Checked And Balanced

I've not always been a prints and patterns fan, in fact, I used to completely dread them. I was born a minimalist and plain colours were my thing. But the thing about style is; it's a continuous process and so, what you're into today might soon be forgotten or what you dread today might be your numero uno essential tomorrow. I thought prints and patterns were complicated. They selected colours, they sometimes weren't appropriate for the occasion and all sorts of bla! 
But here I am; A prints and patterns lover. 


For this post, I'm doing this simple blue-teal-blue checked number one that I think is Amaaaaazing . It can pass for a shirt, a shirt dress, or a gown-if you belt it in the middle.  I love that you can pair with leggings or skinny denim, but I chose to be a show-off; flaunting my legs. I paired again with rock-studded shoes that give so much balance-I think I've said enough about these shoes already. Talk about Re-rocking an item. 
I hope that you guys love my patterned checked shirt dress and my balanced rock-studded shoes. 





Photography by : AyoFemi Photography (IG: @omo_harkin) 









How's your weekend turning out? Remember to protect your energy, drink lots of water, Grind and Live. Please don't forget to leave a comment to let me know what you think of this post. I promise this is the last you'll see of the braids, the pictures were shot while I still had them on.
Kisses and Deuces;
MONAE.

Outfit Details

Shirt Dress and shoes :Miz Tobbie for Hawt closet
Sunnies and Bangles: ibk Aghedo (because that's what friends are
 for) 


Dare to Love You.

•••Jibz•••

Jibz is a strong girl. Don't get me wrong, she's not super woman, but then she's got it all under control, or that's how she likes to see it. She eats healthy, works out, works hard, studies hard at anything she's curious about, listens to trap music and listens to her friends with rapt attention talk about their boyfriends-she's a badass friend. She had issues of her own, but they were kept well under control. Trust Jibz not let anything bother her fly. 
She dresses good, in fact she was always the best dressed woman in a room. Also, that was how she liked to see things. Not that she even made comparisons, but to Jibz, it was always a matter of perspective. You see, Jibz isn't bothered about putting up attitude as a defense to attitude, because she's not affected by attitude. Her smile was so easy, it almost got you jealous. Jibz is a bossbabe and she doesn't try to even hide that fact. Her snaps on snapchat were almost flawless they seem scripted, like she'd gotten an entire crew to fix her up. Brows weren't perfect no, but you could tell they were on their way to perfection. Watching her rap along to Future's Big Rings in traffic or watching her hang out with a couple of friends, you'd think she'd never been mediocre. That she'd never been a "waka-pass" in this movie called life. That she'd never been insecure. So wrong! She'd probably laugh out loud if you ever said it to her hearing.
This Jibz that only a few months (yes you read right, Months!) ago, couldn't walk with her head high,  this Jibz that couldn't voice her own opinions because she was so scared of being wrong, this same Jibz that only spoke to her mirror, this Jibz that her friends described as "err kinda weird" , this Jibz that feared to speak, to feel , to live. 
But then she woke up one morning, and without hesitation, murdered the old Jibz. It was a quick painless death, and the new Jibz didn't even mourn her. She had a lot to do; too busy finding her self. Lucky her, the rebirth had happened on a Saturday, and it gave enough time to get rid of her entire wardrobe, leaving just a few pieces that just newly came in. Such Ugly Clothes, she had spat as she set fire to them. The following Monday, her friends at school almost didn't recognize her. 
Someone actually said "Is Jibz attending an Audition in school Today?" 
And since then, Fabulous Jibz stayed on, she had no intentions of ever dying or letting the old Jibs in. Now she could even dream, and dream! She would never have dared.
Jibz has friends now, and she doesn't take a lot of things personal. She's human yes, but she's learnt others are human too. She understands that not everyone is capable of the strength that she has grown, and so she's quick to forgive. She's not easy to offend though, don't even dare. Jibz is bitchy enough to give back that negativity, but why waste precious time?!

