Now that winter is here…

IT seems like I don’t have the right coats, scarves and shoes to wear. Until now, I believed dressing up for winter days was as easy as boiling an egg. I thought all you needed to do was throw on a jacket onto whatever you’re wearing and you’re good to go. But now, dressing up every morning has become more taxing than it was during summer. I have to think about which coat to wear with what shoes and scarf.

If it’s going to be a skirt, I have to think about stockings and if they’re pants, will my feet be warm enough in my shoes. I sometimes find myself wearing the same coat a couple of times before it makes its way to the laundry. Don’t judge; we all do that. I mean, where’s the sun to dry up coats on every other day going to come from, right? 

Braids have been such a saving grace through it all! I don’t have to worry about standing in front of the mirror for too long in the morning. I just have to make sure my eyebrows are on fleek and my lips are appropriately dressed and I’m out of the house.

I hardly ever wear make-up and when it’s cold, I don’t wear make-up at all. Instead, I moisturise with good old Ingram’s Camphor cream.

Forget that people believe it’s a low end market product – it works perfectly well for me and that’s all that matters.Your skin needs to be well moisturised during winter to prevent wind burn. Yes, there’s such a thing as wind burn! Instead of investing in a high SPF sunscreen as you would during winter, find a good moisturiser for your face. Remember, it’s easy to offend your skin but it can take you a lifetime to repair it.

It’s important to maximise on protective hairstyles like braids when it’s cold.   

Besides them being easy to manage, they protect your natural hair from the low temperatures. When it’s cold, your hair doesn’t hold moisture as well as it does when temperatures are warm. The moisture quickly diminishes leaving your hair hard, brittle and susceptible to breakage. 
 

That’s never a good thing. If anything, it’s stressful watching your hair fall off your head, onto your bathroom floor or comb. You may not necessarily like braids but have your hair plaited in, one way or the other. It’ll protect it from the dropping temperatures. Having your hair covered up doesn’t mean you pay less attention to your head. You need to religiously oil your scalp and hairline.

Doing so will keep it moisturised, protected and healthy. A healthy scalp will result in a healthy head of hair. As you wash your face every day, the oils on your hairline are also washed away. Make sure you apply some hair moisturiser onto your hairline every other day to replace these oils. Maybe you’re thinking the moisturiser will eventually cake and start looking like dirt. It won’t if you use an aqua-based hair moisturiser. This usually comes in liquid form so you can spray it onto your hair.

A petroleum-based moisturiser will eventually cake and leave your hair dirty and smelly because you might not be washing it over at least six weeks. Petroleum-based moisturisers tend to make the hair smell when it’s not washed regularly because they’re a bit on the heavy side. Also, because you’ll have to use your fingers to apply the conditioner, it’ll make your hair-do look scruffier earlier than you want because of the excessive touching and massaging during the process.

Never make the mistake of applying your fragrance onto your coat, jacket or jersey.

Because these are not necessarily washed as they’re worn, they’ll reek of alcohol. Nothing smells as bad as old perfume. 

The fragrance settles onto the fibres of your clothes and doesn’t mix with the chemistry of your body. Invest instead in a good roll on and apply your fragrance directly onto your skin as you would during summer. Because of the fragrances’ chemistry with your body, it’ll diffuse through the outfit and still come through perfectly well.

Avoid wearing sleeveless pieces underneath your coats and jerseys. You do sweat a little during winter. Once you sweat directly onto your coat or jersey, it’ll be difficult for you to wear it a second time without washing it first. Instead, wear cotton pieces with sleeves – cotton is very absorbent. For years we’ve been told to wear dull colours during winter.

The season is gloomy enough; a little colour never hurt anybody! To break the darkness of the dull coats and boots, wear small pieces that will brighten things up a little bit. A colourful scarf or woolen hat could be all you need to add some oomph to an otherwise boring outfit. 

P.S Do remember to take a bath every single day this winter! #JustSaying

All hats are not equal…

Skhaleni from Isibaya rocking a mdobisi

EACH time I see someone wearing a mdobisi, the hat with a small brim, I’m reminded of Skhaleni on the Mzansi Magic soapie Isibaya. I see a guy so engrossed in kasi culture with gold chains, rings and a gold tooth being dominant aspects of their look. Then there’s the street lingo that few of us understand – words coined to mean certain things in a specific discourse community. Of course there’s a walk to it, slightly slanted to one side with a young bounce. I can almost hear one say “etada” in greeting as they bounce past. I’ve seen Skhaleni in a suit and a mdobisi before, the day he went to pay lobola for his longtime girlfriend, Pam. How the hat gets to be worn with everything from suits to T-shirts beats me! My go to guy is not allowed to wear this hat. Maybe I’m stereotypical but I just don’t like the hat’s vibe. Suddenly I hear lyrics to Cassper Nyovest’s song “Ghetto Ghetto” ringing at the back of my mind.

