Question: Online shopping worldwide...

There is so much going on in the world today and boundaries are shifting. Online shopping is alive and well over here in the USA, but it isn't quite as accessible in other parts of the world. Anyone who knows me, knows I started to think!!!

As an image consultant , stylist and personal shopper based over here in the US. I get a lot of questions from people in Africa and in Europe about how they can get access to items we have over here. The obvious problem is no one wants to ship internationally, in other cases, its simply not knowing who to trust or how to even factor that into your current business.

I personally feel that it is very possible to get everything we get in the US to clients worldwide. Shipping outside of the United States is something I am tackling head on for a number of people and its working.

So my question here is this...if you could shop freely on a great website such as Zappos.com and get guarantees from ME that it would be delivered to you in about a timely fashion, how valuable would you find such an idea?? Shipping and clearing would be paid by you the customer (the company I use handles that too and its reasonable) But you would be guaranteed the same phenomenal customer service that companies such as Zappos offers over here...

Would it be worth it for you??

Please comment and feel free to share. This is possibly a great way to get more products into Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Thanks in advance everyone I really need comments. Even if you disagree...comment anyway.

Have a fabulous weekend all!!!

The 60th Annual Emmy Awards....

Phew...

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

The Emmy Awards were yesterday and to be honest it is one of the most BORING of the award shows and I honestly never watch it for anything other than the fashion. Since I didn't style anyone this time around, it means I simply get to watch what everyone else has done - also a lot of FUN! Unfortunately because I had to take my son out , I wasn't able to catch the Red Carpet Arrivals, so I watched with the TV muted while I did some ironing before heading over to my friend's place.

I of course, have my personal views on the fashion choices made by others (not surprising). But I honestly never fully agree with the Worst dressed list. Pushing the envelope should never be viewed as a fashion no no.

I personally liked Eva Longoria's dress. One has to remember that they have a TON of these events to attend and of course you don't want to look the same each and every time. I also have a thing for Bows...

Glenn Close's black dress to me was very age appropriate! I understand that some people cannot stand the shawl, but please compare it to Mary Tyler Moore who wore a black dress as well but with no shawl, we could see exactly how her face and her arms totally DO NOT match!! After a certain age, those arms HAVE to be covered up. So in my opinion the shawl NEEDED to be there!!!

Cynthia Nixon's total lack of bling to me is simply her being simple. One doesn't always have to have bling to complete a look. She had something on her wrists. That is what she was aiming for...If I were to change anything, I would make the color of her dress a little brighter...just saying.

Brooke Shield's fuschia Badgley Mischka I hated!! Don't ask, something about it rubbed me the wrong way...and this was on the BEST DRESSED list!!

Vanessa Williams DID look stunning in her Kevan Hall dress...our skin always looks very good in neutral tones, the print also made it stand out.

However , for some reason, I feel like I have seen America Ferrara in several black dresses of late, so I was a bit bored by it! I love her as an actress, but unlike her character on Ugly Betty, I don't think she does anything edgy on the red carpet...but then again, that might just be the look she was going for!

I don't think Felicity Hoffman's dress did anything for her frame. She has an amazing body, but I felt this outfit made us focus so much on her shoulders and thats not necessarily a good thing...

Blah on Marcia Cross' dress -oh so bland!!! And the GORGEOUS number on Nicolette Sheridan. That color was DIVINE on her...

Julia Louis-Dreyfus looked and walked away a winner! The Narciso Rodriguez creation was divine!!! We all know I am a bit(ok, maybe very) partial to color.

This is obviously not a full list. I have to leave some for the rest of you to comment about - LOL! Were you watching the awards? Which ones did you love or hate. Remember we all have opinions and I would love to hear some of them!!!

Have a great day all...

P.S Congrats to Jeremy Piven on his win yesterday! He cracks me up on Entourage!!

***all pictures courtesy Wireimage.

Random musings...Celebs and friends

Its Sunday evening, 6:38pm. I have just finished running through several blogs. Some of my favorites, some new ones and also thinking about my own. Its one thing to commit to blogging and another to actually do it! Fortunately, I can definitely see an improvement myself. Thank Goodness for the Blackberry!!! My one true addiction!!

