Love: Above Most's "If found..." Tee

Coolest. Tee. Ever. If you're prepping for a long haul flight to Lagos this winter, how's this for a perfect tongue-in-cheek statement? Heck, we'd wear this all day everyday. Assorted colours available here.

XO

Love: ASOS Africa

[ASOS Africa F/W 2010, available here]

We first brought news of ASOS's foray into Africa to you way back in February and we've kept tabs on it since then. Now, we all know the high street can be quite "free for all" and it shouldn't come as a surprise that multiple appropriations of Africa have reared their heads in recent times. What we love about ASOS Africa, however, is that it's fashion with a conscience in collaboration with SOKO Kenya, a Kenya-based company responsible for sourcing fabrics and production. Take a look at the inner workings of SOKO Kenya in this short video to see what we mean. Support the Made in Africa movement and support brands that make a real difference (especially if they make cool beaded jackets like the one above).

XO

Love: Eyola Online

We've blogged about this wondrous corner of the web before but we think it bears repeating. We've lived through the eras of the statement necklace and the statement pump at every corner, but if you're serious about sourcing the most expertly-executed couture pieces that don't look much like anything else you've seen before, make a pit stop at Eyola's online boutique and prepare to be blown away by piece after piece of statement luxury. The Merrasuq Octave (above) is our obsession of choice and the very height of perfection.

Happy shopping!

XO

Love: Africa. Always.

[L-R: Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2010, Jewel by Lisa Spring/Summer 2010, Giles Deacon Spring/Summer 2011, Missoni Spring/Summer 2011]

Print. Fashion's most enduring narrative has taken us from Morocco's enchanting souks to mixing and matching polka dots and Ankara. Occasionally, the conversation enlarges to include geometric shapes, a mention or two of nomads, all things ethnic and tribal and a quick dash around the globe in search of wonder. We wonder - will Africa continue to be one of the spokes around which fashion's wheels turn? Can Africa hold its own in a sea of voices or will it ultimately be used and discarded? Will Africa always be synonymous with print and nomads or is there a louder voice breaking through?

Shop Liquorice exists to help you answer those questions and to come to your own conclusions, but we have a slight bias - we strongly believe that there's nothing seasonal or "in" or newly cool about Africa; the beauty and complexity has been there all along and has existed without our permission. We've only just begun paying closer attention. And we should.

Stay tuned as we attempt to give you a guided tour through an enduring, surprising and perhaps unexpected fashion boom.

XO

Photos:

NY Mag

Jewel by Lisa

Love: Qetura's Aso-Oke Mini

We're all over this delightful mini aso-oke (woven cloth) dress from Qetura's Quest collection. The contrasting pinks, zig-zag pattern and the simple tube design are all this dress needs to be fabulous.

Get yours here.

XO

Love: Kwesi Abbensetts//Those pants!

These pants make us want to take a voyage to a faraway place wearing nothing but loose print bottoms, a roomy tee and sandals. Love the use of contrasting fabric on the high waist and love the relaxed, perfectly-happy-in-my-own skin vibe the model exudes. 

See more photos here, courtesy of the very, very amazing Kwesi Abbensetts, whose photographs never cease to spark conversations and desire.

XO

Love: H&M's "Festival" Sandals

We're putting all our buddies in London on speed dial...because these sandals are SO worth the hassle! H&M debuted a "Fashion Against AIDS" collection last month, featuring lots of building blocks for our summer wardrobe, including these gorgeous statement sandals! What's more -- 25% of sales go towards funding AIDS awareness programs! Win-win. The entire collection is well worth a look here.

XO

LOVE: naKIMuli's AFRIKAN SALSA DRESS

'African Print' done right tickles always tickles us pink no matter how often it's done. This piece from the ultra talented naKIMuli is the perfect flurry of fun and fabulousness with its doses of kente, sheer print fabric, animalmania & sequinage. We're in love. Are you?

Get yours here & be sure to feast your eyes on the entire store - you're bound to find something that tickles you pink.

XO

Lookbook: Maki Oh//Autumn/Winter 2010

A few months ago, we featured Maki Oh's debut collection, "Everything in Proportion." A few days later, our superior internet snooping skills (lol) led us to the lookbook for the same collection, which we posted prematurely and subsequently took down. Here is the final version. Click photos to enlarge:

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Photographer: Jan Lehner
Model: Sycha Mubiaya @ D1
Stylist: Chukwunwinke Obi

Hair & Make-up: Natasha Zaki

Jewellery: Pebble London & Maria Zureta

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Easily one of the most exciting lookbooks EVER. Incredible photos, incredible model, incredible CLOTHES...gosh, incredible EVERYTHING! Maki Oh is truly an art and culture lover's dream. Every element of this shoot came together brilliantly to tell a story of glamor and luxury, Africa-style. We want to be the girl in the story and we want to wear all her clothes! Mission accomplished, Maki Oh. Absolutely fantastic work. Questions? --> info@maki-oh.com

XO

P.S. Many thanks to Maki Oh's team for giving us first dibs on these photos :-)

Love: naKIMuli's skirts!

In december, we blogged about this amazing african print hologram dress by SLiq favorite, naKIMuli. Needless to say, her recently released skirts have made us extra giddy for spring and we simply can't wait anymore!

