IT’S VERY NECESSARY- YEAR ONE

I can hardly believe it’s been an ENTIRE year since we first launched It’s Very Necessary (IVN)! What a ride it has been?! The mission is the same to save as many people as possible from unfortunate fashion choices; whether it be for work or play…lol I want to inspire women and men to be the best version of themselves, fashionably. I sincerely hope I’ve done that to some degree. And if not you guys let me know and mama will work on it ;-).

IT’S VERY NECESSARY YEAR ONE

My very first post featured the lovely Laila Beale (my youngest daughter). What a shoot that was, the heat, the outfit changes, the bribery (yes I had to bribe her with new toys just to get her to cooperate). It was all worth it. Our first post was quite the hit. Look how far we’ve come. No bribery was involved for this shoot, she’s a professional now.

This adventure also started out as a necessary (pun intended) distraction from my work; now it’s my new baby. I say baby because friends and family often ask if we want another child, specifically a boy. Since children, boy or girl,  don’t come out potty trained and talking, Ricardo and I decided we’ll pass. Our two girls keep us plenty busy.

IVN really has become our new baby.

This “child” requires a considerable amount of time, money, blood, sweat, and tears. Maybe not blood but everything else for sure. IVN has given me an opportunity to share my love for fashion with so many people. I’m honored and humbled to share my baby with my IVN family.

We’ve had some highs and lows but more highs than anything. I’ve had to teach myself so much about the blogger and influencer world, I still have so much to learn. I remain undaunted and I am eager for the next chapter. But to celebrate this first chapter we had to do an anniversary shoot. I couldn’t have imagined doing the anniversary shoot without my dream team. I’ve begged, cajoled, bribed, guilted, and demanded my family’s cooperation and participation in bringing IVN to life. In all seriousness they’ve been instrumental in IVN’s success. Without them this just doesn’t work; my family is everything.

Every grand production has a few hiccups.

And of course the anniversary shoot wasn’t exempt. After I planned the looks, booked the studio, and purchased the balloons, nothing could go wrong right?! Wrong!!! First we were late getting to the studio. Why, the HVAC unit went out on the ground floor at the house. It’s been hot as Hades lately; this had to be dealt with. Thank God our Uncle Jeff, he came to the rescue but a just a little earlier than we planned. He was in the neighborhood and decided to come by just as we were headed out; priorities right?! No biggie, he diagnosed the problem and found a fix.

However now we were a half hour behind schedule for a 2-hour studio booking. Champions adjust so we book it to the studio. We arrive, start to unpack the truck, and in her zeal little miss Laila opens the trunk and guess what escapes, the helium inflated “I” balloon. There goes the “I” in IVN, floating into the distance. I start to unravel just a bit.

Full disclosure I wanted to cry, smack everyone, and scrap the whole shoot at that point but we soldiered on. We decided to make human “Is”, not my idea, we can thank Kaneisha for that brilliant idea; we made lemonade. First Laila took a turn then I gave it a whirl. It was hard work but somebody had to do it…lol

Let’s get into these outfits…

Sanaa is wearing a crepe silk red, pink, and orange water-color swirled dress by Tracy Reese. This one is an old but goodie. You can’t find this one in-store anymore folks but you can find a similar option here.

Laila is wearing a hand-me-down from Sanaa believe it or not. I save things, it’s what I do, don’t judge me. But it came in handy now didn’t it. Obviously it’s not available in-store but you can find a similar option here.

We kept it simple with Ricardo’s look. A simple black tee, white linen pants and Coach sneakers. He wasn’t in love with his look but we didn’t need a whole lot from him in this shoot because the girls and I would give him life once we paired up.

Last but not least, my look.

I’m soooo into slip dresses right now. Why, because they are easy, chic, and comfortable. At this point my affinity for polka dots is no secret, so when I found this combo I doubled down on the dots. You can find the dress at Zara and the jacket at Shein.com. Both of these pieces are extremely versatile. Each piece can be worn separately or together; dressed up or down. Stay tuned to my IG stories, I’ll be posting a few ideas there.

I couldn’t do this without my partner in crime, Kaneisha Johnson of Dynamic Duo Images. She’s been one of my biggest supporters. She’s given guidance, advice, inspiration and most importantly unwavering support. We’ve both grown so much over this last year; artist and muse often switching roles. Thanks for putting up with all my shenanigans.

Thank you to all my IVN family for riding with me during this journey. Your love and support is what keeps me going. I can’t thank you all enough. Cheers to year one!!!

Xoxo,

-Andrea