Socks with Open Toe Shoes

I know wearing socks with open toe shoes is on trend right now and has been for a good few years. A lot of celebrities- including Rihanna, Kate Moss, Beyonce and Fearne Cotton- are dong it, but i'm really not feeling this look. I personally don't think it looks right. In fact it looks quite odd and should be avoided by all means!

I would NOT be seen in this look... BUT I can appreciate that it looks nice on this girl. Who would have thought that leopard print ankle socks with patent heels and rolled up jeans would go together? But somehow it works!


Now, if you must wear socks with heels, then this is definitely the BEST look. Team up white patterned ankle socks with black (closed toe) heels. This look is just too cute! I love it. It's very girly and chic. I could see myself rocking this look but i'd obviously have to make sure the rest of my outfit was on point too!!

Trainer Chic | Hot or Not?

Dresses with trainers? Umm no. I'm not really feeling this look that seems to be getting even more popular with celebrities. I mean, I guess it depends on the kind of dress that you are wearing, like for instance if you team a casual dress with trainers then I guess it can look ok but to put a party or gorgeous bodycon dress with trainers is just a no no in my opinion. I think it completely brings down the outfit. I get it. There comfortable. Believe me when I say that i can last about an hour max in heels before the pain is unbearable so i know about comfortable, but i would rather be seen in a pair of cute flats instead. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I am just being bias as i currently own 2 pairs of trainers (which i brought for the gym that i hardly ever go to but that's another story!) so it's clear to see I don't particularly care too much for trainers anyway!

Should Men Wear Harem Pants?

Hmmmmm... harem pants! Well I personally love harem pants as they are just so amazingly comfortable... but what about men in harems? If I am totally honest, I think I am 50/50 on this one...I mean, some men can wear them and pull off the look quite nicely but that's because they usually have some kind of swag going on!... others are an epic fail!

These harems are my favourite. I love the print and the fit... erm, not so sure about the sandals though!

These are lovely, in fact I am loving the whole look! Love the 
clashing of the prints and the man bag. This dude has 
swagger. Check out his hair too!

Black Fashion Models | Part 2

Models of colour still find their race to be a considerable barrier to their success, a barrier that is more than skin deep. 

In the 2010 short documentary, “The Colour of Beauty,” that examines discrimination and racism in the fashion industry, the New York agent of an aspiring Canadian- Jamaican model, Renee Thompson, observes that “the token black models who get work really have unique features for African Americans- the straight, skinny European noses and hair, the very elegant faces and straight, almost curveless figures. They really look like White girls that were painted Black. That’s beauty you know through the industry’s perspective, to agents perspective. When they see that, when they see a girl that can look different by skin pigment and still have great features like that it is sellable. When black models come in with big eyes, big nose, big whatever, big lips, things that are common traits in African Americans, it doesn’t work. But for those lucky few girls that like Renee, they have white girl features and it’s kind of messed up but that is just the way that the industry is.”

Renee Thompson

It is reported that fashion and beauty agencies rarely hire black models, actively saying that they “need a black model but she has to be a white girl dipped in chocolate." This could imply a specific rejection of all things black as African features are not seen as attractive.

Black Fashion Models | Part 1

Before supermodel Naomi Campbell, only Naomi Sims (widely acknowledged as the first black supermodel) and Beverly Johnson had managed to break through the white ideal and carve out names for themselves within the industry.

Naomi Sims

Beverly Johnson

Supermodels Naomi Campbell and in recent years, Jourdan Dunn are two of the UK’s biggest dark skinned black female fashion models. Campbell made history in 1998 by becoming the first black woman to feature on the covers of French and British Vogue after her friend and mentor, designer Yves St. Laurent, threatened to withdraw his advertising from the magazine if it continued to refuse to place black models on its cover. Being one of so few black models in the business, particularly in the 1990s, when she was arguably the only black model of serious note, her meteoric rise was fraught with tension, coupled with even more scrutiny and rejection simply because of the color of her skin. In the midst of the 1990s supermodel group, Naomi said that “there was an unwritten rule that only one of them could be black."

Black Beauty in the Media

There are many connotations in the media and society that still portray African women in a negative light. For example, Naomi Campbell is one of the world’s most famous supermodels yet she is constantly being targeted as being angry, outspoken and aggressive. Many African women still have to deal with issues of being considered less worthy, due to their skin colour.

In American mainstream media, many black women depicted as beautiful are either light skinned or mixed race such as Beyoncé Knowles, Halle Berry and Tyra Banks.

Beyonce

Halle Berry

Tyra Banks

However, there are also dark skinned women such as Gabrielle Union, Lauren London and Nia Long that are also known for their beauty.

Gabrielle Union