Fashion Brand Statement: Are We Getting It Right?

Being fashionable is priority to many people in Nigeria.  Believe it or not, Nigeria is one of the top countries in the world where people pay great attention and also spend ‘big’ in order to accentuate the way they look. Even the so-called market women are paying more attention to their look.
Still, with that entire fashion buzz in the air, many people don’t get it right unfortunately. You are a ‘Miss match’ when you keep wearing clothes that have no reference whatsoever to your occupation, physique, or the environment in which you are.  A lot of people do not understand that there are different types of fashion statements to suite different occasions and vocations. For instance, you can’t expect to wear what you would wear to a party, to church or to the office. You also can’t wear a dinner dress to a cocktail party and otherwise. There are specific types of clothing suitable for hot weather, for cold weather, for the beach, for picnics and so on. There are also specific types of clothing that suit different sizes, shapes and ages. The mistake a lot of people make is going along to invest in ‘hip’ clothes just because everyone else is wearing them regardless of whether it actually fits them. For instance  skinny jeans which are the entire rave these days look ridiculous on fat people. There are also certain clothes that look dumpy on skinny people. There are certain outfits that don’t flatter people with little bosoms and there are those that flatter people with bigger hips and smaller waists. Not everyone has the gift or inclination to know these things. So, one needs to get fashion advice from experts in order not to appear in public looking totally out of place.
Some ladies look as if they are walking on hot coals of flame, floundering here and there to gain balance while wearing high heeled shoes. It makes one wonder why they ever bothered in the first place! If you can’t walk it  PLEASE don’t wear it, and spare others the humiliation of feeling pity for you.
In offices, you don’t expect to see a banker who handles the serious business of managing your money to appear at a bank dressed in Bermuda shorts and beach shirt. You also don’t expect an employee from a creative department to be dressed in a suit and tie. Even the client would begin to wonder exactly how creative the ‘creative’ handling their accounts is.
One would think that celebrities would be savvier when it comes to this, considering that a good sense of fashion comes with the territory, but alas, a lot of celebrities unfortunately still make some grave fashion faux pas.
In order not to keep making these clumsy and unwarranted fashion blunders, take advantage of a closer look at these front liners. Let’s learn a valuable lesson or two from their embarrassing or exciting fashion show reel.
Emeka Enyiocha
Some people think they are ‘dons’ in dressing when actually the opposite is the case. Actor Emeka struts around in outfits that make you wonder if he actually lives in a world of his own or amongst us. His unsuited leather jackets and joggers, worn at the wrong times, occasions and certainly for the wrong climate, leave people staring at him, certainly not in admiration.
Princess the Comedian
She tickles us silly on stage. However, one might wonder if her distasteful dress sense has nothing to do with the laughs. She wears jeans and tops that are way too tight for her and make her look fatter than she really is. Her hairstyles do nothing for her femininity or beauty. And her make-up? Hmm… I don’t think she knows what that word means.
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde
Omotola looks stunning all the time. Her hair never goes wrong and her make-up makes us suspect that she spends a fortune employing an expert personal make-up artiste on regular basis. Her outfits are always outstanding and becoming of her own refined personal identity style.
D’banj
The ‘Koko’ master has a remarkable and admirable sense of style. He has his own unique and creative sense of style and usually wears tailor-made personalized clothes. Whatever he wears suits him to a tee, whether it’s a suit or simple Fela-style pants. He always looks hot and ‘Kokoble’.
Investing in Nigerian Fashion
Though a lot of Nigerians think they have grown beyond what they can get in the Nigerian fashion market, the fashion industry is becoming more and more vibrant, offering variety of choices.
With the likes of Dakova, Mudi, Tony Payne, Linda Ikeji, Sofisticat and a host of other fashion moguls storming the Nigerian fashion market, Nigeria’s fashion industry is simply booming. The equally booming celebrity industry, in addition to the inclination of so many Nigerians to wear the latest and most fashionable fashion pieces, is a great reason for it to bloom the more.  Amazing pieces of Nigerian traditional material are being combined to create fashion masterpieces, another reason for us to be proud of our rich African heritage. As a result, patronising the Nigerian fashion industry or investing in it right now is not bad business.
Nneka Ezinwa can be reached on amourpropre26@yahoo.com