Warren and I went Mikki Taylor's book signing last Friday in the District. It's been months since I've felt so excited or so eager to learn. Her book, Commander in Chic, is an homage and guide to Mrs. Michelle Obama's style. The book gives loads and loads of tips on style and beauty. I tried to purchase the book over and over again for Kindle, but it didn't work. Luckily, I purchased it at Barnes and Noble so I could have it signed. Sweet. This book came out at the perfect time for me, as I am looking to get my work chic look together.
1. Always be photo ready. I had been happily self employed for the past couple of weeks. That equals hours of time to allot to various projects, crossing things off of to-do lists, and so on. This also equals being quite conservative with savings and barely looking decent. It was a typical Friday morning when I realized Mikki Taylor would be so close to home. As panic set in over my laxidasical new look, I realized that had my upkeep been consistant, I wouldn't have to flip out over instances like this.
10 Lessons:
1. Mikki has style running through her veins. Her mother was Sarah Vaughn's hair, makeup and fashion stylist for over 10 years. She opened her own hair salon after Mikki and her brother were born.
2. Know your history. This echoed Billy B.'s sentiments about being familiar with moments in style from the past. She referenced many other first ladies and their fashion stories, as well as a plethora of trends. If I could freeze time, I would have googled everything that I didn't know. And that was A LOT.
3. Be a lady. Understand what it means to be a woman. Put the cleavage away sometimes. Mikki spoke of the process of being the woman, and not taking that for granted.
4. "Don't take trends to seriously. Your more than a season of someone's style wins." -Mikki-ism, SO true. I can't get over some of the trends people buy into, then spend good money trying to be fashionable for the moment. But, if you love the look and you don't mind wearing the look after it has been deemed a faux pas, more power to you, sis!
5. Commander In Chic is a style diary, so you can carry it around with you, write in it, make notes, etc. She said she put lots of effort into the size of the book. I'll have to carry it around in order to grab many of the products and visit the stores that she mentioned. Can't wait!
6. Mikki is coming out with a line of nude nail lacquers for women of color, called Forever Nude Collection with Mikki Taylor. It's so hard to find those shades for us, and it's going to be essential in our beauty collections! At the time, she was wearing a shade called Commander in Chic, pictured above.
7." You should dress to entertain yourself!" Such a simple thought, such a no brainer, something that many of us rarely do.
8. I don't know why they are called cocktail rings. Fabulosity knows no hour! -M. Taylor
9. "You show me a woman with a closet full of clothes, and I'll show you a woman who doesn't know how to dress."-M. Taylor quoting an elder. It truly is about having convertible pieces that you can make look brand new over and over again. I must learn this craft!
10. When you're clear about works for you, you can shop anywhere. Ah, so true. Now, I just need to be clear about what works for my body.
Bonus: Mikki Taylor made it quite clear that God makes only one of us, and once we figure out what we're blessed to do, don't take that lightly! Go full throttle, and make it work! Don't settle. Ever. (She talks about this in chapter 10 of the book, and I'm going to highlight the hell out of it.)
Mikki also said she had a kitchen garden, which drove me wild! That's exactly what I do every year, and I can't wait to make it happen again in March. Overall, the book signing was one of the most awe inspiring hours I've spent in a long while. You can purchase Commander in Chic from Amazon or your favorite book store.