LBS at Coachella: The Recap (Part 2)

So I've already given you a run-through of my crazy first day in The Recap - Part 1. By day two, I had music festival fashion literally down to a science after seeing all the creative outfits and trends re-emerge in similar fashion. I also now officially knew my way around the festival grounds (and where to get a Wifi signal - c'mon 4G, don't fail me now!) Days 2 and 3 had more of the music acts I wanted to see so it was a ton of fun stage-hopping and dancing with strangers. Good times.

Here's what I got into on Days 2 & 3:

Day 2: Performance-Hopping

via @LoveBrownSugar on Instagram

For Day 2, I knew there'd be a ton of running around. Plus, it was a scorcher at 97 degrees so I sprung for a "Florence & The Machines" graphic tee from H&M, jean cutoff shorts from Forever 21 and a pair of Sam Edelman gladiator flats.

The crew headed to the 2 Chainz performance

There were so many great acts on Saturday. Everyone from 2 Chainz to Janelle Monae. I split my time between music performances, heading back to the H&M tent (I was addicted to shimmying down in that photo booth!) and taking street style pics.

Me & Nikita of Darling, Naturally

I even bumped into some old friends! Remember Nikita from our Drop The Dryer series? Yep, she was there in an amazing pair of printed shorts. 

In between shows and street style-snapping, I headed back to the H&M tent for another jam session in the video booth with Nikita and her friends...

After eating and going to a few more sets, I headed over to see my favorite - Janelle Monae.

Janelle played an amazing set. And proceeded to crowd-surf to close out her performance. Amazingness.

Day 3: Poolside Coachillin'

On the final day of Coachella, they rested. Well, not exactly but something close to that. Instead of slaving out in the hot desert festival grounds for the first half of the day, we partied it up at the Adidas Originals Do Over #Dochella Party. 

Finally time to whip out the swimwear!

The pool party took place at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs. Such a chic venue.

Photo-bomb! That's me all up in the pic with DJ Questlove

Guest DJ Questlove was on the 1's and 2's spinning everything from old school classics to original beats. 

Loved all the swimwear on display at the party. Such great colors and patterns.

This two-piece from H&M was such a huge hit, me and Kamaria both showed up wearing it. Such a great style for curvy girls. The high-waisted bottom hides imperfections and the top gives vintage pin-up glamour.

That's all folks! Thanks for tuning into my LBS at Coachella adventures and for those of you who helped me decide what to wear, you're life-savers! 'Til next music festival...

What festivals are YOU guys looking forward to this summer?

For more of my Coachella Street Style pics, head to VIBE Vixen HERE.

Cover Girls: Janelle Monae for Essence Magazine

My favorite ATLien songbird Janelle Monae graces the cover of Essence Magazine's May 2013 issue. In her feature, the flawless beauty discusses her decision to be unique, why she refuses to flaunt too much skin, and her definition of true beauty.

About her unique style:

“I made a decision to be unique [...] I like skirts and dresses just like everyone else, but I had a message I needed to put out there. It was up to me to show people and young girls there was another way.”

[I wanted to] “…redefine what it means to be sexy and what it means to be a woman. Showing my skin is not what makes me sexy [...] People don’t ask Jay-Z to take his shirt off when he rhymes.”

Related: NEWS: Janelle Monae is the New COVERGIRL

About what she considers beautiful:

“I love givers. I love when I find out that someone's given. I think people who give and give their time are some of the most beautiful people that I know.”


Take a look at the behind-the-scenes video over at Essence.com for more quotes and a sneak peek at her glam outfits.

What do you think about Janelle Monae's stance on not showing skin? Do you agree?

Source: Essence.com

Red Carpet Fashion: Black Girls Rock Awards 2012

Tonight BET Networks premiered the annual Black Girls Rock Awards and in true red-carpet fashion, our favorite females showed their support as well as their impeccable sense of style. Black Girls Rock is always one of my absolute favorite award shows, not just for the fashions but because these celebrities are supporting such an amazing cause. Empowerment of young females of color is so incredibly important so I make it a point to watch and support the show every year. Here are a few of my favorite looks from the red carpet:

Roc Nation songstress Bridget Kelly served it up on the carpet in a body-conscious black dress, statement jewels and her signature blunt bangs (done by celebrity hairstylist Keith Campbell)

Black was definitely the theme of the night. Lala Vasquez-Anthony showed up in a body-hugging Balmain black velvet number, a sophisticated updo and classic Louboutin black pumps.

Marsha Ambrosius was glowing in a fitted black blazer and statement belt, luscious curls, and rhinestone hoops.

Janelle Monae (who's a new spokesperson for Covergirl) looked amazing in her signature tuxedo "uniform" with a little diamond embellishment.

Taraji P. Henson broke the mold in a glittering gold DVF number. Super classy and well-fitted. Loved it!

Ciara went with an architectural silhouette and slicked back hair. Not gonna lie, I was a little confused by this look, but I'll let her live.

Meagan Good served a glowing post-wedding glow with tapered layers, a red lip and a full on black ensemble. She rocked a cropped turtleneck top and a flowing maxi skirt.

The hostesses of Black Girls Rock - Tracee Ellis Ross and Regina King pose with performer Keyshia Cole on the red carpet.

