STYLED BY BONOLO

I had the opportunity to work with two amazing ladies on a shoot I styled and directed November last year. I was motivated by the festive season to create the perfect looks to wear for different occasions. My passion for styling has been growing so much everyday plus I am not so much excited by being in front of the camera anymore hence my decision to do this shoot using other girls. This way I get to give other girls an opportunity to experience the photo-shoot life. I am still going do shoots but I am going to be more behind the scenes.
Once I have got all the looks sorted out after constant communication with the models and the photographer going back and forth to make sure they understand my vision we had a shoot. I was so nervous at first because I wasn't sure If my vision will come out as I imagined. Styling isn't easy; one mistake can make the entire shoot go down hill fast. I have to say the photos came out very nice and I like how the back ground went very well with the looks I chose. I am happy my photographer allowed me to take a few shots as well and to my surprise the photographer in me came out. Who knows maybe I will also be a photographer in the future coz I took amazing shoots. LOL (See style 101 post for the pics).

I styled model Veinah Malope in a loose green jumpsuit from Mr Price and accessorized it with a gold ndebele choker and earnings and topped it all of  with head wrap using my masaai cloth. This is ideal for a bad hair day. You can wear this in so many ways you like for a night out or a wedding. TRY it!

I styled model Amantle Monaba in an over-sized white men's shirt with and blue jean shorts and a pair of boots. I accessorized with a ndebele choker to finish up the look. The natural hair alone seals the whole look. You can where this for a girls night out or dress it down for a day time look.

behind the scenes

Women of worth stand strong.

Verinah in a masaai neck piece and colourful earrings.

Verinah and Amantle

Fros and flower bands. The flower band I handmade myself with material I got from a supplies local store around town.

Black is beautiful. Need I say more. Black is a colour you can play around with by accessorizing it with bright chunky neck pieces. Dresses and ripped jeans are an essential in every girls wardrobe.

Thanks to tribe for the amazing pieces. Thank you Gatsh Fros for featuring my work on the voice newspaper. I really appreciate it. 

Behind the scenes with my make up artist Tebby.

Photographer: Photogenix

MakeUp: Beulah's Beauty Haven
Jewelry: Tribe
Stylist: Bonolo Simply Soulful B
Wardrobe: Bonolo Simply Soulful B
Location: Somewhere in Gaborone

Models: Amantle Monaba and Verinah Malope

SOUL SISTA

WHY IT PAYS OFF TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND STAYING TRUE TO YOUR OWN STYLE.

I went thrifting a few weeks ago and I saw this amazing blue dress which reminded me of my soul sista days. When I ONLY wore maxi skirts and dresses with my chuck Taylor and I accessorized with so many bangles and huge chunky neck pieces. I still do that but I wear other trendy styles I feel at that time. Speaking of other styles I hate it when people say people lose themselves in trends. Trends are a part of the fashion industry. They are what makes fashion fun and exciting. However being in the fashion industry(or not)  you aren't forced to follow any trend and this does not give you any right to judge those who choose to follow them. Following a trend doesn't mean you are losing yourself or your style. I think you follow a trend that goes or that matches your style. My being soulful is made up of bits and pieces of vintage, street, classy styles I feel comfortable in. I am not trying to fit in. I do me.

Of course your environment determines how you dress however your environment usually only determines if  dressing in your area suits it.

Care less about what people think about you and more about yourself. I am happier with my dresses, maxi skirts, head wraps, chokers and shades and of course chuck taylor.

Photographer: Photogenix

MakeUp: Beulah's Beauty Haven
Jewelry: Tribe
Stylist: Bonolo Simply Soulful B
Wardrobe: Bonolo Simply Soulful B
Location: Somewhere in Gaborone

STYLE 101

LOOK ONE

Life is too short to be wasting your talent away being afraid and doubting yourself. Take a leap of faith and just go for your dream. I know this is what I have always wanted hence my decision to work on this project. Buying versatile fashion pieces allows you to be creative and diverse with your outfits. If there is one thing I enjoy and I know how to do is building a re-mixable wardrobe. I have mastered the art of dressing my piece up and down for different occasions and times. I styled two beautiful ladies and directed the shoot. I was going for a casual but sophisticated look for this shoot.

    

I accessorized model Amantle who has this nice big Afro with this monochrome Masaai head piece and a black rope chunky neck piece. I styled her with an over-sized white plunging top and a black 3 quarter pants and a denim jacket to seal the whole look.

THE COMPLETE LOOK WHICH IS PERFECT AGAINST THE LIME GREEN WALL. You can recreate this look and wear it for any occasion appropriate to where you wear it to.

LOOK TWO

If you know me very well you know how much I love love A-Line skirts. You can almost where them anywhere you like. Verinah is wearing a royal blue tulle midi skirt with a with stripy off the shoulder top. I love this look because its so flowy and in this heat it would be ideal for its light weight.

Accessories are a girl's best friend. ALWAYS

Verinah looking trendy and fabulous.

The stable for your wardrobe could be different from mine and styling could not come naturally to you but I edge you to just wear what you are comfortable but also don't be afraid to take bold risks. People will stare make it worth their while.

