A finalist in Miss Jamaica Universe 2007, Camesha Powell radiates beauty and elegance and these attributes are clearly displayed in her clothing line, aptly named Poshe. It is amazing that this is her debut year as a designer as she has created quite a stir with her line. Camesha is another talented Jamaican designer with no formal training in design. She describes her transgression into the fashion industry as a natural occurrence, growing up aspiring to be a model or fashion designer. She works in the fashion industry at Poise Jamaica and has partnered with Pulse in their annual model searches. I asked her about her beginnings as a designer and she relates that she was always obsessed with fashion, was always commended on her style and was always sketching designs. Having only created her first piece in January of this year, Camesha debuted a full line at Caribbean Fashion Week 2007 and is most excited at the strides she has taken since then.

I caught up with Camesha at this month’s TGIT event at the British High Commission after her fashion show, where models strutted to the beautiful sounds of Tessanne Chin. Courtney John and Cezar came out to show support as well as dozens of fabulously dressed patrons. She basked in the compliments of an amazing line and smiled brightly for the many flashing bulbs around her.

We spoke more today about her new and exciting path in the fashion field. Her crowning moment of course is debuting her line at CFW 07. She explains being inspired by the song used in the advert for the event - Fergie’s Glamorous and infused Jamaican colours into this theme. A line that drew upon the colours green, black, yellow and white, she creatively displayed the national colours in a way that was much less cliche cultural and much more glamorous indeed. She uses stretch satin in many of her pieces explaining that she loves the versatility of the fabric while keeping the glamor.

When asked about her favorite designers, Dsquared and Gwen Stefani comes to mind, both lines again illustrating Camesha’s love of glamour and the eclectic. She also names Carlton Brown as a local favorite, commenting on his excellent craftsmanship. She shares similar ails with Keneea about the Jamaican fashion industry, in particular the lack of financial assistance for fashion designers and the limited supply of quality equipment and supplies. With these limitations, designers are forced to source raw materials elsewhere in an effort to be unique and this drives up costs. At a higher prices, it can be difficult to compete with designs imported from fashion houses overseas. She wishes that the powers that be would acknowledge the amazing talent of the designers in Jamaica and invest in the industry more, as other international designers have already seen and capitalized on the vibrancy of the Jamaican culture in their own lines and achieved successes in these ventures.

She notes however that the fashion industry here will continue to thrive because of persons like herself who have that innate love of fashion and are committed to seeing the industry succeed. Currently she works only from orders and can be contacted at poshejamaica@gmail.com (tell her you heard about her here!) Plans are in place to open a store of her own in the near future, featuring her designs and others. She encourages persons aspiring to enter the industry to dive right in. Make your pieces, approach fashion houses with them, seek sponsorships from your friends, family wherever, show your desire and go for it! Hot tip: I asked Camesha what’s hot for this Christmas! Her answer? mary janes, purple and cobalt blue! Cobalt blue??? Not a common one that is…more on that to come!You can see her entire line in the FOS Galleries and more pictures of the fabulous patrons that came out to support.

One of my new fave blogs has a post on all things sparkly. If you didn’t believe me when I told you to try out something covered in jewels or sequins and you’d be a hit this Christmas, then check out what Angie from You Look Fab has to say.

Today was super busy forgive the lack of a real post, tomorrow will be lacking as well but I have an absolutely great excuse! Check me out on Friday when I bring to you my very own high-waisted style AND another super fabulous Jamaican designer. You wont want to miss!

P.S. this Christmas brings alot of love for my loyal FOS readers…tangible love! Are you in the mood for a super fab giveaway like only I could give? Keep in the know…

P.P.S maybe you want to join our facebook group from now to increase your chances in the giveaway huh…just maybe… *whistles innocently*

Ciao for now stylites!

The Mosiah Clothing Company has been around since 1997 providing Jamaicans and Jamaican fans alike with urban, cultural clothing in earth tone colours and top-notch designs. They’re primarily a jean company coming from a different place than the usual Bob Marley-esque designs that have become synonymous with Jamaican cultural designer lines. They have done Caribbean Fashion Week a couple of times and have been seen on many of our Jamaican celebrities such as Spragga Benz, Busy Signal, Baby Cham and Richie Spice and have graced the backs of international stars like Talib Kwali, Scott Storch, Lil’ Kim and Akon.

