Brown Betty & Brotherly LOVE

Image: Tgbusill

Image: Moocatmoocat. LOVE in the Details.

One of my favorite places in the City of Brotherly Love is no such thing at all--Rittenhouse Coffee Shop is a romantic ruin remembering another time, quietly telling its tale or reinventing it everytime someone wonders outloud or wistfully past the hidden historic facade at 1904 Sansom Street.  I hit it up this weekend, my sweetheart in hand, courtesy of Capogiro Gelato. Seriously, this artisan gelato will leave you reconsidering the purpose/joy/gall of any life lived without a spoonful of Caopgiro's take on heaven in your mouth at least every half hour. I mean, how could life be anything but right with Black & Stormy gelato followed by Rosemary Goat Milk, chased down with Pummelo or (more like, and) Meyer Lemon with Grey Goose??? Or stick to a classic. The Vanilla is Love. Lime with Cilantro is quite refreshing with a tangy zest...

And once you have your sweetheart melting your hand+mouth+heart away, it'd be silly to imagine totally sublime without a pit-stop some romantic+real place where style matters.

Norrinda Brown Hayat, Co-Founder & Owner of Brown Betty Dessert Boutique. 

Image: Laura Novak 

Am so LOVING Arcadia Boutique at Manning & 20th Street. Eco-chic that doesn't skimp on fabulousness. Think vintage inspired handbags and accessories that will leave a sweet dimple in your wallet (hello nyc shoppers) and smile. Arcadia is also hosting a Trunk Show March 11..another trip to Philly...did i hear an amen?

Ok, so now to really eat your way through Philly (where my real foodie-fashionistas at? i'm talking fly chicks with mad appreciation for hunger+style)

Make sure you lunch at 20 Manning (do the duck) and grab cupcakes at Beautiful Mom+Daughter Brown Betty Dessert Boutique. Trained as a lawyer, this Foodie-Fashionista opened shop with mom, Linda

and named the shop in honor of her grandma, Elizabeth. Origin Stories Don't Get Sweeter--Nor Cupcakes Creamier:) 

Ok. 

You now have permission to pass out at Rittenhouse Square. Keep Calm. Recover/Repeat. Carryon.

Gossip Aside--Did you catch the war-logs dishing dirty about Luxury tsar Arnault's (as in famed LVMH and infamous House of Dior, as in Galliano's former employer) bid for family owned Hermes? Great Read. And Yes, Yes, Paris Fashion Week is sounding out loud. But you can get that any+everywhere. Here, you get fashion dipped+kissed in KoKOFIFI chocolate. Even Paris can't give you that;)

Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me Away: Stone LOVE.

"Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me Away". Famed & BreathTaking Wild Horses of Sable Island,
Photographer: Roberto Dutesco.

Gambian Kora Star Jobarteh Malang 
Performing in UnionSquare Subway. Image: Joe Joseph. 

There are many things to Love about NYC. My favorites are the smallest pleasures. The subway. A walkable city. And music in the subway. Hopping off the 6 to beautiful Kora Music in sub-zero weather? Priceless.  Mastercard cue--this is where you pass me a phat paycheque, LoL!

Another favorite is Crosby Street. If a man were a street, or a street a man--Crosby would be one fine gentleman. Maybe I could get money there too if i name my unborn son Crosby? Think we've got a good pattern here, LoL.  Heart. Heart. Heart: Dutesco Art, 13 Crosby. Meet me there why don't you? We'll catch the sunrise with wild horses on Sable Island and get swept away in a magic Kora tune.

Photographer: Roberto Dutesco. 

Portrait of A Woman

The last post got me scratching around and I found treasure. Hope these fill you as much as I loved unearthing them...The images below were created by Lehmann-Nitsche, Robert and titled, Portrait of Woman, Caduveo Slave, with Face and Body Paint In Costume and with Ornaments, 1904

This Image was created by Luit. Mason Shufeldt in Malagasy, titled, "Man, English Teacher, Native Wife with Face Paint, and Two Native Men, Slaves, in Costume Near Wood Gate and Brush Structure on Beach.  No date provided.

How Deep Is The Ocean? How Far Is A Journey To The Sun?

Monae Take-OFF.  Image: Billboard.

