Here is a short read for how to make your own French beret net veil trend without breaking the bank. If you are a long-time reader of this blog, you might have been familiar with my DIY antics as seen on several post here. However, with work and other personal engagements, a few years has passed since a DIY of any sort was uploaded on the blog.
Thanksgiving provided me an opportunity to lean back to my DIY skills in creating a French beret after seeing a few high-end price(s) for it online. My love for French fashion is unmatched, which has ultimately led to my love for berets. I am either rocking a beret as a French girl, or pairing it with a cream-colored blazer here.
How to Design a Beret with Veil
So after weighing the odds of getting a beret with veil at a reasonable price point, I decided to make one for myself using available resources. What do you need?
A fascinator with an attached net accessory, I was able to get one from Amazon for 12.99
A Pair of Scissors
and Beret
Watch video below to see the process.
Happy thanksgiving! I hope you found something to be thankful for
Hey loves it is a few days to America's thanksgiving, which is a holiday that is celebrated in earnest. There are a couple of things I am grateful for this year, including mental and financial stability, friendship, and growth in the tiniest of habits.
Also, I mentioned on my Instagram page that I am particularly thankful for the active community that I have here and the privilege I have had due to your constant support.
So here are 5 additional things I am thankful for this year.
Thankful for the friends that put up with the granular details of our lives, where pitfalls and peak moments are dawned with wine and laughter.
5 Things I am Thankful For
Health:
Oh boy, I have stalled on writing about how thankful I am for good health. A usual cliche that we often banter about, is that we take our good health for granted. However, this year I reflected a lot on how much am saving by being relatively healthy. Anyone who has lived in America for long can testify that the price for healthcare in the country is exponential.
The moment of truth hit me recently when I stumbled on a thread of people sharing their personal experience with the US healthcare system. The stories where mind tugging and I sat down to to say a little thank you. Prior to getting an insurance health coverage with my job, I realized that I could have racked up some expensive bills had anything happened to me.
So, I am thankful for the ability to use my sensory glands to smell, see, and appreciate taste- and for mobility without aid. These capabilities I didn't appreciate much until I saw videos of how COVID-19 has robbed people of their sensory glands and I was taken aback.
A Place to call Home:
It is the little things, like the ability to have a roof over my head and the ability to pay for it. I have reflected a bit on my journey in this country, and there was a thanksgiving where I lived in a room that was so cold and I could barely afford a heater. Thankfully, I can afford a better place now with regulated temperature, and other comfortable furnishings. For this little growth I am thankful.
Here is a first stanza of C.H Seow poem, which I love
A place to be loved A place to put things to a rest A place to call a shelter…
Family:
I am really thankful for the kins I get to call family. Sometimes family get on our nerves, are usually indifferent to our plight, or sometimes overbearing. But when it comes to the crust of things and we remember the memories we have shared with them, our heart feels light. I am thankful for my family who are there through the little and grand moments.
Friends:
I write a lot about friendship and rightly so, see here, because my life is filled with amazing men and women who keep to their word. I could write endlessly about the unique individual gifts of my friends and how they have served me and me them in various ways. Thankful for the friends that put up with the granular details of our lives, where pitfalls and peak moments are dawned with wine and laughter.
Shout out to Awele though, every year you make me thankful for you even more.
Job Stability:
Simply put, I am so blessed to have a job that covers my bills, and other externalities and the little overindulgence that goes on in my life. I have seen the other side of what it is like to be unemployed and it is not an experience that I would wish on anyone. So, I am thankful for work and the projects I get to execute with an amazing team, supervisor and a job that is stable enough to cover my basic needs.
Today, I will be shinning my spotlight on one of the best place to eat while in DC. The 1310 Kitchen and Bar is a must-visit for any first-timer in DC. With an interactive online menu and a great ambiance, you are definitely promised good food and a good time.
The last time I featured one of my favorite places to eat was in a July 4th blogpost. So, I want to make this a periodic thing since I have a few favorite places that I love to eat from.
First off, I would not have discovered this amazing and lovely spot were it not for a booking mishap. I had scheduled to have brunch at a French restaurant but could not make it to their wait list. You should know one thing that restaurants at Georgetown, DC are fully booked most weekends.
While still stressing about my clumsiness and lack of planning, since the brunch was planned for 5 people, I had to quickly come up with a solution.
I used google maps to trace the closest brunch serving restaurant on the same street and thankfully there was one. To clarify, I had to book online and there was only one spot that was left for brunch and that was really a miracle.
There are very few times this year, that I can vaguely recall, where a poorly managed situation from my end worked out my greater good.
So, finally the rest of the team arrived and we got served by a server lets call him *Fernando, because I am so bad with names and I did not get permission to post anyone's name online. That said, he was so patient with us and our shenanigans.
