Iconic Style: Black History Month Edition

Black History month is one of my favorite times to blog. Having the opportunity to write about what excites me most combined with black culture excites me. Iconic Style, will spotlight women who have made a worldwide statement through their style. This month we will feature black women from popular TV sitcoms from the late 80's through early 90's. The women featured gave us more than style, they each had some type of je ne sais quoi. Stay tuned to hear all about how these women positively impacted television.

Hilary Banks

I was so excited when Will Smith got his own TV sitcom in the early 90's. I watched it faithfully singing every word of the intro song, I'm humming it right now. As the show got started we were all mesmerized by this beautiful girl with curly hair who looked flawless every week. What I loved about Hilary's style is she was always so polished, she was on point literally from head to toe with her amazing hats. Hilary was known for her airhead ways, snobbiness and for being self-centered. But there is a silver lining in everyone, right? .

Besides her awesome style, here are things we can learn from Hilary:

1.  Confidence is key. Hilary was obsessed with her physical appearance, but she also believed in herself. Although Hilary was a bit of an airhead, she believed in her abilities so much that she became a weather girl who went on to have her own TV show. She was the true essence of fake it til you make it.

2. Get some standards. This girl would tell any boy to "get lost" in a heartbeat. If you were not what she was looking for she wouldn't deal with you. Can't be mad at her for that.

3. Integrity is important. Being truthful and honest was a way of life for Hilary. Her sincerity came so natural, she would have had to try hard to be fake. Now she may not have always come off as being nice, but she was honest.

4. Family is important. Hilary and Will had two completely different backgrounds, but they both got along so well. Hilary was dedicated to her family, she never left them hanging.

5. Have style. First impressions are everything and Hilary always made sure that she would not be caught looking a mess. When you have personal style, you always look good even on a day off.

My interpretation of Hilary!

Stay tuned for our next Iconic Style series next Thursday. The stylish woman I am spotlighting was the ultimate Southern Bell and always carried herself as such. Can you guess who she is?

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

Chris

Heritage & Home

Decorate with Black History

I celebrate and support black businesses all year round but during Black history month, I absolutely make a point to share my favorite things produced by black business owners. I have been thinking a lot about home furnishing lately and after some research, I  found some cool businesses that produce colorful pieces. Last year I featured one of these businesses for their t-shirts and now they have expanded their art into home accessories. I also want to share a brand that Christina introduced me to recently. Nothing makes me happier than being able to find items made in my image. It is much different than it was when I was a child. There are so many people creating things now and with the world at our fingertips, it is so easy to access the items with the keys of our phones and other computer devises.

 AG On Canvas

I featured Accidental Genius Clothing last Black History Month for their tees, I live in them  daily. I am pleased to reintroduce them to the blog with an emphasis on the home accessories they introduced a few months ago. The same images I love on their tees are now available on throw pillows and as wall art. The images range from historic icons like Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne and our first lady to today's hip hop and neo soul artists. Follow them on Instagram for merchandise updates and sales.

Shop the brand  

Pardon My Fro 

I was introduced to this brand by Christina. She is currently decorating her apartment with some of the art prints. I suddenly wished I lived alone so I could justify decorating with such proud afro-feminine images. Since I live with someone who does not share my design aesthetic or culture, I showcase my pride in my wardrobe. I love to look at her pieces though. The items are so colorful and beautiful. Other than the wall art prints, you can purchase products such as: shower curtains, throw pillows, throw blankets, duvet covers and wall tapestries. My favorite items are the zodiac pillows. You can also purchase totes, if you want to incorporate the images into your wardrobe.

Shop the Brand  
Shop Affiliate Site for Shower Curtain & Bedding

Black History Month is a great time to expose yourself to black history and also to the products that the history has inspired. These products are items that are still very rare in everyday shopping establishments. That is part of what makes them special but also because they cater to a market that is very much ignored in many cases. I am in no way affiliated with either of these companies. I just find it very important to support them because they had an idea that many had before them but they laid the groundwork and made it happen. They did it for themselves but also for me as a black women who doesn't see my image in everyday shopping experiences. Believe it or not, that is important.

Happy Black History Month!
Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!
Kris,

Fun Fashion Friday

It's 'Fun Fashion Friday'! In these posts I will bring you the playful side of fashion. Fashion doesn't always have to be so serious. I am a big fan of really funky, fun pieces. I admit to loving my fun or bizarre items more than the classic ones; even if some of my friends hate and make fun of them. After all, fashion is about self expression and SHOULD BE fun.



DENISE HUXTABLE PART 2 

It's been a  while since I posted a Fun Fashion Friday, so I decided I would post one every week of Black History Month to go with Christina's Iconic Style posts. Yesterday Christina talked about the iconic style of Denise Huxtable, played by Lisa Bonet of the Cosby Show. I wanted to challenge myself to find a few items with her likeness or that screamed Denise Huxtable style. A lot of the items are vintage and retro but I decided to add a few modern touches to each look as well.This is what I came up with! Please enjoy! Shop if you want!