Do I love to write? heck yeah (I was an English honors student-that should tell you something)... just as much as love to talk, LOL!! I always have an opinion about numerous things, but sometimes the bone of contention is figuring out which one to yap about. Would love to talk about work...but unfortunately that would be telling and I really do have to put my clients FIRST. And I doubt I would have any clients at all if I put them on full blast now would I?? So that's out of the question - LOL!! I guess I could also talk about my views on life in general...but my thoughts are sometimes sooo far left field it's not even funny! SO sometimes its a bit of a pickle isn't it??


As open as I am about my own life. I find that privacy is CRUCIAL for others. I am privy to so much information it is INSANE. I am also fiercely protective. I guess its the mother hen in me. But I am not even tempted to say anything or even give an opinion about certain things because I never believe its my place to talk about anything other than myself and my direct family. Does that make sense? I hope so...

Recently an old friend that I had just reconnected with(courtesy of Facebook), wanted to know something about one of my clients. She is a football FANATIC and so once she found out that I was his stylist she HAD to ask. This is not the first time this has happened to me, and since I am not a child, I obviously knew how to handle her. What was amusing(and bit surprising) was her response and how rude she became when she realized I wasn't going to tell her anything. I guess we now know why we lost contact in the first place...Sigh!!!

I have never believed like the rest of the world that Celebs aren't entitled to their privacy. If anything I feel very sorry for them most times. Who wants to see every pound gained /lost monitored and splashed across every paper/mag?? Every time you have a bad hair day/bad fashion day (not courtesy of me!)/bad fight...I mean you name it...they have had it, splashed as a headline everywhere!! Can you imagine every person you have ever dated being put under a microscope?? Whew...considering we have to kiss a lot of frogs to find that Prince charming. I guess we should count ourselves lucky that we were able to do it in peace.

Have a fabulous week and remember Image is everything!!!

xoxo

Sexiness and you...

Someone asked me a really interesting question the other today.What do you find sexy? I wanted to know why she asked (very weird question).She explained that she had just met a guy and asked me what I thought about him, because even though he was cute, she didn't find him sexy at all.

That made me think... I couldn't really give her an answer. Why? Sexiness for me is a lot of different things combined and its not purely just looks. I have dated guys that according to my husband, he didn't quite get what I saw in them!(I say the same about some of his ex's so we are pretty even on that one-LOL) But I always had an answer...it was just something about them!

So...that prompted me to ask people around me and obviously fellow bloggers.

What do you find sexy?

I find my husband's smile sexy (its also what attracted me to him at the airport in the first place), his confidence and his honesty...the day he picked me up and carried me across a huge puddle of water in Nigeria has got to be the sexiest moment of all time in our marriage (and trust me we had our moments)!! I am huge believer of what lies within and the fact that he KNOWS me (a little too well) and knows that those Gucci shoes mean so much to me and that if they got wet/trashed I would be SOOOO upset; all this without me saying a word!! That night...I paid up the way a good wife is supposed to!!

On a totally weird note, I find heels SUPER sexy!!!
I find fashion done correctly sexy...either on men or women!
Swagger...SUPER sexy!
The same goes for good manners and chivalry!


I unfortunately don't find Denzel Washington, LL Cool J, Vin Diesel, David Beckham sexy! I know they have great bodies and I can totally see why people want to take off their underwear for them - LOL. But I don't view them as sex objects, if I got to know them...then maybe. I can hear women screaming across the world - LOL. Let me explain fully!! For me it's much more than skin deep. I am not the kind of person who would see LL cool J (which I have) and think of what he would be like in bed or what I would do to him - HECK no!! I don't know him like that and that makes it difficult for me to even include him on a fantasy!! I am also just too much of a professional to view people that way. However, I know most women look at him lick his lips and automatically think of what those lips would do to them or vice versa! I am very weird i know...but it did make me curious enough to ask post this question to everyone else.


So...what do you find sexy? I really want to know!!

SARFM ...Pamela Stitch!

Okidoke...its a two for one special, I am so trying to get better blogging, because it helps reduce the number of calls I have to make to update everyone.

So a few weeks ago my PR consultant extraordinaire Bobby Taylor sends me a serious email..."I HAVE GOOD NEWS"!! I am wondering to myself, what's up?