Let's review the menu and what my/our experience was like, and this is not an AD!
MENU/FOOD QUALITY
When I walked in, I did not know what to expect, except that the restaurant was filled to capacity and I knew that would only be possible because they had a good menu. I started out with the a chicken burger from their brunch menu which is a staple choice and I know restaurants here barely get wrong.
However, after tasting someone's French toast order, I ordered one for myself, and I will say this, the french toast and it is one of the tastiest things I have had in recent times outside a cheese lamb gnocchi.
The rest of the table placed different orders for items on the menu and it arrived, the taste was so good we all ordered an additional plate, mind you we were 5. And if each of us ordered 2-3 items from the menu, you bet it was good (it was)!
AMBIANCE
The ambiance was one of my favorite things about the restaurant, it felt vintage and modern, with silent Jazz sounds echoing from speakers in the background, and there were photo frames of two of my favorite female singers, Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse. We got a great sitting arrangement that fit the whole family.
SERVICE & PRICE
For the service we received, 1310 Kitchen and Bar deserves a 5 star. We were a bit late in ordering our service and the kitchen was patient with us taking our additional orders. The server came back to check if we were doing alright every other min, and we learned a little about him and his family. I love it when people try to bring a human connection to their service. Everyone in the family loved him!
Our price came a little above $340 and had to give additional tips to our server because he was too good. The men on our table covered the bill and I was so thankful. Shoutout to the good men picking up the bills.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
The overall experience was memorable and everyone at the table mentioned that they had a good time. I would give them a good 5-star, which is a hard rating to give out from me because I have high standards when it comes to food. In the end, I was thankful my former restaurant plan fell through, because how would I have known to visit this place?
I do hope y'all visit them and if you do write to me about your experience.
Welcome to another weekend with a style blog post. Today's outfit post has a lot of chic green layering and it will be my first time trying on a leather leggings, I will also share a few affordable outfit recommendations, so get comfortable for this short read.
I realized after looking at my latest outfit posts, hereand here, that my love for monochrome is heightened during fall and today's look will be no different. Deciding on these pair of leather leggings for the first time was interesting, as I had other options to choose from, from the White House Black Market Collection. But I realized that when I am presented with a lot of color options, my default is usually to choose the green tone.
Among all secondary colors, green seem to be my favorite because it goes well with almost all colors in the color wheel, except maybe purple (that color likes it's kind and is too picky). So, my choice for choosing a green leggings to style was not far-fetched. I paired the look with a light suede green shirt from Chico's to complete the look, providing the right texture for the look.
Green allows for versatility and so does the leather texture for the pants, which allow for a unique, and alluring look. Leather clothing remain comfort materials for anyone during the fall/autumn season. I barely own a leather look in my wardrobe, except for a Zara leather skirt featured in this look on Instagram.
These leggings are a must have and you can tell by the stretch and the fit on me. Keep reading to see recommendations for similar leggings to shop
Trench Coat with Leather Leggings
Ever since I made the decision to cut my hair, I have had a renewed sense of style and confidence, and it seems to be one of the best decision I have made this year. I added a trench coat to this look to fit the season, as it has gotten really cold in DC.
Welcome to the holiday season. It is the time of the year where we throw elaborate parties to celebrate friends, families, and acquaintances. One dilemma is often what to wear to these parties, especially if you want to stand out.
Today's post I will be sharing some outfit recommendations for women like me who are looking for quality clothing for their holiday events.
Also, I can’t believe we are all writing about holiday-related content, meanwhile it was January just yesterday. And like the salient movement of a cheetah wanting to catch it’s pretty, the year has eluded us.
About today's look, I loved the subtle yet romantic details of the neck cut, the ruffle fringe details, and the material choice for the design. The polka dot white outfit from the White House Black Market, isn't the first time I am styling a piece from their collection, please see previous blog post here.
The light weight dress is a stunner from a mile away and everyone who saw me on the streets of Washington DC, commented on my look.
Here are 5 Dress Looks Recommended For You
One thing we’ll try to do this season is keep holiday memories etched like a scent of a good lover. If there is any lesson the pandemic thought us, it is to cherish moments of togetherness. So, that will often happen, in good clothes with the right energy to match.
Let’s look at a few clothing recommendations for the holiday season.
LOOK 1: High Society Event
LOOK 2: A High Tea Party
LOOK 3: A Holiday Concert
LOOK 4: Work End of the Year Event
LOOK 5: Family Get Together
Related & Blog Giveaway
In other news, my blog turned 10 years today and when I still can't believe how far I have come. There has been no greater joy that writing fashion, personal and developmental content for my readers. In the last 10 years writing for this blog has connected me to such a warm community, and I have collaborated with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Google.
