Afrolistas and the City™

First Look: Solange Knowles for InStyle Magazine June 2013

2013-05-18T12:22:00.000-05:00

After Solange's fabulous entrance at The 66th Festival de Cannes, what better way to celebrate the last few weeks of May than seeing her posing in another gorgeous editorial and this time it's for the June issue of Instyle magazine. I know Solange isn't the only black female celebrity on the planet, but she's hot right now and she's everywhere and folks are going to celebrate her beauty.

This took a while, but I got them, plus I'm still relatively new to this Windows 8 and this cost me a few bucks, so please credit the source when you 'take' the photos.

Photographer: Kerry Hallihan
Styling: Joan Blades
Makeup: Karan Franjola
And her fabulous Afro was styled by: Dickey

Le Look Du Jour: Solange Knowles Festival de Cannes-Day III

2013-05-18T03:21:00.004-05:00

"I have instinct and I apply that to my style, but it's definitely more refined now. That's the part of growing up. You evolve." ~Solange Knowles

"Rocking Roberto Cavalli SS2013 RTW"

And evolve she has- into one of the best dressed women in the world who also happens to rock to her own drumbeat.

Le Look Du Jour: Solange Knowles Attends 'The Great Gatsby' Premiere At The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival

2013-05-15T13:53:00.001-05:00

Two Words: Absolutely Stunning!!!!

Solange Knowles hits the red carpet at The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival in this gorgeous gown from Stephane Rolland's F/W 2012 Collection.

Beautifully Captured!

Photos: Getty/Wire Images

Frotastic: Singer/Model Shingai Shoniwa for Mizani UK

2013-05-11T22:17:00.003-05:00

We've been waiting on this beautiful ad campaign for MIZANI hair care featuring Singer/ Model Shingai Shoniwa of The Noisettes ever since we heard about it and here are a few of the beautiful pics. Enjoy!

Absolutely Stunning!

Shingai's beautiful locks were style by celebrity stylist Charlotte Mensah.

Source

Janelle Monáe - Q.U.E.E.N. feat. Erykah Badu [Official Video]

2013-05-01T18:50:00.001-05:00

Actress Danai Gurira Name One Of Peoples Magazine's Most Beautiful

2013-04-30T18:46:00.002-05:00

When People Magazine released the details of its annual “Most Beautiful” issue I didn't care to search for the entire list because I was elated that Danai Gurira was selected among those chosen as most beautiful. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is on the cover this years issue and it seems that several bloggers failed to mention that actress/playwright Danai Gurira of the hit series 'The Walking Dead' was also among those chosen to appear in the issue.

Danai's Peoples Magazine Photo

It seems like folks only concentrated on the popular celebrities: Kerry Washington, Kelly Rowland, Halle Berry and Gabrielle Union and overlooked Danai's stunning photo. I've been a fan of this beautiful woman ever since I saw her in the movie, "The Visitor" and she's just as beautiful and talented as the rest of them.

"I feel most beautiful when I'm totally in my own skin."

— The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira

She's one of our Tumblr favorites and I've noticed that on Tumblr we seem to celebrate many of the overlooked and obscured beauties/celebrities that others don't talk about unless they're embroiled in some kind of turmoil.

I don't know what happened why certain individuals in the media stopped promoting and celebrating all women and now only choose to concentrate on those they deem as more popular. This crap irks the hell out of me and I don't support brands or people that practice this nonsense. We've got some talented men and women out there who are super talented, but are getting overlooked because those who think they are influential don't promote them and they follow suit by doing the same exact things. That popularity crap is so high school and not progressive at all. Congratulations to all of you who made the list.

Photos: Peoples Magazine/Peggy Sirota

Le Look Du Jour: Ajak Deng and Nykhor Paul for Louis Vuitton Spring 2013

2013-01-18T12:17:00.000-06:00

The Campaign Featuring Ajak and Nykhor: I edited the original photo to highlight these two beautiful women as captured by Steven Meisel.

Were these designs from the 1960's inspiration for Marc Jacobs 60's inspired collection for Louis Vuitton and his own namesake collection??