I recently sat down with the man behind the Jamaican leg of the Mosiah brand to find out what’s the latest. His name is Richard Pearson and he and his brother Marvin carry the Mosiah Jamaica flag. Here’s what Richard (pictured above) had to say:

• Why the name Mosiah? The line was started by Aidan Jones and he is a big admirer of Marcus Garvey and his movement so he decided to pay tribute to him by naming his own movement "Mosiah’
  
• What exactly can I find in the Mosiah line? Mosiah is a full line offering blazers, jeans (skirts, pants, shorts), tank tops, t-shirts just to name a few
• What sets apart Mosiah as a Jamaican urban brand? we don’t just print things on t-shirts, we take our time and carefully design our pieces and our quality is superb
  
• Do you customize pieces? Not really but we are looking into that, we recently did a piece for Akon

• Where can I get my hands on Mosiah? In the US you can get Mosiah @ 799 Rogers Ave, Brooklyn New York. In Jamaica you’ll soon be able to get Mosiah in all major stores.
• What was the response like from doing Caribbean Fashion Week? Our first fashion week was good, but as it relates to the last one, personally I think we were cheated. Being the first line displayed on the first day did not sit well with me as you are the "Guinea Pig" and it leaves you open for any mistakes the production team may have, like the lights going out in the middle of our set, the wrong music being played and it being a Friday no one was really there. But respect to pulse still
• The after-party held for fashion week was hot! Any more parties soon? Remember we’re not just a clothing line, this is a movement, so the party was the launch of our clothing line, and our first party for Mosiah Ent. Look for more blazing hot parties coming from Mosiah Ent…
• What is the latest with Mosiah? We have just placed the final artist on our first riddim (Mosiah Muzik) and is set for released early late this year early next year. We’re also looking forward to having the line placed in some of the major department stores here in Jamaica.
  

I am a huge fan of the colours of the line and the way they mix the urban with the cultural feel. From hot blazers to cute skirts and high waists (which you know I love) Mosiah is blazing a hot trail as a clothing line and promises to keep it burning. Check out their line from CFW 07 in the FOS Galleries and stay tuned for Mosiah ENT updates. Richard can be contacted at richard_pearson07@yahoo.com for any Mosiah enquiries.

Jaunel McKenzie in Mosiah @ CFW 07 (this is my one of my favorites of the line the colour and the shoes are hot!)

Related info:

Here’s a site for Jamaican style shoes or victoria secret style bras . The fashion bug site has got it all! For apparel from different designers like burberry , fashion bug has all the brands you need at affordable prices! It’s an all designer website, which includes ralph lauren and calvin klein. Before you buy your wedding ring , get your designer clothes and shoes from here.

Big girls, this one goes out especially to you! The shift dress was made popular in the 1960s and is back in focus now in pretty much the same styles and some with a few updates. What it is, is basically a sleeveless dress that hangs loose from the shoulders with little definition in the waist area. It is normally quite short and airy thus perfect for women with a fuller figure. Today, shift dresses come in a variety of updated styles which includes different sleeves and embellishments and are accessorised by wearing them with the now popular opaque tights and heels or slapping a belt over them to define your waist (excellent mix and matching prospects) Shift dresses are too versatile to be left out of your closet this season as they go from day to night, from office to cocktails. Pay homage to the fabulous fashion era that was the sixties by donning one in a fabulous print or go now-trendy in embellishments like this hot silver number at one of this year’s hot Christmas parties.

I have to take a breather from fashion reporting for a minute and bring to your attention Miss Alicia Key’s American Music Awards performance recently that was very much a reggae performance, we taking over the world y’all! It took some dancehall music to bring Miss Keys out and dancing! You may have already seen this, it’s not brand new but was unavailable for somewhile on youtube due to copyright infringements, so watch it quickly before it gets pulled again. She brought out Junior Reid, Chakka Demus and Pliers (where’d she dig them up) and Beenie Man who did snippets of their own songs inbetween her hit single No One. The performance was great and (to get back to some fashion here) lets talk about Alicia in that all-in-one! I heard one opinion that wasn’t feeling her outfit because it made her look hippy. Sadly, that person doesn’t understand the beauty of gorgeous curves. Work it Alicia, you were fabulous. She has come full circle in the style game and gets fiercer with each appearance.

