Kiss the Sky – the Brunch Day Party

Sunday May 20 GRAE teams up with Carlito Haciano | Block Association | Mike Mogul
to bring you Kiss the Sky the Brunch Day Party & Rooftop series … Continue Reading

#NaturalChic – I Am Not My Hair Debate + #Oscars Fashion Highlights

Peace Friends & #Fashion #Aficionados,

Like many of you, I did indeed tune in to the 84th Annual Academy Awards, better known as the #Oscars last night.

Though I anticipated the same fashion buzz that always surrounds this red carpet evening, I did not anticipate for there to be so much online traction based on the hairstyle options of Viola Davis and Esperanza Spalding as well as the mass critique of the former leading lady of the film “Precious” (whom I am not naming to not gain false traffic to my site). … Continue Reading

i#NaturalChic – The Ladies Prefer Gentlemen Edition

Peace Friends & #Fashion #Aficionados,

“Ladies Prefer Gentlemen”… don’t they? That question was answered without a doubt at the quaint Hype Lounge in NYC this past weekend.

I often have a tendency to predominantly cover women’s fashion; however gentlemen deserve to get a notable mention and tip of a fedora in their direction as well, for often putting their best dressed foot forward. … Continue Reading

The History of the Bow Tie – Grown Man (Woman) Style

Can you tie one?

It’s kind of like doing the bunny loop with your shoestrings but a little more intricate. One of the longest worn pieces in fashion history, the bow tie dates back to Croatian mercenaries in the 17th Century. Originally created using a scarf, the bow tie held close the opening of their shirts. Later in the 18th and 19th Centuries, the French Aristocrats adopted its use and named the sophisticated loops, jabot (pronounced ja-bot) which translates to bow tie. It’s distinction is attributed to formal wear dating back to1886, when Pierre Lorillad V invented the tuxedo as an alternative to the tailcoats worn with white bow ties. The tuxedo was named after Tuxedo Park, NY where it was first worn.

The bow tie became a formal and informal staple in men’s fashion, and was soon adopted and worn by women. In more recent years, women have begun incorporating bow ties into their sports and casual wear.

This Thursday GRAE and friends celebrate history and distinction with its featured event Ties and Tini’s. An event for the refined, Ties and Tini’s kicks off Black History month by highlight Manhattan’s only private club and event space owned  by African Americans, Parlor Room. For more information on this RSVP ONLY event, click here.

Surprisingly not all men know how to tie bow ties. No worries, we got ya covered! Check out the video below by NFL star Dhani Jones with the easy fool proof instruction on how to tie a bow tie.

Vee - Thoughts are sexy! Leave a comment.

Hair Tattoos: Trending Topic or Staple in Style

Today I saw a tweet by @naturallycurly that said, “hair tattoos dare you to get tatted!” I instantly clicked on the bit.ly link to see that hair tattoos might be the next craze, so I had to research more. Seems as if this all started with Kelis and Cassie back in 2009. Well Kelis has been doing wild ish with her hair before she became “bossy, bringing all the boys to the yard.” I’m just saying…

So is this trend really a “trend” or has it become a stylish freedom of expression? Recently, Jill Scott permed (I’ll leave this for another discussion) and shaved the sides of her hair, as seen on Vh1 Soul Divas and in her current video “So Gone”.

As I researched more, I found that the origin of hair tattoos derives from Malaysia.  The folks at Do Re Mi Hair Salon, consider themselves to be experts at hair tattoo with their tribal designs. Hair Tattoos have also become popular in Canada. Miami Fades in Ontario specializes in hair tattoos as well. I guess it helps that they have a conjoined tattoo parlor. Although it seems as if hair tattoos are/have been popular with men for years (ya’ll remember dude from 3rd Base? and yes I’m gas facing you), the “trend” has resurfaced among women.

So what do you all think? Are hair tattoos still a trending topic, or a staple in hair fashion? Next people will be getting lip tattoos…oh wait! They’re already doing that.   I’ll save that for the next post.

Vee

It’s all GRAE-Vee baby!  - Leave a comment! Thoughts are sexy