Styled By The Kokonut Stylist - Article 11

Ten Items Every Man Needs In His Wardrobe

Clothing is rarely ever considered an investment but for guys, it is always a good idea to invest a little more into it. The fact that guys' clothing items do not evolve that much is a good indication that what you buy this year will still be good to wear three years from now, so why not put more thought and quality (read money) into it?

When compiling this list  of ten items every man needs in his wardrobe, I had my ultimate stylish guy in mind. Of course, it will not apply to every guy out there but for the more-than-average guy, this list should do.

1. Crisp White Button Down Shirt: This is a wardrobe essential and very versatile too. Depending on the make and cut of the shirt, this can be dressed up and down.

2. Navy Blue Formal Jacket: This is for those in-between moments; the I do-not-want-to-be-formal-but-take-me-seriously moments. It is easily co-ordinates with most items and can be a good idea for keeping any outfit well put together. Make sure it is a slim-fit jacket.

3. Cashmere V-Neck Sweater: Have this sweater in any colour that best suits and complements your complexion but make sure it is a good quality sweater. The v-neck will increase the versatility of your sweater, which means you can wear it with your crisp white shirt or a simple v-neck t-shirt. It can also be dressed down with jeans or dressed up with more formal pants.

 4. Dark Blue or Black Slim Fit Suit: Someone once said "suits are to women what lingerie is to men". A good slim-fit suit is the basis of a good wardrobe for any man and I would even advise you to actually invest in one. It wouldn't hurt to add a good solid colour necktie while you are at it and a great belt too.

5. Khakhi Chinos:Chinos are another classic wardrobe item that has stood the test of time. A good pair of chinos, your crisp white shirt with the navy blue formal jacket is always a formidable combination.

6. A classic pair of blue jeans:

The truth of the matter is this, denim will never be outdated so you may as well invest in a good quality pair of jeans. You can get them in various shades of blue and make sure the fit is suitable for your body type.

7. A Good Quality Pair Of Shoes:

One can never go wrong with a good quality pair of dark brown broques and while you are at it, invest in a good pair of sneakers.

8. A Trench Coat:

A trench coat can sometimes be a good fit when we are in-between seasons. Make sure it's those light ones not necessarily the heavylijazi type. Oh and just as a tip, it doesn't get better than a Burberry trench coat.

9. A Hooded  Woollen Tracksuit With:

Ask any woman, life rarely ever gets better than seeing a man in a hooded woollen tracksuit and some good old All Stars. It is the ultimate sexy item for laid-back days and the sweater can be worn in chilly summer days too, not just in winter.

10. Accessories:

By accessories for men, I mean watches and sunglasses. Not the face-covering type of sunglasses, leave those to women, get a good pair that is well-suited for your face. A good watch is actually an investment so make sure you spare no expense on it.

Just as a reminder, The Kokonut Stylist does offer great styling advice as well as personal shopping services for guys, so be sure to drop us and email on: kokonutstylist@gmail.comfor the best styling tips.

Always remember, style is personal and these items may not necessarily apply to every man out there. Define your own style.

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Written By: Koko Shabangu 

Styled By The Kokonut Stylist - Article 10

The 2013 Durban July Fashion Police - Oh My Gosh!

I am almost certain that no one cares that a horse called Heavy Metal with jockey Smanga Khumalo won the main race at this year's Durban July held last week Saturday. I also  assume that not many people care that Smanga Khumalo was the first ever black person to win at this horseracing event or that about 50,000 people attended this year's Durban July. Yes? No?

Well, maybe that is because we all look forward to the fashion and that is perfectly normal. With a splendid theme as Posh, Oh My Gosh! one would think there would have been no fashion offenders at this years Durban July. I mean, how do you possibly go wrong with a Royal theme? Unfortunately in as much as there were a few and far apart fashion hits, there were, sadly, a lot of misses. Let's start with the good ones shall we?

When I first saw Top Billing presenter, Bonang Matheba's dress I thought 'how could Bonang of all people get this one wrong?' That was until I heard her rationale behind the bright-coloured floor length neon coloured dress. Bonang said "Everyone is focusing on the 'posh', so I decided to do the 'oh my gosh' part. Everyone who sees this dress goes 'wow' because of the neon colour." Smart  choice there Miss Matheba. She never seems to put a foot wrong when it comes to fashion.

TV presenter and Voice-Over Artist Roxy Burger was among my favourites. She interpreted the theme, kept it simple and dressed exactly as it stated. The pop of colour on the shoes was also a great touch.

