David's 40th Birthday Personal Styling and Photoshoot

Turning 40 is such a huge milestone. Especially in these trying times when life feels even more fragile than usual. These recents events during this pandemic has definitely reinforced the need to celebrate momentous occasions and milestones (no matter how trivial they seem at the time).

Cue this photoshoot below for David in honor of his 40th birthday as a surprise gift from his wife Kemi. Kemi hired me to style David and direct his photoshoot. She thought it would be a fun project and a great way to celebrate him (she was absolutely right!).

I enjoy working with men's fashion and I love stretching the limits on men's styling, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to brainstorm creative concepts. For this project, I wanted to ensure that I listened to both Kemi and David’s needs and that each look that I sourced and styled perfectly compliment David's personality, charm and culture. I wanted to have 3 looks that individually stood apart but collectively told a story of who David is.

For this 1st look below…my mind instantly thought “go for a boyish street style vibe.” Society can sometimes be harsh on us as it relates to aging and I wanted to do everything in my power to dispel that logic. The clothing choices for this look had to be a lot fun and organically say “40 is the new 20” without being too try hard. Also, David moonlights as a DJ and what could be more fun than that?

I call this next look “Wall Street chic” to reflect David’s life as a business professional in the finance industry and also to showcase a refined man of a certain age. Besides, a 3-piece suit is always a good idea! For a bit of an edge, I remixed the look in the last couple of pictures with the Nigerian hat.

The 3rd and final look …I dubbed “King David” represents a more stately and regal vibe. David is of Nigerian descent and his culture is very much a part of who he is and I wanted the clothing choices to reflect that. For this look, I drew inspiration from the famous Biggie artwork but wanted to put my own spin on it.

I hope you guys loved the final images from David’s styling and shoot. Kudos to one of my favorite photographers Tobi for a job well done on these photos. You can see the behind the scenes on this project in my highlights on my Instagram account. Also check out my IG posts on this shoot here, here, here and here.

Anyway I hope everyone is staying safe, healthy and sane right now. In the meantime, I'll try to use this quarantined time to post more frequently here. Wish me luck:)

Spring Fashion Editorial: Dreams in Color (Part II)

There's no best time than the spring to play around with different hues and looks. Something about the days getting longer again and the cool warmth in the air definitely adds an extra spring in our step. I loved styling these two beautiful ladies again for another editorial shoot. This was a fun one because I got to merge my different styling loves. Wardrobe styling, Interior decorating, and Prop styling. The indoor shots were done in the man cave I had created for my husband and we got to utilize several of the props and decor that were already a part of the space (which ended up working out perfectly for these looks). While the outdoor shots were done right in my backyard (who said you can’t create art anywhere?)

For the ladies’ wardrobe, I went for something more menswear inspired but with a colorful twist accented with complementary accessories/shoes to complete their looks. The Pink and Yellow suits just screamed Bossy and Fun all at the same time. Dare I say…Determined women on the move ready to take on the world? Catch up to them if you can!

Big props to an awesome team effort on the final outcome of this project. Check out and follow Tobi, Buki and Oreo in their Instagram links below:

Photos: heytobs

Muse x2: Bukola & Oreo

Want to see the actual work in action on this project? Then check out the behind the scenes footage on my Instagram (@ascotsandpearls) highlights. Looking for similar accessory looks, then visit The Ascots and Pearls Shop.

Fashion Editorial: Dreams in Color (Part 1)

I’m so inspired by color. Color revitalizes me, rejuvenates me and is my main source of inspiration in a lot of projects I take on. So you have to imagine how excited I was to be a part of creating and styling this project. Dreams in Color embodies Black Girl Magic at its finest. Showcasing women of color basking in color in all of their glory and undeniable beauty while enjoying all that nature has to offer. For this project, I worked with an amazing team of creatives and we all had the same goal of just enjoying ourselves and letting our work shine through. I won’t type too much text this time around instead I’ll let the images speak for themselves.

Photographer: Tobi

Models: Bukola & Oreo

Amenze's 30th Birthday Editorial Spring Fashion Shoot

A huge reason why I style is to make people feel happy about themselves. I enjoy the look of satisfaction on a client’s face when I am able to help bring their vision to life. That hint of pure glee when he/she looks in the mirror to see his/her reflection staring back and looking amazing. It always makes me feel good when I’m able to help others feel great. So cue this photoshoot with Amenze. A client who wanted to celebrate turning 30 by treating herself to a new look, a personal styling session curated and styled by Ascots and Pearls and a photoshoot by PhabandCo.

As you know turning 30 is a big deal! So I definitely wanted to Amenze to enjoy the looks and accessories that I styled for her so that she would have a great time at her photoshoot. She wanted clothing and accessory options that were spring ready with a bit of an edge. Overall, Amenze was very happy with the final looks and her photoshoot was so much fun. Here are some of the images from that shoot. Want to see some behind the scenes footage of this project? Then check out my highlights at the top of my Instagram profile. If you’re on Instagram, then join me at @ascotsandpearls. By the way, what are your favorite images from this project? Let me know in the comments below.