Louis Vuitton Spring 2013 Collection

Marc Jacobs Spring 2013

Donyale Luna

I've seen a lot of collections that are eerily similar to several previous collections that I've seen in the VOGUE and L'Officiel archives and I've been dying to do a blog post about them because there seems to be a lot of copying going on. On a better note: The designers who presented 60's inspired silhouettes had better collections out all of those who didn't anyway.

Photos: Steven Meisel/Louis Vuitton/Google

This Is So Cool: Happy Holidays From Jenni Kayne

2012-12-11T17:34:00.001-06:00

What's Haute Now: All That Shines In December That We're Talking About

2012-12-01T10:44:00.000-06:00

Happy December!

It seems like I've got to look across the Atlantic for a little style inspiration featuring a little diversity and this time it's Harper's Bazaar Russia that is serving up the glamour in a stunning editorial featuring Cabo Verde born model Raquel Pinto in their DEC 2012 issue photographed by Natalia Alaverdian.

Joan Smalls has snagged another cover and editorial and this time it's the DEC issue of Vogue Türkiye.

Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss grace the cover and appear in an editorial for Interview Russia № 12 DECEMBER 2012, photographed by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggot, along with Ataui Deng who is also featured in a gorgeous editorial photographed by Elle Muliarchyk.

Ataui Deng for Interview Russia.

We've just discovered this beautiful Dominican beauty named Diana Danelys De Los Santos, aka Amara "La Negra" Santos.

This Reggaeton Queen is all over the place and already has an impressive fan base. I hope she doesn't change a thing about her once she becomes a household name because she is beautiful just the way she is.

The super talented and beautiful Esperanza Spalding rocked it a out in one fabulous editorial for Revista S Moda.

Up and coming model Lily Makam shines in KENZO's latest ad campaign.

The Model We Can't Get Enough Of: Philomena Kwao

This Ghanaian born beauty is absolutely stunning!!!

Expect to see more of this London based model.

Jimmy Choo Is A Visionary!

The Beautiful Jeneil Williams is fronting one badass campaign for Jimmy Choo Cruise 2013.

Domestic Visions:

Kerry Washington for Uptown Magazine Dec/January Issue pumping up the "Django" promotion machine.

Solange Knowles' new EP "True" is out, even though I like her song "Losing You" I'm still on the fence about whether I should buy the rest of her EP. For some reason I'm just not feeling it and I love my Euro-Dance tunes. Her album comes off as if she's all over the place and still hasn't found her grove.

On another note, I actually broke down and contributed to increasing Rihanna's bottom line by purchasing her latest music offering. Silly me brought the unclean version, so I know I can't blast that with the kiddies in the car.

Tory Burch just discovered the beautiful Shea Rose (at least she featured her) and you should too! Folks are sleeping on these talented singers who are obscured by *clears throat* the obvious...above. I plan on writing a lengthy blog post on these musicians who are out there but aren't receiving the recognition and promotion they should because the media is simply stuck on who's popular. Blogger's, you do wield a certain amount of influence and collectively we can galvanize enough support for these artists who want to get their music out there to the masses.

Singer Shea Rose for Tory Burch.

So far December looks to be another promising month and I'm sure it will be one for many of you.

Joan Smalls for Vogue Turkey December 2012

2012-11-26T12:12:00.001-06:00

Video - Vogue Turkey December 2012

What's Haute Now: Roberta Narciso for VOGUE Portugal & Joan Smalls for VOGUE Japan

2012-11-23T20:56:00.002-06:00

The "quiet one" as I like to call her: Roberta Narciso has landed a Afrolicious editorial in VOGUE Portugal's DEC/2012 issue.

Rasgos De Luz Model: Roberta Narciso
Photographer: Pedro Ferreira
Stylist: Paul Macedo

And the number one model in the world: Joan Smalls has landed the January 2013 issue of VOGUE Japan.

Photos: Vogue Portugal/Vogue Japan

Le Look Du Jour: Solange Knowles for Marie Claire UK DEC/2012

2012-11-19T11:29:00.000-06:00

Solange Knowles spotted in the December issue of Marie Claire UK.