Coming off my last article about breaking matchy matchy rules, I thought I’d explore another hot trend this season, the fact that the deep rich jewel tones I love and speak about so much are hot items for colour contrasting. We first saw these lovely colours showing up as small touches to our outfits making the hot grey trend pop, then we saw them making statements as solid colour dresses and now we’re mixing them all up! This trend is very high fashion and will make you stand out at this years office christmas party. Wear a purple dress with green shoes or a navy blue dress with red! If you’re the type that likes to be a little more subdued you can still be very trendy by adding just a pop of colour to your little black dress, like a glittery sandal or an emerald green pair of pumps, or by wearing a tank thats embellished but black, trendy and subtle at the same time! Below Holly Robinson Peete looks graceful matching a bright red dress with an animal print and Tracey Ellis Ross goes trendy pairing a pale yellow dress with purple peep-toes.  Eva Longoria is smashing in yellow and green, Cameron Diaz does a pop of red and Reese Witherspoon is bold in red and yellow. I’ve also paired a few of my own below to get your creative juices flowing.

Here are some pieces that I found that can give you the same trendy effect with just using one piece, whether by one bright dress/skirt paired with subdued pieces or an outfit highlighted by outstanding shoes and/or bag.

Items: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9  a, b, c, d, e, f

Recently on FOS I featured an up and coming designer who makes swimwear, intimate apparel and costumes. She called me with the exciting news that thanks to FOS her line (Dashielle’s Dezines) was requested at a fashion event being held at the University of Technology. I was happy to have helped her boost her brand exposure and went along to capture her first event.

The event was organized by students of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and was intended to feature our dancehall fashions from the 1970s up until now. It was a lovely gathering of fashion and entertainment and while not well attended, maybe because of the rains, it was fun nevertheless.

Marlon C was the host for the evening (pictured above) and did a wonderful job of keeping the crowd entertained, along with the likes of Macka Diamond, Mr Lex and John Hype and the crew.

Snapped up a pic of Miss Dashielle at her booth

The 70s booth featured dutch pots over coal stoves, huge boom box radios and of course afros and bell bottoms.

80s fashion was very much looking like she wore that outfit just last month to the club, my how quickly the styles come back around eh!

The Bashment 90s were quite the colorful set (more pics after the cut)

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Or black and navy for that matter. Last time on Did he get it right I asked you my beloved readers to decide if black and brown was mixed effectively. Voting is still young and so far it seems y’all aren’t quite sure. Let me help you to see the light a little bit clearer people!!! That was not the way to mix black and brown. Black and brown are two neutrals yes, but throwing together a pair of brown pants and a black shirt do not a fabulous outfit make! Now, the rule of never mixing black and brown has long been thrown out the window. But with every trend there is a way to do it right, no? So let us tweak the black and brown “rule” and show each other exactly how its done.

I find that the shade has alot to do with it. Black is black is black but not all browns are the same. It seems odd that you can find something that actually doesn’t match with the staple that is black but some shades of brown, especially the darker shades are not easy to match. His rusty brown coloured pants were just not working perfectly with the black shirt. If you’re mixing black and brown, try to use a brown that is of a lighter shade, go close to khaki. Another point of note: they’re two very prominent colors, they will compete for attention if you throw big pieces of them together. Black with brown accessories or brown with black accessories? HOT! Make one the accent to your outfit and you will pull off a black and brown mix fabulously. A brown suit with a black shirt will work and vice versa…it just all depends on the shade of brown (a brown pattern instead of a brown solid is a good way to go too)

Now, black and brown as I said before, are two neutrals. Kinda blah. Therefore the right accessories are needed to snazz things up, throw in some texture like patent leather that’s hot now or jewels, maybe an animal print bag, or maybe a shoe in an entire different color like a jewel toned red or green pump. Something to shake it up and add that touch of fabulousity. I looked long and hard to find outfits that brought together black and brown fabulously but I came up short, so I’ll have to fix up one for ya. I did find that Kasmira from What I Wore Today(she’s such a trendy lil fashionista) had tried her hand at the black and brown mix and pulled it off pairing black boots and jacket with a brown dress. Its a cute outfit, but even she wishes that she had “a teal shoe, to add a bit of ‘pop.’ ” You’ll notice that the shade of brown is subdued and not in striking competition with the black and she does the job of making black the prominent colour in the outfit by wearing the jacket as well. Had she nixed the jacket, I’m sure I wouldn’t have liked the outfit as much.

I hope she wore a black bag. One thing that rubs me wrong is wearing a black outfit with a brown bar or vice versa, now that’s just wrong. There’s nothing wrong with contrasting colours, as long as its colours that pop together. But that’s a whole ‘nother post (don’t worry, its coming quite soon)

Different shades is always a good thing. Like with my first outfit, I chose to do a beige cami under the black suit with brown accessories. Of course one easy way to mix black and brown is to center it around a pattern that already mixes it like an animal print. These budget-friendly outfits were made using Rampage’s Outfit Builder. Any thoughts or pics on the black and brown mixing rule?

