Who's That Girl?

Well hello there, darlings! It is my pleasure to introduce you to Marquita. She's an adorable model from the great state of "Everything is Bigger in Texas" that I had the honor of meeting some weeks ago. This crop-topped beauty enjoys eating and trying new foods and loves playing sports. In fact, she says if she weren't modeling she'd either be coaching or playing professional volleyball. Marquita is the middle child in a large family, but she's claims not to suffer from middle child syndrome. Ha! We'll see about that. Let's get familiar...

1. Describe your style.
My style is casual and fun fashion. Shorts or skinny jeans with a tank top. Always have to have a scarf for a splash of color. I absolutely love t-shirts! You can always make a t-shirt look like quality fashion that's trendy.

2. What's your spirit animal or an animal your identify with?
Not sure what my spirit animal is, but I like dogs and fish. Awkward combination but they are different and always keep a smile on my face. If I had a dog, I would name it Chi and my fish would be named Uno.


3. If you had a super power what would it be?
If I had a super power it would be the power of making sure every child had a fair and equal education along with food. I love to eat!!:)

4. What challenges have you faced in your career?
Challenges throughout my life have been not feeling like I'm good enough for certain things in life even though I know I am because God is ways on my side.

5. What keeps you motivated?
My family keeps me motivated and they push me. Food motivates me and brightens my day when I'm down.

Marquita is such a doll. She's got a good head on her shoulders and a very big heart. Next month, I'll introduce you to another model who's making moves and doing big things. If there's a model you'd like to get to know, let me know. Until next time.

Hot Off the Press

From Refinery29

From The New York Times

Wow! I feel like a star. The love that my friends and I got in New York was ridiculous. I don't even know where to begin. I've tried my darndest to round up all the press, but everyday new things are coming out. Street style bloggers from as far as Japan were snapping pics of my Fashion Week styles. And oh my goodness. Refinery29 talked about my freckles, like me specifically! Then there's this New York Times video! Here are a few more of my favorites...

From Essence

Essence did a really great job covering my looks during the week. Here's me on day two after an outfit change. I decided to dress down.

From NYC Curb Appeal

"Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!" This striped blazer and mirrored shades got a lot of attention. This outfit was definitely popular and snapped by so many photographers. And who can believe I made it on the list for "most stylish". Wowzers!

From StyleCaster

Day two dressed down outside Milk Studios. My hair was still straight from the previous day when I did the presentation for Ebony White, but well on its way to reverting to curly. All I could do was throw on a hat and red lipstick and it worked.

From Stylelist

One of my favorite photographers Keith Morrison snapped pics of me several days in a row near Lincoln Center. He's such a sweetheart. I'm really in debt to him for getting me on Stylelist.

From Glo MSN, photo courtesy of Getty Images

Once again I'm in stripes. This was day three and one style blogger asked me "Out of all the things in your closet, what do you have the most of?" All I could do was laugh because she definitely saw me in stripes the day before.

I've got my blog scouts still out there searching for more press. If you find anything, do a a girl a favor and send it my way. I really appreciate all the love and support. Thanks NYFW street style peeps for making this freckled chick feel special.

NYFW Day 5/6

Lunch break with Blake Scott, Taye Hansberry, Ash Tianah, Jae Joseph and Jovan Ali

It's been a couple of weeks since I said farewell to the Big Apple, but the memories are still alive in my heart. The energy of that city is so intoxicating and you're hooked on it everytime you're there. My last days at Fashion Week were the icing on the cake. Alice & Olivia, Maki Oh, and a party for Marcelo Burlon at Opening Ceremony. Oh my! Let's relive all that deliciousness together.

Good morning, Monday! Taye and I had no time to spare as we woke up a bit late. Typical. After days of wearing heels and dressing to the nines, we decided to have an off-day and be a bit relaxed. So shorts and an Eric Clapton T for me as we headed to Lincoln Center for the Mathieu Mirano presentation. He'd designed costumes for Lady Gaga, so his collection wouldn't disappoint. A simple color palette of white, red, and gold with a hint of black in sophisticated shapes and fabrics. For some reason I was expecting latex and plastic, but it was great. After that we needed a pick me up, so we stopped by the HSN Lounge at the Empire Hotel. The new darlings of fall for HSN were on display including OH by Joy Gryson, Iris Apfel accessories, and the new shoe line by June Ambrose. Taye and I also got our makeup touched up with Trish McEvoy cosmetics.

