wanted: issa london silk jersey wrap dress

we're major girly girls at heart, so it's easy to see why it was a match made in heaven when we stumbled on this dress, as worn by Saana Lathan in Tyler Perry's "The Family That Preys":

uber hot, no? our sentiments exactly. we didn't even know the dress was by issa london until we bumped into it on ebay and did backflips :-) oh, and there's another dress we took an instant liking to when we saw it ages ago and it turns out it's...yup, you guessed it, another issa london creation:



print heaven like you've never seen it before, folks. the woman is a genius...and suckers for fabulous prints that we are, we're very clearly eating all this up rather nicely, thankyaverymuch! we don't have too much change in the piggy bank to stuff our closets full of issa london just yet, but there's nothing wrong with writing long wishlists in the meantime, is there? :-)



t-b issa mini kimono dress [net-a-porter], faux wrap abstract dress [neiman marcus], issa mini kimono dress [net-a-porter]

xo

wanted: a chanel purse

ever wanted something you can't afford and have no hope of affording anytime in the near future (i.e. tomorrow)? YES? well, we've gone and fallen in love with the big one and lambskin/classic status/uber sexiness aside, $2,000 + is a helluva lotta $$$$ to drop on a purse. no harm in looking, though, right? sigh. so, tell us, what do you secretly or not-so-secretly covet? and what's the most you've ever spent on any one item? any regrets? we'll 'fess up right after you! lol. promise! okay, we'll go first. LOL. we've come preeeeetty close to breaking the bank with louboutins (no regrets there!!) & a certain member of teamliquorice actually OWNS a chanel tote, thanks to parents who love her, LOL. but 2/3 of us remain chanelless...don't weep for us, though! we all fully intend to marry rich! LOL. jay kayyyyy!

xo

p.s. in case anyone out there wanted to know the history of the chanel purse (the things we google during our lunch breaks are a bit random. sorry.), look no further than here!

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!

look here: ashanti

(photo of ashanti courtesy of ybf)

who ran it? okay, just kidding. but it was love at first sight with this dress by MLH when we first stumbled on it @ shopbop. personally, we'd rather contrast the fabulous detailing on this dress with more subdued accessories...but ashanti does the exact opposite. which do you prefer?

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like ashanti's shoes? well, they're by gucci and they're available here in black.

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thoughts on the look and accessories? we'd love to hear from you!

xo

look here: tracee ellis ross

*here's a 'look here' feature we worked on a while ago but never got round to posting...

the look: tracee ellis ross at the 39th NAACP image awards

she just gets it, doesn't she? impeccable, elegant, and very tracee. we love the look so much we want to recreate it with this gorgeous marc by marc jacobs dress**:



dress + black accessories = HIT! don't you just love it?

xoliquoricexo

**also available at net-a-porter here.

K's favorite things: urbanknit + SALES!

my very first zipper pouch, $15 :)

[front - ankara; back - aso-oke; fully lined; 'urban knit' tag sewn in]

we blogged about urbanknit a while ago and i decided i absolutely had to get in on the amazingness. i went ahead and ordered a zipper pouch from urbanknit's etsy store a few weeks ago and i'm IN LOVE!!!! it currently doubles as a case for my i-touch and lipgloss so i VERY happily take it with me everywhere i go :) it arrived nicely packaged with a complimentary card and the cutest ankara pin! have i mentioned how much i LOVE this brand?!?! incidentally, i went back to urbanknit's store today and i was pleasantly surprised to find that she has a buy-one-get-one-free sale on all zipper pouches until april 30th! get on it!

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speaking of special offers, another brand we blogged about here has a 10% off EVERYTHING sale for mother's day and free shipping on all orders over $100! visit boutiquemix here and get to shopping! we all know everyday is earth day and plastic bags don't do the environment much good, right? here's a simple, fabulous way to convert:



cute MUCH? and with the sale, it's now $4.50 so no excuses! here are some of the other items boutiquemix has on offer:



[t-b: hand-crafted batik print bangles, now $13.50 each here, red grass earrings, now $9 here, and a gemstone stretch bracelet now $22.50 here]

she also has clothes, purses, scarves, beauty and spa products, home accents/art, and much, MUCH more! shop here and visit boutique mix's new blog here!

[note - sale ends may 14]

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if you're into vintage clothing and accessories, you should visit avantgaudy's new sale section here!



