next week. Until then!
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   Our insatiable taste for new fashion has been outpacing the industry’s ability to keep up. As you may know, when a collection hits the runway, generally it is the Big Reveal. The collection is an example of what’s to come and is not shoppable for at least 4-6 months as it has yet to be manufactured. (This is beginning to change.) Big chain stores/fast fashion have hacked this process and are beating larger design houses to the punch by taking notes and creating cheap knock-offs before the original collection hits the stores. If you’d like to know more about that, Elizabeth Kline’s Overdressed is a good place to start. (It’s also Colette’s Book of the Month).  Business of Fashion organized a conversation recently regarding the state of the fashion industry. Be a fly on the wall and read their discussion regarding: Social Media Consumerism Over-producing Bridging the commercial and the creative Designer burn-out New looks vs. a signature look Manufacturing pre-runway A couple “WHAT?!” and “Finally!!!” moments that we’re celebrating: “...We can be guilty of being kingmakers. We say something is hot and then we say something is cold...Who are we to say what’s cool and what’s not. If a brand chooses to be consistent and stick to something and celebrate its universe, the consumer is going to go with it.” - Daniel Marks, director and publicist & “...People are talking about spirituality, meditation, experiences — not buying objects. I think people are waking up and having a crisis, and they don’t want to live their life from a phone. I think there will be a huge change.” - JJ Martin, editor and consultant <<<<<<<<<<<<yesssssssssssssssssssssssss>>>>>>>>>>>>> So fast fashion has been ripping off the big institutions, and even the small indie ones too. Here is something you should know: There is very little copyright/patent protection in the fashion industry. That’s right, listen to this wonderful gem: There's more where that came from:
 Being sewists, we are in an unique position to beat fast fashion at it’s own game. The development of social media, live-streaming, and tools like Pinterest have made access to collections remarkably available and easy to document. One might create Pinterest boards to collect favorite images and for wardrobe inspiration. A friend of Bill Cunningham's upon gifting him his first camera, said "use it as you would a pen." Capturing inspiration has never been more simple with smartphones. Also, fabric is easier to source with stores going online like the venerable Mood Fabrics, the quality Merchant & Mills, and tech-wonder, Spoonflower. Request swatches of what you like from their online store to make sure the real deal is as good as the image. You might even have a color or fabric swatch on hand that you’d like to replace. Contact the store and see if they might swatch some similar fabrics upon receiving your example.
Bringing It Back to Personal Style = Here Is Where It Gets Good. Some lucky people have a great vision of what looks good on them from a young age. Others develop it as they get older. Some don’t have it all, and that is perfectly ok too. Hey, we’re not the fashion police! We just happen to be passionate about personal style! Knowing what you feel good in comes naturally (sweatpants, yo!) Knowing what you look good in - well, there’s too much opinion on that, and it is not necessarily looking out for your best interest. What do YOU want in your wardrobe? What makes YOU feel good? Apply that to the inspiration that comes your way and make these pieces your very own. That is a recipe for a beautiful, quality, handmade wardrobe you can cherish for a very long time.  Happy Galentine's, Badass! Styleposium is going weekly. Each Monday a new post. What. More, you say? Well, if that doesn't suffice, you can just ....like us on Facebook? You'll be the first to see when the new stuff comes out - PLUS, a little extra content throughout the week. Thank you for reading and if so inclined, please share and/or comment. We'd love to hear from you!  Did you participate in Hari-Kuyo this year? To the uninitiated, this Japanese event honors the broken/bent needles and pins accumulated from a years worth of mending and making. Pins and needles are sunk into blocks of tofu. Incense is burned and participants offer prayers of thanks, gratitude, and requests for better sewing skills. If these are sentiments you can get behind, you don't need to go to Japan or even have a temple to participate. Host one with your group of makers at a local fabric shop or perhaps a roomy cafe that would accommodate your group. A Very* Informal How-To: *just some ideas on how one might go about it.. 1. ANNOUNCEMENT. Let your makers know ahead of time so they can collect their cast-offs instead of tossing them. Maybe a little "Save-the-date" action via a postcard or an email. Perhaps, you could even create a FB page for your event. Do you want it to be a small, private affair with your fellow makers? Maybe it's open to the public and you get to meet like-minded individuals in your community! What if your invitation had a piece of felt for collecting the broken bits? 2. LOCATION. Consider a convenient location, the potential size of your group, the price of renting a space. Free, is ideal, right? Consider partnering with your fabric store, obtaining a community room from the city, a church basement, a school or theater space. You might even consider your own home if it will be a private event. 3. ADVERTISE. That is, if you do decide to make it a big to-do. Create that FB page for sure, if not an actual website. Weebly, Squarespace we hear are good. Cross-promotional marketing with posters in shops and cafes. Maybe they could donate some..... 4. SNACKS! Can't go wrong with snacks and bevies. Alternatively, you might organize it as a potluck if you're doing a private event. Be mindful of dietary restrictions by providing a few staples that all diets might enjoy like fruits and crudites. Potluck offerings might include a little placard stating contents to ease the minds and stomachs of those with restrictions. Nobody likes tummy-aches. 5. GIVE BACK. You could charge admission or request donations and have the proceeds go to benefit your community. Pick a cause! Make it a food drive or a coat drive with collection boxes for gently used coats/toys/canned goods. Look at you, you builder of community and charming beast of good will! That's all we got for now. There are certainly more things to consider, such as the order of events, a speaker, some handy volunteers, getting that tofu and incense, event parking... but that can all be figured out. Let us know how it goes or if you have any ideas on how to improve this list! "The great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors, friends, and family, in one's backyard." - Abraham Maslow |
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