Fashion Prep 101

This morning, due to a dead battery on my lovely iPhone, my alarm didn't go off. I woke up at 7:21, leaving me exactly 39 minutes to be dressed and 10 minutes to prepare a lunch, before I would have to be leaving in order to be at the office by 8:30. Instantly, I began to panic.

Today's lesson, ladies-- 

ALWAYS be prepared for a fashion crisis or an wardrobe malfunction. The days that you wake up five minutes early will always go absolutely perfect, and the days that you wake up 10 minutes before you should be walking out of the door will always go wrong. So, listen up. 

1. "Piece-y Items"

It never fails--you wake up and can almost swear that you threw those slacks in the dryer last night, in preparation for the next morning. Oops, guess what? You didn't. So now, you are stuck with the top half of a suit that absolutely will not match anything else in your closet. Or, you wake up in a rush and the outfit that you thought you were going to wear is wrinkled from top to bottom. The more "piece-y" items that you have to work with, the more items you have to substitute for any "mishaps." This shopping method is also a huge money saver, as it prevents you from having multiples of the same things (except for "the basics" as you will see next) and from wearing the "full outfit" over and over, thus heightening the durability of the pieces.Take a look at this article written about price efficient ways to build your professional closet. 

http://covunicareers.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/thrifty-tips-for-building-your-graduate-working-womens-wardrobe/

2. "The Basics"

Ladies, if you take anything from this post, PLEASE! PLEASE, take this--The basic items are absolutely essential to your wardrobe and will MAKE or BREAK your outfit! Now that I am typing, I realize that "The Basics" should probably have it's own article. The basics stretch from the proper underwear, to a classy "little black dress." 

Definitely look forward to, "The Basics: Panty-Lines and Senseless Forgettables." Coming to you next week, right here at the BROWN.SPOT. 

3. Ideas

http://www.harperhoney.com/2012_05_01_archive.html

The night before is always a good time to think up at least one idea, or two,  for what you could possibly wear the next morning. Take a glance in your closet while you are watching your favorite show, and lay some of your favorite pieces out on your chair. This way you have a mental idea of the colors and patterns, you would be surprised how well this really works. Sometimes, right before I go to bed, I look in my closet and simply find a piece that catches my eye. Then, I touch it and kind-of internalize it... Then, I simply go to bed. When I wake up in the morning, I am able to walk right over to my closet and put something together, almost simultaneously. Just because you are sleep, doesn't mean your brain forgets! It's still up there working as you get your beauty rest! Oh, this happens to me all the time, an outfit will magically appear after you have already stressed over the one you are in the middle of putting on. Take a few seconds to kind of group it together and throw it back in your closet, there is tomorrow's outfit ready to go! 

4. Clean closet, GOOD closet. 

Keep your closet cleaned out! The less of a mess you have to rummage through, the less of a hassle it will be to get dressed! Now, to what degree will be up to you. Personally, I am not big on color coordinating and organizing by sleeve length...that's too much pressure for my little soul. But, I have learned that at least having a summer/winter separation makes life a lot easier. Put whatever the current season is near the front so that it is accessible, and push the other towards the back...out of the way. Always put cute tanks and light sweaters /cardigans in the middle, as these are items that fall into that "interchangeable" category that I spoke of earlier. They work for all seasons, any outfit. Your closet should be kept in a way that makes your mornings smooth and easy, so that when you have a morning like mine was today, your whole day isn't wrecked over it. 

So what did I end up wearing? 

Navy blue cardigan

Sheer- tan mesh tank, with silver workings

Grey slacks

Silver flats

Blue studded necklace, and other funky jewelry

 

Until next time,

B. 

Being the Best COLORED You Can Be.

Now, I'm sure you are wondering to yourself...

"Did she just say 'colored' ?"
"Here she goes, reinforcing the same stereotypes everyone else does."
"Hold up, isn't she Black?"

RELAX! Lets be real. In order to break these stereotypes and assumptions we, women of color, have to admit that they exist! Once you admit that these stereotypes exist, understand them, and accept them for what they are, there is nothing left for you to do but to shrug your shoulders and laugh!

