Blankets & Wine 51st Edition

It’s always a ball going for the Blankets & Wine, picnic packed, a nice shuka or mat lay on, a bottle of your favorite wine and great company. The Easter was super duper!

 (Archive photo)

Most of us walked in expecting a great time and pretty excited to find out the performers of the day. More about the event here:Blankets & Wine Kenya

As I say time and time again, there is nothing as brilliant as a great, electrifying live performance. If anything, I spent my afternoon in total amazement at the brilliant artists on stage! I have the greatest love and appreciation for authentic African music, It's amazing how much great talent there is in this country :)

Makadem

Side note: how cool were those leather pants? And a mix of Ankara

CEO Founder Muthoni Ndonga

 side note: Leather x lace x gold sneakers, a definite fashion steal!

Eric Wainana lit the stage on fire!

All in all, it was a brilliant time, superb music, superb people, a bottle of wine and picnic,

Like any other girl, I have a soft spot for baby pink, went for plaid x florals and t-strap flats for the afternoon, it was a hot and breezy day, the outfit was super!

Miss Vavavum

Xx

FASHION REVOLUTION DAY (KENYA)

On 24^th April 2013, 1133 people were killed and over 2500 were injured when the Rana plaza factory complex collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Catastrophes in our fashion supply chains continue. Fashion revolution day says enough is enough!

This annual appointment on the anniversary will help raise awareness of the true cost of fashion, show the world and celebrate those involved in creating a more sustainable future for fashion.

In order to raise awareness within the fashion industry and beyond, we want to encourage them to continue to try and make things better. Here’s what you can do

Here's what I did, wore my clothes inside out, took a pic

 Tag the brands you are wearing,

For my case I am wearing a H&M top and a skirt from St. Micheals

I am wearing my clothes #insideout because I want to ask @H&M and @StMicheal Who made my clothes?

For more visit the Yaya Centre Nairobi, where there will be a spoken word competition, fashion discussions,fashion mapping and an exhibition, from 12.00pm to 5.00pm

For more info check out:FASHION REVOLUTION DAY KENYA

Miss Vavavum

Xx

Natural Hair Styles Demystified

note: These facts are based entirely on my experience, studying and research from the internet and a few close friends.

First off let me start by saying that my hair is as normal as any other Afro there is out there. My hair has been termed 'tough' and trust me It's not always as 'soft' as It looks. As a testament to this, I had permed hair from the age of 8 and not once has my hair fallen or cut. I stayed with permed hair for close to 15 years! I maintain my hair by washing, moisturizing and deep condition(treatment) all at home. I do the Bantu Knot-Outs to make my hair as curly as it is. For this hairstyle you don’t need to have short hair, Afros shrink no matter how long one’s hair is. But this often depends on one's hair texture.

This particular method is best suited for natural hair and transitioning hair ( that phase when you are moving from permed hair to natural)

I have had my hair cut a lot in the past , I liked and still love funky haircuts. You also DO NOT  have to shave off your hair to turn natural(however this highly depends on your hair, of course in cases of breakage you just have to, or an alternative method is to plait your hair) There is the option of just letting your hair be, that is, transition from permed to natural, one of the best hairstyles to maintain this is the Bantu Knots.

Here is how my hair appeared as I transitioned- during this period; I maintained my hair using Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil shampoo, Olive Oil treatment,Motions Protein Reconstructor and lots of YouTube videos. Lucky for you there's me! ;)

And this is how it appears fully natural,

For those with longer hair:

photo c/o Google

Another superb way to have curly hair without use of chemicals is the straw set, this is whereby, straws or rollers similar to straws are used to create curls on your hair. There is use of gel to maintain the curls. I have done mine at the salon. For the curls to hold there is use of gel and going under a dryer to create the curls.

 This is how it's done, before you go into the dryer. Your hair is sectioned and a straw roller is used to curl the sectioned hair.

for those with longer hair( that is past shoulder length) this is how It turns out 

Below is how It turned out on my hair, note; this was before my hair was fully natural, this was around 8 months without the retouch. However this hair is also suitable for permed hair. 

 I did this hairstyle as I was travelling out of town to plan, organize and manage a festival. Given that job description, i knew I would never find time to care for my hair. I opted for the straw set which lasted about 3 weeks. I was super busy that weekend, long nights and days but my hair was always superb. See more on the festival here Rift Valley Festival 2013

This hairstyle lasts for about 2-3 weeks and maintenance is pretty simple, sleep with a silk scarf , upon waking up just arrange your curls with your hands and when your hair is dry spray it. All this, as long as you avoid water.

Hope I have been of help, do let me know If you have any more queries.

