MONSTERS INC.

Would you like to hear some old ass, stale ass news?

Can you take a wild guess who relapsed yet again this week let alone these last few weeks? You guessed it, ya girl! Fair warning, I’m about to endure some of the toughest few months ahead…so that means even less interaction with all my lovely supporters and readers, and even less content across the board **Super Saiyan Side-Eye**

But in other news, Happy Halloween y’all, and to those who don’t celebrate it in any capacity…HAPPY HUMP DAY…or Happy Throwback Thursday (Whichever day you’re seeing this post from when it’s actually posted)!!!

Since the last post here on the blog a heap of life-changing events have transpired and shit’s about ta get really real **Crosses fingers for a little mercy from the universe**

Truth moment: I shot this look months ago and just knew I wanted/had to post it for the Halloween season; although this is legit my steez 365, and mind you I don’t even celebrate the holiday myself really.

I usually prep for posts waaaaaay in advance due to conflicts in schedules AND because I’m dying most of the damn time. But all that aside, isn’t this lewk spot on for this time of year?

I came into this dress last year believe it or not, and it was on crazy sale which lead me to pounce on the purchase immediately. Some of y’all wonder how I always manage to get my pieces on the cheap….the truth is, I stalk sites like it’s going out of style. I have built Intel and file cabinets in my mind on many of the brands I shop regularly and without even utilizing a method most popularly used (email), I still manage to find the right things at the right time.

I also have a knack for sensing when to pull the trigger on the majority of my finds. I have homegirls who are baffled at the prices I find things for and I genuinely feel every bit of myself and get a rush when I score in such a way. If you’re looking for a sale, a way to be boujee on a budget, stay in the loop on the blog and my socials…or just hit me up and ask me, I’m always down to chop it up and share the wealth.

I paid fractions of the original price on this dress and did so from the original seller (Iron Fist Clothing).

Pro Tip: There are retailers that provide access to several brands on their sites (i.e, ASOS, Sourpussclothing, Attitudeclothing, etc…), but sometimes you can visit the site of the specific brand and they’ll be holding a sale that you would’ve known nothing about because you were unaware these retailers were essentially just hosts for these brands.

Copy and paste the name of the garment and plug it into google and potentially find it for even cheaper…you never know. I search far and wide, high and low for everything in my closet, and with a bit of effort…my wardrobe is something I am incredibly proud of and have built it up without going dead broke (cuz ya girl ain’t sponsored hunnnnay….not yet at least), you have to get creative in dis bitch.

I didn’t hesitate to pair the dress with this navy blue shag number that I acquired over a year ago as well, I know…I know, you’re probably wondering by now “GIRL, are we gonna be able to get the look at this point?”, the answer iiiiiissss….not exactly. BUT, don’t fret, ya girl came through with a few alternatives that will at least give you somewhat of a similar vibe and an option to request that a few retailers bring this dress back at the very least; check the links below.

When I saw the completed look I immediately thought I looked like an edgier version of the big blue monster from Monsters Inc. I think I nailed it, don’t you?

What I’m Wearing:

1. Sunnies from Claire's. $14 (Was too much if you ask me, better deal HERE)

2. Necklace from forever21. $6.90 (from ages ago)

3. Jacket from Target. $15 (On sale from a while back, no longer avail. alternative HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE)

4. Dress from IronFistClothing.com. $25 (On a crazy discount, no longer avail. Similar vibe HERE and HERE, here’s a rando retailer HERE, be put on a wish-list HERE and HERE)

5. Sneakers from Mandee to the rescue. $15 (On sale, no longer avail. Alternative HERE, HERE, and HERE)

LADY IN RED.

Sooooo…. this is the red dress I was speaking about in the post prior to this one.

You can’t tell me, you can NOT tell me, that this dress isn’t straight flames, that I don’t look fire in it, that Boohoo didn’t come through with the come through; this dress is clutch AF and there’s no denying it.

It’s most definitely a POWER dress and a POWER lewk, just hand me my crown.

