adminTafadzwa Zimoyo Fashion Talk 263
Happy weekend and be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. Smile and enjoy the fact that you have an awesome ability to make a difference in someone’s life. Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable while style is more about being yourself.
Being in the public eye is part of what I do, and taking on a multitude of different projects — television, radio, fashion, writing or globe trotting is a blessing. One thing you ought to know is with fashion and entertainment this is how I pay my bills, so please forgive me if you thought this was a joke.
I have noticed that somehow I am continuing to create enemies because of my fashion police observations. This is just my job to criticise by giving guidance. How could it have been done?
I attended a function this week and was astounded with some celebrities who still have a problem when it comes to dressing. I like it when I arrive at an event and everyone looks at me because not only that I will be dressed well but that the fierce one has arrived.
When it comes to fashion, I leave no stone unturned, although I am not perfect. Yes, you’re all waiting for my fashion show, just know Rome was not built in a day and I will be ready for criticism and as a mature person this will help in the development of my career.
Word in the streets is that there is a list of best and worst dressed males in Zimbabwe that is being compiled and some people have been asking me about it. Be guided, I have nothing to do with that list. Now, to my topic. I was asked how one can define a sharp-dressed man?
Is it by how carefully groomed his hair is? Is it about how polished his shoes are? Both of those are good indicators of a man who is well put together, but let’s not leave out this defining style characteristic.
A sharp-dressed man needs to be able to co-ordinate his neck-tie, shirt and jacket. A solid foundation is most men need to make smart decisions prior to purchasing clothing and mixing and matching what you already have.
Should a shirt match the tie or what? Purchasing a shirt and jacket to match the ties you currently own is not the smartest way to build a wardrobe. That’s like painting your garage door to match the colour of your lawnmower.
Instead focus on matching your accessories and shirt to your most expensive items (suits and jackets!) first and work your way down to items that cost less — such as your tie. Let’s see what are the essential guides this week:
Jackets or Suits: It doesn’t matter if it’s a blazer or sports jacket, this will probably be the most expensive item of the three. Aim to purchase your jacket in neutral, solid colours to avoid limiting what you can match it with.
It is much easier matching a navy blue blazer than it would be a green one in a checkered pattern. Shirt: Your second investment should remain conservative with a little more wiggle room to experiment. You can’t go wrong with solid shirts in white and blue but you can begin incorporating pink, grey in subtle pinstripes.
Tie: Ties can be expensive based on where they are made and the fabric used but you can purchase one for a low price. You can have fun showing off your personality with your ties but keep in mind the colours and patterns of your jacket and shirts first.
However, with ties, the width is where people will notice the difference — especially if the proportions are off. As a general guide you want to ensure that your tie measures at around 3 to 3,5cm in width or closely match the width of your lapel.
Anything larger and you run the risk of the tie looking too thick and taking prominence over the important areas of your outfit such as the jacket itself. Too thin and it makes you look large/like you’re wearing something trendy.
Another way to determine the measurements of your tie is the width of the lapels on your jacket. Your tie should closely resemble your lapels to ensure balanced proportions.
One thing you will want to remember: Your tie pattern should never exactly match your shirt pattern in proportion. For example — a blue pinstriped tie should not be worn with a blue pinstriped shirt with similar sized proportions. There would be no contrast and will blend together in an abnormal way that may cause the others to even see movement (where there is none!).
You can’t go wrong with sticking to colours with cooler tones such as deep blue, olive green and royal purple. This will ensure that a wide range of your shirts and jackets pair up well assuming that they are light coloured and simple in pattern. If you would like to draw some additional attention to yourself this is where the warmer toned tie colours come into play.
Red, orange and yellow ties go well with a navy blue or charcoal suit which is a great pairing if you are giving a presentation or running a meeting. Star of the week It seems those in diaspora are continuing to raise our country flag high when it comes to fashion.
This week, our star of the week is Tsitsi Fred a Zimbabwean-born emerging knitwear designer who is well known for her signature artisanal knits that are textural and colourful. As a young girl she grew up with her auntie who owned a knitwear studio.
This is where she got her inspiration from as she used to knit alongside the workers and learning simple techniques.
She studied Fashion Textiles (Knitwear) at University of Arts London (London College of Fashion) and currently in the process of launching her label Tsitsi Fred Knitwear.
Fred’s SS 16 /17 collection “Knowing Dylan” is a knitwear collection that is inspired by her son who is diagnosed autistic and presents social and communication deficits from a very young age.
Through research she integrated her findings into fashion where materials, colour, texture, functionality and practicalities of the garments are all taken into consideration to suit the needs of the autistic as well as the non-autistic, aim being to break the boundaries of a neurotypical culture and raise a neurodevelopmental awareness to the society.
She is an outreach mentor for insight (London College of Fashion) and through her university projects she has since showcased her collection on various occasions and participated in community autism awareness projects in Greenwich Borough.
In November 2014, Tsitsi Fred participated in a Pitti Filati (Italy) project where she represented London College of Fashion. She made samples that were selected for production of a garment that showcased at Pitti in January 2015.
In April this year, she collaborated with Pitti Filati and made garments for a “wake up” S/S17 collection that showcased at Pitti Filati (Italy) in June 2016. When it comes to design Fred always creates one of a kind knitwear, she makes samples and garments that are empowering.
To challenge her aim, she motivates traditional techniques and tries to push boundaries of modern knitwear. Her knits are made of a mixture of fine and thick cotton and luxurious yarns. She takes her inspiration from immediate environments as well as around the world.
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