Celebrity couple, Mbali Mlotshwa and husband Black Coffee looked every bit of classy in black and white. I love how Mbali went for pants as most people always think "dress" when dressing for the Durban July, defying boundaries is a fashion statement on its own.

Vuzu TV presenter, Dineo Moeketsi looked absolutely dazzling in a white dress with lovely neon highlights, it accentuates her figure perfectly.

I was left on the fence with Dineo Ranaka's dress. It has too many trends in one piece; puffy shoulders, peplum, leather and houndstooth. I do however love that her hair and make-up was almost natural and that gave the entire outfit a classy feel.

Minnie Dlamini's outfit was one big confusion for me. Its almost as if she wanted to make it fun and flirty but it just came off as messy. It more 'Oh my gosh why?'.

Muvhango actress Omuhle did a total misinterpretation of Kelly Rowland's Grammy Awards dress. I feel she could have made it a bit more figure-hugging. Word to the wise, if you copy something, make it better.

TV personality Samkelo Ndlovu is apparently wearing a E5,000.00 dress. For just satin and chiffon silk it sure is expensive. Expensive enough for her to want to wear it to big public events twice. It just looks too busy, over-accessorised and just wrong. Neither posh nor oh my gosh!

Let's hope next year's Durban July outfits will be more exciting than this year's ones. Maybe at the J & B Met in Cape Town in January we will be spoiled with good, creative and mostly original outfits.

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Written By: Koko Shabangu 

Styled By The Kokonut Stylist - Article 9

Now This Website Is A Fashion Hub!

My fashion icon, Coco Chanel once said: "Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable." I am sure many of us can relate to this quote. I for one have tried and failed so many times but each time I tried again, I convinced myself that this time I would succeed. As a business-minded fashion person, I am always looking at ways of sharing my favorite fashion pieces with other fashion loving people. It was shortly after I briefly stopped my shoe business, armed with a booklet full of "lessons learnt" that I realized that there was a great need for an online shop that would cater for the needs of other fashion lovers.

Being an IT geek, I decided to put my IT Master's Degree to good use. I recently designed and with the help of a friend, completed the development of what I call a fashion one stop: www.thekokonutstylist.com! The Kokonut Stylist website is more than just a fashion hot-spot and it is targeted at any style conscious person, male or female between the ages of 16 and 40 (or even beyond that 40). It is about the lifestyles of local, international, prominent and just stylish personalities and their wardrobes, where they shop and all things fabulous. Since there obviously is more to life than just fashion, this site is also about the people who actually wear the stylish clothes, their lifestyles, etc. In The Kokonut Stylist there are tidbits of people’s day-to-day ensembles, hairstyles, dress designs, designers, fabrics and a bit of this and that. The Kokonut Stylistis more than just about fashion!

The reason I have dubbed the website a fashion hub is that it offers more than what online shops do. There are services such as personal styling & image consulting, personal shopping and fashion styling. These services range from R1,200 for a standard three hour consultation for personal styling & image consulting. With personal styling I meet  with my clients, preferably at their homes; organize their wardrobes by helping them to create go-to outfits in their existing wardrobe and I recommend new ways of wearing their existing clothes in a way that will be most flattering to their bodies and advise them on what new colours to add to best complement their skin tone. Personal shopping comes at a fee of R2,200 for a standard six hour shopping session. This is ideal for someone looking into a style make-over and we go shopping with them and recommend clothing ideal for them to meet their personal and professional goals while fitting into their lifestyle. Then the fashion styling services are for editorial fashion shoots, TV promos, advertising campaigns and music videos. Depending on the client's brief, I source all apparel and props for the shoot and charge R600 per hour.

The Kokonut Stylist also supplies good quality human hairpieces for ladies, branded clothing (baseballs jackets which are proudly made here in Swaziland), accessories (jewellery and bags) as well as good quality shoes for ladies. There are also glam videos on The Kokonut Stylist TV on interviews with your favourite, stylish celebrities, fashion shows, fashion weeks and uber stylish people spotted here, there and everywhere …...it is truly a clothes lover’s paradise.

I started The Kokonut Stylist because I am a style/fashion obsessed (and that’s putting it mildly) 20 something year old.  My love for clothes was apparent at a very young stage. I am told I would put together my own ensembles at age 3!! and always colour co-ordinated my outfits. That love has sort of progressed and intensified through-out my years of growing up. I now style people and almost breathe, eat and live fashion. I am very passionate about clothes and looking good! Even though I studied IT, fashion remains my first love.

