Live to inspire: A Short Overview

We live in a world where people are forced to conform to societal norms. You should go to school, you should go to university, you should get a job you should earn money, sleep, eat and repeat.

I guess that's what we need to do to live and have good lives but people end up doing things they hate and end up following a monotonous norm. I was privileged to be given the opportunity by my parents to do something I love after I finished school. Now I have the opportunity to spread what I love through my blog and I truly feel blessed.

When I was little I always either kept a diary of sorts or a sketch book where all my thoughts ended up on paper. Little has changed now thanks to technology it's become even easier for me to share with you all. I recently presented a talk at Saint Teresa's, where I spoke about my whole journey of becoming a blogger. I explained to the girls that my favourite part about blogging is the people I meet and the places I get to see. People in the fashion industry are far from the norm because they are mainly driven by passion and a love for what they do which in turn makes them successful.
 

In a short overview some of the places I've been to with my blog are: The South African Music Awards, SA Fashion Week, The Miss SA pageant, The Banana Republic and Stuttafords store launches. I've met a countless amount of designers and celebrities like Gert Johan Coetzee, MiCasa, Danny K, The Gangs of Ballet etc. 2015 has been a major year for me with becoming the Cotton On brand Ambassador and working on my first competition giveaway for the blog I have big goals for RMfashionary.

At the beginning of the talk I asked them to raise their hands if they were interested in fashion and out of the whole class only two girls picked up their hands. After I presented the talk six girls came to tell me they were interested in fashion and nothing could have made my day more.

I have come to realise that I don't blog or attend events just for myself anymore, but I do so, so that I can tell people my story: that everyday I wake up and feel grateful that I'm at LISOF, that I can't picture myself doing anything else but following the path I'm on, that when I graduate after this year I don't intend to stop for one second but to work harder and achieve greater within the fashion industry, that I get that opportunity to speak to young students about what I do and see their eyes light up in awe and aspiration. That light is what drives me now.

 

My Interpretation of Pink: My take on the Real Life Barbie

I am privileged to be working with Raeesah Randeree for the very first RMfashionary giveaway. Raeesah is a make up artist based in Dubai, who offers specialist make up master classes. She will be running a master class in Johannesburg over the 13th and 14th of June where she will be showcasing newfound techniques from HUDA KATTAN BEAUTY, MAKEUP BY MARIO(celebrity make up artist to Kim Kardashian) and MARY PHILLIPS (celebrity make up artist to J-LO), to name a few. Be sure to get in touch with her if you would like to book a spot as space is limited. Raeesah was kind enough to sponsor an amazing gift for a blog giveaway, the gift will consist of a Sephora liquid lipstick and a Chanel handbag candle. The only thing left for you to do now is enter the competition, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Read more about Raeesah here

For the competition I wanted readers to do something easy but unique, so because the giveaway happens to be all within the theme of the colour pink, entrants for the competition will have to show us their interpretation of the colour pink in order to win! This can be in terms of fashion or lifestyle, all you need to do is be creative and the best photo will win.

To enter you will need to:
Follow myself @ranaa_p (on Instagram)
Follow Raeesah @la_maquillage_byrae (on Instagram)
Post a picture of your interpretation of pink
Hashtag #mypinktowin
Tag three friends to do the same

Terms and conditions:

1)The picture may be posted on either twitter (tag @_ranaa_) or Facebook (to be posted on the RMfashionary page) as well if you do not have Instagram.
2)You may enter more than once (each entry must be a different picture)
3) If your account is on private please take it off private for the duration of the competition so that we can have access to your post

The winner will be announced in ten days time chosen by both Raeesah and I.

For my interpretation of pink I chose to do a take on "The Real Life Barbie".

For those of you who follow fashion, Moschino did a whole collection inspired by Barbie. 
As a result Zara took inspiration from  this and launched a Barbie collection which is available in stores at the moment. The top I used in this shoot is from the Zara Barbie collection. Raeesah also sent me Sephora Liquid lipstick which I wore throughout the shoot. Sephora is very popular in the Middle East at the moment and now after using one of their products I can see why. The vibrant lipstick has a subtle vanilla scent and is long wearing. It doesn't bleed all over your face after you apply it like some other lipsticks and it feels completely natural.

 

Camera shy most times.

 

 

 

 Outfit details:

Sunglasses - Rings and things

Beanie: MRP

Sweater - Zara

Jeggings: Cotton On

Boots: Woolies

 

Here are the pictures of the Chanel candle and Sephora lipstick that will be included in the giveaway. Good luck with your entry and may the best photo win!