Thought I'd post a quickie about a song i'm really deeply in love with right now--How Deep Is The Ocean? I was hovering above the Atlantic when i discovered (hee-hee, my post-colonial nod to soappropriate use of that word, LoL) Eric Clapton's cover--LOVE that man!  And how much inspiration do stylish divas Janelle Monae and Corrine Bailey Rae (L, Image: New York Post) sound out in the curve and shape of their haunting voices and thought provocative fashion?  Am especially thinking of everything said and left unsaid by Monae's tux-lux uniform.  I wonder tho, what does she rock up wearing in the morning to pick up a carton of milk? Monae's Tightrope is SICKness incarnate but Sincerely, Jane leaves me in a cold shiver that's disturbingly beautiful.  Corrine's I'd Do It All Again is heart-wrenching. I'm actually quoting the collective maw of Youtube's comment section (apparently the maw is not always gaping), "Wow, I think I could actually cry my entire body weight worth of tears, everything to do with her and this performance is so beautiful it's actually heartbreaking." 

But of course I gotta stuff your earlobes with something ancient and real proper. KoKOFIFI is seriously, completely and utterly heartsore for anything recorded by Alan Lomax, circa early 20th Century. His recordings of Negro Prison Songs (try I don't want no bald headed woman/cuz she too mean/Oh Lord/She too mean by Southern African-American prisoners) leave me in a fix; anything by Bessie Jones makes you want to soar (not to mention making Moby's career!)  and The Macintosh County Shouters' "Move Daniel" is a real live jive that'll zap something raw outta you. 

On Beauty

A Thing Of Beauty: U'Luvka Vodka. Don't Care What's Inside, Just Gimme That Bottle!

The thing you really have to love and respect about good design is it's democracy. Beautiful design is ubiquitous, it can be found in anything, anywhere.  The human yearn for beauty is not that different from the desire and lust for life affirmations that cannot be bought--think of freedom, love, inspiration, hope or joy. Fashion can be frivolous and scandalous (Um, Galliano anyone?) at moments, but I've spent a lot of time throughout my life wondering why and how fabric bits compounded in a certain stitch can bring me so much pleasure. I don't know. I also pull back from too much thought.  Honestly I don't want to confine the magic of beautiful design to a finite logarithm. I'd rather wallow at the bottom of a gorgeous bottle of something delicious--contemplating all the while the depths of life's beauty and our human capacity to appreciate it.

Marolo Grappa & Camomile. 

If This Bottle Is Not Sexy,

Not Sure What is the What. 

Speaking of beauty--the support and love so many of you have offered KoKOFIFI is truly a novel On Beauty (Love her essays). Thank you for your continued encouragement. In your honor, tonight, I toast a delicious, delectable bottle of South African Honey Sun (mead)--Iqhilika--It will be noted a sin if you die before tasting this.
And for those who haven't yet, visit the shop. We might just delight you with something Beautiful. Bellissimo! 

KoKOFIFI Shop. NOW OPEN

KoKOFIFI SHOP. NOW OPEN

Holding breathe and finally able to share our KoKOFIFI dream (or the first iteration of it atleast) with you outloud. We are so proud.  Feel like I'm presenting you with my new-born... Handle her with CARE. Shower her with LOVE. And GROW her with us--spank her when she needs it (sorry PC crowd, I'm African, what can i say?) and let the girl know she done good when she did. What them old wise ones say? It takes a village?

Meet KoKOFIFI...La Boutique.

Turning Heads: Qatar Turbans, SePedi Scarves & Fashion Statements

Qatar Royalty: Sheika Moza, Second Wife to the Emir of Qatar. This Woman Gets Fierce. LOVE how she reinterprets a fashion moment to her definition of style and how she wears glamour without overexposed navels+bits. So Alluring!

Vogue Nippon March 2011.

The barrista at uber-hip coffee shop in Hells Kitchen, Culture Espresso Bar, had the absolute hippest turban on--told me it took her more than an hour to complete the splendid contraption.  Honestly, as an African, it was a shock that something so taken for granted would require that intensity of love labor +pins. How many African women do you imagine spending more than 10 minutes tops to get a headscarf perfect? But it did make me think about the universality of headscarfs and turbans as a fashion statement. I'm loving what some bold divas are doing to redefine the look and zap some modern girl glitz to a time-old up-do.

Image at L?  Just Because. Raquel Zimmermann channeling desert inspiration for Vogue March 20011 Nippon.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE...

Tradition. Winnie Malapela on Her Wedding Day. Always Been in LOVE with Pedi Women's Grace & Style Flair.