Its Very Necessary – Page 2 of 8 – Life is simpler when you have the Necessary things...

Fall Favorites-Lavendar & Grey

Hey gang! It’s been a minute since my last post, but I’m back with a banger. A few updates, the Curl Calendar has updated their format, check it out here. Unrelated but still newsworthy, one of my favorite fashion bloggers Blair Eadie commented on my post. Blair is like the Beyoncé of bloggers, she is blogger royalty!! Speaking of Beyoncé, she has a new collection dropping October 30th, 2020 from her Ivy Park x Adidas collaboration. I’ve been on a shameless campaign for a promo box in my Instagram stories each day since the drop was announced. It’s funny, I’m funny, but I really hope they take mercy on the baby blogger and throw me a bone. Either way I’m entertaining myself, in the end that’s all that matters, right?!?!

But back to Blair, she’s the queen of color, layering, and elegance. When I grow up, I want to be a big girl blogger like her. The fact that she took the time to type actual words under my post is nothing short of freggin amazing! I’m still reeling!!! This edit is a nod to her and the final collection with Nordstrom’s Halogen line. I can’t wait to get my hands on those pieces, but until then, feast your eyes on these two looks.

LAVENDER & GREY FALL FAVORITES

Dressed Down

One of my favorite color combos is grey and lavender. I purchased these jeans over the summer for CHEAP CHEAP at the Loft. The star of the show is this Taffeta blouse by Top Shop also purchased at a huge discount. I wanted to dress the top down and these jeans just made sense. My sneakers are oldies but goodies by Sam Edelman, you can find a pair here.

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The Jean Jacket

Nothing says Fall like crisp sunny mornings, warm afternoons, and chilly evenings. It’s those crisp mornings and chilly evenings that have you reaching for a little something extra, maybe a jacket, yes a jean jacket. Welcome to the jean jacket edit ladies and gents. I’m sharing three looks featuring my favorite denim pieces of the season. I’m giving all kinds of casual chic in this one folks… Distressed denim, camo, graphic tees and some more. There’s a little something for everyone in each look, ENJOY!!

THE JEAN JACKET

POSITIVE VIBES

Jacket- Something Navy, similar jacket

T-Shirt- Conscious Kingdom

Patches- Patch Party Club

Pants- Meow and Barks Boutique

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The Curl Calendar

I got 99 problems but a curl ain’t one…lol Hey gang I’ve literally been working on this one for a month. My girl Tangie (founder and CEO of the Curl Calendar) reached out to me to take the Curl Calendar for a test drive and I kindly obliged. I know what your thinking, “what’s a curl calendar?” Whelp it’s the newest tool to hit the natural haircare market; natural hair = free of any chemical straighter aka perm or relaxer. The premise is simple, it’s a wash day tracker/calendar. It helps you maintain your natural hair care regimen. As some of you may or may not know natural hair needs quite a bit of TLC. I know we make it look easy but a lot of time and effort goes in to maintaining our luscious locks. The Curl Calendar is the natural girl’s newest secret weapon.

THE CURL CALENDAR

The Before

AFTER

I chronicled some of my journey over the past four weeks using the Curl Calendar. If you’re anything like me, you need an occasional reminder, even for something as simple as a shampoo. Haircare is a huge part of self-care especially for people on team natural. A wash and go ain’t really a wash and go, it’s a co-wash or shampoo, leave-in conditioner, add some oil to my scalp and hair, REAL-LIFE SITUATION. Like I said we make it look easy.

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The Melanin garden

Hey gang. I know I’ve been very neglectful, my sincere apologies. September was busy on the personal front. Distance learning started for my girls, nothing worked. It was very stressful the first two weeks. So our long overdue vacation was quite timely. I came back relaxed and ready to go but as fate would have it, Sanaa and I got sick, run of the mill cold for me, a bit more serious for Sanaa. But I’m glad to report we’re both right as rain.

The Style Hunt DMV: photo meet-up and fashion show

September wasn’t a total bust. I was able to attend my first social gathering for DMV (D.C. Maryland Virginia) creatives hosted by The Style Hunt DMV; a photo meet-up and fashion show. The event was originally scheduled for a weekend in August but the weather was acting real 2020 and it decided to rain so the event was moved to a date in September.

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EVERYBODY Matters Swimsuit Edition 2020

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I couldn’t let the best month of the year pass without an everyBODY matters edit. Amanda and I are back at it in our mission to promote body positivity in fashion. Our category of choice for this one, swimsuits! Just so you know, you’re looking at 6 births and several C-sections between the two of us (3 for Amanda alone). Finding a swim suit that complimented our back fat, stretch marks, and some more stuff wasn’t easy. We wanted to celebrate all of that, however we still wanted to look fabulous doing it. I found the suits and Amanda was definitely the creative director for this shoot. She had the looks, the poses, and a shot plan. I think she might have knack for this guys.

Shein Tie Dye Swimsuit — Rainbows and Sunshine

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YRAA The Brand- Featuring the Pressé Nail Collection

Hey gang I hope everyone is in good health and staying sane during these turbulent times. There is just so much going on in world right now I wanted to share something light and beautiful with you. In my continued quest to ensure cute isn’t cancelled during this pandemic and quite frankly to step up my own nail game, I discovered the most adorable press-on nail line- Pressé by YRAA (Your Rich @$$ Auntie). YRAA, very tongue and cheeky I know, it’s the name that got me, it’s my favorite kind of auntie…lol YRAA is a black owned and operated business that features an affordable press-on nail line as well hats and furs; Fall 2020 loading so stay tuned.

YRAA Press-On Nail Collection

What I love about YRAA is that they are not just nails! They are huge advocates for financial literacy, hence the Rich Auntie part. They provide financial gems with each product sold, making sure the Rich Aunties stay RICH! And nothing gives Rich Auntie vibes like a set of custom press-on nails.