•••And Derin too•••

Her bestie is Derin, a girl on her way to perfection too. Although Derin is dealing with her own demons, it's clear to see that she's a winner. The other day she sent a selfie of herself sitting naked on the bathroom floor to Jibz and Jibz had only shook her head and headed straight to her place to make sure she was fine. Big surprise when she found her dressed, make up done, purse in hand but barefoot, Derin was obviously heading out.
"I was coming over to yours" she said playfully, throwing back her head to laugh at the expression on her friends face.
"Are you okay?" Jibz knew better than to be worried for her bestie, this one was a winner. She just like to fight her own battles.
"Very fine, just a little hormonal imbalance" Derin gave her a hug. "Thanks for coming though"
The next minute they were chatting away on the couch.
Those two; survivors.
                                                                         •••••••••••
Jibz wasn't born perfect, she became perfect. If only you would find the will to be what you are; perfect. 
You'd probably do more than Jibz has, if only you would dare. 


Photography: AyoFemi Photography (IG: @omo_harkin) 














                                                ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••


There guys! I just wanted to motivate. I hope you enjoyed reading? Please don't forget to let me know if you did in the comments box. And also, recommend this post to your girlfriends and others by sharing a link to this post. Can you tell I love Bestie stories? I just think there's nothing stronger than women supporting each other instead of constantly trying to tear each other down. If only we women realized how much power lies in our unity, we'd never find a reason to tear anyone down. For the sake of clarification, the above story is purely an expression of my imagination and a subtle way of expressing my opinions on being a strong woman, as opposed to what most females might think. None of it ever happened, and any resemblance to real persons or situations are purely coincidental. Also, the pictures were shot to match the story theme. We literally acted it out, in our own little way. 
Girl in Red: Busola Ogunmoyero (IG: @buzygunzy)
Girl in Rose Gold Dress: Your Girl MONAE.

Outfit Details: 

Red dress: ShopMaju
Ankara Print Purse: Kiosk on my street, at A thousand, five hundred Naira only. 
Leopard print purse: Maju 
Rose Gold dress with fringe: Maju
Pearl choker necklace: Dorothy Perkins 
Black choker Necklace: Maju
Love bracelet: My Tailor. She sells everything, lol. 

Love and Love, 
MONAE.

















To Valentine's...

Love! 

Happy Valentine's Day my lovelies! 

Before I go on to talk about love, I want to take a moment to apologize for taking so long to post since the last time I posted. My sincere apologies guys. I have no excuse really, life just happened. I have been dreading this day, as I really hate apologizing but I couldn't let today pass without reaching out to you. I have been surprised lately to find out that some of you have been visiting to see if there's anything new on here! Like oh my world, I literarily couldn't believe my ears when someone called to ask why I haven't been posting! I have to say that I'm just doing something I love, and I honestly thought that only my friends were watching. I'm beyond grateful for this guys. It is very encouraging and your support is everything. I love you guys! 
 I hope my apologies and gratitude are accepted now. So can we move on now? 
Can you smell it??? What's that thing in the air, everywhere?! 
It's love guys. If you're an Internet junkie like me (which you obviously are if you're reading this), then you surely are feeling this love thing in the air. It's everywhere; Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, websites, blogs, name it! Today, February the 14th, is the official date to declare love to that special someone, and guess who I'm loving today? It's you! Don't look over your shoulder, Yes YOU! 
You deserve all the love you're getting today, and if you think you're getting none, I hope this is enough to convince you that you matter. You are loved. The world is lucky to have you, and you can happen to life too. You already happened to me. Please don't come and go unnoticed, leave a comment in the comment box about this outfit if you like, or say something about what you're doing today. Let's connect! You can also follow my Instagram account:  @ink_n_style and Facebook page : Ink 'N Style by MONAE. 
It is not enough to receive love, you can also give it, as I am now. Trust me, it does feel as good as receiving love. 
And yes, my outfit in today's post is inspired by love. Love for Self, love for you and love for life. 
Plenty white, with a touch of Red and another touch of brown to offset it all. Oh and Gold too! 
Peep my gold sunnies? Yas, I'm love struck, and I'm not hiding it. 
Slits are like my thing now, so this white skirt with a zipper front was a must while I was picking pieces to style this look. 

Full outfit details: 

Red blouse: Oldie but Goodie from Ronke Ogundipe (I.G: @sugarpunk02) 
Kimono, Skirt, Belt and Sunglasses: Haute closet (I.G: @mztobbie_) 
Bag and Purse: I.G: @sekinahshoegallery 
  
Something special today guys, I'm serving two posts today to make up for my long absence. 
I hope you like this one being the first, the second is hotter. So wait for it.....
DRUMROLL....
Have an awesome Valentine's Day Lovers!
Love and Love, 
MONAE.



Photography by: AyoFemi Photography (IG: @omo_harkin)