ShopAfrica: kua (keeping us authentic) designs

we stumbled on this raffia and ankara stunner by KUA designs here and knew we had to share. KUA designs makes some pretty darn spiffy clutches and thankfully, a number are available online for your perusal.

shop here, see past designs here, and visit the designer's blog here!

xo

who wore what: urban nectar

we blogged about the unveiling of Zebra Living's new collection, Urban Nectar, last week. while we're waiting on close-up pictures of the pieces, here are a few things that stood out for us:

is that an ankara pocket square MC mr. kelechi odu is wearing?? we've died and gone to fashion heaven! ankara is truly the fabric that keeps giving :-)



pictured above is the super talented Dolapo James of urbanknit rocking one of her supersnap clutches. we want, we want, we need! get yours here!



finally, here's the designer of Zebra herself, ms. ugoma ebilah, wearing one of the most resplendent pieces from that evening. gotta have it! speaking of ms. ebilah, fashionafrica has a wonderful interview with her here...and we LOVEEEE this dress she's wearing:



sigh. MUST.MOVE.BACK.TO.LAGOS. YAY Zebra!!

xo

photos courtesy of:
facebook
carriesbrastrap

the african fashion collective: who wore what

hey there folks! here are some looks from the african fashion collective we knew we'd spotted before...

o o o

agbani darego (miss world 2001) in jewel by lisa, as seen at the Africa Rising fashion show in London last year

agbani (how gorgeous is she?!) wore her stunning embellished ankara dress with pantyhose and pumps (not pictured) and alek wek showed off her legs for days on the runway. jealousy? us? NEVER :-)

o o o

tiffany amber designer folake folarin-coker in tiffany amber, fall 2009 as seen on the runway at the Africa Fashion Collective

folake folarin-coker wore the black version of one of her runway pieces. we're going with the runway look on this one. it's far more interesting and the contrast belting is stunning.

o o o

lola faturoti in her commemorative obama dress at the african fashion collective, NY fashion week



(as also seen here.)

lola faturoti wore her commemorative obama dress and spiced things up with her beads and gele. we LOVE. this dress is available for pre-order at shopcurious.com.

which looks are your favorites?

xo

photos from bellanaija, getty images, and glam

fashion-to-go: african print purses

...so you can't get to lagos to get your tiger tem/ankara purse fix? no problem! here are a few of our favorite african print purses, courtesy of etsy at naana b:

**

super chic and super roomy -

get it from urbanknit here

**

funky print with great button detailing -



get it from jatee here

**

chain strap? check!


get it from eota here

**

...and one subdued but fabulous purse from naana b:


here.

lots of e-love,

team liquorice

xo

spotlight: mud cloth/"bogolanfini"

when we think 'african fashion', the first thing that usually comes to mind is ankara. it's everywhere and worn by every imaginable cross-section of people, at least in lagos - from the streets to runways to haute couture pieces, ankara has definitely come a long way. while we're glad to see it inspire such astounding creativity, we're also all for re-discovering other fabrics that don't get as much attention but are pretty darn fabulous as well. today, we focus on mud cloth, thrust into the spotlight (somewhat) by oscar de la renta's 'african print dress':

it's native to mali and made from "numerous applications of various plant juices/teas and mud to dye hand woven cloth"*. interestingly enough, each pattern carries a meaning and mud cloth is typically worn during special occasions. if you're interested in the history of mud cloth, you should definitely click here and here. we look forward to seeing more designers mix and match a variety of african prints in the near future because as much as we love our ankara, it really has suffered from a little too much overexposure :-) let's spread the love, people! with that said, rachel pally (queen of jersey and easy, breezy ready-to-wear pieces) pays homage to mud cloth print in her new collection, now available at shopbop:



we hope we've inspired you to step away from the ankara every once in a while :-)

xo

*source - cornell

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!