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Another Maxi Moment

So I’m sharing another maxi moment. This time around it’s the maxi skirt that’s giving me life. The skirt is a Chen Burkett original. Chen’s designs are often imitated but never duplicated. This particular print has been replicated by tons of online boutiques but I doubt any have ever come close to the quality and craftsmanship of her pieces. This skirt also has one of my favorite features, POCKETS!!! Pockets and a beautiful Ankara print, you really can’t ask for more. When the talented India Kea asked me to shoot with her I knew I had to incorporate this skirt into the look. Of course I’m rocking my Ocessories Warrior bracelets. The Lagos earrings are from Gifts from Virgo, we’re giving David Yurman vibes without the price tag; that’s called winning.

IT’S STRAW HAT AND BAG SEASON

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If you know me, you know I love the Summer season. One of my favorite things about the summer is all the straw, the straw hats and bags to be exact. I’m definitely a hat girl. Skirts with ruffles also bring me lots of joy. It’s the best of both worlds in this post. I’m giving all kinds of Kentucky Derby vibes in this one. I think we all can agree I will be more than ready for the Derby if and when the world returns to normal.

This skirt is a J Crew score, it’s currently SOLD OUT. As you can imagine it was an extremely popular piece. I know, I’m terrible, I’m bit late getting this post out. Have no fear you can find a cute and a bit more affordable option here.

ALL ABOUT THE STRAW HAT AND BAG

The straw bag was a gift, but you find a nice alternative here.

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A Maxi Moment by STAUD

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Ok who doesn’t love a good maxi dress. I’m having a total maxi moment in this STAUD dress!!! If you’re fun-sized (short) like me, the length of a maxi dress can be a little scary but I couldn’t help myself with this one. I picked up this beauty at Nordstrom. And this dress was on sale, SALE!!! Speaking of Nordstrom, do you guys want me to do a Nordstrom Annual sale rundown?! It is one of the biggest sales of the year and there are sure to be some good finds. Many of you are holding to your coins and I completely understand that, so if it doesn’t make sense we won’t waste our time, let me know in the comments.

STAUD Maxi Dress

This stunner caught my eye because of the bold and beautiful summer colors. It fits true to size (I purchased a size small), of course it drags the floor a bit, again I’m fun-sized. However I still won’t be getting this tailored. I love the drama of the dress dusting the floor, that’s why God created four inch heels, am I right?! This dress feels like a dream on, the material is light-weight and flowy, perfect for your next social distance brunch or meet up. Unfortunately the dress sold out as soon as I posted it on social media. I’m not saying that was due to me, but I do feel like I helped things along. Fear not, I have some great alternatives, there’s a list at the end of the post.

I added the Gifts from Virgo Butterfly Tennis Necklace to the ensemble to give the look a bit more whimsy. This necklace is definitely giving Mariah Carey butterfly vibes. The butterfly isn’t molded to the necklace so you can remove it and wear the necklace alone; winning!!!

IVN YEAR TWO, THE TERRIBLE TWOS

IVN YEAR TWO, THE TERRIBLE TWOS

What’s life without a little click-bait?! Now that I have your attention I’m thrilled to announce IVN is officially two years old!!! That’s right we’re officially in year two of our journey to fashion icon domination…lol. The last two years have been nothing short of amazing, far from terrible. It hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns that’s for sure. If I’m being completely honest I seriously considered abandoning the blog, especially when the pandemic hit. Earlier in the year I felt like I wasn’t growing fast enough, by all standards (standards I created in my head) I was creating meaningful and visually stunning content, right?! So why am I still in the same place, seemingly. I wasn’t where I wanted to be and that is an army of followers on IG and too many subscribers to count.

But I heard my dad’s voice in my head saying ‘Bonehead’ nothing worth it, comes easy. Don’t misunderstand me I don’t want the easy way in, I thrive on progress. If the needle doesn’t move fast enough, I’m low-key freaking out. The fact is people have access to massive amounts of content, printed and digital and I’m just getting started. While most people see the pretty pictures, the business of influencing is an ACTUAL business. There’s still so much to learn. This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and patience is key. I also had to realize there are so many variables that I can’t control, conversely there are so many I can.

However as soon as I came to that realization the pandemic hits!

I said to myself, whelp there goes my big influencer dream. Honestly, who cares about fashion, travel, and beauty when they just want to keep their families healthy and safe, right?! But I realized a life worth living isn’t merely surviving, it’s thriving. The world can always use a little pretty. I hit the pause button at the beginning of the pandemic but I’ve re-evaluated my WHY- if your WHY doesn’t make you cry, it’s not big enough. The little humans you see in the pictures below are my WHY. I want them to know anything’s possible if you do the work and stay focused.

And I also had to remind myself why I started this journey. I wanted to help people feel confident in their own skin through fashion. Ultimately I wanted to be a trusted resource to as many people as possible. Those may not seem like very lofty goals to some folks, but it’s my WHY. Every time someone DM’s me on Instagram, asking for advice, i.e. can I really trust that brand, how did this work out for you, it makes me so happy! There’s nothing like that “YES I NAILED IT” feeling, it’s so gratifying. It makes all the hard work worth it. And that’s happening a lot these days, like I said, worth it.

Essentially I had to remember who I was and the God I serve.

As long as I put HIM first everything else will fall into place or it won’t. Listening to a little (or a lot) of Beyoncé, the queen of women empowerment, didn’t hurt either. My favorite Bey line, “Imma keep running cause a WINNER don’t quit on themselves” -Freedom, Lemonade the album, do yourselves a favor, give it a listen. And I’m a WINNER BABE!!!

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