I love seeing collaborative efforts from fashion creatives such as the hand sewn denim thigh high boots by Rox Brown and Trinity. Personal shopper and stylist to the fashion brand V Files’s very own Rox Brown flaunted the denim patch works designs to her 47k Instagram followers. These boots are really a  piece of art work. Even fashion influencer Kim Kardashian had to get her hands on a pair of the “Roxstar” boots. After saying “Go” to purchase the $700 boots quickly sold out and was available for pre-order on VFiles website. “Each boot is hand sewn by me using vintage denim making each pair unique”, says Trinity.

Pre-order here: https://www.vfiles.com/vfiles/32061/media/737690

I couldn’t forget something for the fellas! Although we all may agree this next boot can be worn by both men and women. Atlanta rapper 21 Savage partnered with retailer Jimmy Jazz to release the Timberland 6-inch Denim Boot. The denim, acid- wash design are sold exclusively at Jimmy Jazz stores. Adult sizes will retail at $200 and children’s at $140. Atlanta customers also receive a free 21 Savage mixtape, Savage Mode with purchase of boot.

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The thought of who you would share the rest of your life with has crossed your mind, maybe once or twice since you were a little girl. Now, that you’re engaged to be married, so many thoughts about your wedding day are running through your head. Most importantly the dress has been redesigned several times in your head. Regardless of all your depictions and admirations, you have to pick a date!

The date of your wedding sets the tone no matter where your holy sacrament takes place. Whether your wedlock is in a courthouse, on a beach, or wherever,  you have to plan towards the season. Planning a Summer wedding takes consideration of the weather, location, and much more!

The sun will come out in tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun!
So, avoid becoming bridezilla during your Summer wedding and consider some of these beauty tips to assist and guide you in glamorizing you for your Summer wedding.

Your Wedding Dress for a Summer Wedding
Before you say yes to the dress make sure it’s appropriate for Summer weather. You don’t want to end up a bridezilla because you’re sweating profusely. When you’re looking for your perfect Summer wedding dress, make sure you don’t overlook these beauty tips:

• Chose a dress that lets your skin breathe (backless dress, V-neck dress, high-low dress, or halter dress)

• Look for the go-to material for June wedding dresses: silk, chiffon, or lace fabrics that will bring an elegant and light feeling to the dress

• Refer to your favorite designer’s bridal collection for ideas. Vera Wang’s Spring 2015 bridal collection, exudes a mysterious, edgy, yet elegant look. Intricate lace fabrics could make for a fashion-forward yet comfortable bride.

• Use an invisible deodorant to avoid residue build up. According to itsgr9.com, which provides top 10 lists of things, facts, people and products reviews, Dove Sensitive Skin is one of the most popular deodorants in 2015

• Remove unwanted hair (wax, razor, laser) to avoid excess sweating

Your Hair for Summer Weddings
Summer is a time when you are most likely to take advantage of the weather when selecting a location for your wedding and reception. Whether your nuptials will be on a beach, poolside, in a garden, reception hall or a church wedding, your hair will need to fit the environment.

Out of your face hair-dos tend to work best in summer to avoid frizzy or wind-blown hair. Use hair accessories to spice up your look, but don’t go overboard. If there’s a lot going on with your dress, use a dainty headpiece. It’s unreasonable to think your hair won’t change when you sweat so avoid styling the hair with bangs during the summer. A curly style is more reasonable because it can blend better with untidy hair. Use humidity control products on the front of your hair to keep a neat look.
Some great summer hairstyles include: Mid-high/ low buns, low ponytails, slicked straight back, or fishtail braid

Your Skin Treatments
Regardless of the season, when it comes to makeup, your skin is like a canvas and it should be as smooth and clear to avoid flaky make up. If you are having skin problems, see a dermatologist to work on clearing your skin rather than trying to cover it up. It takes more coverage to hide bumps and acne scars than on smooth skin, and more makeup coverage shouldn’t be your number one goal.

Summer is definitely the time to ditch the heavy makeup. Heavy makeup during a summer wedding can be a potential disaster because it may sweat right off. Let’s not forget to mention the happy tears, nervous sweats, and the family smooches.

Lastly, remember to prep your skin before applying makeup. Prepping will help your makeup look better and you feel better.

Skin Care Products for Night and Day
I have oily skin, so when I’m not making my own home remedies for my skin I first wash my face with Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash. Next, I exfoliate with ST Ives Green Tea Scrub (blackhead clearing or blemish control). Then I moisturize with African Shea butter and apply Ambi Fade Cream to my dark spots.

Natural Approach to Skin Care
A skincare regimen especially for oily or acne-prone skin is to wash with Nubian Heritage Lemongrass and Tea Tree Bar Soap, exfoliate the face and body with (brown sugar, honey, olive oil), apply blemish control mask (lemon, honey), and then moisturize with African Shea butter.