Girl About Town

A “Girl about Town” is just a woman who is confident and knows exactly who she is. She cruises around town effortlessly while she tends to her livelihood. Enter Tia Reid..talented singer/songwriter/model. The perfect muse for this project. I collaborated with her recently to update her look for her portfolio. Upon meeting her, I realized Tia had the perfect mix of edgy and sweetness, so I definitely wanted the wardrobe to reflect her energy. The theme was easy…dressy casual chic with a touch of luxe. Navigating through the streets of Washington D.C to find the perfect locations for her different outfit choices was a lot of fun. We were even lucky enough to find some really nice dog owners who let us use their super cute friends in cameos for some of the images. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. For more behind the scenes action of this shoot, check out the highlights on my Instagram profile (@ascotsandpearls).

Photography: PhotosbyPhab

What's in a Room?

One of the things I enjoy doing outside of wardrobe styling/creative direction is interior design. When I first realized that I was pretty good at designing and decorating spaces, I had a bit of a struggle trying to reconcile how to brand myself. I realized that I have a love for creating things visually (styling, decor, spaces etc) . Would people think I was trying to be a jack of all trades?… but then I thought why should we inhibit ourselves from sharing our art with the world. We are all blessed with innate, unique talents and we should share our creations as we see fit (yes I know..easier said than done). As time passes, I am realizing that styling is indeed limitless (it’s really all in the planning and details). So I’m ok with letting my works (and worlds) collide because that’s what inspires me to keep going.

Anyway, I currently have an infant (Elias) and he is my world! You know how you imagine what a baby is going to be like and then they enter the world and you absolutely fall more madly love in with all of their awesome quirks and personalities. Yup…that’s my life right now. So while pregnant with Elias, I decided that I wanted to design a room for him that would be filled with lots of joy. I also wanted it to be completely different from his older sister’s room.

So Elias’ room started out as a blank white canvas and I knew I wanted elements of blue and grays with hints of primary accent colors speckled in. I also knew I wanted to incorporate some geometric details. Starting out, I didn’t really have much of a theme in mind but as I kept gathering decor items to decorate the room, I noticed that these items literally had their own organic theme of “you can be who you want to be” and “you can go anywhere you want to go.” I mean I couldn’t ask for a better message for a child…even as adults we still need to hear these messages from time to time as sources of inspiration.

To start off the project, the white walls and ceilings were painted in different hues of blue with one shade of gray. I knew I definitely wanted an accent wall. Hence this wall with the 3 triangles.

After adding color to the walls, that’s when all the fun began. I wanted the room to be a space that Elias could grow into and wanted the decor pieces to be reflective of that. These next set of images (shot by Eleven 55 photos ) showcase the final look of the room. One of my favorite items in the room is definitely the huge TJ Maxx Polar bear that never really knows how to sit still.

Ascots and Pearls FOX 5 Good Day DC Holiday Party Fashion Segment

Ever wondered what to wear to that next holiday event? Well a few weeks ago, Fox 5 DC gave me the opportunity to create, style and present a fashion showcase on how to dress for a holiday event. I was so excited to share the Ascots and Pearls vision of how to look great for every event to a TV audience. I am embedding the video of the segment below and some pictures from the day. I am also including links for some the looks which are still available for sale (click through each picture to find where I got some of these pieces). Hope this style guide helps you plan your next outfit for that holiday party as you step out looking amazing! Let me know which looks were your faves in the comments below.

For anyone interested in April’s handbag, check out our shop HERE.

Miles and Selim (Exploring Androgyny through Fashion)

I love using clothing as a means of self expression. So when Tolu (of PhotosbyPhab) initially told me about his MILES and SELIM series (SELIM is MILES spelled backwards…see what he did there:), I was absolutely on board to help him bring his vision to life: Exploring Androgyny through Fashion. What better way to attempt to use clothing as an art form than playing with the ideology of what society expects to wear based on our gender.

For this particular project, we needed a really feminine looking model to be completely transformed into a different version of herself. In my head I was thinking “let me make her look like a debonair gentleman without a care in the world.” Aziza was the perfect model for this and Tolu was awesome on the camera. Shoutout to Thad for lending us his hands for some of the shots. This was a really fun experience for me and I enjoyed using clothing to play with gender “norms.” I’ll be posting a few last shoots from this project in the near future. In the meantime, What do you think of this project? Did you have any favorite images? Want to see some behind the scenes footage from this project? If so, check out my highlights on my Instagram @ascotsandpearls.

Credits

Concept & Photography: Tolu Bamwo

Muse: Aziza Afari

Wardrobe Styling + Creative Direction : Ascots and Pearls

The next couple of shots below were taken at the shoot by a different photographer Haythem of Lafhaj Studios. Hence the distinct difference in photography styles