PENDA SARR

Reflections

5:53:00 PM

Hello hello and happy new year! I hope you are all enjoying your time with your loved ones and entered 2017 feeling better than ever. As w...

Hello hello and happy new year! I hope you are all enjoying your time with your loved ones and entered 2017 feeling better than ever.

As we are officially in January, I thought it would be nice to reflect on my year and then talk a bit about my look for this post. If I could describe 2016 in one word, I think it would be "rollercoaster". There were ups and downs but overall, it was a really good year. Here are my personal reflections:

1) Letting go:

One of the first hard lessons I learned this year, was that letting go is not always a bad thing. Admittedly, it is something hard to do but if you recognize that something or someone is toxic for you and isn't contributing to your growth or happiness, then it's time to distance yourself. Negative vibes can bring you down, so it's important to take that step back and realize when you're around the wrong type of energy.

2) Me, myself and I:

2016 was definitely the year of "me". I learned how to make time for myself, practice self-love, self-care and surround myself with positive people. Little by little, I realized that it was okay to be selfish and isolate myself sometimes. Of course, I was still very social, but I had " me days", which I think made me even happier and more comfortable with myself.

3) Accept what I can't change:

Like everyone else, I went through experiences, both good and bad. However, I came to realize that everything happens for a reason and that overthinking or trying to fix every little issue isn't always the way to go. I stopped stressing myself as I understood that there are things I won't be able to change. And that's ok.

4) Making different types of friends:

As I said earlier in the post, I met some great people this year, whether they be my friends or my friends in the fashion industry. I remember watching a talk by my aunt and one thing that clicked to me in her video was when she said how important it is to have a variety of friends. Having friends with different passions, backgrounds and mindsets definitely made my 2016 that much better. I have learned so many things from all of them and I'm grateful as they all contributed to my personal growth.

5) Fashion:

My interest in fashion began in 2015 but I think this time was where I realized I really, really like it. My style has definitely become a tool for me to express myself creatively; this was a year where I stepped out of my comfort zone and experimented with all types of clothing and accessories. I can't tell you how many hours I spent in the day reading fashion articles, making style boards or watching runway shows on my computer haha.

And so, for this year's last post, I found it fitting to choose black and white as those were the two colors I wore the most this in 2016. This outfit was more on the elegant and chic spectrum; I wore a lace black top with an open back, and paired it with wide-legged palazzo pants and black pumps.

My favorite part of the look would definitely have to be my emerald and gold earrings. Out of every accessory I own, this pair is the most unique to me. The best thing about them is that I found them while thrifting at a store in downtown Toronto. It was always hard to find a look to accessorize them with, so imagine how happy I was when I noticed that it would look good with this particular outfit!

To stay within the minimalistic and simple theme, the photographer and I shot behind a beautiful building on my university's campus. It was really quiet that day, so we had the whole location to ourselves. Of course, it was freezing but I had to endure to get the good shots haha. Here are more pictures of the look below:

2016 was an amazing year. I am grateful for everything it has taught me, the opportunities it brought me, and the relationships I strengthened(old friends) and developed(new friends). I also want to thank you guys for keeping up with my blog for yet another year.

I am confident that 2017 will be equally as great. In terms of my resolutions(we always need those haha), I hope to keep growing as a person and work even harder towards achieving my dreams.

Thank you for reading! See you soon for another post.

With love,

Penda

Outfit details:

Top: Urban Outfitters

Pants: Missguided

Shoes: Zara

Earrings: Thrifted

Get the look!

Top:

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=40463549&category=SEARCH+RESULTS

Pants:

https://www.missguided.eu/pleated-wide-leg-trousers-white

Shoes:

http://www.zara.com/us/en/sale/woman/shoes/leather/embossed-leather-high-heel-shoes-c792117p3610306.html

Earrings:

Connect with me:

Instagram: @pendasarr
Snapchat: @pendouchi

Powder Pink

4:20:00 PM

Hey hey :) ! It's been a while but I'm back with a new fashion post! If you haven't already, check out my last beauty post here ...

Hey hey :) ! It's been a while but I'm back with a new fashion post! If you haven't already, check out my last beauty post here : http://www.pendasarr.com/2016/11/how-to-reduce-dark-spots-and-acne-scars.html.

One thing that I love about Toronto is that every corner has something special. I always pay attention to my surroundings because they help me with my photo ideas. The location for this shoot is actually a building I pass by on my way to class everyday . It was only a couple of weeks ago that I realized how its colors and overall architecture were actually very simple and minimalistic, just like my style.

So, after noticing how neat of a place it was, I scoped out the location and brainstormed outfit ideas. I don't know if I'm the only one who does this, but I like to envision potential looks when I'm in a place, just to see how it would fit in. I blame that on my obsession with Polyvore but we can talk about that in another post.