Per usual, Tracee Ellis Ross served a fierce face and a luscious head of curls. That berry lip is everything! Definitely doing a "Get The Look" for this one soon.

Who doesn't LIVE for Kerry Washington? I am here for her. Love this beauty look. She's giving a sophisticated updo, a red lip and a dainty beaded Marchesa cocktail dress.

For more pictures from the Black Girls Rock red carpet, head on over to LoveBrownSugar on Facebook. There are tons more. Leave comments and let me know your thoughts over there.

Photos by Shade Freeland of ShadedBlaque Photography

Which red carpet look was your fave? Soundoff below!

NEWS: Janelle Monae Is The New COVERGIRL

Photo Credit: www.JanelleMonae.com

From the day I first met musician and artist Janelle Monae back in the summer of 2010 on set of our  Honey Magazine April 2010 covershoot, I knew she was bound for even more greatness than she had already achieved.

Me w/Honey Editors & Janelle

2010 was a groundbreaking year for her career. She released her award-winning album The ArchAndroid (which subsequently became my all-time favorite summer anthem) and things continued to take off. Upon meeting her, I was overwhelmed by her beauty. She had such a striking face and such incredible style. As petite as she was, her presence was so incredibly large...and warm!

Related: Kickin' It Behind The Scenes Janelle Monae

Anyway, I'll stop the cloud of reminiscing to bring you the deets - my girl Janelle is the new face of COVERGIRL!  I am so incredibly proud to see an artist like Monae being featured in such an amazing way with one of the biggest beauty companies in the US. And the fact that she's a natural girl at that? *3 snaps in a Z formation*

About her new Covergirl contract, she tells Vogue “I believe in the idea of every woman finding their own beauty superpowers. I want to help redefine what it means to be a strong woman in the music and fashion worlds.”

She's gorgeous, inside and out. I can't WAIT to see her ads in my favorite glossies - well deserved!

Watch her Behind The Scenes video with COVERGIRL below:

Source: Vogue

Fashion Countdown: GLAMOUR Women of the Year

 Wow, I haven't done one of these in a while! I'm back at it ladies and gents. After seeing some of the  red carpet pics from GLAMOUR's 2010 Women of the Year Awards in NYC last night, I had to pose the infamous question to you all - FIERCE or FOOLISH? You decide...

1. Janet Jackson - FIERCE

I thought Janet Jackson looked stunning in her all black ensemble. She's donning a simple black gown but the side buckles and the luxe fur add just a hint of edge and extra glamour (no pun intended) to the ensemble...

Kickin' It: Fashion's Night Out 2010

Image courtesy www.eighty-vii.com

So I know it's super late and FNO 2010 is already 2 weeks past, but I had an AMAZING time with some awesome people. It was LoveBrownSugar.com's first meet up with friends of the blog and avid readers I've never met so I definitely have to spotlight the amazing time we had that night.

Image courtesy www.eighty-vii.com

We started the night off around 6:30pm at the Ralph Lauren store in hopes to see Janelle Monae perform. Little did we know that the line would be down the block, and she wouldn't be performing until 8:30!

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

So we said "deuces" and hopped to the next location to scout out free drinks and goodie bags...

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

We didn't have to go far! Next door at the Reiss store, they were passing out free cocktails and offering free beauty makeovers sponsored by Rimmel...

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

I promptly hopped into their London-like telephone booth and put on my fanciest British heirs...

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

Next impromptu stop landed us somewhere between Prince and Spring St in Soho, watching N.E.R.D perform in front of the Billionaire Boys Club store. Super live performance, even crazier crowd! From there we were headed to the 3.1 Phillip Lim/ Rag & Bone block party on Mercer.

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

We made a brief stop at the Camper store for, you guessed it, more free cocktails!

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

Cheers!

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

On our way to the block party, we peeked into the Marc Jacobs store and low & behold celebrity stylist June Ambrose appeared like a fairy fashion Godmother! She was styling shoppers at the chic downtown boutique as part of the FNO fun...

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

Next, we bumped into LoveBrownSugar style icon Tracee Ellis Ross. Love this woman! She looked stunning per usual, rocking a black two-piece with a poppin' pink lip...

Image courtesy Tia Hendricks

By 8:30 pm, we finally made it back to the Ralph Lauren store to see lil' miss Janelle Monae perform some of her hits live...

Image courtesy www.eighty-vii.com

After that, we hopped over to the Meatpacking district and bumped into the one and only Diane Von Furstenberg. A fashion legend and a real party girl. She seemed to be having a great time!

Image courtesy www.eighty-vii.com

And of course NY socialite and co-star of reality show The City, Olivia Palermo, made a brief appearance at the DVF store as well...

Our last stop was the Tory Burch store, but we were having too much fun to snap pics. Check out the rest of the night's pictures in the Facebook Album HERE. 

Special shoutout to Tia Hendricks and Shade of Eighty-vii.com for the awesome pics taken that night. I'd also love to thank all the wonderful friends, LoveBrownSugar readers, celebs and super-cool strangers that made FNO such a memorable experience. Be sure to join us next year for Fashion's Night Out 2011!