Photo: BFPR

Haute News: Designer Duro Olowu for J.C. Penney

2012-11-07T12:02:00.003-06:00

Hallelujah!! Duro Olowu is designing a capsule for retail giant J.C. Penney. Whoo hoo! I get to buy me some Duro Olowu at a affordable price! See the rest here.

What's Haute Now: The Holiday Ad Campaigns

2012-11-05T09:33:00.001-06:00

After a little retail therapy this weekend, I snapped these two new ad campaign photos featuring Chanel Iman for Forever 21 and Julia Sarr-Jamois in a major ad campaign for cosmetic giant Sephora.

Chanel Iman "Let's It Glow"

"She Who Leaves A Trail Of Glitter Is Never Forgotten."

After seeing the ad in the Sephora store I couldn't wait to get home to see if they had it on their website. No such luck, but they did have this gorgeous video of her below available for inspiration:

Solange for H&M Mexico

2012-10-31T08:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it pays to speak another language other than English and since I speak fashion in several languages, I often find what I want. Not only did our favorite Afrolista, Solange Knowles dodge Hurricane Sandy, she was "en Mexico" for the inauguration of the new H&M store opening.

Things were getting so bad since there was no Solange sighting that old photos of her were being reblogged on Tumblr, so expect these three to pop up today on the sites that are supposed to be her so called fan sites.

Photos: LFT

SOLO STAR: SOLANGE KNOWLES FOR ELLE SOUTH AFRICA

2012-10-16T23:51:00.003-05:00

Almost every blog that I follow had readers who were filled with excitement when they found out that Solange Knowles would be on the cover of the November 2012 issue of ELLE South Africa. We waited and we watched for any news we could find on this epic feat until the day the magazine would come out. Solange may not be a bigger star like her sister Beyonce, but she has proven that she's her own woman and that's why we love her style and her sense of individuality.

Solange has had her fair share of magazine covers and editorials and each and every one of them was equally stunning , but this is ELLE Magazine and it doesn't matter if it's the South African version or not.

I can't believe that she hasn't graced the covers of any major American magazines, including Essence and Ebony with her growing popularity and fan base especially since they seem to go by those requirements when they consider cover subjects for their magazine covers. Oh well, it is what it is.

With Solange being the cover and editorial subject, she introduced an even bigger audience to several South African designers with these printastic looks.

So far the November magazines are celebrating some diversity on their covers: Halle Berry is on the cover of InStyle and Naomi Campbell is on the Cover of Harper's Bazaar Russia, Naomie Harris is on the cover of InStyle UK, Hunger Magazine and the October issue of G.Q. Turkey.

Photos: ELLE SOUTH AFRICA /Justin Polkey

Le Look Du Jour: Actresses Viola Davis and Danai Gurira At The 19th Annual ELLE Women In Hollywood Event

2012-10-16T09:10:00.000-05:00

My two favorite beauties: Viola Davis and Danai Gurira attend the recently held 19th Annual ELLE Women In Hollywood Event. Both ladies look equally stunning and beautiful in Calvin Klein. It seems like now that Danai is in the spotlight certain individuals are now taking an interest in her when they had the opportunity to promote her way before the mainstream media did.

Photos: Getty Images

Her Royal Fierceness...Miss Naomi Campbell for HARPER'S BAZAAR RUSSIA

2012-10-15T07:36:00.001-05:00

The November magazines are coming out slowly but surely and this time Miss Naomi Campbell fronts the November 2012 cover of HARPER'S BAZAAR RUSSIA. I just might have to buy this one because she can be on the cover a million times and I'd never get tired of seeing her. Rock On Naomi!

Photo: Harper's Bazaar Russia

Solange Knowles for ELLE South Africa NOV-2012

2012-10-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

The cover that we've been waiting for: Solange Knowles graces the cover of ELLE South Africa. I can't wait to see the rest of the editorial.

Photo: ELLE South Africa

Need To Hear: Josephine Oniyama

2012-10-06T08:15:00.000-05:00

Looking for something worth listening to instead of whats on the radio these days? Something original? Well, let me introduce you to Manchester, England based singer Josephine Oniyama. Josephine is not a "Pop Tart" as are most of the singers out there today, she sings from the soul and that's what we need to hear more of these days. Josephine's new album "Portrait" will be released on 16 Oct 12 on iTunes and amazon.com, singles are available now.