In last week's article, I encouraged each of us to live lives filled with passion for the things we feel strongly about. I am constantly reminded that one does not live their life just for themselves, our lives are to be blessings, examples and bring joy to others. I hope that through this column, someone out there is getting a glimpse of what I do in fashion and getting inspired to put passion into whatever it is they love, as I do into my love for fashion. You can have anything you want if you are willing to put in the hard work to get it and keep it. We are creatures of habit, so we become what we constantly do. Constant hard work is what brings success.

If I can realize some of my dreams through working hard, so can you. I am looking forward to you visiting the website and hopefully you will be requiring some of the services we have on offer.

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Written By: Koko Shabangu

Styled By The Kokonut Stylist - Article 8

The (un)Necessary Job Of A Fashion Stylist

Someone once said: "Stylists are the people who push celebrities to make the best-dressed list." Whether they were right or not is totally up to whoever the target audience is. Ever since the birth of this column, I have received several emails requesting style tips, offering styling jobs and most recently, asking how one can become a fashion stylist and if fashion stylist make good money.

A fashion stylist is a creative mastermind  who helps set trends in the fashion industry. In major fashion capitals of this world, fashion stylists rank among the highest paid people in the entertainment industry. In Africa, the inclination to use fashion stylists is not at very advanced stage but one can definitely make a decent living as a stylist as the entertainment industry in general, is always in need of stylist. Styling jobs vary from personal styling (where one can style celebrities, respectable public figures or even general members of the public) to selecting clothing for magazine editorials and picking wardrobe styles for print advertising. Fashion stylist also work mostly as wardrobe consultants for TV programmes such as soapies. Stylist dress our favourite soapie actors on set according to the actor's role in such a way that the way the actor dresses as you watch your TV makes you believe that their acting life is their real-life.

There are several places where one can train to be a fashion stylist but above everything, you need to be; creative, passionate about clothing, be a people's person, have crafty eye for detail and be innately stylish yourself. In South Africa, Gauteng to be particular, there are several places to get formal training on a number of fashion courses, including fashion styling. These places include: Tshwane University of Technology- Arts Campus, University of Johannesburg as well as LISOF Fashion School. By far the best way to get training is if you shadow a well known stylist or apply for internship in fashion houses. Nothing can beat the experience one gets from learning while on the job.

As a full-time, independent stylist one can make +/- E25,000.00 on average, per month and more during fashion week season. This varies in that you may not always get styling jobs so it is an extremely fickle work environment and one definitely needs a good income back-up especially while still starting out. It takes years and years of experience to be the designated fashion stylist for a fashion house where one can earn a steady income. On grassroots level, while a stylist is still starting out, you need to be very willing to take any and every styling job that will provide income and help you build a solid styling portfolio. Think of it as being a businessman, every styling job you do and what you wear is an extension of your brand. The more you do a good job at styling people and look good yourself, the more people will want to be associated with your brand.

There is a very common myth that people who use stylists have no style and this tends to make people shy away from using stylist for their personal wardrobe styling. Being a part-time stylist myself, I can say that nothing is further from the truth that than myth. Stylist can help enhance your personal style, they can be a new (creative) set of eyes for you to view your existing wardrobe differently. When I style an individual, I work based on their existing wardrobe, body figure, lifestyle and budget and all this has nothing to do with whether the person is already deemed stylish or not.  You see, style is a very personal thing as I have mentioned in previous articles and it can only be harnessed and enhanced. Being a stylist has opened a number of doors for me and has introduced me to people I would not have ordinarily met. I get invited to fashion shows (such as the 46664 Fashion shows), fashion launches and fashion weeks and I do sometimes live some of my fashion dreams. 

I always put an unyielding emphasis on education. Whether you want to pursue your fashion passion formally or on the side, it is always important that you get an education as that is what will always empower you. Hopefully all you young, aspirant fashion stylists here in Swaziland will one day work for The Kokonut Stylist fashion house, in the near future.

You decide, do you think being a fashion stylist is a necessary or unnecessary job? Can jobs in any creative field provide sustainable living for us? Do we always have to work for someone else to make a decent living? I do not have the answers to that but what I know for sure is that we must live our passions, whatever they may be, pursue them strongly because I believe good quality living is about living one's passion. "If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you. -  Alan Armstrong

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Written By: Koko Shabangu

Tom Ford Fall 2013 Campaign Is Everything

Being someone with a boarder-line addictive personality, I knew I would get lost in Tom Ford's Fall 2013 campaign. I saw one picture on Twitter that just aroused the strongest need for me to see the entire campaign. So, do enjoy  a few pictures from the campaign.