 Miss Vavavum

Xx

Fresh 'Princess' Of Bel-Air

So guys I have the AMAZIIINNNGG opportunity to be working with an outstanding Creative director EK Style. Wore this outfit for the first run. Check out EK style for more details! Whenever I am working with a talented creative, I love edgy or rare-combos in my outfits.This outfit reminds me of Will Smith's funky, colorful style from fresh-prince of bel air and the sartorial nerd. The 90s mix of loud colours and the plaid shirt, buttoned up and un-tucked, bringing the look together.

I love color! Bright colors bring joy/ lighten up just about any day or anything and even any mood! And I enjoy mixing unconventional kind of mix-and-match type of thing. Ordinary is just too mainstream lol!

Reds and blues are so majestic when combined together, they have this power, bright and captivating.

The colors, very bold on their own, are best toned down or neutralized with a plaid shirt. At least or this case. To keep on with the fun and bright in the outfit I opted for my lovely peach pumps and BAAAM, you get some va-va-vum!

Behind the scenes...

Photography & Directing: EK Style

What do you guys think?

Check out EK Style for more

Miss Vavavum

Xx

Fashion Revolution Day Kenya

Have you ever stopped to think where your clothes come from? Not the shop or brand, beyond that, do you know where it’s actually stitched together into one?

Well for those who know me, you know and understand how deeply involved with fashion I am. Every Wednesday, together with fellow industry members we brainstorm a way forward for this beloved industry of ours. The fashion focus group is held at the Kiko Romeo Store c/o the great hearted Ann Mccreath.
Read about it here; Kenya Fashion Focus Group and an interesting insight: Kenyan Fashion: I BLAME YOU!

Digressing..

Back to the point, yes.. do you know who made your clothes? Are you aware of the supply chain process? Do you know how many lies are dependent on just that one purchase? On the 24th of April individuals in the fashion industry from the world over, will come together to commemorate the Rana Plaza disaster to,  In their own words:

On April 24th last year, 1133 people were killed when the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Many more were injured. Today, people are still suffering as a direct result of our fashion supply chain.

Fashion Revolution Day says enough is enough.

The idea behind this day is to get every individual in the fashion industry talking about where clothes they create come from, the actual journey that clothing items travel to reach us. This day  will celebrate good practice, raise awareness of key issues and continue to campaign for change.

Get on instagram/ twitter/facebook, upload your pic wearing your cloth inside out and tag #insideOut @fashion_rev asking that specific brand you're wearing, ‘Who Made My Clothes’

Join in the movement and let us build the Kenyan Fashion Industry!

Myself wearing my top #insideout 

My friend and designer wearing her coat #InsideOut

For more info visit www.fashionrevolution.org or visit the facebook page Fashion Revolution Kenya
BE A PART OF THE MOVEMENT!
Miss Vavavum
Xx

Three strand Knot Out

Funny how we always discover ulterior methods for something we are so used to , necessity is the mother of invention right? So as I mentioned in a post earlier, I have been doing the three strand knots (in Kenya that’s matuta) lately, I use the same procedure as the bantu knot outs. The results are highly dependent on trial and error. With this style, It takes patience and close monitoring of your hair.
The difference here is that you plait 3 strands as compared to the bantu-knots that are two-strand and I also do not use rubber bands to hold my hair.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Hair shampoo (I use an olive oil based shampoo from Organics;ksh. 350)
• Hair conditioner(treatment)(I use Miadi Protein Reconstructor ;ksh.350)
• Hair oil(I use indian hemp:Ksh 350 or coconut hair oil;Ksh 109)
• silk head scarf

Wash hair with preferred shampoo, next apply conditioner or treatment if you like, leave it on for about 15-50 minutes depending on your preference. When you have the hair treatment on, comb with a wide-tooth comb to enable the conditioner penetrate each hair strand. Afterwards, wash out the hair treatment.

• Leave hair to dry a bit, section the hair when It is damp as opposed to dripping wet( twisting the hair at this point, will not produce the desired results especially if you have an early morning, the hair won't dry well overnight.
• Apply preferred solid hair oil on finger tips, then apply it as you make three strand twists 

1. Ensure that it is not too tight as this may cause hair breakage, plait the hair from the root to the ends.
2. Next, coil the plaited hair into tiny buns. My hair is rather tough, when i coil it it remains coiled, however you could use rubber bands to hold them.
3. And the final results, sectioned three strand knots, at this point, lightly oil your scalp then cover your hair with a satin scarf and go to bed. A minimum of 4 hours should do.
4. On waking up, I undo each knot slowly with my fingers, i do not use pins or combs 
5. Once I have undone each knot, I separate each knot into twos or threes with my fingers as opposed to using a comb. This is so as to achieve a more curls

The next morning or at least after 4 hours , undo the twists in the opposite direction. To achieve defined curls, do no, at any point use a comb. Use your fingers to comb the curls at each knot.

The success of the three strand knots (matutas) depends on trial and error. This works best with longer hair. The final results however are similar to the bantu-knot out

What do you think? Do let me know here 

Miss Vavavum

Xx