Women of color tend to feel the need to over-compensate for being of color.

It is 8 o'clock Monday morning. As soon as you walk through the door of your office building, instantly your back snaps back, boobs in the air, nose shoved in an upward position, an itchy girdle riding up your thighs, and a quick--snappy--"Hello." Then you briskly dart towards your office or your desk, as if your work is piled to the ceiling.

Image credit: http://www.mahoganylink.com/blog/

If this is you, and this is the you that you enjoy being...OK, fine. But, in most cases, this is the woman of color going into a defense mechanism that I like to call "The Mask." For some reason, us women of color have a little tiny switch in our brains that, when we feel intimidated by our white counterparts, triggers us to pull out "the mask." We find ourselves speaking, dressing, and socializing differently from what we really desire. You demand things of your co-staff rather than requesting, your comments and suggestions have slowly turned into attitude and smart remarks, and worst of all, you disconnect yourself from the other women of color around you. Before you know it, you are at home trying to decide between watching that episode of "Housewives of Atlanta," that you have been waiting on all summer, or some random sitcom that you heard your co-workers chatting about at the water cooler. You squeeze into a shape-wear garment--that you absolutely despise--in a desperate attempt to flatten those curves that tend to show in your favorite black pencil skirt. Instead of your normal "Erykah Badu" Pandora station, you force yourself to listen to the classical music station that you heard coming from one of the other offices. When a Black woman enters the building speaking loudly on her cell phone, wearing a tight dress, with no shape-wear, and smacking on gum you freeze up and it is everything you can do to not run slam out of the front door out of second-hand embarrassment.

 Image Credit: http://www.jefblocker.com/?tag=work

Chill! First of all, all of that "extra" is extremely transparent...believe me, everyone can see right through it. The mask can only last  for but so long. Second, your co-workers, probably really enjoy the Black you more than the fake you. You would be surprised how many conversations I have had with my White co-workers about my hair and how I maintain it, my lifestyle outside of work, the Reality-TV that I watch, and even predominately African- American religions versus predominately White religions...and the NUMEROUS compliments that I have received about my curves and how great I look in fitted articles of clothing, and how versatile my hair is...it goes on and on...

I'm sure you are staring at the screen by now like, "well, what am I supposed to do? How do I fit in?" YOU DON'T! The professional world is a widely diverse place, and is meant to be that way. These relationships being built between different races, social-classes, and genders are all necessary to the growth and development of equality in the workplace. The puzzle isn't ever going to be perfect, so stop trying to wedge your self into it. Be your COLORED self, be your BEST self.  Put that mask down.

I DID...

-B

Image credit: http://madamenoire.com/50822/white-women-do-it-too-8-things-black-women-cant-get-away-with-doing/

CHECK THIS OUT:

The link below will lead you to a short article named "White Women Do It Too: 8 Things Black Women Can't Get Away With." Tell me what you think about it, and I will respond in my next post!

http://madamenoire.com/50822/white-women-do-it-too-8-things-black-women-cant-get-away-with-doing/

New girl, new things.

"...'Indigo'. That's what I'll name it. No No No... Maybe 'BlueBlack,' that's kind of edgy. "

The name you give a baby is essential to the roots of its growth, its natural development, and its lively hood as a self-efficient human. The same goes for a piece of work--art, writing, photography, etc. The title that I have given my blog, "Brown Spot," has a quite easy mental breakdown. "Brown" is what I identify as, just one of the many colors in the spectrum of human skins that God created. "Spot" derives from a place of simplicity and maturity as these are two characteristics that I, and most women my age, are in virtue of.

At 22 with wide hips, a thick head of hair, and an education--not to mention my witty and fashionable thinking process--I am ready to dedicate a piece of me to you . So, Grab my hand, and lets take a walk between the lines of these two ladies-- "African American Woman" and "Educated Professional Woman." Lets talk about the education, professional development, and social perspective of being a young, African American woman in the professional work field. Then, we can figure out who's already perfected it, and how they look so darn good while doing it!

-B

Image credit: http://www.meetup.com/DPBWladies/photos/303483/3311997/