Shop For Less: Virgos Lounge SALE!

[ Now 19.99 GBP]

A girl can never have too many cocktail dresses and a Virgos Lounge sale is the perfect excuse to get one or two more. Indulge here.

XO

ShopAfrica/Spotlight: Handbags by Olas

Our quest for the perfect everyday purse has taken us high and low...but we've finally found love :-) Handbags by Olas (founded by Olusunbo Lawal) debuted in 2009 with this chunk of handbag heaven from her "Fancy" range. The design elements are quite spectacular - from the handles, tassels, supple leather, quilted detailing to the roomy main compartment. And if you thought things couldn't get any better, try this on for surprise -- this purse retails for a very affordable $125! Amazing!

"Fancy" was available in black, red, camel and dark brown, but last we heard from the brand, they only have the dark brown Fancy in stock. Contact the brand at info@handbagsbyolas.co.uk for more details.

Shop Africa when you can :-) We hope we make it easier for you. Become a facebook fan of the brand today to stay updated on their upcoming collection scheduled for release next month!

You like?

XO

ShopAfrica brick + mortar: The Zebra Store

[photo from Zebra Living]

in verrrry exciting news, Zebra Living has just announced the opening of its flagship store in Lagos :-) we're glad to see Zebra join the ranks of brands like Jewel by Lisa, PhunkAfrique, and Tae. YAY for more shopping!!!!!

o o o

here's what you need to know:

address: The Life House, 33 Sinari Daranijo Street, off Younis Bashorun Street, off Ajose Adeogun Street, VI, Lagos, Nigeria (opposite Suzy Q club, the red building)

store hours:

monday - closed

tuesday - 9:30am - 6:30pm

wednesday - 9:30am - 6:30pm

thursday - 9:30am - 6:30pm

friday - 9:30am - 9pm (late night shopping)

saturday - 10am - 9pm (late night shopping)

sunday - 12pm - 6pm

spread the word and happy shopping!!!!

xo

shop for less: additional 20% off @ ladyeeboutique.com

our buddies @ ladyee boutique have an ongoing additional 20% off sale. be sure to drop by! happy shopping!

xo

we'd rather be in lagos: Ladyee Boutique Shopping Event

regular readers of SLiq (that's us!) will know that we've always been big fans of Ladyee Boutique. if you're in Lagos this weekend, you can't afford to miss her upcoming shopping event this Sunday. here's what to expect:

Ladyee Boutique is BACK in your city! If you missed the last shopping event, you certainly do NOT want to miss this one, we've kicked our offerings up several notches as we bring the BOUTIQUE experience back to you. We've selected every item with the utmost care and attention to detail, keeping the super stylish and discriminating "Ladyee" in mind. We guarantee you'll love our gorgeous selection of dresses, tops, bottoms and chic accessories, in addition we are confident you'll be pleasantly surprised with our prices.

...and there you have it! see a preview of some of the gorgeous styles that'll be on offer here, and while you're at it, connect with the Ladyee brand:

shop online

blog

facebook group

twitter: ladyee_boutique

we're sure it'll be a BLAST! ENJOY!!

xo

SLiq TV: virgos lounge

all 3 members of team SLiq have many, many things in common, not least of which is our abiding love of vintage. we realize this makes us like several other people :-) entirely too many hours are spent trawling through ebay, etsy's vintage section, and several other websites, looking for that perfect cocktail dress or leather satchel. so much excitement ensued when we stumbled on the ladies at the virgos lounge blog's new project. shortly, they will debut their first vintage-inspired collection as well as carefully and thoughtfully selected vintage pieces, all of which will be available for purchase online. watch the behind-the-scenes proceedings here:

get excited!!!!!! more info here.

xo

in the news: rwanda//gahaya links

ahhh, this one warmed all three of our hearts. but first, a little background:

"Basket weaving has a long tradition in Rwanda, and two sisters, Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana formed Gahaya Links, a small business with great ambitions. They employ over 4,000 rural women who weave intricate baskets that end up on the shelves of Macy's in New York City."

