How I Slay My Fall Style On A Budget

Hello!

Its been a minute since I wrote a blogpost. If you follow me on Instagram, you would know that I've been in Paris this summer.
As a born and bred Nigerian woman, I grew up in a tropical climate where the coldest day of the year would only require a light sweater with a camisola underneath. So, dressing for fall/winter has always been a learning experience for me. 

While it has been tempting to go all out and splurge on an entire closet haul for this new season, I’ve discovered that there are lots of summer pieces in my closet that can be reworked or combined  with newer fall pieces to make a dope outfits. Here are a few I came up with:

Look 1:

Thankfully, Paris isn't too cold and on days when the weather permits, I can wear my basic black tshirt from asos and pair it with these black tapered pants. I love a good "all black" look. I added these rings I got also from asos (Their summer sales are really good). 

Hopefully these rings last a while because I have a bad habit of misplacing my rings. The nails are actually press-on nails I got from H&M.
The boots are also from H&M and they are quite comfortable.

Look 2:
I participated in the craziness of Rihanna's Fenty Beauty launch and I was able to get my hands on her lipgloss. That gloss is the truth! Its perfect for fall and personally I'm over the liquid lipstick trend.
I got these shades from asos (I'm telling you, their sales are good!) and the rest are things I already had: basically just props for this flatlay that I slayed 💆🏾💁🏾😜.

For this look, I paired an old crop top from Zara and a dress from &otherstories. I also took my black cardigan as "weather backup".
Lip glow from Fenty Beauty. Face glow from God 👑 and MAC cosmetics.

I then added my asos shades to complete the look.

Look 3:
On colder fall days, I have no choice but to wear a coat. I got this stylish dark blue coat from stradivarius. It was my first time in their store and I found some stylish and affordable items.
I paired the coat with an old dress from New Look and primark jeans.

I really enjoy dressing for this new weather, so if you have any suggestions for this Nigerian girl 🙋🏿please let me know in the comment section or on Instagram.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.

Blonde (Braids) Ambitions

I'm running out of titles already, can you tell? 😭
No matter the weather, I love a good jacket. I got this jacket from new look. When it arrived, I was a bit surprised because I didn't expect it to be this long and I struggled to style it in the humid Lagos weather. However I recently started peering it with sleek pants in my wardrobe and it worked. It instantly dresses up any look as you can see from the pictures.

I spent some part of my weekend listening to two interesting interviews: the first was Jay-z's interview with rap radar podcast and the second was the controversial interview that Nigerian rapper M.I. Abaga had with the Loose Talk Podcast.
Both interviews were quite informative and gave me insight on how tough it can be when you get to the top.
I'm not at the top yet but there's nothing wrong with dressing for the occasion, is there?
After all, in the words of M.I., "Confessing confessions of flexing till my pocket is vexing.".

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.

Limitless Shades of Grey

If I thought last year was a rollercoaster, this year certainly did not give any warning regarding the twists and turns that would plague every life decision I made this year. Never the less, as they say in Lagos "the ministry is moving" and sometimes dressing up is the only thing that seems to go according to plan in my chaotic schedule.
I recently spent some time cleaning out my closet. When cleaning your closet, sometimes you find forgotten pieces you got a while ago which are still stylish today. That was the case with this Zara dress I bought last year. I love it because it is a bit off the beaten track and looks like chic overalls.

I also found a grey colored skirt which was gifted to me three years ago.
I'm not usually a "skirt person" but this grey skirt had the right amount of uniform vibe without making me look like a school girl (This is another rarely worn piece I found while cleaning my closet).

I hope you have a wonderful week, I certainly intend to.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.

Lagos Rains: A Calm After The Storm

A few days before my birthday (April 30th), I made the decision to document my personal style via my Instagram.
To know me is to know that this was taking me out of my comfort zone.
Waaaay out.

I like my privacy. Because I've worked in a mobile technology group, I'm well aware of how much information people are able to get about one's life from social media. It has made me wary of social sharing, online payments and anything that involves a username.
However, one of the things I learnt over the past one year is how transient life is and the importance of making the best use of one's time, doing the things that glorify God. I am at my best when I'm doing this which I believe, explains why I'm at my best when I'm designing fashion pieces or styling looks.
Its been over two months since i started this "sharing activity" and although I do not post everyday (I would love to.... but life 🤷🏾‍♀️), my outfit posts are still being updated regularly on Instagram.

Last week was the calm after the storm called Lagos rain. I was relived that the rains had stopped and I dressed up accordingly.

P.S. Am I the only one that finds it annoying when I spend a lot of money on "Aso-Ebi" only to never wear it again or wear it a few times to church on Sunday? It just seems as though a lot of money is being spent on these outfits and one gets a really high cost per wear. 

This thought prompted me to pair one of my old Aso-Ebi skirts with a chic white shirt.

I then rounded up the week makeup-free and stuffed at HSE cuisine in Lekki (What can I say, good food is always in style 😋).

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Tope.