Your Teeth Need Attention for Your Wedding Day, Too
Maintain the pearly whites because you don’t want to look back at the wedding album to see teeth yellow as the sun. Hey, it happens. See your dentist for a teeth whitening treatment. You can use DYI (do-it-yourself) treatments to brighten your teeth at home and save money.

To help your teeth brightening process faster, stay away from substances that stain teeth such as nicotine and coffee. Maintain oral hygiene to prevent plaque build up, cavities, gum disease, and bad breath; all things you want to especially avoid on your wedding day.

Natural Approach to Teeth Whitening for Your Wedding Day
A strawberry and baking- soda mixture can be used t brighten the surface of your teeth. You shouldn’t use this treatment excessively because too much of the malic acid from the strawberries can soften the enamel. Too much of anything is bad! The mixture doesn’t fully penetrate the teeth to remove stains. It helps whiten the surface of your teeth by removing the plaque and it’s great for a quick brightening.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 35% of the teeth aren’t cleaned when you skip flossing. So make sure to brush and floss and you’ll be picture perfect for your wedding.

May your wedding be a wonderful one full of many happy and healthy loving years together!

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The Best Summer Hairstyles For Ladies With Curls

What’s a curly haired girl to do to stay fabulous in the summer?

Just because the heat and humidity is out, it doesn’t mean you should let your self-presentation go. The summer time is no excuse to look lazy or have bad hair days. Remember to always look presentable, no matter the weather, season or place. A part of being fabulous is to stay up kept. Black girls worry about their mane in the summer weather because of the humidity and heat that can cause their afro- textured hair or natural hair to frizz out of place. Black girls don’t always want to wear their hair natural especially with all the styles possible. You can go curly, straight, wavy, and much more, so why limit yourself? The answer to that question is because curly haired girls don’t want to worry about walking outside with perfectly styled hair, then enter an event with a horrendous mane. You want to walk around this summer with self-assurance and a glow that lights up any room you walk in. Instead of walking straight to the bathroom when you get to an event, you can walk straight onto the main floor and mingle. There’s no need to constantly ask your friends if your hair is frizzing up or sweating out when you have the perfect summer hairstyle.

GOING STRAIGHT 

No problem! Get a weave or a wig! There’s nothing wrong with a weave, as long as you love your hair without it. When you are psychology attached to weave it is a self-esteem problem because you can’t feel good without it. Wigs are to a bad hair day, what make-up is to a bad break out. They are a great temporary go to when you need a quick fix. It can be fun to up your hair style and experiment with makeup but always remember to take care of your natural beauty. Strive to better yourself natural by eating healthy, and drinking lots of water to keep your body hydrated this summer. Massaging essentials oils (try argon oil, caster oil, almond oil, avocado oil, olive oil and the old and faithful coconut oil) into your scalp and hair ends will add more protection under your wigs also. A weave is a great way to protect and aid in hair-growth through the summer weather. There are unlimited textures and colors to play with. This is the best way for black girls to have straight hair without over treating it with chemicals or straighteners. Weaves allow straight hair styles to last longer then 2 weeks, if even that long. Closures are great for styling with weave because you don’t have to worry about your edges sweating out or curling up.  A weave limits the amount of heat damage to your real hair, avoids over processed hair and allows your stair hairstyle to stay “on fleek”.

BRAIDS GALORE 

Braids are easy to keep for the summer especially if you sleep on satin sheets. If you don’t have satin or silk sheets wear a hair tie that’s close to these materials. Covering your hair at night prevents from split ends and dry, frizzy hair. There are several braided hairstyles to choose from: plates, box braids, plated twists, twist outs, or fish tail. Braids are also good styling techniques for curls or wavy hair because when you unravel them they look fabulous darling.

Finally, The How To: TWIST/ BRAID OUTS 

Wash your hair. Then deep condition your hair, keeping a cap on for at least 20 min to fully penetrate the hair follicle. (Use natural products on your hair because the delicate follicles can strip and create split ends from harsh chemicals) Next rinse and apply leave in conditioner for extra moisture, smoothness, and shine. Plate braids or twists however way you want your hair to fall when unraveled. Sleep with a silky hair tie. Lastly, gently unravel the braids and fluff out to your desired fullness. You can spritz hair sheen after styling. Braid outs last long from the moisturized hair being gathered into a pattern. When you’re out enjoying a hot summer day, your hair pattern will stay longer than if you were to do a wash and go.