The Rebellious Denise Huxtable Tee 

Wear a Denise style moment snatched right from a scene in The Cosby Show!
This tee is by Pop ATL. The light pink tee reads Rebellious which seems like such an appropriate description for Lisa Bonet and the character she played. She was rebellious in her style and politics. That's why we love her.


Shop this tee
  

Denise Huxtable Style Finds

It's time for my favorite part of this post! This is where I show you looks that scream Denise Huxtable. Since I love to support the communities I belong to, I am featuring items from etsy sellers. Other than a thrift store, there is no better place than etsy to find cool vintage pieces and unique items. I searched the site for oversized heavy sweaters, headwraps, hats and other items the character was known for. Feel free to shop the items or use the items as inspiration to create your own Denise inspired look.

Denise loved layering as Christina mentioned yesterday. My favorite part of her look was always the accessories. I loved the hats and her use of scarves and jewelry. In my first Denise inspired look, I layered an oversized unisex cardigan over a denim button up shirt.The cool jewelry piece is versatile and can be worn as a brooch or pendant on a necklace.I could see Denise wearing this brooch in the middle of the collar of the denim shirt for a bolo tie effect.The printed palazzo pants are comfy and roomy, much like many of the pieces she wore on both shows. I don't remember ever seeing Denise in heels, so these t-strap Dr. Martens felt so appropriate for the look. I would swap them out for a pair of combat boots as well.

 

Shop The Look 

Fedora  

Denim Shirt

Oversized Cardigan

Palazzo Pants 

Brooch 

Dr. Martens 

Denise Huxtable was all about layering, she wore several shirts over each other, even doubling collars sometimes. This look is a layered but a little cleaner than some of her looks. She wore a lot of oversized blazers, today we call this the boyfriend blazer. This look is a white button up with a vest and blazer combination. I could see Denise wearing the shirt tucked into the high-waisted jeans with both the vest and jacket worn open. She would pair the look with a pair of fun flat boots.Sometimes she was super matchy and sometimes she went a little wild. For this look I wanted to match the green bowler hat to the vest and earrings.

Shop The Look

Vest

Pants

Bowler Hat

Blazer

Boots

Earrings

Shirt

The Final Look is more of a Spring Look since the season is not far away. There is a look Denise wore on the Cosby Show that I really loved. I included a bonus photo of it at the end of the post. It was a mint green top that just looked like a slouchy button up in the front but when she turned around, there was a cool cut out in the back. Some would call this top business in the front and party in the back. I found something similar being sold on etsy. It inspired the rest of the look which became a romantic bohemian fusion look.

Shop The Look

Faux Leather Kufi Hat

Upcycled  Pearl Infinity Scarf

Blouse

Harem Pants

Sallay Earrings

Cut-Out Oxfords

Denise Huxtable Wrap Up

I draw inspiration from Denise Huxtable's character in my style often but instead of sharing an inspired look, I want to share this tee I bought from Accidental Genius Clothing.  I wore it on a Kris's Closet post last September while on a trip to the Loveland Castle with my sister.The Denise Huxtable tee I am wearing is no longer available but the brand always has great tees so I want to give him and his team a shout out. I will be sharing new merchandise from this company later in the month.

Shop this brand

Thank you for checking out my first 2016 Black History Edition of Fun Fashion Friday! Look for a new one featuring another fabulous tv character icon next week!

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!

Kris,

Iconic Style: Black History Month Edition

Black History month is one of my favorite times to blog. Having the opportunity to write about what excites me most combined with black culture excites me. Iconic Style, will spotlight women who have made a worldwide statement through their style. This month we will feature black women from popular TV sitcoms from the late 80's through early 90's. The women featured gave us more than style, they each had some type of je ne sais quoi. Stay tuned to hear all about how these women positively impacted television.

 

 

Denise Huxtable

 

 

Every Thursday night at 8pm my sisters and I would gather around the TV waiting for The Cosby Show to come on. Watching each episode was like the first time, I was giddy and filled with excitement, eagerly waiting to see what sassy things Rudy would say, what Theo was getting in trouble for, what interesting thing Vanessa was doing, and how Denise was going to rebel this time. At the time I was closer to Rudy's age, therefore I related to her and she was my favorite character. Denise was like the ideal big sister, she was cool, adventurous, rebellious, she went to college and her style was crazy. Now that I am older I remember her role much more clearly and realized the impact she made, writing this series allowed me to reflect on her character.
 

Things we can learn from Denise:
 

1. Live outside the box. Walking to the beat of her own drum was the true essence of this Cosby kid. She did exactly what made her happy, she didn't get everyone's approval, but she wasn't expecting it.
 

2. Learn lessons firsthand. Denise was rebellious, she experienced everything on her own. As the second oldest she went through a lot of trial and error, but we learn the best from our own mistakes, right?
 