[paisley/amoeba blouse - now $18]

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more fun posts coming soon! thanks for reading :)

etsy love: africamania :)

ChopstixWaits: african wax print tiered bustle skirt, $52

here's a fabulous etsy find we thought we'd share with you:

if you're into african print/ankara and you love these vibrant, happy colors, you should definitely pay ChopstixWaits a visit here. we're SO in love! here are some other items she's sold:



gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS. see more sold items here, visit her store here, learn more about the seller/designer here, and feel free to contact her for custom orders. if you're having trouble navigating etsy, feel free to leave us a comment and we'll do our best to help!

wanted: clutch. again.

fendi: patent shoulder bag

our quest to find the perfect foldover hold-all clutch led us to this gorgeous oversized fendi piece here and here. we're certainly not coughing up $1,680 anytime soon (well, unless we find a wad of cash lying on the pavement) so we'll just have to sit this one out over a tub of haagen-dazs. and tears. sigh.

p.s. lots and lots and LOTS of fun posts coming soon! stay tuned and thanks for coming :)

wanted: zulu rose

zulu rose: tees

(get it here)

this tee makes us happy because it's a precious little reminder of the manic hustle bustle of lagos. not that there's anything intrinsically chaotic about the tee in itself; it just takes us back to the okadas, women in their wrappers, the sun...basically, the little things that are stand-ins for lagos in our homesick minds :) according to zulurose.com, 'the zulu rose line has the restless energy of modernity juxtaposed with the power and charm of traditional symbolism'. fabulousness! we encourage you to take a look here. while we can't afford this tee just yet, we found two on sale here and here that you just might like.

wanted: bling bling

david yurman: petite albion pave ring

we're irrationally in love with david yurman, we're irrationally in love with this ring. 'nuff said. okay, we'll say a little more: WE WANT, WE WANT, WE NEED. forget that it costs $790. who cares? we'll rob our friends, pick loose change off pavements, etc. it's that serious! no, really, it is. more here.

fashion-to-go: of ribbon & bows

bill blass: fall 2008

it's not a bowtie, it's not a skinny necktie, it's a refreshing alternative. get some ribbon, tie it around the collar of your shirt in a distinct bow, and you're good to go. you can achieve the same look with a scarf or a tie-neck blouse, like this one from marc jacobs' latest offerings at shopbop.com:



another clever little way to incorporate a bow is to use some ribbon in place of a waist belt like elie saab did as part of his spring '08 collection:



experiment away with different colors, sizes, and lengths, and have fun sprucing up your outfits this spring!

gift ideas: quirky & wonderful

give: fred flare

fred flare is such a great little one-stop shop for quirky, unusual items that make such charming gifts. here are some of our favorites:

(click on names to be directed to products)

mixtape USB memory stick




rain parade mini umbrellas




wacky bandages

we've gotta run, but be sure to feed your eyes at fredflare.com and let us know what you like! their home section is our favorite. fredflare = love :)

buzz: much ado about africa (and we LOVE it!)

of tees & purses

the spring runways were bursting with inspired pieces that pick and mix from all over the world, and africa certainly wasn't left out. from the exotic print (e.g. ankara), to the earthy colors and accessories (e.g. stacked wooden bangles), there's something for everyone. we've noticed some africa-related trends on some of our favorite blogs, websites, and magazines, too, and we'd like to share our findings with you. if you're african or you love the AMAZING continent of africa, this post is for you:

==> TEES:

* i am africa tees - we first learned about these tees through the mother of all networking sites, facebook.com, and this week, the fabulous must-visit blog yayemarieba refreshed our memories here.



be the new face of africa today! shop here and visit them on facebook here.

* tonic gen - another favorite website of ours (clutch magazine) featured tees by tonicgen here. for every tee you buy, you're supporting a cause that diverts funds to areas they're most needed. take their net tee, for instance:



according to tonicgen.com, 'each net tee will fund the delivery of 3 mosquito bed nets to families in africa'.

learn more about tonicgen's causes here and shop here.

* obey - this tee is the result of a collaboration between OBEY and the HOPE campaign to raise funds and awareness about the ongoing situation in darfur. OBEY will donate all proceeds to this cause.



shop here and here.

* jamhuri wear - we first heard about jamhuri when we saw this striking tee:



we love their other offerings and you will too! shop here, and visit them on facebook here.

* bernos



bernos' 'about us' section reads:

'Bernos creates high-quality, eye-catching t-shirts featuring African themes. We supply the world with standout shirts featuring African icons, inspired by our Afrocentric themes.'

if you like the sound of that, shop here!


==> BAGS AND ACCESSORIES:




* mad imports - we were excited to learn about mad imports courtesy of a mimi magazine feature. according to mad imports' website:

"Mad Imports is a socially & environmentally responsible company that markets handmade fashion accessories from Madagascar & Kenya . Our eclectic accessories blend traditional and contemporary design ideas of our international design team who incorporate renewable raw materials to create vivid & original clutches, totes and shoulder bags. The sale of our products enables families to gain economic independence and promotes environmental conservation."

we like! we a like a LOT! shop here!

* shika bags - we stumbled on this website when we were searching for ankara bags and we like what we see!



shop here!

* urbanknit - now, this nigerian bag + scarf designer we LOVE!




her scarves and purses are gorgeous and we'd buy them all if we could! see what we mean here, and visit the designer's blog here.

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p.s. we bumped into this website while blog-hopping and we thought we'd share it with you even though we put this entry up ages ago. visit the lovely sierra leonean mimi's boutiquemix here and enjoy shopping for accessories, purses, and lots more!

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if you know of any other sites/products that we've left out, please shoot us an e-mail at shopliquorice@gmail.com or leave a comment.

thanks for reading! spread the word and happy shopping!