Top: Express Pants: Philosophy Earrings: Black 29 Collection
Solange told us it is okay to not let them touch our hair, our soul, our crown. She told us some shit is for us. She let us know even in these times where black bodies are constantly policed and murdered we can still celebrate who we are and be free. Sunday I listened to A Seat At The Table over and over dancing in the mirror and loving up on myself. The album had me on a complete high making me feel as if nothing could hurt me; nothing could make me feel less confident or poppin. After watching Cranes in The Sky and falling in love with the Black Dystopia Minimalist styling of the visual I was inspired to create my own aesthetic rooted in black opulence. I wore this outfit to work and sashayed all through the office feeling like a black femme from the future. Often times we shame poor black people for keeping themselves fly and spending their money on designer clothes and luxury items. But don't we deserve?
Black culture is often stolen from us and our history is completely erased. Rarely do you hear about the significance of black brands and designers such as Phat Farm, FUBU, Cross Colors, Patrick Kelly, etc. On top of that when Urban Fashion was on the rise it was dismissed as a simple fad but now in the 2010s you have skinny white girls gallivanting around in "vintage rocawear" tees calling it some new shit. How disappointing is that? A Seat At The Table is an ode to all black people and our flyness. Whether you
rocking a doobie or poppin afro, whether you shopping at rainbow or making it rain up in saks fifth. You are a beautiful human and despite the constant genocide of our people you can still take care of you and treat yourself. Cranes in The Sky and Don't Touch My Hair looked like a beautiful black utopia from the future devoid of racism and imperialism. Black people are from the future and I soak up all of the afro futurist realness. Why not imagine a society without colonizers and white supremacy? Sci fi always forgets black and brown people!
Most importantly, I would like to say that fashion and style is a huge part of our culture. I say this because we have often been deprived of the basic necessities we needed in life stemming all the way back to slavery. African American people have always had to make a dollar out of fifteen cents. Left out of mainstream fashion we had to make due with simple fabrics and hand me downs which we would turn into magical looks. Splurging on fabrics with a pop of color, ya mama spending her last dime on your Easter outfit, turning table cloths into prom dresses. Black people made this diy shit what it is. We are the brand loyalists and the taste makers and its time we reclaim that shit!
