I’ve been on a journey of exploring my style and for the past couple of years I’ve enjoyed trying on different aesthetics and dipping my very reserved toe into whichever ‘Lyn’ I fancied myself that day. Sometimes she was Africana; with headwraps and long dresses, other times she felt like the business in her blazer combos – the other day, a lady, and on Saturdays, artsy fartsy. Many days she blended out, trying to just remain unseen in a tshirt and jeans combo.
In 2020 I culled my wardrobe and started from absolute love. Anything that I didn’t love wearing got the boot, leaving behind the bare base minimums and the height of blending in. Lots of black and navys remained, and only added on an as needed basis, and did so carefully. I didn’t ever want to do a shopping haul only to find that half the clothes didn’t quite feel right for me.
When Kampala Mode started in 2024, my style reflected that, with the baseline, unsure version of me. Lots of neutrals, unremarkable silhouettes and safe choices.
But when I interviewed Shwanda Kollection, the shiny jewelry at the Kiwatule store beckoned me in, but the clothes kept me coming back. For that episode I wore one of the Retrochix kimonos, and I loved how soft and floaty it felt on me.
The brand’s style is associated with the Nigerian variety of casual luxury; loose two piece sets, great fabric and punchy colours. The “rich auntie vibe” has been my favorite for a minute now. Women like Tracy Ellis Ross, Solange Knowles, and Kimora Lee Simmons have long shown me exactly who I would love to be when I grow up: a deep appreciator of the arts, and an enjoyer of life and great style. They are women whose choices in enjoyment vary from the norm. While everyone is getting rooted in routine or vapid flexes, they were expanding. They went where they wanted, married whoever they wanted and wore whatever they wanted. Their peers were trying to appeal to the trends of the time and these women were trying on whatever fit their fancy at that time. I have always been quite timid – being a bigger girl – of being seen, but those daring women fascinated me.
When I first wore the palazzo pants at Retrochix, the first thing that stood out was the feel of the fabric. It was that feeling when you’ve just had an “everything shower” and are laying on fresh set of sheets. Daphne Shwanda, the designer, listened keenly as I felt my way around the pants and took notes on what I needed to adjust about it for my comfort. I loved the double pleating on the side and as a girl with hipdips, it was so flattering. The fact that the fabric was so shiny and soft makes all the pleating feel so luxurious, almost like if I needed to I could make two separate outfits out of just these pants. That’s hella luxurious.
Over time, I’ve explored the aesthetic with Retrochix by my side during Season 2 of Kampala Mode. Sometimes it was dresses, sometimes it was pants, but I kept coming back to the palazzo pants.
Emerald green is one of my favorite colours, and has always been significant of growth, to me. So when we got my pair in green and such a flattering silhouette, I kept coming back to it.
I have worn them on set, at home, to parties, traveling, to drinks, to the office, to church. After the wardrobe cleanse I had so much black in my life, and the emerald colour shot some energy back into it.
When I noticed it would be such a staple that I got the green stone statement ring from Shwanda Kollection, and I was well on my way to developing something that I felt was “me”.
Since then, I have added some more bright green jewelry, a kimono, and plan to add some more. My strictly gold collection quickly became more green, brassy and earthy.
On the colour wheel green and red are complementary colours, they contrast as naturally as bright colours should. So even while feeling like red was such a stand out moment, it begged to be next to the green. Red lippies, copper hair, a tiny red purse. I enjoyed adding these accessories to my growing green wardrobe.
My friends one time knew me as ‘strictly black’, and while that colour remains my baseline, I’m ready for a more vivid life, Retrochix has opened me up to that.
atwiine@satisfashionug.com
