Fashions for the New Year

There comes a time when we have to leave behind fashions and embrace new styles of the new year.

What fashions -- either styles or even designers -- will you leave behind?

My style is quirky; I like things that are a bit edgy, funky, yet feminine. Often, I don't know I like something until I see it, and I can't describe what I'll like beforehand. When I see it, I just know.

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This year, I'm going to profile my fashion journey on HairNista.com. Won't be leaving any particular things behind, but I'm definitely going to plow ahead by doing me!


I'll be bringing to you my hits and misses (hopefully a lot more hits), and letting you take a peek into my closet, filled with vintage, thrift store goodies and discount fashions.

New Year, New Hair?

The New Year brings about a renewed interest in goals, plans and life changes.

Same thing with our hair. Why should it be any different, right?

Maybe you ushered in a new do in 2012. Let's dish!

On older stylist once told me that radical hair changes usually mean we're going something in our personal lives. Kinda agree with that, kinda don't. When I think about the times I've radically changed my hair -- shaved it off -- it was because I desperately wanted something different.

Was tired of the same old, same old. Ironically, I was going through some major transitions at the time in my personal life -- moving from Detroit to Atlanta, or once I settled in Atlanta, I finally felt brave enough for that new, short do that I'd always wanted (I've had medium to long hair forever, but never a short cut).



Jill Scott at Monday's VH1 Divas Showcase

Now, do I think the person who does a BC means that they're going through something? Not necessarily. They just want change, and that "something" may be their desire to become natural, free themselves from the creamy crack, etc. What that older stylist told me was akin to saying, "you cray if you cut all your hair off."

Nah, I don't believe in that ish.

I think most of that advice applied to permed hair. We know that natural hair is highly versatile -- straight one day, curly the next, twist out the next day. And that's what I like most about natural hair.

No Regrets

It's only the second day in 2012. And this year, I'm all about living my life without regrets. If you want to cut your hair, cut it. It will grow back. If you want to dread it, do it. You can always start over.

Soul artist Jill Scott, known for switching up her hairstyles, rocked a shaved do on Monday at a VH1 event. Go Jill! Jill had gotten a bit of heat from the natural community for appearing to have had a permed short style. But, Jill set the record straight that while, she loves her hair, she isn't a hair role model. In other words, she's doing her!  And I'm lovin' that blue fur, girlie!

Must you do this? No, but if you want to, do you!

Let's make this the year that, if we want radical changes in our hair, we do it.

What Will You Do in 2012?

2011 is almost an afterthought.

And, in that spirit, I thought we'd reminisce about the things we did in 2011 and our goals for the coming year. Some of these goals came about from good old fashioned experience (the best teacher), while others are new on the to-do list for the year.

I'm a big believer in writing what I want down, so the same rule applies with hair.

Goal: To wear my hair stretched more
Wearing curly hair is a lovely thing. What's not so lovely, though, are the massive tangles and mid-hair shaft knots I get whenever I wear it curly with gel -- especially in the crown -- for a long period of time.

My crown has suffered major trauma as a result. I'm not sure how to remedy that, with the exception of more stretched hair via blowouts, twist outs etc. On a good note, I finally got twist outs and flat twists right this year, though they are still hit-or-miss styles for me.

Goal: Henna
I used to be a henna head, but haven't touched the stuff in more than a year. Just haven't felt like dealing with the mess. But I need to get over that ish, real quick. When I think about my hair when I wore it, I had fewer problems with tangled hair. Perhaps because of the protein? Maybe it's time to revisit it.

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Goal: Growth
I'm not the obsessesed with growth type; I don't slap weird ish -- whale sperms, Monistat, Nizoral and anything else weird that pops up every so often on blogs and hairforums -- on my hair. I've always thought my hair grows relatively fast and, I even had some noticeable growth spurts this year.

For the record, the only thing I use is Chlorella (not for hair growth per se, but these pills keep my eczema in check). But, I do want to see what kind of lengths I can achieve this year. I've lost a little bit on the sides due to tangles, so let's see what happens on this length journey in 2012!

Goal: HairNista.com
This has nothing to do with hair, but I think it's just as important. In October, I launched HairNista.com. I've been pleasantly pleased, though there have been plenty of times I've wondered: 'Am I talking to only myself?'  Not a whole, whole lot of feedback.

Happened to see some stats for HairNista.com and I saw that it's gone international: After the U.S., Russia was the country with the most site visits (are there a lot of naturals in Russia? Who knew!), followed by the U.K, Germany, Canada, Latvia and finally, Denmark.

I've still got a lot of work to do on HairNista, but this kind of traffic has me grinning from ear to ear. So, my plans are to increase posting -- up from the 3 times a week I now post, and add more videos, product reviews, and more about the products I use.

Overall, though, I want to make HairNista more of a community for those who love hair and fashion, as well as add more fashion posts and vids/photos of my fashion.

There, I'm done with my goals. Let's do a mid-year check in about 4 month to see where I'm at, and then tweak as necessary. How about you? What are your goals for 2012?

London Style

Green Waterfall Jersey Dress, £25, Dorothy Perkins via InStyle.Co.UK

There's just something about London-style that I love.

Maybe it's the fact that their fashions are quirky and different. 

Maybe it's the fact that, because it's overseas, that their fashion just speaks to me.

Or, maybe it's the fact that they give the finger to U.S. styles, preferring to beat to their own drum.

It's different enough that I just love it. I luv, luv, luv shops like like Asos, Zara and Topshop.

Sure, there are some designers that we share on both "sides of the pond," but then they've got their own, like House of Holland, for example. I got a chance to catch up with my European fashionistas over the weekend when looking through InStyle's UK edition.

Was amazed by how different, yet how chic, their styles are. For one, they call low-cost, yet stylish brands "high street." Think H&M and Target. And, I was suprised by their trends: They are big on Peter Pan collars. Who knew? And will and how fast will that trend get here, because I'm still having flashbacks from those peter pan collars I wore from 6th-8th grade Catholic school.

What do you think of London style?

The Switch Up

After nearly two months of curly, I switched it up and flat ironed. I parted in in the front and did two twists. What do you think?

Merry Christmas!

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I hope Santa has been good to you, bestowing all the hair gifts under the tree that you've requested.

What was on your list?

Study: Natural Hair Among Black Women Growing

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I love it when mainstream press shows naturals love.

Yeah, yeah, I know blogs from my fellow curlies like CurlyNikki.com, BGLHOnline.com and others make it seem like natural hair is the "norm," but sadly, it's not. We're an insulated, online community that, while overwhelmingly nurturing and supportive, can still feel like you are waging a solo war depending upon the natural community where you live.

So, imagine my surprise when I read an article on USAToday.com about "natural hair making waves among Black women." It quoted Design Essentials and a TV reporter who went natural, and a side article featured CurlyNikki.com (a.k.a. Walton).

Earlier, we asked if natural hair had gone mainstream. This article seems proof that it is, and it's more than just anecdotal.

Here was the gold nugget:

"The number of black women who say they do not use products to chemically relax or straighten their hair jumped to 36% in 2011, up from 26% in 2010, according to a report by Mintel, a consumer spending and market research firm. Sales of relaxer kits dropped by 17% between 2006 and 2011, according to Mintel."