Photographer: Photogenix
MakeUp: Beulah's Beauty Haven
Jewelry: Tribe
Stylist: Bonolo Simply Soulful B
Wardrobe: Bonolo Simply Soulful B
Location: Somewhere in Gaborone
Models: Amantle Monaba and Verinah Malope

BUT, First love yourself...

We often hear people talk about loving themselves and being confident and happy in their own skin: But we need to love yourself to love ourselves before loving anyone else. In the past years I have learnt truly the power of loving myself from deep within without any doubt. At times I feared being rejected or being judged hence hindering myself from thinking that I am beautiful or that I have any potential to do greater things in my life or that of the people around me.

You are so stylish for a person your size is what I get from people making small talk about my weight. Listen, growing up I didn't think I was any different from other people until I noticed how people referred to me compared to how they did my peers. To be honest I wasn't aware at all. I was a child I didn't think about how I looked; I was only concerned with playing no worries in life nothing. One day I decided I will worry about loving myself, instead of the idea of other people loving me. It just didn't matter anymore I dont have anything to prove to anyone. I choose to be happy in my own skin, I am comfortable in my own skin. Happiness meant that I am choose to love myself and being less concerned with the approval of others.

My style is really hard to pin point so I love to stay comfortable. I change between being African chic, vintage, tom boy and minimalist depending on my mood. I styled this simple laid back look for this shoot at Mondior with photographer Jerald Malebe. I loved how well it went with the background and Im sure to wear this look again for an outing. My shirt is from a thrift store and the mum high waist denim from BBS market. The platform heels I bought a few years back from Options. For someone with my body type it is always wise to wear a loose top with tight bottoms and vice versa to balance the outfit as well as hide away problem area around usually being the midsection. It is all in how you style your looks to suit you. Dont limit yourself, take risks and have fun styling your looks. Most importantly love yourself.

To love yourself means to accept yourself as you are and to come to terms with those aspects of yourself that you cannot change. It means to have self-respect, a positive self-image, and unconditional self-acceptance.-By Z. Hereford

PURPOSE

When I started my blog I had hoped to have done a lot as an individual as I had taken the responsibility to be the voice of the plus size community in my country. Of late I have been frustrated about the direction of my blogging career. I dont just want to be a regular girl posting pictures on social media because anyone can do that I want to post a picture that says something without me having to type a description. Its not easy managing a blog at times it becomes overwhelming and before you know it you have stopped blogging completely. When owning a blog you must make sure you are consistent and stay true to your style (Lol, and I know all of these yet I am slacking). There are other factors though that lead to my absence but I will save you the trouble for I took the decision to blog for my page as well as other things I am doing. I am really passionate about this so I am just going to go ahead and do this. I am pumped and I am more determined to bring the best of fashion the best way I could (I am gonna pick up where I left off but do it better). Be on the look out for more posts to come.
Thank you

OUT IN THE STREETS

Hello ladies and gents. Its been a while since my last blog post. I have been very busy putting in work on my other page besides my 8 TO 5 *SIGH*. Things have been going very well with ups and downs here and there but it has been exciting growing and raising awareness about the plus size movement. Since starting my blog and partnering on my other page I have been featured in so many publication week in week out (yasss hunnay)... and today's blog post is from a feature on Editeur plus a South Africa based magazine by Tanlume Enyatseng.
I dont like winter and winter fashion is just aaargggh. For the first time ever EVER in my life I actually put an effort and slayed in my kind of  style. Now I was asked to pose for a street style shoot titled Botswana street style for Editeur plus. I bought this vintage denim a while back and cut it out myself  I didn't really get the results I wanted so I decided to wear pantyhose underneath and I thought they went really well for my look. I was going to wear them either way though. A coat is a must have for winter you cant go wrong with it. Pairing it up with a vintage jersey even gives that beautiful finish to your look. Dont be afraid to take risks and just having fun with fashion. At the end of the day its all about you and only you.
I will try to post new blog posts every now and then to show you what I get up to. We are just a month away from my birthday so expect a blog post all about my birthday, looks I put together for my day and so forth.

Winter must have...Coat

Accessories

Details..Winter boots

Destroyed Jeans

SELF LOVE

Picture Reblogged.

It’s been a while since my last post neh. I have been caught up with life doing this and that. If we were to talk about it would take forever, nonetheless it feels good to be back though, back to doing something I love and really enjoy. Today's post is all about self-love that is regard for one's own well-being and happiness and embracing one’s body. Forget the negative attitude society might have about you and just be comfortable in your skin no matter your size. I can’t stress this point enough. Be you, be confident and stay fabulous.

My friends Koketso Matlhape, Kelly Kathurima and I did this shoot the past weekend to showcase what self-love is according to us. We really had fun and if I could I will turn back the hands of time. This was one awesome way to celebrate woman’s month. See how we do it in two parts.

Koketso Matlhape...The lover

Kelly Kathurima...The Nubian Queen

BLACK AND WHITE

Yours Truly Queen Thick

From L-R: Koki, Tebbie, Bonolo, Amo and Kelly.

#BlackAndWhite

#Colour
#PlusSizeFashion
#SelfLove
#Makeup

Credits:
Stylist- Simply Soulful B - Plus-Size
Makeup- Beulah & Jelos Beauties
Photography- Lorraine Kinnear Photographs
Location- 3 Dikgosi Monuments @ CBD