The 2000s glamour of Old Nollywood

“Yes! The 2000s glamor is having
a major moment right now……
One of the biggest influences
of that era on this part of the world
was old Nollywood.”
Bella naija

As fashion enthusiasts and lovers know, fashion styles tend to come back from time to time, showing us that what we might have considered tacky or outdated, would soon become ‘in thing’ in years to come. Just look at what is happening with y2k fashion trends.

For those who may not know, “y2k” stands for “year 2000”. This term is used in fashion in reference to trends and fashion pieces that were considered popular in the early 2000s. If you are old enough to remember, you would know what I’m talking about: the Kitten heals, bright bottoms, colourful sunglasses, baguette bags, baby tees, the list goes on.

Now at days, we see this sense of style resurfacing once more, with several sorts of people expressing their love of the y2k period by incorporating some of its nostalgic pieces, and I’m loving it!!

All this nostalgia with the y2k trends is taking me back to how the Nigerian actors and actresses (especially the actresses) would dress in the Nigerian shows and movies of that time: it’s what we as Nigerians like to call old Nollywood.

Oh yes! From skin-tight mini skirts to halter tops and huge sunglasses, the baddies of Nollywood carried the y2k trend heavily on their shoulders during that era…..and did it well too. It is always fascinating and rather amusing to look back on what some of those actors in the Nollywood movies wore during that time. In 2021, some people that choose to look back at that time would ask, “what are they wearing?” or “that outfit is horrendous. What were they thinking?” In some cases, I agree with the previous statements; there are some outfits I see in the films of old Nollywood that make me laugh out loud in hysteria, questioning the fashion sense of the actors. However, at that time, those sometimes questionable fashion choices were the general trends: the colourful pants, animal print, bold accessories, and so much more. These trends are what gave old Nollywood its staple as the years went on.

As earlier mentioned, we are currently witnessing a resurface of the trends of that old Nollywood era. Just check your favourite social media apps like Tik Tok and Instagram. Some are choosing to emulate the style to the fullest. An example is when a party theme is dedicated to the trend, expecting guests to dress like the actors of the era. Other interested persons find only a few items of that style era worth wearing.

Well, I have been witnessing and enjoying the frenzy around the style of the y2k period. So I decided to style some of my friends like old Nollywood baddies. It was a fun experience: researching outfits of that time and trying to capture the old Nollywood feel through clothing.

Here are the looks:

So that’s it! For now at least.

So what do you think of the outfits?

Are you one of those people that have been incorporating clothing pieces of the y2k era into your wardrobe? Is that an aesthetic you admire? Or is the trend not for you?

You guys are free to share your thoughts and more in the comment section below. I would love to see them and get a chance to interact with you, and if you have any question, just let me know.

I really enjoy making these sort of posts for you guys. I hope I can make some more of this for you. Also, let me know some other topics you’d like me to cover on the blog.

I think it has even inspired me to throw a party dedicated to the era……maybe later in life, only God knows. It would be exciting.

Alright, thank you for reading. Later lovelies!! God bless.

Your body is a Masterpiece

“I am beautifully and wonderfully made
by God, the one true Master.

Ergo, I am a Masterpiece.”
Chika Yvonne

You might be thinking, ‘this is different from your other posts’. You’re not wrong; I mostly just style outfits and discuss them. However, I wanted to discuss this topic because………let’s just say growing up was tough the way I was.

I was a chubby child. I was always, told it was a bad thing. Even made fun of for being that way. This then led me to hate my body because I always thought that my body wasn’t amazing because others didn’t think my body was amazing. I was completely wrong. So in my mid-teens, I decided to take exercising seriously and even went on a diet. I did lose weight but my perception of me was still negative. This was because I would look at other women and want their type of physique, often comparing my body to theirs. Their body types were adored by the public, and so because I didn’t have that body type, I thought I would never be adored. I was wrong yet again.

I have noticed that my problem was, I let other people’s views and thoughts affect how I see and love myself. I let what they said (or didn’t even say) determine if my body was worthy of being called beautiful. I can’t even blame them, I blame myself for hating myself.

I eventually grew out of it because I decided ‘why should I allow what others say about my body to determine if I love it or hate it? Why can’t I just accept that my body is beautiful no matter what anyone thinks?’. I won’t lie and say that it was easy to accept my body as beautiful, but as I’ve grown I’ve embraced who my physique and learned to love myself: taking care of my body, wearing clothes that make me feel amazing and most of all ACTUALLY loving myself because (as cheesy as it sounds) I’m the only me in this whole world. LIMITED EDITION!

But you all get the picture. I know it can be difficult for some to accept their body as gorgeous, but it is. You are. So as I dedicate this blog to several body types in appreciation of their beauty, want you to realise that it isn’t just one body type that is a masterpiece, all are. Appreciate yourself too darling because you are a masterpiece!!

I just want to say thank you to all the girls who allowed me to style and model them. Special thanks to my friend Kim for inspiring this post!

This was so fun. If you guys want to see one dedicated to guys, if I get up to 30 likes for this post, I’ll make a post dedicated to the guys.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Stay tuned for my next post. Bye for now!!

How to Wear Two Different Prints together

“Take risks! I’m
embracing bold
prints.”
– Hannah Simone

Often times, people run away from incorporating prints to their outfits, choosing to take the road commonly followed and keep their outfits plain and simple. Other times when they do wear print, it’s kept to a minimum, so that they do not end appearing deplorable. You would hardly find people who use different prints & patterns together in an outfit simply because they don’t know how and they rather do something that they know how to do, even if it is generic.