She says "I got you on to a New york radio station" I could feel her excitement coming through the phone!! I always smile at how excited and passionate BT (when I am not calling her boobs, I call her BT) gets at her job. It's also why she is so good at what she does...her passion. I honestly think that's why we have been able to go past our "growing pains" and develop such a wonderful relationship. We are both extremely passionate about what we do.

Anyway, I'm running through all the options in my head...was it Hot 97 or The Wendy Williams show or Power 105.1 (remember I live in the nyc/tristate area and these are the top stations)?? WHAT ?WHO? WHERE?? LOL!! She then says its SARFM - which I had never heard of. Me being me, I said yes immediately because its one more person who can take me one step closer to my goal. Of course I got back home later on and I google it...I love the internet!!! I read up about the station and realized they had been around for quite sometime - an online station. Cool. It was also geared for West Africa, which is great for me...I am always up for explaining what I do to more and more Africans worldwide.


So here comes Saturday the 13th of Sept. I wake up nice and early , telling myself that I am getting there SUPER early...well, it didn't quite happen that way. I ended up being 10mins late for a live show. URGH!!!! Pamela Stitch was extremely sweet about it all...I however felt guilty throughout!

From what I had read about Pamela, I felt we would get along FINE! However the sunglasses indoors threw me off. It always gives off an unfriendly barrier(some even call it aloof!!!) which I mentioned to her as well. But besides that, I think the interview went well. I never really worry about interviews too much. Being an extrovert helps. I am also not shy (couldn't you tell?)so there isn't really a topic that I won't discuss!!

All in all, the interview went for 2 hrs instead of 1. We talked about fashion, The Versatile Shopper (my company - shameless plug), how I started, the recent article in the paper about how I met my husband etc. I had to call my dear friend Julie to apologize as she had to watch my son for longer than expected! Fortunately, she was fine with it. Thanks Julie!!!


Thanks to BT for putting this together. Thanks to Pamela Stitch for such a lovely discussion and for being HER!!!

2 weeks in my life...

New York Fashion Week Spring 2009 is finally over and I for one couldn’t be happier!! I truly love FASHION. This is all research for me, believe it or not. Knowing what is going on keeps me on top of things for my clients. I am the kind of person who would stay up all night (if possible) watching past runway shows , pondering how much fashion has/has not changed. Imagine someone like that actually having the shows in her neighborhood! I was in heaven!! I know this isn’t the first fashion show that’s been held in New York – however it’s the first one that I can honestly say I attended freely because I didn’t have as many conflicts as I used to.


My first show this season was the Edwing D’Angelo show, held at the Westin Hotel on,42 street, on the 5th of September. Should I mention it started late?? Almost all the fashion shows start late, so this wasn’t really a surprise! There are at least 2-3 per hour in these first few days, either at the tent or somewhere else in the city. Anyway, I went with my dear friend Lorraine Cruz, who is an international hairstylist and make-up artist( I need to bring her to Nigeria to teach a few people her cutting technique). I must say I LOVED it!!! Now mind you, I have never even worked with him before!! So this is totally unbiased. I haven’t pulled from him or bought anything from him ever. I was invited because we talked fashion at a Kerry Rhodes party and he asked his PR girl/assistant (I’m not quite sure what she was) to get my info. So I wasn’t even remotely familiar with his work. But I was truly a fan of the whole Aquatica themed show after he was done! There is sooooo much you can do with white. And everything coming down his runway was WHITE!!! Cat suits, lovely dresses mixed with other colors (he kept in theme though – white was dominant), lovely tuxedo pants, blouses for women, and there were the pieces with his logo embroidered tastefully on the back – LOVE!!! Pictures from his show are posted below… I didn’t say we had the best seat (hence the not so clear pictures), but at least we got a seat!!!


Lacoste and Abaete were shows I RSVP’d for but didn’t end up attending because I had a conflict (don’t you just hate that?). Lorraine went with her sister Jocelyn and had a blast! The Tracy Reese show was super nice, though I was rather upset as my name wasn’t on the list even though I SPOKE to L.H who assured me that it was. URGH!!!! Rather annoying as I would have stayed my butt at home!! Oh well…I missed the first few minutes of the show – I swear that place MUST have been a fire hazard. As it was PACKED!!!! My friend and fellow stylist KB was supposed to meet me, but he stood me up!!! He is soooo in my bad books right now! However this is me!! Talking to people has never been something I couldn’t do, its called networking!! I ended up staying an extra 2hrs.


