Elegant fashion of the past

I'm definitely hating on how fly women were back in the day.
It all started when me and my husband sat
down and watched that classic romance movie we all love, "The Notebook". 

 After I wiped the tears out of my eyes [that movie always makes me weak!] I started to think,

 "Damn, This girl is dressed to impress and she looks so elegant and feminine!"

 I spent a few hours here and there perusing through different websites finding out about all of the different undergarments all of our grandma's or great-great grandma's wore and the ones that I hardly wear. I realized a lot of these women dressed elegantly because that was just the style.

 I mean, not only were they dressed in a DRESS pretty much everyday, but they had the right undergarments! tights or stockings, garters, slips to go under the dresses, girtles. I'm pretty sure some women still rock these undergarments from time to time... but most of us (especially young women) don't go through all of the extra stuff. We throw on our ripped jeans and t-shirt and we head on to walmart.

 I'm not trying to say that we don't care about what we look like now. I just think that a larger amount of women, for the most part took more pride in looking elegant and if they were leaving the house they were going to put on a casual dress and look elegant because that was the style.

I find it fabulous how elegant and feminine the women of yesterday were... what's more feminine then a dress for God's sake! - nothing!  This change was bound to happen. Back then people were modest, now we have booty shorts and crop tops [which I definitely adore in the right place and time] 

This find made me realize that I really want to strive to wear more classic clothing. I want to be more of an image of what we used to be...& I hate to say that because obviously so many women look extremely beautiful and classy today. But, I think I'd like to wear more dresses and skirts, put more effort into looking like a classic woman.

>> shopping goal

So my next shopping goal is to buy more classic clothing. Don't get this confused with vintage clothing. Although I love a good vintage piece here and there, I am not trying to make a wardrobe out of vintage apparel. By classic I mean pieces that never go out of style. I need to steer clear of trends.

[For more on Classic Vs Vintage, visit The Glamorous Housewife Blog. She definitely helped me explain this classic/vintage difference and her blog is cool too.]

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Artist Feature: Farrah, owner of A Rebel Eye Art

I'm starting a new series here on the blog. Every now and then I'll be featuring inspirational people who really bring black culture to the forefront. I love black history and our culture and I want to do something positive in order to spread it for the world to see. We have talented, passionate people out there that deserve to be known. 

  So, for the very first feature I chose to interview an artist, Farrah. She is the owner of A Rebel Eye Art whom I found when I was just scrolling through instagram. Her work immediately spoke to me. I love her portraits most of all, in general I feel that as a black person I can relate to her work. I want to thank her for participating and being such a nice person to work with!

• Tell me a little about yourself.   I am a self-taught artist whose artistic journey began as a child based in Michigan roots.  During summer drives to Michigan, my mother would stop in states along the way and expose my brothers and sisters and I to different things culturally and historically; from slave cemeteries to art museums, these experiences had a profound effect on me.  It was in this that my world opened up and I realized that there was much more that I could attain and create for myself.  I’m currently a mother, wife, all of that, while simultaneously attempting to pursue and conquer my artistic dream of being an operating, functioning art business.   I’ve been practicing art primarily by myself seriously for six years now.

• What piece of art are you most proud of?    The piece of art I’m most proud of is my piece, entitled “Oldie”.  It’s the best example of intricacy and material working seamlessly together.  I drew this picture with just a pastel on fabric.  I imagined the fabric to be different and approached it with nerves.  But when I was able to let that go and just draw.  What came of it pleased me.  I didn’t think the outcome would be what it was.

•  What's your favorite art work that is not your own?   That’s a hard question! I’m constantly looking at art, so my rolodex is filled with images.  I would honestly have to say though, I visited an exhibit of African artist’s work at a museum here in Houston, the show was based around the concept of love (PROGRESS OF LOVE).  This photo, entitled, “Queen Amina” by Kelechi Amadi Obi struck me.  It’s something about her being in focus amidst the blur that is very powerful to me.  It emphasizes her place in history as the warrior queen of Zaria.  It literally takes me into the possibility of her world.

•  Where can we find more about you and/ or your artwork.  I currently have a website,www.arebeleyeart.com that features my work and in the future, the works of other black artists. It’s destined to be the source for young art collectors to acquire they’re first real piece of art.