For this look, I wanted something monochromatic and simple, with just a dash of color. To stay within the "autumn/winter" theme, I chose to wear semi-mesh black culottes, paired with a light wool turtleneck, and bejeweled gold earrings and rings.

My favorite part of the outfit is of course, my powder pink heeled flats. I saw these whilst shopping at Zara(because yes it's my my 2nd home) and I just had to buy them! I love the suede texture of the shoes and the glossy heel, it's a cool style. It also helps that they're super comfortable to walk around in. Zara has other models too, these just stood out to me because of their unique color.

Also, I feel like I need to point out how cold it was that day haha. I seriously think it was like -20 degrees, but I really wanted to capture this look before I left for the holidays so I was like "ok, you're just going to have to endure, the final results will be worth it". And that, they were. I'm really happy with the outcome of the pictures ; I wanted to show how an all-black outfit and a colorful shoe can elevate a look. My neighbor's building was also the perfect backdrop, the scenery frames the outfit well, like in these photos below:

We were also lucky because that specific location had an array of buildings around it, so the photographer (https://www.instagram.com/abala_inc/) and I got to play with angles :

With that being said, I think I'm going to try and create some more looks with heeled-flats. They are my newfound obsession and I want to experiment with them.

Thank you for reading, see you soon!

Outfit details:

Turtleneck, culottes, shoes : Zara

Earrings: Broadway Jewelers.

Rings: Thrifted

Get the look!

Turtleneck:

http://www.zara.com/us/en/woman/basics/knitwear/turtle-neck-sweater-c765610p3661530.html

Culottes:

http://www.zara.com/us/en/woman/trousers/culottes/culottes-c733899p3938548.html

Shoes:

http://www.zara.com/us/en/woman/shoes/high-heels/block-heel-shoes-c269195p3609209.html

Earrings:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/287118143/gold-vintage-chandelier-earrings-gold?ref=market

Rings:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/464426742/dual-birthstone-ring-rose-gold-ring?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=gold%20rings&ref=sr_gallery_15

Connect with me:

Instagram: @pendasarr
Snapchat: @pendouchi

A Seat At The Table(?)

2:00:00 PM

As most of you may know, Solange Knowles' album, "A Seat At The Table" was released a few weeks ago. Knowles' records ...

As most of you may know, Solange Knowles' album, "A Seat At The Table" was released a few weeks ago. Knowles' records deal with the struggles of black womanhood, and touches upon the topics of anger, self-love, exclusion and healing. The title itself is what stood out to me because before even having a "listening party", I thought the album would be about breaking barriers and finding your spot at this so called table. To tie this to fashion and blogging, I named my post after the author's work.

Why, you may ask? Well, recently, I had a conversation with a very good friend of mine about the fashion industry and how hard it is to actually make a name for yourself. Look at it this way, the table is the industry and many are trying to make it to the top. However, how do you do that when the world of editors, bloggers, stylists and famous instagrammers is becoming increasingly saturated?

From my observations and experiences, I've realized comparing yourself to others in your field(whether it be professional or not) is one of the worst things you can do. Social media has a way of making us think that we should be as successful as the people whose posts we like or faces we see in publications. I think it's important to remind ourselves that everyone moves at difference paces, your path is not necessarily your friend's or celebrity/blogger you see.

Finally, I will say this: even if your craft is not recognized by thousands or millions of people, that doesn't mean it's not appreciated. If I take myself for example, blogging is something I do because it allows me to express myself creatively and provide content which I will ultimately be proud of. I'm grateful that people appreciate it, it's actually quite motivating. With that being said, I do hope that my work will one day get me my "seat" but I'm in no rush. It's important to take things step by step and once again, focus on yourself and what you can bring to the table(no pun intended).

Now, let's talk outfit of the day, haha! Apart from suede, I would have to say that fringes are one of the most popular trend in the fashion industry right now. I mean after all, why wouldn’t they be? This ornamental textile is the perfect way to polish your outfit and create an eye-catching look. Fringes have been around since the ‘70s. Admittedly, they were not as popular in the beginning of this decade but boy, are they making a comeback!

My piece on my outfit is actually a combination of suede and fringes. The jacket is open, no zip or buttons, just the fringed ends. I've had it for the longest time ever, I don't know why I don't wear it but that's definitely about to change. I also love the vest's color, as I've absolutely been loving brown/neutral tones lately.

I walked around in this outfit in a beautiful area - my school's campus! I love the sophisticated and clean feel it brings. I guess it makes walking to classes much nicer haha.

Like seriously, I can't get over this location *heart eye emoji*! On top of that, the building's colors somewhat matched my outfit's pieces, so that was cool too.