After a bite to eat and a quick change, we headed to one of my favorite events of Fashion Week, the Alice & Olivia presentation. The clothes were fantastic and the little accents were just perfect. I was drooling over this jeweled clutch and the sparkly evening shoes while I sipped cocktails and chit-chatted with fashionie folks. But time was not on my side and I had to rush out to the Maki Oh presentation down the street. The event sponsored by Free Your Mane was simple yet beautiful. Designer Amaka Osakwe kept true to her Nigerian roots with fabrics and patterns reflective of Lagos flavor. Loved it! Ok, now for the really good stuff. My friend Steph and I hightailed it over to the County of Milan x Opening Ceremony party. If you don't already know, I'm absolutely crazy about designer Marcelo Burlon and everything he creates. His new collection is so freaking awesome... of course. Obviously the party was off the hook. My Instagram video will prove that for you.

The next day would be my last in New York. In true Mercedes Benz fashion, we unsuccessfully attempted to make it in to the Carolina Herrerra show. But we got the best seats anyway, and watched from the comforts of the Samsung Lounge as we sipped on lattes. My trip wasn't complete until I ran into Andrew Bevan, Teen Vogue's style features director. I kept seeing him dashing off to shows and sitting front row when I couldn't get in. Sigh. Andrew and the whole team at Teen Vogue looked so fresh the entire week as they hopped around from event to event. And New York was just their first stop for the Spring/Summer 2014 season. Oh the life of a jet-setting fashion insider must be gorgeously exhausting, and I envy it.

New York, once again you captured my heart on this trip. Your grace, your grit, your style. There are no other cities quite like you. Thanks for another wonderful Fashion Week... until next time.

xoxo

The Nail Game: NYFW Edition

If you're going to make an appearance at the fiercest fashion shows in the world, you'd better come correct. From head to toe, you've got to look on point including your nails. I'm not just talking a basic manicure. I'm talking stilettos, nail wraps, nail art, half moon manicures, jewels... the works. On the runway, designers like Mara Hoffman, Maki Oh, and Cushnie Et Ochs got in on the trend by incorporating nail art designs to match their collections. On the streets of New York, the fashionista took the nail game to a whole other level.

Imagine arriving at fashion week sans manicure. Between all the packing and last minute errands, I honestly didn't have time to squeeze in a mani-pedi. I just kept hoping that one of the gifting suites or beauty lounges would include manicures in their free services. For days I hid my nails from the world, until one evening at event for Amika hair products. Hallelujah there's a nail bar!

Amika decided to collaborate with Dashing Diva and create nail wraps to match the packaging for the new collection. Genius! I opted for the black with gold dots. Look at they compliment my freckles and this cute Oh by Joy Gryson wallet. Spots on spots on spots. These nail wraps became an instant hit for the street fashion lovers. Taye and I even made a cameo in this great nail trend video by Glam.com.

Ooo these girls got style. See how their nails amped up their outfits. Boom! It must have been kismet, because my nail wraps conveniently matched all my outfits at NYFW from my striped Stella & Jamie vest to my leopard print sweater. The other great thing about these Dashing Diva nail wraps, if you just add gel on top, they'll last for weeks. Genius!

Chime in ladies: What's your favorite nail trend from New York Fashion Week?

NYFW Day 3 / 4

Me with LA bloggers Sydne,Taye, Amelia, and Grasie. Photo by Keith Morrison

What day is it? By the time I made it to the weekend, the days really became a blur. All I can remember is go, go go! Once again, I woke up that morning in a rush. Oh God! What am I wearing? That shirt's too wrinkled! I've just got to throw something on. But it was too late and I'd already missed Lacoste. Who schedules a fashion show at 10 am on a Saturday anyway? Absolutely ridiculous. Besides, considering my luck the previous day, I figured I wouldn't make it in even though I did RSVP.

