Lookbook | Prowl Then Pounce

So I'm sitting in the study area in college trying to get inspired to write this blog post, with black coffee running through my veins, music in my ears and excitement gliding through my fingers. I still have no idea where this article is going but I guess that's the fun in blogging; It's unpredictable. So grab a cup of tea, a few cheeky biscuits- or celery- and get comfortable, this is going to be interesting.

Today Roberto Cavalli's son (of the same name) liked a picture of mine on Instagram, which brought me right back to reminiscing on who I was 3 years ago compared to who I am now. 

It all started back in 2011 when I decided on a boring sunday afternoon to start a blog. I had just got the latest iPad for completing my Junior Certificate. Summer had just begun and scrolling through tumblr was my favourite pastime until I decided I needed a little je ne sais quoi to sustain my creativity. At first I never told anybody that I created a blog nor did I think anybody would care- that I was right about. I remember telling my then friends that I found this thing called 'blogger', the level of enthusiasm lasted for approximately 5 seconds until they decided my blog was pretty much irrelevant and let's be honest, at that stage It was. So I stopped blogging entirely due to temporary lost confidence- I know, a moment of weakness- how dare I? I thought to myself *well if your friends don't want to read your blog, then then who the hell will?
To be blunt about the situation, I was never the so (pathetically) called "popular" kid in school or in my town. Nobody knew who I was and nobody cared. I wasn't particularly bothered by the fact that I didn't have 23, 574 friends, I wasn't that kind of girl. I made friends with who I could, dismissed who I couldn't, enjoyed late nights re-blogging pretty pictures on Tumblr and laughed so hard with no care in the world for who was watching and who wasn't.

Two years later I restarted my blog with the mindset of Kesha. I shelved the opinions of others and to put a spin on things, I started writing about ordinary people I knew. Every couple of weeks I would flick through my Facebook newsfeed and pick the people for which I believed were well dressed and pronounced them with the title of such. It's true when they say you're nobody until you're talked about and boy were people intrigued when I started writing about them; the traffic on my blog skyrocketed. Did girls care more about my blog then? Yes. Was that a tactic to lure people in? Yes. Did it work? Duh. 

During the time I was writing about other people instead of myself, I took that opportunity to polish up a bit. I mean let's be honest, attractiveness sells. So I lost a few inches, changed my hair, got a job at Abercrombie & Fitch and thus changed people's overall perspective of me. Girls who would have never talked to me prior to this 'upgrade' started hitting me up on Facebook and yes, I did ignore them. Nobody likes a lickass who only speaks 'boring'. My followers on social media quadrupled as did my friend requests on Facebook. 

At this stage would I say everyone believed my blog was a must read? No. However would I say I do a pretty good job of releasing good content? Absolutely.

The point of this article is to clarify that you don't need everybody to believe in you or to like what you do to be able to achieve your dreams. What you need is perseverance, tact and a sprinkle of elegance.

Trend Spot &Outfit details: As you know I've always been attracted to the colour black. Why? because It looks sleek on ultimately everyone. You could be the most unattractive, short, stumpy, chunky person in the world but I bet you'd still look good in black. That's the beauty of the colour, everybody looks reasonably chic in it. If you find that you're the type of person who feels like black quenches your desire but are unsure of how to make an all black outfit look versatile yet equally stylish, then you've come to the right blog. Most people tend to think that colour is everything when choosing a look but the truth is, there's so much more to consider. What about the print, the texture, the cut, the embroidery, fabrics, details? Think outside the box and make it work; I know you've got it in you. 

Take my outfit for example, is it boring? Undeniably not. That is not to speak with a level of arrogance so to say but I have mixed lace with sheer material, faux leather and stretchy material. Each of the pieces I have chosen are equally as interesting as each other. There is purely nothing mundane about this look. However if you want a bit of spark, dye your hair a spontaneous colour all in the name of fashion, believe me when I say It's worth it. 

Moving on to outfit details, my leather jacket is from the dreaded Dunnes Stores and it is 6 or 7 years old. I don't think I'll ever throw it out; even when I'm dining with the likes of Robert Cavalli (watch this space) in years to come. Okay so maybe not, but you now get what I mean when I say quality. The lace crop is from our beloved A/Wear. My skirt is from Dunnes again and those shoes that are probably quite well known to you guys by now are from Primark. The most asked question I receive on outings is where did I purchase my lipstick. My elder sister actually gave it to me but It was from a supermarket in Nigeria. A good replacement however would be Rihanna's red orange lipstick from her MAC collection.

I hope you guys enjoyed this stroll down memory lane. What do you think of the new format? Leave your thoughts below.

Love

-Ayisha x