The other aspect of this journey, is to have witnessed early blog readers go from high school students to master graduates and thriving. Some who have written to me about how inspiring my blog was to their journey.
Non of these grandeur or achievement was clear from the beginning. I was just a college student who wanted to write on teenage depression (in post which have long been deleted), and then transformed to writing about fashion which I have always loved.
I am working towards a giveaway which is only being announced here. If you read this blog, comment, let me know which of my blog post has been the most inspiring to you and send me a message through any of my contact details.
A winner will be picked in December and I will send a $100 gift card. Please be following my social media pages linked below
Here is how I style a black Monochrome look for Fall. For Fall I get to experiment with fashion in ways that other seasons do not permit. I call it the fun fashion season because each outfit is layered with intention to make each clothing visible.
Today, I am styling a monochromatic look from the White House Black Market (Fall Collection) which you can shop by clicking this link. This is not the first time I am kicking off fall season in an all monochrome look. A few years ago, I styled a brown monochrome look here and today I'll be styling an all black look.
STYLING BLACK MONOCHROME
I always feel powerful in black and styling this look was exciting. The WHBM has been a brand on my radar for a minute. I fell in love with their corporate looks and the quality of their materials. When the brand reached out that I collaborate with them to launch this collection, I was really excited.
I decided to style the look with two different shoes from their collection to see them play out. Also, since I wanted the look to come together, I played safe on the accessories- opting for a pair of dark shades to complete the look.
Proenza Leather Jacket When it comes to fall fashion, there are a few styles we see repeated year-in and year-out. For example, the trench coat with the knit scarf, sweater, a monochrome blazer look, or lace-up boot.
But lately, we have seen fashion evolve from basic to concepts, and sometimes I wonder if fall fashion trends have taken or will up the challenge. In today’s post, I spotlight 5-fall 2021 trends, most of which are being revisited, recycled or blatantly lifted from the past, with few distinguishing features.
I have stalled this post for fall trends for 3-weeks, and only today, had time to revisit it. The reason? The weather has reminded me of how lovely the first month of fall gets before the cold gets out of.
Fall Trends
So for fall this year, we are seeing a few trends from 2015 (see here) make their comeback in style. At first, it felt like a one-off thing when I saw the first set of loafers pop up on my Instagram feed, and now I see it everywhere. But loafers are not the only trend to look out for, color block patterns are back, and so is fur and wool hats.
Rihanna’s styling of the wool hat sparked a lot of interest, which I can foretell will be a fall trend. Wool hat has so many origins, including dating back to Europe by the Mongolian tribe, but within pop culture, Pamela Anderson is famed for the trend.
Sequin Clothing
Another trend to make a comeback is sequin clothing; especially in suits, blouses, skirts and gowns, and I am here for it! There are years when we don’t get to revisit the sequin clothing trend, and 2021 isn’t one of them. I have not always a fan of sequin, but adulthood means that sometimes our taste changes. I have worn a sequin piece this year too, see here.
Bottega Veneta David Koma Surprisingly, I have gotten very comfortable with seeing people rock a sequin look. For the longest time, sequin clothing was my worst pattern to see on anyone, because I just believed they looked tacky. But I’ve grown into loving it, which is a fashion trait I could foresee myself loving as I got into adulthood.
Loafers
For fall this year, we will see loafers styled with in a very interesting way. The new trend has people layering their loafers with stockings, and styled with unique pieces, including suits, poplin gowns and oversized shirts.
As mentioned earlier, color block patterns back in similar colors that were a trend from 2013 -2015. From the runway to street style, it is exciting to see orange mixed with pink, red with green, and other outlandish colors back on-trend.
Shop Similar
Leather Skirts/Pants
Fashion items making a comeback, which have never really been out of fashion, is the leather skirt and pants. For fall this year, they are back by popular demand. There is something about wearing a leather clothing that is unique and makes one look put together.
The sweater vest is another trend that is making a fashionable comeback. It is one of my favorite trends, and I can see myself indulging in a couple of sweater vest pieces this fall. Rihanna is a trend setter! So when she wore a fuzzy fur bucket hat consecutively, the girls had to go find them. Between, I was one of those girls!
SHOP
Crop Jackets, Knit Wears
And finally, for the holiday season, we are likely to see more crop jackets, turtle neck, knitwear, and more glittering party outfits. I love the crop jacket trend, I think its fresh and modern! I am also looking to see how people will play with their knitwear, because its a trend we have seen all year!
Self-Portrait
SHOP
I am particularly in love with Khaite collection , each piece is cut with expertise, unique, yet fresh and trendy.
Let me know the fall trend that you are looking forward to purchasing. I am also looking forward to wearing my backpack more often this season.
SHOP
Here are a Few Unique Fall Trends from Milan Fashion Week
David Koma