The ladies and I decided to make our rounds and schmooze while we waited for another show. The fashion paparazzi was out in full force. Taye, Grasie and I couldn't walk a few steps without getting our pictures taken. Photographers all the way from places like Australia, Russia, and Japan were snapping pics left and right. During the frenzy, I had the pleasure of running into beauty maven Ariana Pierce and Atlanta fave Tami Reed of Talking with Tami. I remembered them from the Ebony White presentation a few days early, and they are both sweet as a Georgia peach.

Photo by Taye Hansberry- Full review on Stuff She Likes

Finally, we made it inside Lincoln Center for the Mara Hoffman Spring/ Summer 2014 collection. The show was full of vibrant colors and vivid prints. Gorgeous silhouettes and breathable fabrics. Each model looked as beautiful as the Girl from Ipanema as she walked down the runway "tall, and tan, and young and lovely". Every detail from the styling to the hair to the music was so well planned. The collection made you long for a South American vacation that you'd hope to never return from. To make things even better, the love of my fashion life Marcelo Burlon was sitting in the front row. Swoon. This was exactly what I'd wanted of New York Fashion Week.

That evening, the girls and I stopped by an event for Amika to celebrate the company's new hair products. Then it was on to The Standard for the BCBG party. We drank champagne and shook our moneymakers until we couldn't stand up anymore. I woke up the next morning determined to take it easy. The first stop was the Vogue Runway Retreat where I stuffed my face with snacks and met the talented Priscilla Barroso, designer of Crowned Bird. She and friend Jenny are super awesome chicks with really good style. Over at the tents the girls and I ran into our favorite street style photographer Keith Morrison who happily snapped us for Stylelist.com. He is so great to shoot with. He knows what he wants, and when he's taking a photo it looks like he's in some crazy yoga pose. Oh, I also saw cutie pie Ty of Gorgeous in Grey. Oh oh! And freaking June Ambrose! She's the business.

Even though I tried to chill over the weekend, days three and four were still pretty productive. My final days in NYC are coming next.

xoxo

Show Me The Colour

Photos courtesy of Taye Hansberry

My diversity radar is always on and in full effect, and fashion week was no different. One of the first things I notice on the runway is that little spot of color. You see race when you look at models especially when there's only a couple of brown faces there. This can be incredibly disheartening. As a little girl I loved seeing Naomi, Tyra, Beverly Peele, and Veronica Webb strut the catwalk. They inspired me. For the latest generation of future fashionistas and model lovers, it's slim pickings. It seems like the beautiful caramel, honey, and chocolate amazons that I love to see are so few and far between.

Maybe I'm crazy. I've heard that over the past few seasons, designers are incorporating more black, Asian, and other ethnicities into their shows. Just to see if this is actually true, I took a tally of the minority models during New York Fashion Week. I attempted to count each and every show give or take a couple. It has literally taken me days to go through them. Especially after Thursday's Essence Lunchtime Debates on Twitter, I needed to see an accurate runway race report card.

Out of the 70 something shows or presentations I counted, here's what stood out:

5 had absolutely no black models- this includes Kanye favorite MM6 by Margiela and Vivienne Tam. The latter did have Asian models in 10 of the 39 looks on the runway.

1 black model for Cynthia Rowley, Theyskens' Theory, Sass & Bide, and Marchesa just to name a few.

1 Asian, 1 Black for Jill Stuart, and I actually like her stuff.

The majority of shows had 4 to 6 minority models walking.

Kudos to Jeremy Scott and Mara Hoffman for by far the most diverse shows ever. There were so many colorful models on the runway that I couldn't keep count.

Keep in mind, my stats are based solely on me looking at photos from the shows with the exception of the ones I actually attended. It was extremely difficult to count the models who appeared to be ethnically ambiguous. I took a count of the total number of looks that came down the runway, the number of ethnic models, and the number of looks on hese models. I tried to cross reference and all that other exact scientific research stuff, but I'm not a professional race counter. With all of that said, it's important to notice the designers that stayed true to their consumer demographic and own personal ethnic background. African American designer Tracy Reese represented for the home team with black models wearing 17 of the 43 looks that came down the runway. This is all a step in the right direction, but we still have a ways to go. Do these numbers accurately reflect the population? Is this show of color appropriate for the global audience? Will the stats look drastically different after fashion weeks in London, Paris and Milan? The jury's still out, but we've got to remain optimistic and push for a more colorful fashion future.

