this is not a dress rehearsal.: July 2013

25 July 2013

Pop Art

I had a video interview with Shanika of the blog Broke2Dope yesterday. I found Shanika's blog while looking up information about someone that was participating in a fashion event that I was having last summer and instantly loved her straight to the point and informative style of writing. When she decided that she wanted to interview me, I was beyond excited! I got to talk about working as a wardrobe stylist and show off a few pieces from The RAD! Shop! :)

Since I was going to be in Little Five Points, I wanted a stylish yet effortless outfit. I chose a plain white tee that I tied a knot in, a bright wrap skirt, and my favorite brown gladiator sandals. I accessorized with a gold chain necklace, gold cross earrings, and a stack of bracelets that I coordinated to match my watch.

Shirt: Ambiance Apparel
Skirt: Target
Sandals: Atlanta Boutique
Earrings: Atlanta Boutique
Necklace: RAD!
Watch: Michael Kors
Cuff: Forever 21
Bracelets: Vintage

22 July 2013

Hitting the Scene in Seafoam Green

...kind of. Today was a chill day. One where I ran a few errands such as going to my job, buying items to restock my stylist kit, and prepping for my Broke2Dope interview on Wednesday among other things. I wanted a simple outfit. Something that I could be comfortable and still look good in so I selected a simple black and white striped tank, one of my favorite maxi skirts, and my Prabal Gurung for Target sandals with a silver ankle cuff. I added an upper arm cuff, gold cross earrings, and made my own temporary finger to wrist bracelet using one of my gold chains.

Top: H&M
Skirt: Atlanta Boutique
Sandals: Prabal Gurung for Target
Earrings: Atlanta Boutique
Necklace Worn As Finger To Ring Bracelet: RAD!

That's So Clutch

Ever since I can remember I have had a love affair with huge bags, the bigger the better. I was always the girl that had the biggest bag full of snacks, make-up, and whatever else you needed lol. However, as I got older and started going out more, I began to scale down my purse size. From oversize bags to totes, from totes to small shoulder bags, and from there I ended up falling in love with clutches.

Clutches are just so chic. They can be oversize, they can be super small. They can be made out of leather, they can be made out of denim. No other form of a handbag adds that extra oomph and chicness like a clutch does. For a night out you can fit all your necessities in it: lip gloss and/or lipstick, ID, phone, cards and/or cash, and business cards (depending on where you are that night).

Start out buying clutches in basic black and white, and then graduate to trying out clutches in different colors, styles and fabrics! Fashion is not fire. Play with it. Have fun. Step outside of your comfort zone and you might experience something you like.

17 July 2013

And Another One...

Today I was featured on a magazine/blog called Lipstick Dream Mag. I was featured for my styling work and and as owner of The RAD! Shop!

I have posted a snippet of the interview below:

Have you ever gone into a clothing store and saw something so amazing only to find out it was way above your price range? It’s the worse feeling ever. Well fashion stylist and online boutique owner Rene Alise is to the rescue!

Her online Boutique The RAD! Shop ‘s motto is “Look Like A Million Bucks Without Breaking The Bank.”

And you can check out the rest of it here!

Living Young, Wild & Carefree

It's no secret that I love working with Dior. There's always tons of energy at our shoots. We are constantly laughing, cracking jokes, and just having fun doing what we love.

This past Sunday we had a shoot in this big field that I always pass on the way to one of my friend's houses. We had to postpone the shoot for hours and then we had to cut it early due to inclement weather. However, despite that AND the fact that we were mosquito prey for about an hour, we managed to squeeze in two looks and get some amazing shots!

Check out a few snapshots below:

This is a shot of Dior when she first put the button down on. I loved the sexiness and crispness of the oversize white button down and gold chains against her skin but something was off. I simply rolled up the sleeves of the button down and voila! I had the perfect, carefree look that was perfect for the scenery.

15 July 2013

No Justice, No Peace

"No justice, no peace." A sentiment that was frequently heard after Rodney King, a unarmed black man was beat nearly to death by five white police officers in Los Angeles on March 3, 1991. The officers were acquitted and many people angered by many years of mistreatment took to the streets and incited a riot that would last for six days. Rodney King appeared on TV and offered a plea that would be repeated for years to come, "Can we all just get along?"

Rodney King after his gruesome beating.

No, we can't all just get along and I will tell you why in this post. I know most bloggers don't blog about political issues such as this one but this is MY blog and if you don't like it, don't read.

Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old black teenager walking home on a rainy night when he was killed. He was STALKED by George Zimmerman, the man who would later kill him. On Saturday, George Zimmerman was found not guilty of 2nd degree murder AND manslaughter charges. This tells people that it is okay for them to beat black men and women until they are near death. That it is okay to shoot black men and women as long as they look suspicious. What is so suspicious or scary about a young black man walking in the rain with a hoodie armed only with an Arizona tea and a bag of Skittles? Why are we as black people standing by and allowing this to happen? How many more members of our community will we lose to senseless violence until we finally decide enough is enough and do something to change the circumstances that we are currently experiencing?

Regardless of what CNN or Fox News would have you to believe, this IS a race issue. Zimmerman used several stereotypes during his 911 call and even referred to Trayvon as a "f*****g coon". Trayvon is not the first person to die at the hands of a white person that decided to play God and take someone's life and he probably will not be the last (there are several cases of black men and women, even children, being killed by white people or police officers and not being charged. There is even a case where a black man was shot several times by police and was left to bleed to death while a police dog was airlifted to the vet.) What we can do is, stand up for what is right and be the change we want to see. Rallies and marches are occurring all over the country, join one. There are several petitions floating around the Internet, sign one. Don't just Facebook or tweet about it, be about it.

If you do not know your history, you are doomed to repeat it. Let's not lose another sister or brother to senseless violence. Can we all just get along? We can all get along, when Blacks, Whites, Asians, and Indians are all treated with equal respect. Until then....no justice, no peace.

13 July 2013

Nails...

This post is coming days late as I definitely got my nails done on Monday but oh well lol!

Lately, I've been passing up getting designs on my nails in favor of picking bright, bold colors that are fly enough to stand alone. No design needed.

If you use compliments as a measuring tool of how successful this has been going, then it's been going pretty damn good. I always get tons of compliments on my nails & there's always at least one person in my nail salon that wants to use my color (which I don't particularly like lol).

This time around I went for a soft pink on my toes and this bright melon colored pink on my nails. I can't stop staring at them and the bright, fun color instantly perks me up! :)