• Describe your style of art.    My style is constantly evolving.  Each time I approach a work, I’m thinking of how to best strike the eye of a person viewing.  I’ve found that portraiture is my best subject matter, which I don’t mind.  I love the face and its quiet power.  Most people glance at portrait and like the overall achievement of making a portrait look like a person.  But glancing at a portrait deeper prompts your brain to create a story about the subject.  My portraiture is not exact for this very reason, I like to create unfinished portraits, so the viewer has no choice but to look deeper and question what they’re seeing.In addition to this, I also create other works, which typically have to do with black culture and subjects.

•  If you could work with any artist of the past or present, who would it be? I guess I will give the obligatory, Jean-Michel, of course.  But presently, I’m digging the work of Hebru Brantley.  His work is absolutely beautiful and I would love an opportunity to throw my element into it.

•  If you weren't doing art, what would you be doing? If I’d never been awakening to life, I’d be living a normal existence where my intellect and creativity were unchallenged…basically I’d be bored as hell. I absolutely had no plans outside of art, but to be a “worker”.  I’m still a worker to some extent, but I am slowly checking out each day that I explore my inherent artistic nature.

• What's your inspiration for your artwork?  My inspiration is the absence of expression of black culture from a different visual context.  I’m inspired to step out of the “box” black art has fallen into and create something “different” visually people can still identify with. 

If you're interested in learning more about Farrah and her work or maybe you want one of her pieces for yourself, visit her website: A Rebel Eye Art.

Follow her on Instagram @ARebelEyeArt

Thrifted a Cardigan for Fall

Me & Addie fooled around a little the other day. We went outside,  took a visit to my sisters house and we also went to a thrift store that totally grossed me out! They had a wide variety of stuff in that particular thrift store, you could go there and find literally anything. The gross part was it was one of the more messier smelly thrift stores. But  I took a little time to find something that I like.

She likes to go outside and play in the dirt! I can't stand it.

Here is the cardigan I picked up from the thrift store. It amazingly comfortable and it's heavy-great fabric. I love it because it's my style! I love oversized, slouchy pieces like this one.

After the trip to the thrift store I put on some actual clothes for the heat and went to my sisters place.

REVIEW: eShakti dress!

I was recently asked to do a review for Eshakti, a clothing company that allows you to customize your clothes to fit your body type and style. First of all, it was a great experience to do business with this company. They were really nice about everything and had no problem answering any questions I had. Shipping was very fast- I appreciate that because I really hate waiting in general, especially when I have something really cute to wear on its way.

My first thought when I unwrapped the dress was how the material was not cheap and it did not feel thin. This fabric is thick, but not too thick where it'd make you uncomfortably warm. 

The dress came exactly as I ordered it. You get the option to customize everything from sleeves, dress length, bust and waist size. The waist of the dress is tiny bit big, but I expected that because I ordered it that way. I have big breast and a small waist so I wanted to make sure it fit. I would rather the dress be a little too big because I can always go and get it altered. I also wish I would have got the dress a shorter length. I'm used to wearing short dresses- the length of this dress made me feel as if I was a house mom from the 40's or 50's.. which felt pretty awesome, but I don't know where I'd wear this dress because it's so cute and fancy!

My legs look weird here lol. Anyway, the dress has two layers. It's just a very lovely dress. My favorite details are how the pink flowers pop out from the deep blue.

Of course I had to go take a few bathroom selfies!

Check out Eshakti.com

Use the coupon code   miyaloves   to get 10% discount if you're thinking about shopping at eShakti!

The discount is valid through 10/16/2014 so jump on it!

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IG: Miyaloves.life

Twitter: Miyalovess

Sexy Black

I was on forever 21.com and decided to keep record of the things I want by using beautysets. it's a quick set- kinda messy but oh well you get the picture right? 
As you can see I like black. I'm trying to find pieces that are edgy and not my usual ( 1, 9, 7) but I could not help picking pieces that were totally me.
Although I want to dress more sexy it's hard to do while I'm pregnant and uncomfortable. but after I get back in shape I want to spice it up more with the cut outs in dresses and such.  I do want to start wearing more high heels even while being pregnant. I can't see myself being the kind of person that has on sweats and a t-shirt just because I'm a mom, a wife and I'm tired. When you look good you feel good (well atleast that's true for me) So I'm in the process of revamping myself. Tell me what you think about my choices.





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