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Rihanna Fenty is well-known for her hit songs and killer style. On top of her Anti World Tour, the songstress has been busy working on a new shoe collaboration since her sold out Fenty x Puma Fur Slide Collection. (see here http://uk.puma.com/uk/en/shop-puma-by-rihanna) Rihanna was excited to announce the release of her collaboration with renowned footwear designer, Manolo Blahnik. taste. “This is an incredibly exciting collaboration and I am absolutely thrilled with the results – working with Rihanna has been amazing and her drive, passion, creativity and style has been reflected in the designs, with fabulous results,” says Blahnik in British Vogue Magazine’s April issue. “I think everyone is going to love what they are about to see.”

You’ll find denim and jewel incrusted styles throughout the collection (inspired by Rihanna’s hand tattoos), named “Denim Desserts”. Six different styles in which Bad Gal Riri describes as “dangerous”. Oh, and there’s Rihanna’s favorite: the thigh high, “9 to 5” boot that’s badass! Don’t miss out on this limited edition collaboration, available in New York, London, and Hong Kong stores. Prices range from $895 to $3,995. Get your Denim Desserts now before you go berserk!

It takes a confident women to rock these heels. Some may wonder, how can I rock the show stopping “9 to 5” thigh highs? There are plenty are of options, from casual to red carpet. Here are ways that you can style them!

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted its new costume institute exhibition: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” The hottest celebrities boasted in their tech themed fashion on one of the most famous red carpets, The Met Gala. According to Vogue.com, the upcoming exhibition will focus on the dichotomy between handmade haute couture and machine-made fashion. “Traditionally, the distinction between the haute couture and prêt-à-porter was based on the handmade and the machine-made,” explains Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute. “But recently this distinction has become increasingly blurred as both disciplines have embraced the practices and techniques of the other.” (Garcia, Vogue)

The co-hosts of the night were Idris Elba, Jonathan Ive, Taylor Swift, and Anna Wintour, and Honorary Chairs Nicolas Ghesquière, Karl Lagerfeld, and Miuccia Prada.

The manus x machina exhibition featured more than 100 examples of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear, dating from an 1880s Worth gown to a 2015 Chanel suit.

Beyoncé set the scene in a peachy, latex Givenchy Haute Couture dress and of course jewels by her favorite jewelry designer, Lorraine Schwartz. She looked like a character from the movie “The Fifth Element”. Kylie Jenner has graced many red carpets elsewhere but this happened to be her first at the 2016 Met . Kylie looked stunning in a custom Balmain dress and she changed into another Balmain outfit for the after party held in NYC’s hottest club, Up & Down. Zendaya and Lily Aldridge wore gold, “cledgy” or should I say classy and edgy Michael Kors dresses. It seemed as though nude was the tone of the even. As you know it, nude is which ever color best represents your skin tone.

Let’s take a look at some other fashion favorites!

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A group of people were celebrating a friend who sold their company. They soon joined our table, leading us into interesting convos about careers and the Big Apple. There was one black person in the group, with the rest being white. They all seemed like cool people with exception to one jokester type of guy.

After conversing about our careers for a while, sipping margaritas and cucumber water, the jokester made an awkward comment. Mind you, his comment only put himself into an awkward situation, not myself. “You sound white but you look ghetto”, he said loud and proud. That was a first for me. Yes, I’ve been told that I sound, “white” before, but not since I’ve been in grade school. This was a grown man telling me that I was too black to articulate my words.

I’m pretty good at having a poker face, but at that moment I didn’t care whether my facial expression made him uncomfortable. I guess my, “I’m with stupid” expression told all because he immediately tried to clarify his comment. This was a complete and utter failure.

I said, “Do you know that what you said was racist?” Not surprisingly, he began to turn the tables and get defensive. I wasn’t surprised because a wise guy or know-it-all will never admit to their wrong doings. They all beat around the bush. This only irritated me more. No, I wasn’t angry, just slightly annoyed. However, I did see a deeper problem in his comment. My initiative was to have a civilized discussion about racial prejudice and where it derives from.

He kept saying, “You know I didn’t mean it like that”, and “You know what I mean”. “I understand that you’re ignorant and not correct” is all I kept thinking. I thought, “what a waste”. It dawned on me that there are many ignorant fools who create our services and sell us products. You would hope that a smart business guy like himself would’ve experienced enough diversity and culture within his realm of work and travel to at least understand that color does not define one’s character. Moreover, it surely doesn’t define one’s intellectual capacity.

It didn’t shock me that he said, “You sound white, but you look ghetto” because I am confident in who I am. Everyone in my life, my family, and friends, know that I carry myself with class. That’s how I was raised. The fact that he neglected his imbecile remarks offended me. What added insult to injury is that my girlfriend brushed off his comment and continued her phone call. This had no burden on our friendship but it allowed me to see the world for its masked citizens. We may try to live unapologetically but sometimes we lose our dignity in order to please others. I mean, I get it. No one likes to burn bridges with potential business partners or connections. Some people are just too sensitive and self-righteous to “hear the real”. Isn’t it possible to climb the dignified, ladder of success and simultaneously pin point the faults in people’s logic?