A Kingsville Royalty hoodie paired with a flat base cap

The flat base cap on the other hand seems more hip hop. It’s associated with what people call “niggers” which in American history has a deeper meaning but that’s a story for another day. You’ll see Cal_Vin, JayZee or Nicki Minaj wearing a flat base cap once in a while and never a mdobisi. The flat base cap is associated with a somewhat bourgeoisie class – those that behave like English is their first language and believe they were born on the right side of 6th Avenue, far from the “ghetto”.

 

Minister Mzembi with a fedora hat on.

Then there’s the fedora hat, my grandfather Khulu Dube has a collection of these. Back in the day, fedora hats were a symbol of refinedness, you were considered gentleman if you owned one of these. Of late, I’ve seen a lot of people wearing these, as an accessory to a smart casual or outright casual look. I’ve seen Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi wearing fedora hats on several occasions. They go quite well with his swag I must say. But I see you in one of these and I think you’re a lover of things. The hat has that kind of vibe to it.

Ngugi Vere in a snood

All of us can rock a woolen hat effortlessly! It’s one hat that won’t classify you – it’s just that, a woolen hat. But I on the other hand can only wear this when it’s extremely cold and have braids on my head. I think it looks more chic that way, having something flowing out of the hat. Now there’s the snood, something similar to the monkey hat which I thought made me look clumsy when I was in primary school. In retrospect, I actually looked quite cute in it.

 

Mrs Bucket in a picture hat

You’ve got to be Mrs. Bucket savvy to be able to rock a picture hat. This is the kind of hat women usually wear to weddings, high teas or any such fancy events. It’s such an elaborate hat which might have flowers, feathers and other motifs in it. I wouldn’t be able to wear one of those even if I tried! It’s a little over the top, for me at least. What makes a hat is the wearer’s personality and what they’re wearing it with. Hats have become more than functional accessories. They’re not just to protect you from the sun or to keep you warm.

They say quite a lot about your character and your sense of style. Make sure when you wear a hat, you do it well and send the right messages about yourself. If you’re going to go kasi, at least wear your mdobisi with a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and Converse All Stars. It seems right that way. With winter slowly creeping in, wearing a flat base cap with a hoodie is trending and I must say I love the look. The fedora is a tricky one to wear; I’d restrict it to casual wear to avoid any major mishaps.

You’ve got to be dressed to assassinate to wear a picture hat. Make sure you’re in killer heels and a smashing hot outfit and you’ll pull it off. Don’t pull out a two-piece suit and throw in a picture hat. Rather be a showstopper in a black number with your elaborate hat and killer heels. I’m just waiting for temperatures to drop further and I’m rocking a woolen hat with pizazz.

Of vests, socks and petticoats

I HAD such a difficult time getting ready for work the other day all because I wanted to wear a burgundy leather jacket. First, I paired it with a white pair of slit denims, white top and white Converse All Stars.

But something about the combination wasn’t right so I swapped the white top for a black one and it still wasn’t happening. I decided to swap the chucks for a pair of nude lace-ups but it only got worse. The frustration was slowly creeping in and I thought to lose the burgundy leather jacket for a Liverpool Football Club away jersey inscribed “Ma’Zebra” on the back, it wasn’t that cold after all, I thought to myself.

But I looked like I was going for a sports day somewhere, it just wouldn’t work! Perhaps the white pants were the problem, I thought. So I stripped down and ended up settling for dark blue denims, a patterned blouse under a denim jacket and blush pink heels.

My biggest problem on this particular morning was trying to incorporate something warm into the outfit without losing my swag. Because it’s not freezing cold yet, I couldn’t automatically wear a coat, scarf and boots – I needed to be in pieces that could be separated in the event that it got warmer during the course of the day. With winter slowly approaching, it’s what goes underneath the jackets, shirts and jerseys that has started to give me chest pains.

I know I’m not the only one.