The Bryant Park Tent ambiance is amazing - it truly is. Free giveaways at various times of the day , from blackberry phones, havainas flip flops, magazines, magazines and more magazines! Celebrity sightings, free drinks (yes, alcohol, but I stuck to coffee) and my favorite pastime …people watching!!! Sigh…it was HARD to pull away. It’s also a good place to get your creative juices flowing!! I just kept thinking of the various things I need to put together.


I was meant to go to the W magazine party on Monday, but couldn’t because I had to get ready for the photo shoot on Tuesday….WORK!!! Gotta love it!!

Best of British show…didn’t attend – Emmy wasn’t there so what was the point? However, the Custo Barcelona show was INTERESTING!! There were several members of the cast of Ugly Betty, one of the Danity Kane girls (I think it was Aubrey O’day) was also there…but I must say the show was the most disorganized thing EVER!!! The music was soooooo LOUD, I felt I needed earplugs!! Many people were promised seats and didn’t get them (we did, but barely). About the show itself, very few of the pieces would I wear together…I would HAVE to break them up…it was just waaaaay too colorful for me!! Seriously and I am not conservative at all, I actuall LOVE color!!! But I do have an issue wearing too many colors all at once. The funniest part was the paparazzi attack after the show…it was was crazy and I HATED every minute of it. We had our pictures taken several times (Lorraine more than me, thankfully) simply because of how we were dressed. We looked fabulous! Oh and Steve Zak came too and he took some pictures too. I seriously don’t know how celebrities deal with this every minute they step out of their house!! Jeeze!!! And before you ask, I wasn’t in anything scandalous… I was wearing a black strapless cat suit with my big ‘ole D&G belt which I LOVE!! The belt could walk by itself if necessary – LOL, it has a life and personality of its own!!! On our way out, we bumped into Mrs. Jada Pinkett-Smith rushing into the Zac Posen show with her entourage. She is so tiny!! Gorgeous…but tiny, in my heels I felt like a giant beside her. I could see the middle of her head and she was in her Louboutins too - that must have given her a good 5 inches!!



Since Thursday was also Lorraine’s birthday – we had plans to go to a comedy club, dinner and a club. Dangerfield’s and Cain…deadly combo! I laughed so hard I cried…the Puerto Rican guy was the funniest and I can’t even remember his name!! We were picked on all night because we were late and we were a bunch of great looking girls with a smattering of guys. But I love jokes and knew going in that we would get picked on-I truly love comedy. If you need to use me as material ,go right ahead…isn’t that why we sat in the front? Lorraine had fun and that’s truly all that matters!!


This is my week (or two) in a nutshell. Oh, I am also sporting a spanking new haircut courtesy of Lorraine Cruz of Bio Ionics. She always gives me amazing looks...this one is turning heads and I LOVE IT!! Thanks Lorraine.


Of course the juggling that I call my life continues…did I mention this was also my son’s first week of BIG school? He is super excited and we are sooooo proud of him! The fashionista, wife and mom!


***Pictures taken by Remi Fagbohun and Steve Zak.

People with us...Outside the tents...
I wonder if I could survive 20 mins without this phone? According to my darling Sunny, she thinks it stays on my boob :-)

Remi Fagbohun and Lorraine Cruz , Bryant Park Tent, having one of our interview/paparazzi moments...
Here's another...
Ambiance in the tent...can't remember which day.

Us again...too many peeps taking pictures. Eyes in different directions...I havent quite mastered this picture stuff - sigh! Lorraine on the other hand is a PRO!!
Interview...I can't remember which magazine . Definitely foreign though...

Tracy Reese Show in the Promenade - Bryant Park.Me after the Tracy Reese Show.

Remi Fagbohun & Lorraine Cruz at the Edwing D'Angelo Aquatica show.
More from Edwing D'Angelo Aquatica show
Edwing D'Angelo...