I completely understand why, those guys I referenced in the prior post, were looking at me whilst OOOOOO’ing and Aaaaaahhhh’ing. My last post wasn’t trying to make it more difficult for men, women, or anyone to compliment one another; or feel like they couldn’t do so without permission, or making someone feel uncomfortable because they in fact don’t know that persons life or trauma (if there is one); whether or not they should consider those things before/ in their approach. I feel like we’re in a day and age where consent is important…. almost above all else if not the actual utmost important over everything. With that said…I sometimes wonder if consent (ALL of the time), is the killer of spontaneity, if we as a collective find that it’s worth sacrificing the beauty of that which is spontaneous…. for the sake of feeling “safe”, respected, considered, etc…

Me bringing it up was mostly about delving into the hows and whys of our responses to cat-calling or what we may deem cat-calling over what another may think is (this is not to diminish what is blatant /universal). I wanted to know what constitutes as cat-calling to you, or rather what is acceptable to you despite what it may be deemed. I wanted to know if and HOW the potentials of your past trauma; this is of course if you’ve had said trauma…but what I’ve gathered thus far on my lifes’ journey…. I’ve yet to come across one person who hasn’t experienced SOMETHING; male, female, and everything in between.

How has your past shaped you, how do YOU perceive things? Because honestly, I don’t always feel uncomfortable with a bit of outspoken “appreciation” (to put it mildly) and I wonder if I’m sending the wrong message out into the universe for all of the situations in the future. I wonder if I can/ should remain with an existence firmly planted in the gray…. when I remember a time things were very much black and white (there was a definite benefit to that). I wondered in this moment, was I being dramatic, or did I see what I saw. Yes, all feelings and self-truths are valid…. but is there a perspective here…that is very much so planted in a universal fact (if there is even such a thing)?

Aside from all of that, can we really just take a moment to look at this sickening dress that comes in a hundred different color ways? If you know me AT ALL, you know I’m gonna make it my lifes’ work to acquire them allllllll (Pokemon status).

SIDE NOTE: I made a recording of my blog post this time, you know…so I could transcribe it, and I thought I’d letcha know that I went off on a tangent riiiiight around here, LMFAO. Needless to say…I left it out but I do plan to release clips of the recorded version in the near future.

Anyway, I made plans to rock this dress in Cuba…still haven’t gone to Cuba by the way, hope to go some time next year, hoping we’re still able to go by then (you know…. cuz the state of this country and how it’s ran…one just never knows). I’m crossing my finger AND my toes on that note.

This dress just makes you want to have a beautiful destination as a backdrop, such as CUBA! If it makes me seem like I have some “Basic Bitch” tendencies…. so be it, because this dress deserves it hands down, it needs to live its best life.

Boohoo really outdid themselves with this dress. I first saw its older sister in mustard, but as a year+ flew by, I came across the many other colors, prints, and lengths it came in and I just about passed out of excitement. Not long after that they came out with play-suit/jumpsuit options, GIRIIIIRRRRLLLLL!!! What ended up being the nail in the coffin was when I laid my eyes on the leaf green colorway, that was it, I was SOLD! And if I was going to bite the bullet, I knew I’d be doing myself a disservice by not copping the O.G mustard one (and a shit ton of other colorways…no one saw that coming….)

But I deserved to have them all, ya girl waited for over a year to finally get it poppin’….right? You know I’m right, say I’m right got dang it!!!

In any event, I’m happy to have a new member of the “Jamila wears us ad nauseam family”, but that’s the beauty of this dress though. You can transition the HELL outta this piece, not only from season to season…. but from age to age, from lifestyle to lifestyle, genre to genre, day to night, goth to glam, preppy to renegade, poolside to hillside, work to play, occasion to occasion (you get my drift); it’s just all of that and everything in between. In the near future I’ll be starting a project that explains this concept further.

So there I was, one of the most beautiful dresses I’ve ever owned just hugging my every curve, sashaying and posing with my $20 dollar mules from one of my favorite stores (Famous Brand), a group of fairly handsome men carrying on about how lit I was looking, VBO outchea, panty-lines outchea, necklace & bracelet on point, shades on point, taking full advantage of my manageable health hours to get’er done….ya girl was thrivin’ Biiiihhhhh.

What I’m Wearing:

1. Sunnies from Forever21. $9.90

2. Necklace from Claire’s. 3 for $10 deal

3. Dress from Boohoo.com. $22 (On Sale)

4. Bracelet from Hottopic. 3 for $10 deal

5. Mules from Famous Brand. (Under $20) (Similar HERE, and HERE)