Nevertheless, today I am going to be showing you some simple steps on how to pair two (nevermore than two) different prints and make the outfit work.

We will be looking at how to make prints work with:
1. The same colour of prints
2. Different coloured prints.

1. Prints of the same Colours.

If there is one thing I love to talk about when styling outfits, it’s balance. Whether dealing colours or textured, balance is something to always be considered, even with print. This so you don’t have too much or too little of a certain element in your attires.

When you want to pair to prints together, do not go for too much of a type of print – if one of your clothing items has a tiny and multitudinous print, then choose another item with a bold print.

For instance, in this photo you can see how I styled these two black and white printed clothing. The print at the top is more dispersed while at the bottom there is a more repeated print.

These two prints compliment each other. They both bring their certain aspects to the outfit – the stripes give of facile, calm feel while the printed skirt appears exaggerated and lively.

These aspects from the blouse and the skirt come together, creating balance and leave you looking exquisite.

2. Prints of different colours

Now when it comes to pairing prints of different colours, it is best to pair the busy print with a black & white print.

As mentioned above, it is always best to achieve balance when pairing two different patterns, and that is exactly what the black and white print would achieve when paired with a coloured print.

In the picture, the outfit the model has on shows how this is done.

It aids in calming down the busyness of the coloured print, allowing the model to appear chic and sophisticated.

Pairing two busy coloured prints would lose the balance in an outfit, making it appear exorbitant and tasteless.

All in all, this post is not to bash all those who choose to take the easy route of lacking print in their outfits, because there are some outstanding print-less wears that leave me in awe.

But this is to inform people that you don’t have to be afraid of mixing prints up once in a while.

With these tips, you can combine two different prints in other ways – between clothes & accessories, shoes, and so on. Even men can use these tips and try out prints for themselves, don’t leave it to the women to try something new! Prints are a fun way to let your creativity soar when styling an outfit.

So what do you think of the Outfits?

Are you going to take the road less traveled and try to pair separate prints together, or would you rather keep prints in your looks to a minimum?

You guys are free to share your thoughts and more in the comment section below. I would love to see them and get a chance to interact with you, and if you have any question, just let me know.

Wait before you go, I have an announcement!

First I just want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me in starting up and running this blog through its first year. And to the readers, old and new, thank you and God bless you all.

So in celebration of Chika Styled this being a year old, I want to give you the readers a chance to be a model and have your very own styled outfit posted on my blog in my new blog series: Still Stylish In Quarantine!!! Let me explain…

So the corona virus is ravaging the world and people are forced to stay at home to reduce the spreading. However, that doesn’t mean you have to look bad for the whole quarantine. In this blog series, it will feature some of the best outfits styled by you guys and will be featured on my blog. If you are interested here’s how you can submit your styles:

Style an outfit on yourself or on someone else and take a picture of it (great quality pictures please!).
Send it to my email chikayvonne@outlook.com and make the subject line “Still Stylish In Quarantine.” In the e-mail, with the picture attached to it, include name of the person who styled the outfit, the name of the person who took the picture, the name of the style and your location.
I will select the top 3 outfits that are the most stylish for that period (this will be posted bi-weekly) and display them on my blog series.

Picture for the first round are to be sent from today till the 26th of May. The next round will begin right after the top 3 have been posted.

See this as a way to ease the tension of the lockdown. Have some fun by expressing your most creative and stylish self through your clothes. Remember, this is a Fashion blog so I will only be choosing the most fashion-forward styles to post.

I would love to see each of your seperate and unique ways of styling.

If you have any more questions, just comment down below.

Alright, so till next time lovelies! Can’t wait to see your pictures.

When Rain Falls, Be Vibrant

“Try to be a rainbow
in someone’s cloud.”
-Maya Angelou

Most people when they see rain, it brings them feelings of dread and disgust, focusing on only the negatives the situation brings. This also makes these individuals feel slightly nonchalant when it comes to picking an outfit for that rainy day: going for whatever seems comfortable, even if they end up appearing lazy and unpleasant.

However, in today’s post, I am opposing this way of thinking and following another option – a more vibrant one that is!
For this look, I made sure to put forth the model’s bubbly side by incorporating some bright items, such as the bright orange trousers, with the red purse and matching shoes.

This choice of attire brings a certain dynamism, which opposes the dull environment that appears prior, during or even after the rain falls. Adding these colourful pieces allow you to truly stand out like you were always born to.

You could even end up being a satisfying sight for sore eyes that are fed up with how monotonous their day seems to be.

Nevertheless, even though one wishes to be bright and playful in their choice of clothing during a rainy day, it does not allow the person to come out looking like a hot mess. Balance is key in instances dealing with bright colours. For example, the black blouse used in this outfit calms down the liveliness the wild colours from the clothing pieces bring.

All in all, even when raindrops begin to fall, do not let that get you down, especially when it comes to setting out an ensemble for the day.

See that day like any other that God has blessed you with and rock that day like I know you can. Make those drab days fun with some vibrant colours.

So what do you think of the Outfit?

When it’s a rainy day, do you think you can add some vibrant colours, or do you think that is too much?

You guys are free to share your thoughts and more in the comment section below. I would love to see them and get a chance to interact with you, and if you have any question, just let me know.

Also, you guys can connect with me via social media. Just click any of the social media icon links above or below the page and it will take you directly to my page.

Well that’s it for now guys. Thank you for all your support so far. God bless. Later loves.