What we need more of are lyrics with a message, with feeling and song along with beautiful music. Hopefully this beautiful woman won't get obscured by the over hyped singers out today who don't have any real talent, but just the right look and a gimmick.

Josephine Oniyama is a beautiful Afrolista.

To learn about Josephine Oniyama click here and here. Follow her on You Tube.

Photos: Josephine Oniyama

Le Look Du Jour: Oprah Winfrey's Stunning November Cover of O the Oprah Magazine

2012-10-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

Oprah Winfrey does it again by wearing her hair in another beautiful Afro inspired hairdo on the November issue of O the Oprah Magazine. Photographer Ruven Afanador captured Oprah in a stunning red dress from Alexander McQueen, with just the right touch of gold colored accessories and those banging red "killer heels" from Nicholas Kirkwood.

After reading the positive responses from many of her readers, Oprah seems to have inspired some of her readers to embrace their hair in it's natural state. In this issue, Miss Winfrey sits down for one-on-one interviews with both presidential candidates, President and Mrs. Obama and Mr. and Mrs. Mitt Romney to bring readers an intimate look at both sides of the election.

Photo: From My Handy Blackberry

Solange Knowles Conquers Milano During SS 2013 RTW/SFILATE A MILANO PRIMAVERA 2013

2012-09-21T09:22:00.005-05:00

It seems that our favorite Afrolista, Solange Knowles has now jetted off to Milano to attend the shows at MFW. She stunned the crowds at Roberto Cavalli's, Just Cavalli S/S 2013 RTW Show.

Front Row Beauty

Solange has one sick shoe game!

I had to change my title because Solange is slaying them in Milan.

Absolutely Stunning in white at the amfAR Milano event!!

Photos: VT/Getty Images

4 MILLION FOR OBAMA 2012

2012-09-20T10:28:00.001-05:00

While many of the official photos from Jay Z's and Beyoncé's recently held political fundraiser for President Obama at Jay Z's 40/40 Club have yet to be published, Beyoncé released a few on her blog for all the world to see. The Carter's reportedly raised 4 Million Dollars for President Obama's reelection at their $40, 000 a plate fundraiser.

Of course you know I couldn't leave out the fabulous sister of the Queen, Miss Solange Knowles looking "flyy" as usual in all white as she arrives to the event .

Photos: Beyonce/Buzz News

Actress Viola Davis for InStyle Magazine October 2012

2012-09-19T16:56:00.003-05:00

The beautiful Viola Davis sets the tone for glamour with hints of sexiness in her latest editorial for InStyle Magazine/Oct 2012 photographed by Dusan Reljin.

I most definitely love this quote from Viola.

Photos: Dusan Reljin/Blackberry

My Favorite Looks From The Concrete Catwalks @ NYFW 2013 RTW

2012-09-11T22:23:00.001-05:00

My favorite looks from the concrete catwalk during New York Fashion Week 2013 RTW:

Herieth Paul on the streets of NYC.
New York is one of the worlds fashion capitals when it comes to individual style and beauty and all the best looks first start on the streets before they get on the designer catwalks. Women of all backgrounds and ethnicity's were rocking bold patterns and colors. Long skirts and short dresses in shear fabrics and embellishments.

Notice me. Look at my style. Looks that don't cry for attention will always catch the photographers eye. Shoes that were made for walking and some that were just not fit to even walk in and yet the wearers point-of-view came through. Denim in all kinds of hues and styles and piles of accessories that served as a constant inspiration to designers for the coming seasons. In reality, I take my cues from the street when it comes to interpreting a look that I like and celebrity style has never played a part in it.

A shift dress hides a multitude of sins.

Our favorite "It Girl" Solange Knowles sporting her signature pattern mix

finished off with a pair of leopard pumps.

Model Sara Nuru

Stylist and blogger, Athanaelle Paul of Fashion Bench.

Elise Peterson of Swagger New York

The Peplum jacket or shirt is a classic style.

Vivid Color

Giovanna Battaglia in Prada

A Maxi and Thong Sandals Are Super Chic

Photos by FM,GI,WWD