 

The Factory on Grant:

A couple of weeks ago I found out about this new trendy night market, The Factory on Grant in Norwood. This unique market not only has local vendor stands that come to the market on Friday evenings but it also has the normal day time stores which include: The Factory Shop, Somerset Jane, Gillian Rose and the restaurant Vovo Tello. If you want something fun and away from the conventional shopping malls, what are you waiting for?

One of my favourite stores was The Factory Shop who I collaborated with for this post. The store can be put into the perfect "his and hers'' gifting store category. It has everything from candles, to man cloths(a men's apron), braai tools, hats, ponchos and more! I personally love hats so for this post, Judy who owns The Factory on Grant, was kind enough to let me feature them on my blog.

 

 

 

The hats are from the brand Simon and Mary, The Factory shop is one of the few stockists among other Joburg stores like: Carbon, Ingenuite, The Jungle, McCullagh & Bothwell, Prime Store, Palazzo Pitti and THESIS. The Simon and Mary hats are made locally in Johannesburg and have a long legacy established in headwear. The hats range between R450 - R800 at The Factory Shop.

Read more about Simon and Mary here.

There was such a wide variety of hats to have fun with but in the end these were the top three must haves:

1) The traditional Audrey hat

2) The traditional Mounty hat

 

3) The traditional Katherine hat

 

Outfit details:

Dungaree: Valley Girl

Cardigan: Vertigo

Boots: Zara

Jewellery: The Jewellery Store 

To end off the shoot, Layla who took the photos for the shoot encouraged me to do a sports luxe take for the dungaree.

 

Outfit details:

Sneakers: Nike

Tank: News

 

''Dressing is a way of life." - Yves Saint Laurent

The Mr Price Pop Up Store:

So what's all the hype about? The new Mr Price pop up store has just recently opened in Braam. The store can be found at 70 Juta Street which is close to the oh-so-trendy neighbourgoods market, talk about the perfect location for MRP cliental (the youthful go getters). The thing about pop up shops is that they are a must see mainly because they are only open for a limited period of time. The MRP store will only be open till the 26th of May, so do yourself a favour and hurry over for a complete 360 Mr Price customer experience.

 

Its apparent that the usual Mr Price store isn't really focused on customization and customer experience but the same can't be said for the one in Braam. The focus is mainly on denim apparel but they do stock a few other items, like fashionable faux fur jackets and the combat boots I featured in this blog post.

But wait, there's more, with every denim purchase shoppers can enjoy a unique customer experience as sales staff offer to accessorize your garment further by ironing on personalized badges of your choice. You can also expect to receive a free Nespresso coffee with your purchase too! I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for anything that veers from the usual, so the MRP pop up store certainly ticked all the boxes for me.

I thought it would be fitting to do a full Mr Price look for this post, so here it is from head to toe, all Mr Price everything. My new go to for winter are colourful tights instead of the normal black or sheer ones. I think its the perfect touch to level up any outfit.

 

 

Remember, "Fashion is art and you are the canvas."

 

 

The Jegging Reinvented:

In wake of winning the Cotton On Brand Ambassador challenge through my campus, LISOF, I was extremely excited to get blogging about Cotton On. On Monday my role as The 2015 Cotton On Brand Ambassador will be explained to me, and I cant wait! In the meanwhile I decided to have a bit of fun with my newest pair of jeggings that Cotton On so kindly sent to me from the new Wanted range. These are available currently in store at Cotton On for R299.

Jeggings are usually associated with being worn only in a casual way, and so I wanted to show how it can be worn in three different unique looks. The first being the normal casual look, the second- my take on a more so formal look and lastly- a unique smart casual look. Photo cred throughout goes to my talented friend Layla Shaik.

1) The casual jegging:

Jeggings and jacket - Cotton On

Tee- River Island

 

 

 

Sneakers: Zara

 

2) The formal jegging (My favourite interpretation):

 

 

Jeggings: Cotton On

Wrap dress- The Space (designed by Pengelly)

Bag - Gifted to me

Heels: Forever New

3) The Smart casual jegging:

 Jeggings - Cotton ON

Belt - Mr. Price

Shirt dress - Urban

 

 Shoes - Gifted to me

  

I usually prefer wearing dresses, skirts or tights over any kind of jeans or pants because I feel more comfortable that way. However, these jeggings have got to be the most comfortable jeans replacement for any look and I simply love them. I hate to wear the same look twice and with a versatile item like this the options are limitless. All that's left for me to think up now is, how to wear them next?