[more here and here]

isn't this absolutely brilliant? empowering africans to help themselves restores dignity to people who continue to rise in spite of staggering odds. it's amazing the stuff that comes out of one continent...and we can't WAIT to share news and stories from our trips around africa with you SOON. stay tuned :-) that said, gahaya links is a brilliant initiative and we're curious to discover just how many folks have similar initiatives in and around africa. nothing makes us more excited than to see africa come to her own. slowly but surely...

shop and explore the MOST AMAZING pieces from gahaya links @ macy's here.

xo

photos courtesy of macy's.

spotlight/fyi: toju foyeh + zebra

hello folks :-) we spotted some new pieces from two of our favorite out-of-nigeria brands, toju foyeh and zebra. toju foyeh continues with her tradition of fabulous fabric with modern interpretations, while zebra keeps it down-to-earth and classy. here you go:

TOJU FOYEH







more here.

o o o

ZEBRA

a few weeks ago, we noted some fun aspects of Zebra's latest fashion show, Urban Nectar. now, courtesy of facebook, we bring you pictures of the pieces on display:







more here.

interestingly, as seems to be the trend these days, a number of out-of-africa/nigeria brands don't place as much of an emphasis on african print. there seems to be a deliberate move to incorporate other types of fabric. perhaps it's a response to nigeria's weak retail sector or a move from often cliche interpretations of african print to more experimental cotton/chiffon/lace, etc. pieces. what say you?

xo

spotlight/ShopAfrica: Cocoa Mache

this is such a proud moment for us! we're very, very excited to be introducing Cocoa Mache, a brand that shares our vision of giving more exposure to african designers and africa-inspired brands around the globe. we're especially glad that the designer Cocoa Mache, Joke, is a dear friend of ours! we congratulate her on getting her gorgeous pieces online! brands who've taken that giant step make it that much easier for blogs like ours to help them get the word out. Cocoa Mache's vision is to provide pieces that incorporate african fabrics in ways that allows them to glide into your closet and your life. we've been die-hard supporters of Cocoa Mache since she sold pieces from her suitcase (lol) and we own several pieces ourselves. you should definitely get in on the action and take advantage of her "$5 off for the first 10 buyers" promotion!

here's a little preview of what's on offer:





get in on the action here! you're in for an eyeful :-)

xo

looking forward/event: pop'africana reloaded

"This friday, peek into the visual heaven called Pop'Africana. POP'AFRICANA is the pioneering voice redirecting, continental thinking and global opinion of the African. A robust and educative guide, re-introducing, re-defining and inspiring all aspects of Art Africano. Serving as more than a cultural report, our all-inclusive perspective aims to educate the globe on African ideas of beauty and style --> http://www.popafricana.com"

o o o

we're SUPER excited :-) mark your calendars, people! all you have to do is log on to popafricana.com on friday! it's that simple! keep up with pop'africana here and find out more about the first edition of pop'africana here.

xo

in our closets - TIGER TEM!

hello ladiesssss (and gents?)!!! remember how we mentioned here that we're all about supporting african designers and entrepreneurs? well, just to recap (slash show off) - so far, one of us owns THE. MOST. FABULOUS. duro olowu kimono silk dress. maybe we'll show you pictures someday. another one of us owns a couple of tiger tem pieces that we just had to have when we saw them in Lagos this past christmas. here's one of them:

it really was love at first sight. so with a couple extra naira bills in our pockets, we thought, hey, why not? 'tis the season to be jolly :-) anyhow, less about us and more about the purse:

- one of a kind
- has a detachable strap
- fully lined with a 'tiger tem' logo
- impeccably well-made
- AFRICAN PRINT! woohoo!
- OH-SO-CUTE!

what's not to love?

here's where to go to get your very own tiger tem piece:

4, Ogundana Street, Off Allen Avenue, Ikeja
Lagos, Nigeria

pass it on!

xo

spotlight: BANTU by Yodit Eklund/african print swimwear

jet-setting this fall break? we've got just the thing for you beach/poolside glamor pusses:



YUP! african print beachwear by BANTU. we stumbled on this brand by way of cyanaboutique and we absolutely had to share! turns out vanity fair did a story on this brand a few days ago, with a special focus on their humanitarian and development work in Africa. fashion with a conscience? can't say we're not loving it :-) get to shopping here and be sure to spread the word to your friends and enemies! lol.

xo

spotlight: naana b

we're verrrrrry excited about the relaunch of naanab.com!!! we can't tell you how many times we've actively stalked this website praying it would come back to life, lol. if you're into ethnic-inspired purses and have been looking for them all over the place with very little luck (seriously, the african print purse is the new african print dress!), we have good news for you:

[petal - $50, spring fling - $35, clementine - $40]

these purses (and lots more) are now available here. swing by, spread the word, and don't forget to take a look at their specials! you won't be disappointed!

xo

many thanks to mimi magazine for the heads-up!