Calling all the trail-BLAZERS.

Nothing truly compares to that mixture of disappointment and anger that swishes back and forth in your belly when you mentally plan an outfit, finally execute it and realise how atrocious the entire concept is during its materialisation. You wiggle your body into different angles whilst facing the mirror, clinging on to some hope that perhaps, the outfit might start to look a little different but alas, you have been defeated. It just … didn’t work out this time round.

I wouldn’t call myself a fashionista but one thing I do tend to make sure of is that a look I am going for makes sense. My laziest attempts throughout the years have probably been body-con dresses and co-ords but when I feel up for a challenge, I have to go through piles and piles of clothes (a trip to the charity shop trip is clearly pending) to navigate how they can be rebirthed with one another. Admittedly, it is a tedious task but boy does one's creativity get tested! Perhaps the most important aspect of this exercise is how it guarantees the solidification of one's sense of style- trials and errors can be messy but correction tastes so sweet at the end of it all.

Upon facetiming my friend during one boring quarantine night, we had a thorough discussion on our personal aesthetics. Whilst she is someone who generally goes for chique looks with a dash of sex appeal, I’m more of a ‘mood-dresser’- think cosplay but less performative yet somehow giving a specific character based on how I feel. However, we realised that despite having quite contrasting senses of style (where one is more established than the other- take a wild guess which is which), there were specific items that made appearances in both our wardrobes.

‘I have this blazer, yea-'

‘Omg, stop- I literally just got a blazer myself!’

Although blazers are usually attached to a sense of professionalism, as of recently, these double-breasted pieces of clothing have resurfaced in much more casual settings. They are no longer darker or tighter (as they have slowly become detached from their origins of 19th century boating culture) and less masculine; they come in a range of colours, patterns and sizes. We don’t just see them in our offices, balls or weddings but also during our brunches, date nights and even mundane shopping trips. Dressy shoes? Not anymore. Our heels click right below them and our trainers stomp according to how they swish against the sides of our bodies.

This comes as no surprise considering, like a lot of statement clothing pieces in the fashion world, this particular one has had an outrageous amount of reincarnations. You might want to check out a couple of pictures from your parents’ 80’s-90’s shenanigans for some conviction- try not to get distracted by your fathers’ high-tops though.

To me, the blazer is probably one of the most essential items an individual can own. It’s a great amplifier and can turn a very simple outfit into one with a little more oomf. The blazer ALWAYS makes sense. And what’s better than proving this theory with a quick collaborative virtual show? Featuring leather pants, a denim skirt and even flare jeans, Ibiwangi sashays across a rooftop to show us how to be a trail-blazer.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/31d5ce_9330b53ff222406f96ab6c4ad7a3aec5/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Blazer- Mango

Muse - Ibiwangi Williams (https://www.instagram.com/ibiwangi/)

Styled by- Ibiwangi Williams

Shot by- Toluwa Odulana (https://www.instagram.com/toluwaodulana/)

Edited by- Lourdes Alexandra Oppong

Song: '1991', Azealia Banks

I do not own the rights to the music used.

#lifestyle #styling

*a little note.

as a black woman, with the consideration of the current racial climate, i feel it is my duty to address the atrocious racial injustices and disregard of lives within my community that have been going on for an extensive amount of years and have affected any avenue in society that black people occupy. as much as people want to believe that racial tensions are only prevalent in western countries (specifically the United States of America), i cannot help but state that this is a rather ignorant thought, possibly used to avoid responsibility of treating black people as part of the human race on a global scale.

i would like to use this opportunity on my platform to encourage my readers to not only educate themselves as members of the black community or allies but also urge the mentioned groups above to actively participate in the dismantling of an inhumane system. there are a range of ways this can be attained which include donating to movements such as Black Lives Matter, bail funds for protesters and/or the families of victims, signing numerous petitions for changes in the law or reopening of cases, non-fictional films and documentaries on streaming sites such as Netflix, reading online manifestos of people's experiences with racial injustice as well as digital activism. we are fortunate to be a generation in a time where anything is accessible through a quick google search- we should take advantage of it. in addition to this, i recognise that this can be a triggering time for my black peers and so whilst you are aggressively participating in activism, remember to take a breather.