Just don’t be the person who’ll wear a male circumcision T-shirt under a white shirt. I get that temperatures are dropping but that’s just clumsy. I see it all the time. Someone will wear a heavily branded T-shirt in a bright colour underneath a white, pink or light blue shirt, that’s not cool. Instead, invest in plain white vests that’ll keep you warm and won’t make you look clumsy.

Make sure whatever you layer your clothes with is not peeping at the collar, that’s equally distracting. Your undergarments should remain there, underneath.

What’s with ladies and wearing cotton stockings with pumps? Seriously though, that’s plain unacceptable! 

If you think it’s too cold to go without socks and it’s not cold enough for boots, wear secret socks instead. They’ll do the job equally well; as long as your feet are covered up right? If the secret socks are going to be peeping through your flats then don’t wear them either, it’ll still look scruffy. And if you’re going to wear pantyhose, at least make sure they’re in the right shade and they’re no “ladders” in them. The easiest shades to work with across a variety of complexions and different kinds of clothes are black and barely black with a low decitex of at least 14. 

Don’t go picking Mexican silver or chocolate – that’ll make you look like an old maid.

I often see ladies wearing torn pantyhose or trying to stop the threads from running further with nail polish. You know exactly what I’m talking about, please don’t do that. If they’re torn where people can see, let the pair go. Petticoats don’t keep you warm; they make you look scruffy once they’re peeping from underneath your skirt. I shudder to think there’re women still wearing these out there!

If you’re a “tights underneath your clothes” woman, make sure they’re seamless – the visible seam lines are so distracting. Also make sure the tights don’t show through your skirt slit at the back. Whatever you do, make sure we don’t see your undergarments and layers this winter – keep them private please!

Men love mystery...

THE conversation began after a friend complained about his girlfriend showing up for a lunch date in a crop top, a pair of leather leggings and sneakers. The crop top, he said, resembled a bra and the leggings left absolutely nothing to the imagination. This is what stuck with me. He said, “I wish girls knew that men love mystery, it’s not sexy anymore when everything is out there for everybody to see.” Of course that was profound but just how covered up should one be. Where do we draw the line, if at all there’s a line?

I later posted a picture of a girl in a maxi skirt right up to her ankles, a long sleeved blouse, headgear, sun glasses and high heels on Facebook. I thought she was a little too covered up but a couple of guys who responded to the post didn’t agree with my sentiments. One of them said he loved the sophistication behind the boldness in fashion “conservatism” and the statement the girl made in the colour combination plus the sexy finish with the dark “Panther-ish” shades. I was stunned that a man would view the outfit that way, especially because the girl wasn’t showing any skin, at all.

I was quite chuffed by the analogy. Another guy said he loved the confidence in trying out new things, moving away from the “skimpy figure hugging dresses we always see around”. He said “conservatism” was put to the test and “the chic nailed it”. He went on to say he’d introduce any “proper chic” dressed like this girl to his folks. Of course I was even more impressed because I personally don’t believe dressing skimpily translates to looking sexy.

It doesn’t, if anything, it makes you look cheap and trashy. So I asked these gentlemen if it’s true that men love mystery; that they like to wonder what’s underneath as opposed to it being handed to them on a silver platter. One of them said, “I’m jealous and I don’t like sharing so, yes. What’s mine is mine alone.” That’s understandable – no one wants to ride a village bicycle. Of course the ladies had something to say in their defence. One of them stepped in and said the girl was “too covered up”. In her defence, she said the weather only would determine whether or not the outfit would be appropriate.

Only if it were cold would it be appropriate, she said. Of course that made sense; you need an airy something when the sun is out.It wasn’t until I spoke to my go to guy about the debate that I realised people are conflicted about this. He asked why I was suddenly interested in “conservatism”, which was to be expected. He was quick to point out that the destination determines whether or not an outfit is appropriate. He was spot on. I surely can’t show up for work or church with my cleavage spilling over. That would be so distracting!

Of course I can’t show up at a pool party dressed in a maxi skirt and a polo neck sweater either. People would think I’m weird! But I certainly can’t walk the streets in broad daylight in a pair of bum shorts and a bikini bra – you can imagine the commotion! I can already imagine those pirate taxi touts making a spectacle of me! My inclination is on being appropriate. Before leaving the house, think your outfit through. Think about where you’re going, who you’re going with and the people you’ll meet while you’re there.

You can’t slip into a mini skirt and start pulling it down once you reach your destination. That’s distracting and definitely not sexy. Don’t be the girl that goes to an exclusive restaurant on a lunch date in a crop top and a pair of leather leggings, save that for your night out on the town.