Now this is what I call edgy, fun and trendy fashion. It is every hot trend combined into one hot something!!

Meet My Very Inspirational Friend - Sasha Groening

She is the face (excuse the pun) of modelling in the entire Kingdom of Swaziland. She is a lady of many firsts but above all, she is one of the most hard-working, constantly-evolving and constantly-getting-better people I know and I am blessed to call her my best friend. I am talking about non other than  Nozipho Sasha Groening!

It was more than befitting that when Swaziland has their very first online fashion magazine, Sasha be on the cover of that magazine. I am talking about The Swazi Fashion Sense - Vanquish Glamour Magazine. It is an online publication, mostly about fashion and music.

Well done to the team behind the online publication (you can read all about it here -> http://www.vglammag.tk/) and I hope all your cover girls can hold the standard set by Sasha.

In 2010, Sasha started FACE Modelling and Casting Agency. Over the years, I have seen it grow in leaps and bounds and I have seen Sasha grow as business woman and young woman in general.  FACE is the only proper (and trust me, I am not being biased when I say this) modelling agency in Swaziland. It upholds a very good work ethic and they always more than deliver what is expected of them. A fashion show is not a fashion show if there are no FACE models walking the ramps.

Remember this logo, the next time you do any fashion event in Swaziland, they are your go-to company.

A sneak-peak of what FACE Modelling And Casting Agency is all about.

I can now safely say I am friends with a cover girl he he he!! Keep up all the hard-work my friend. You are an inspiration to myself and many other women out there. I pray God's blessings in your life always! No one deserves it more than you do. I am so proud of you!!!

Styled By The Kokonut Stylist - Article 7

SWIFT, The Future of Swazi Art & Fashion - Never Before Have You Seen Such Creativity

I sincerely can never put to words, the beautiful sensation that art and out-of-the-box creativity brings to my soul. A tad dramatic, one would say but I always beam with so much pride, delight and patriotism whenever Swazi people are empowered through art and fashion. While most people were partying up a storm at this year's annual Bushfire Festival, Swaziland Fair Trade (SWIFT) was showcasing Swaziland's best talent. SWIFT is a member based organization providing training, trade and advocacy to support and promote Fair Trade for sustainable socio-economic empowerent of producers and their communities. In this way, SWIFT truly enhances the growth of the handcraft sector in Swaziland. This has over the years, resulted in increased revenue and wages for over 5000 local handcraft producers and companies working under Fair Trade.

This year, SWIFT was a title sponsor for the MTN Bushfire Festival. This saw exclusively SWIFT-Member-products being sold at the Marketplace for over three days. SWIFT Members have been involved in the evolution of the local fashion industry though High Fashion Handcraft showcases in the recent past, most significantly in partnership with  Mustard Seed Africa. This has seen the member companies designs being exhibited on an international stage. 

On the 1st of June, in a warm winter's day, SWIFT organised a fashion show which saw designs by: Gone Rural, Imvelo eSwatini, Baobab Batik, Tintsaba, Golden Hand and Quazi. The designs were paraded by models from Swaziland's leading modelling agency; FACE Modelling Agency. The fashion show was a first-of-its-kind display where mannequin models brought designs to life from within the designer stalls through a flash mob activation that started off the festival grounds.

In its mandate capacity, SWIFT is able to create trade opportinities for even the most economically disadvantaged producers through innovative means of promoting products. The handcraft designs always show a lot of creativity and the challenge levels are heightened each time there is such a show as the are more and more ingenious designs showcased with each show.

Having the models in the designer stands helped attract festival goers to the stands. One of the main goals of showcasing at the Bushfire Festival was to bring people into the Market Place to see all the beautiful products and this is a goal that was achieved through increased foot traffic after the show.

 I am pretty sure you can visualize the splendour, creativity and brilliance of such a fashion show. I remember in just my second article for this column: Why A Swaziland Fashion Week Is Long Overdue¸I wrote about how we have so much creativity, potential and colourful beauty in this country. We have the most untapped creativity, it is almost like we are waiting for someone to tell us just how creative a nation we are. Seeing the work that SWIFT does gives me so much optimism for the arts and fashion industry in our country.

In summation, SWIFT not only provides a 'showcasing platform' for the over 5000 local handcraft producers; it also helps feed so many stomachs, puts so many eager minds through school and clothes many children through empowering these producers. I have mentioned before how art and fashion economically empowers many a populace. We as a country, should not be left out of this economic empowerment. Thank you SWIFT, for igniting what should be a never-ending flame of arts and fashion in our country.

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Written By: Koko Shabangu