It’s ok if my friend didn’t want to address his ignorance, but I did. I looked at this situation as charity work. This was my chance to enlighten his dim-witted self. Unfortunately you can’t change a person, you can only change how you deal with them.

I knew that I wanted to get my point across without being labeled the angry black woman. This couldn’t be an irrational way for me to think without expressing somewhat of a racial complex myself. I hated feeling as though I should react any less than another person or race would when they’re being discriminated against because of their color. I wanted to be unapologetic about my reaction and get my point across with dignity. No matter how polite or charming, I was looked at as “ the angry black woman”. I even made a fake chuckle and assured him that I’m not angry. This was my chance to use my “white voice” to gain his ear and change his perspective. I always feel the need to represent my race in the upmost positive way. Yet, this situation assured me that no matter how intelligent you are, a racist person will always feel like they’re better.

Of course I couldn’t be articulate without being compared to white. Then of course I had to look “ghetto”, since my skin is black. No, this guy did not mean to call me ghetto; he meant to call me black. What was I doing differently then anyone else at the table, might you ask? Nothing. There was no ratchet activity, or loud voices, or anything out of my character for him to judge so poorly. I was wearing a black bikini with a black cover up. This was the appropriate attire and nothing more unusual then what anyone else was wearing. What he did was compare “ghetto” to people of color. We’ve all heard the term ghetto wrongfully used as a description of one’s character, but its real definition describes a slum area. So, who is the ignorant one here? This man looks at black as bad and categorized me as something bad. I realized that it would take too much energy to talk over someone that doesn’t care to listen. Sometimes you just have to let karma decide a person’s destiny and continue to be you.

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Nicki Minaj kicked off the show, and brought out “Bad Blood” singer, Taylor Swift. It was nice to see them smiling together, after their mini twitter feud. Back in July, Taylor Swift announced her Video of The Year Award nomination via Twitter. Then, Nicki Minaj tweeted, “Lol, you guys, did we miss the deadline?” Of course there had to be a misunderstanding if her “Feeling Mysellf” video featuring Beyonce wasn’t nominated. For sure, the judges had to be sipping something after overlooking her record breaking booty anthem, “Anaconda” which broke records on Vevo, gaining 19.6 million views in 24 hours. “When the “other” girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination. “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year”, Nicki said. Although Nicki wasn’t referring to her, Taylor Swift responded anyways saying “I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot”. Nicki was confused as to why Taylor misconstrued her tweet.

“Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn’t say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. I’m still confused as to why u just tweeted me when I made it abundantly clear…”, said Nicki.

They both eventually called it truce. Then, the fabulous duo shared the stage at the 2015 VMA’s performing “The Night Is Still Young” and “Bad Blood”.

It wasn’t surprising to see Miley Cyrus with barely any clothing on.  She made several wardrobe changes or shall I say accessory changes. It seems as though Miley wants to be the new Madonna and she won’t let anyone get in the way with that. Hey, if her father, Billy Ray Cyrus is cool with her wardrobe and raunchy demeanor, then who are we to judge. Just kidding, we’re the critics, and that’s what we do. When Miley is sticking out her tongue, grabbing her crotch, and straddling wrecking balls, it’s all to gain attention. She has grown into a rarely different character from her past Hannah Montana stage and that’s normal. It seems as though Miley removed her cocoon and grew into a unique butterfly. Miley has done a great job with using her boobs in effort to support the “Free The Nipple” equality movement. Free The Nipple campaigns the double standards pertaining to female oppression and censorship.

Through the night Miley rocked a candy rapper, suspenders, a chandelier, Kylie Jenner’s lips, cotton balls, nipple pasties and a load of metallic and sequins. Yes, she really wore little to nothing. That’s not shocking, but what is was shocking is how well she handled Nicki Minaj unexpectedly calling her out on stage. Sources say that Nicki was joking when she cursed out Miley for speaking about her in an interview with The New York Times. Miley didn’t respect Nicki for her tweets about the Video of The Year nominations. She felt that Nicki didn’t have the right to make it about herself and that she attempted to start a pop star against pop star war. That’s ridiculous for Miley to say because Taylor is the one who made it about herself by tweeting Nicki Minaj as if her name was ever mentioned by her.

Towards the end of Nicki’s acceptance speech for best Hip-Hop Video, she called out Cyrus by saying, “Back to this bitch that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press! Miley what’s good?” By Miley’s frown and nervous twirl of her hair, there was no telling she took Nicki’s shots by surprise. However, she was able to follow through with her hosting duties, but not before saying “We’re all in this industry. We all do interviews and we all know how they manipulate sh*t. Nicki, congratuf*cklations.”

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