3. Find yourself. When being asked why she was leaving Hillman, Denise responded by saying..."And who am I? An industrious young woman who wants to examine life without...pressure!" Enough said.
 

4. Stand for what you believe in. No matter how silly Denise may have sounded justifying her actions or lack thereof she was confident and bold when giving her answers to the many questions. She believed in herself so much that her quirky responses rolled off of her tongue naturally.
 

5. Wear what you like. Denise's style was free-spirited, bohemian,and eccentric much like her personality. Denise made her life choices just like she made her fashion choices, based upon what she liked, not based upon other people's opinions.

Over the weekend, Kristin and I went to free Sunday's at the museum. We ate lunch, looked at wonderful exhibits and then mimosas for me and beer for Kristin. Because I was already so inspired by Denise I decided to draw some style inspiration from her for the trip to the museum. This is what I wore.

Stay tuned for our next Iconic Style series next Thursday. The stylish woman I am spotlighting loved her hats and her curly hair. Can you guess who she is?

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

Chris



Happy Black History Month!!!

We love Black History Month! It gives us a chance to really focus on learning about our history so we can share what we learned with you. This month we have so much planned. We will be featuring some of our favorite characters from black television and popular programming of the past. These characters have iconic style and remind us of what television was like before reality TV and the guilty pleasure shows we love that aren't really shining the greatest light on African Americans. We are also highlighting some black owned businesses that sell fun products we love and feel you should know about. Here is a peek of what we have in store!

Happy Monday! Enjoy your week!

And as always,

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!

Kris,

ChristinaKristin Closet Clean Out!!!

 As published stylists, we find ourselves sometimes with too many items laying around. We decided it was time we find a way to get rid of some of the items from our style closet and our personal closets as well. We opened Poshmark accounts a while ago to try to rid ourselves of a lot of things. Recently we decided it would be a great idea to start a post highlighting the new pieces we post to Poshmark weekly. We will post this blog series once at the end of each month. We introduce to you our first 'ChristinaKristin Closet Clean Out!'

You have seen us wearing some of these pieces in our Chris's/Kris's Closet posts. We have worn the items with love and some items not at all but now they all need new homes. Here are a few items available right now.

BLAZERS FOR LAYERING

I love a fun blazer with a graphic or fun pattern! These three blazers are all under $20 on Poshmark this month! We still have a few months of winter left and these blazers are great layering pieces that will get you through the cold and into Spring. To shop the items or get details, click on the titles above the photos.


Abstract Floral Blazer 
This blazer is so versatile, you can dress it up or down. Wear it with jeans and a sequin top for a night out or wear it with a solid tee or button up and slacks for a cute work outfit. Both the blazer and the sequin top are available!
 

Navy & Orange Houndstooth Blazer
This blazer is a retro Gianni Sport blazer. It would be fun over a graphic tee or a solid button up shirt and jeans.
 

Rainbow Tweed Blazer   
The blazer can be paired with so many colors. It literally features every color in the rainbow. This blazer is also very versatile. I looks good with slacks, denim or a pencil skirt. You can find a close up of the print on the site.
   

For more items check out our Poshmark accounts by clicking on Shop Kris's or Chris's Closet at the menu tab or follow the live links below. Look for new items every week on Poshmark and our ChristinaKristin Closet Clean Out post right here monthly!

Shop Kristin's Closet
Shop Christina's Closet

Be blessed! Be free! Be fashionable!
Kris,

Happy New Year!!!

As the first post of the year I thought we would make and share some plans for the style blog and our style and design ventures. We are both really trying to get organized this year. We really want to post to the blogs more often, design more pieces and do more wardrobe styling. We would also love to know what you would love to see on the blog this year or what you are looking for in us creatively. Feel free to let us know in the comments or on our social media outlets. For now, here is what we have in store...


ChristinaKristin

1. Post a blog weekly.

2. Have a pop up shop featuring our Bridal Accessories.

3. Participate in more events that promote networking.

4. Sell accessories at a festival or special event out of state.

5. Take some creative classes, like beading and metal work classes.

Kristin

1. Bring the Style Adventures series back to the blog.

2. Post a Kris's Closet once a week.

3. Create a concept for a winter accessory collection.

4. Research other cultures to draw inspiration and technique.

5. Set a day aside a week to read magazines, print and online to stay on top of trends and fashion news.

Christina

1. Feature more stylish women in the Style Crush series, monthly.

2. Post more styling tips.

3. Create a YouTube channel focused on wardrobe styling.

4. Work with a non profit organization gifting styling services.

5. Expand our "Global Gal" collection with hair accessories.

We hope to share with you all of the new things we are starting this year, as well as all of the old things that we are doing more of.  If you have a blog idea that you would like to see from us please feel free to leave a comment, or email us at christinakristin1@yahoo.com. If you would like custom jewelry visit us at our Etsy shop. For styling services, check out our packages please email us for more info, our work can be seen at here.

Be Blessed! Be Free! Be Fashionable!

~ChristinaKristin