Between the bright pops of color, the just-right length and the snug fit, this is about to be our new all-purpose skirt for every "OPERATION: Fabulous" mission we find ourselves embarking on this spring/summer.

Don't you just love them?

Get yours here!

XO

love: Stella McCartney's pre-fall 2010 collection

obsessed with these looks from Stella McCartney's pre-fall 2010 collection. this collection is all our favorite looks rolled into one, pretty much - slouchy, relaxed tanks, lace [lots of it!], rich solid colors and a little bit of ruffle action. what's not to love?

see the entire collection here.

xo

love: the egyptian statement ring

love this poignant tribute to ancient egypt. statement rings don't come much more fascinating than this adjustable conversation piece. get yours here.

xo

etsy love: of the wangness of things

we spotted this alexander wang dress @ jak & jil and it reminded us of this alternative black tulle mummy dress by etsy seller gruche:

quite the statement dress! not quite cheap as chips but it's bound to be a dress that you'll rock and re-rock and probably never tire of.

happy shopping should you decide to take the plunge!

xo

BUUZZZZZZ: free people rebellion by sarah williams

OKAY, we can't keep this fabulousness to ourselves any longer. so here's the scoop:

Free People Rebellion by sarah williams is INSANE. we spotted pieces from her collection weeks ago and immediately contacted her because we absolutely had to have the necklace above. trust us when we tell you this -- it's even more stunning in person. we'll do a proper post on her and her work sometime in the near future (when her site launches). but if, like us, you can't wait, contact sarah via facebook immediately and get in on the action. oh, and part of her proceeds go to a children's organization in liberia. she's MAJOR...act like you know :-)





more here.

xo

spotlight: lola faturoti

[lola faturoti spring/summer 2009]

we're not too keen on new year's resolutions...'cause we're lazy and probably have ADD :-) howeverrrr, we get majorly chuffed when anyone asks us "who" we're wearing and we have the rare pleasure of name-dropping one of our favorite african designer BFFs, lol. we're inspired by a plethora of people, places, and things & we like to think we're as comfortable in forever21 as we are in phillip lim or vintage dresses from ebay. yet, our wardrobes curiously lack pieces from african designers and ADD and laziness aside, we're working very hard to change that this year. case in point - it's not even february yet and one of us has managed to lay her claws on one of duro olowu's highly coveted silk kimono dresses @ an UNBELIEVABLE discount!! *applause* thank you, thank you, you're far too kind, lol. not too shabby, huh? wellll, now we're on the prowl for more delightful pieces and lola faturoti is majorly floating our boats at the moment. if we had all the $ in the world, we'd own the following dresses from her spring/summer 2009 collection:


sigh. way to tug at our heart strings :-)

more here.

xo

spotlight: jewel by lisa

[click to enlarge]

blinged out african print? we'll drink to that! lol. we knew we absolutely had to share this photo with our readers as soon as we saw it in one of our many free thisday style inserts...hence the bootleg camera phone version :-) the dress in question is by none other than Lisa Folawiyo of Jewel by Lisa, also responsible for these beauties:



[thanks to bellanaija for these photos and our oh-so-sexy blackberry for the first one :-)]

no need to harp on about how we're OH-SO-CERTAINLY hitting up her store the next time we're in lagos. for real this time. JBL, hats off to you.

xo

guilty pleasure: celebrity blackberry sightings

hellooooo :) just breezing through to share one of our many guilty pleasures with you! everybody knows (okay, maybe not everybody, lol) the blackberry is the ultimate accessory. if you own one, you get it. if you don't own one, you should get one! it keeps us organized and connected on-the-go...and it's so much cuter than the i-phone, lol. okay, let's not go there. welllll, we said all that to say this. we've been hooked on celebrity blackberry sightings for ages. it's one of those guilty pleasures we can't quite justify...but it works just fine for us, thanks! if the idea of seeing your favorite celebs on-the-go with their crackberrys in tow catches your fancy, you should pay this blog a visit pronto (totally didn't even mean to kinda sorta rhyme)! this blog is also a great, painless way to keep up with who's wearing what if that's the kind of thing you need to unwind after a long day, lol.

xoxoxoxoxo

love: boyfriend/pegged jeans!

(click to enlarge)

we're totally loving katie's boyfriend/pegged jeans and think they're ridiculously cool. such a breath of fresh air esp. since we've been sardined into our skinny jeans for months now (but how we still LOVE them!). there has been quite a bit of outrage about them being too baggy and masculine but we're not paying too much attention to the naysayers, lol. fashion really has gone full circle on denim - we've rotated through flared, bootcut jeans, skinny jeans, drainpipes, high-waisted jeans, etc. and now we're finally getting to let our hair down and get on with it. granted, a few of katie's looks need a little more refinement but overall, we're totally digging her look right now! and isn't her haircut the coolest? feel free to disagree, lol.



xo

photo sources: denimology, daily mail, day old news

love: zulu rose

you. need. this. tee. in. your. life:

it's verrrrry unique and it comes in such a pretty, unusual color and design (YAY for an africa-insipred tee!). it's also by the ultra cool clothing label ZULU ROSE and it's currently on sale here for $45 (reduced from $60). seriously, if you want it, get it 'cause it won't be around foreverrrr!

spread the word!

xo

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