Now that you’re a little more secure with your finances for Christmas, lets get back to shopping! I told you about four very prominent trends this season and explored the newest and hottest of the four in detail, the bejeweled trend. Now we’ll move on to menswear. Menswear is hot right now and covers everything from boyfriend shirts, vests, berets and fedoras, button down shirts and ties and oxford pumps. This is a look not so much for partying, you want to use this look to snazz up your office attire or funkify your casuals. It is effortlessly chic to throw a vest over a tee and skinny jeans (which is so not going anywhere anytime soon) with some rock-star accessories and voila, you’ve just glammed up a very simple outfit. Here’s  Rihanna as featured in the high waist post and JLo rocking the vest as well.

Most of the items in the menswear category have already been featured here on FOS in some kind of detail. We found vests at Ophelia’s and spoke about weather-friendly fedoras . I expressed my love for these hot gucci oxford’s and found some pocket-friendly alternatives in that same post. However I haven’t posted about the boyfriend shirt and I do think its quite cute! Fashionising has a post on how to rock this trend. Check it out.

Fashion Over Style! Caah style caan spoil!

Continuing in the series of Indian fashions, welcome to lesson 2. I’ve promised to help you get stylized for DNA’s Euphoria this Christmas as they’ve tossed us an unusual Indian Bollywood Fantasy theme and party-goers are in a frenzy trying to get their perfect Indian look together. The anticipation is building and I am quite pleased that Jamaican patrons are getting into the spirit more and more of donning costumes for themed parties. Last lesson I featured various Indian outfits, since I knew most of us were only familiar with sarees. In this lesson I will point you to some good websites that will teach you the art of wrapping/draping a Saree, show you updated Indian fashions and some good places to shop online for them and introduce you to the wonderful world of Indian jewelry.

Sari Safari has a great pictorial of several different traditional styles of wearing a sari and a breakdown of how to do each style. It really isn’t as simple as it looks, I wouldn’t even begin to try and break it down here, I’ll leave that to the experts.

Sarees come in a variety of designs and material, however for a one-time wear such as for this event I would recommend copping a simple piece of silk or chiffon in a bright colour/pattern for use in making a costume. An original sari may run you quite a few pennies which you may not want to shell out if you have no plans on wearing it ever again or at least any time soon. Gorgeous silk materials like the ones pictured can be purchased in any of our many fabric stores, just get a length of at least 6 ft so that you can play around with it how you’d like and find a wrap for you. Remember you’ll be partying all night so you’ll want to make sure that things are secure.  

Season India has some tips on buying sarees here, like buying sarees for your body type et al, and they also have some gorgeous but very pricey indian outfits. If you really want an authentic Indian outfit then this is the website to pick up your indian wear as they are exquisite and the prices do include any custom alterations you may have and worldwide fed ex shipping. Here is a just a snippet of what they have. (click to view larger)

Men can pick up there authentic gear from Diwan Saheb who features fine couture like these silk sherwanis pictured. The prices are just as high, but the quality and detailing are superb and they come highly recommended.

Of course, when in doubt, Ebay is your friend. Mehndi booths will be available at the party, so Euphoria has that covered. You remember from the last lesson what mehndi is right? So onto the jewelry that you’ll need to adorn yourself with. Indians are known for adorning themselves in such a wide and colourful variety of jewelry with even meanings attached to some. Like the bindi which is a sign of marriage and the maang tika (jewelry that lines the middle parting of hair) used in the most formal of events. Of course, even in India tradition has been commercialised somewhat and everyone can be seen sporting bindis from the virginal to the married and beyond. Bindis, bangles (go heavy on the numbers) chokers and anklets are all commonplace in Indian fashion from the beaded variety to stickers to gorgeous gems.

Bindis

 Maang Tika

Beaded Jewelry

Traditional Jewelry

Kundan Jewelry (A type of traditional gold setting method)

Bangles

Jewelry pictures courtesy of Desi Vastra. You are now fully equipped with all you need to know regarding Indian fashions and have plenty of inspiration should you decide to make something of your own or look for something close enough at the mall. Still to come in the series is a breakdown of the Indian dishes that will be offered at Euphoria and of course where to shop for Indian clothing and accessories in Jamaica. Yes, you can have a few of these authentic items from shops right here so make sure you stay updated to FOS!

Live and love fabulously,