NYFW Day 2

Photograph by Pavel Denisenko

Have you ever woken up one morning, you start going through your day and suddenly you're like "Whoa, déjà vu"? Day two would be the first of many days just like that. We woke up late and realized that we only had a few moments to catch the show we wanted to see. We pulled a huge fashion don't and just threw on the same thing we were wore the night before. We'd only be at Lincoln Center for a second. Besides we didn't have enough photos in those outfits. Needless to say, we didn't make the show.

After missing out on that and having run out the apartment without being properly caffeinated, Taye and I went upstairs to the Samsung lounge for some Illy coffee. Totally quenched my thirst. Next stop, we decided to go outside and people watch. Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is always good for this. I mean, the characters really come out. You've got your style elite that only wear Carolina Herrera or something similar, pearl necklaces, and delicate pumps. Think Park Avenue socialite. Then there's the In Crowd that looks cool no matter what they're wearing but they're never photographed without shades. And finally there's that other group that looks "avant-garde" but it's almost as if they are begging for attention. You know the ones I'm talking about.

Anyway... in the courtyard area of the Lincoln Center we ran into Hallie Swanson of Hallie Daily. This adorable blogger managed to score big on Vanity Fair's Best Dressed list this year. Love her style. As we were standing there chatting it up, photographers began to swarm. Was it Hallie? Was it me? Or maybe they were attracted to the black cape Taye was wearing. Who knows, but we had to get out of there. After a quick outfit change, Taye and I went to the GBK Lounge at the Empire Hotel and scored some sweet stuff from Hard Candy and a few other vendors. The next up for me was Milk Studios for Cushnie et Ochs. Just like the show that morning, I never made it inside. This would be the story of my fashion week. Oh well, at least I ran into some familiar faces from LA.

Day three coming up next.

xoxo

NYFW Day One

With Taye and Jae 

Oh hello, New York. I landed a few days ago and I've been running nonstop ever since. This city can be so exhausting, but energizing at the same time. No wonder there are those I heart NY shirts. Sad to say my trip is coming to an end. The good thing is you get to see every moment of it... ok, almost every moment. The first 24 hours were spent with my crew supporting Styled to Rock designer Ebony White at the presentation of her Spring/Summer collection.

The presentation took place near Bryant Park, the old home of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. The models, glam squad, and the designer's crew arrived early to get everything prepped. The pieces were all great. A mix of ruffled sleeves, flowing fabrics, and a few edgy elements. Backstage before and after the show, we took silly pictures to document the affair.

That's me and Jae being a little more serious once the presentation was done. In fact, I'm still wearing one of Ebony's pieces. Isn't it cute? A simple black romper with splits on the side and a soft flirty belt. And doesn't Jae look dapper? He's been working so hard doing the PR for Ebony and for Rihanna's upcoming fashion-reality show Styled to Rock.

Speaking of the show, later that night we hit the town for the Vevo + Styled to Rock party. I ran into guest judge Erin Wasson as soon as we arrived. Gracious, she's stunning. Of course, the first stop after the bar was the photo booth. That's me and Ebony. She's a petite little thing and so cute.

The party was great. I spent most of the time sitting and chair dancing because my feet were killing me. This was just the first of many long days and nights. But every day was spent with members of the best crew possible. Man, we look tough. Day two coming tomorrow.

My Style: American Girl

Happy Labor Day! Celebrating the last hurrah of the summer with one Big Bang! I know this isn't a holiday that requires fireworks, but I'd love to see some. Normally I'm not into wearing star and stripes together, but this shirt is so appropriate for this edition of My Style...


I found this shirt at Urban Outfitters on the super sale rack. Isn't it awesome? I have another shirt similar to this that says Everyone Loves a German Girl. Seeing as I'm not German, I figured the Amercian version was a little more fitting. The shirt was already almost perfect, but I chopped it up a little.


The Look
Shirt: Le Shirt from Urban Outfitters
Necklace: Borrowed
Bikini: My roommate's closet
Ring: Wildfox Couture

Originally I wanted to wear this shirt with a polka dot skirt, but it's just too freaking hot for clothes. So I decided to roll around on my bed in close to nothing. Just the essentials- shirt, bikini, and red lipstick. Sometimes fun style is just that simple. Enjoy the holiday, lovelies!