10 Signs That You’re a Feminist.

Hate to break it to you, F-word haters, but you're probably more of a feminist than you think.

Why is it that strong, empowered women, who believe in equal pay and equal rights, eschew the "feminist" label? That's the very question Allison Rapson and Kassidy Brown are trying to answer with their initiative to re-brand the movement. (Marie Claire interviewed the duo in the magazine's March issue). They hope to show people that feminism does not belong just to women, but to everyone. The term is not about gender-bashing but equality for all. Check out these 10 signs that show you're a total feminist.

1. You believe you deserve to be paid the same amount as any man for the same job

2. You believe that women’s careers are just as important as their male counterpart's.

3. You think it’s bullsh*t when someone reduces your impassioned reactions to PMS.

4. You believe in equal partnerships.

5. You believe in women having access to affordable birth control.

6. You realize looking good is all about feeling good.

7. You believe in a woman’s right to choose anything.

8. You think it's crap that powerful women are sometimes reduced to a label frequently heard on a playground.

9. You know how to take care of yourself and take pride in doing so

10. You’re not just about women’s rights, but for equal rights for all.

Vintage Inspired bow turbans by MFC

Hair turbans are one of the most popular accessories to create bold fashion statements. Hair turbans can be worn as the central piece of a fabulous fashion outfit.

During the weekend, 3 New Yorkers requested for turbans and we created vintage inspired bow turbans for them.

Turbans have become staples in the closets of many fashionistas. It seems as though when it comes to turbans, the bigger the print, design and embellishments used, the better.

The beauty of this MFC design is the versatility. The back of the dress can be worn as the front. The front can be worn as the back.
We made the model wear hers backwards at African fashion and design week and our client switched her own look, she also decided to complete the look with a vintage inspired customised bow turban.

Fola Daniel Adelesi: Don’t Blame Those Who Don’t Support Your Dreams

Having a dream is very important but beyond the dreams, achieving them is the real thing. I recently said that the world does not honour noble intentions. It only respects results. Some years ago, I saw a video titled ‘the greatest inventions that were never achieved.’ Ideas can be lofty and you may also sound grandiloquent while expressing the ideas, but we need much more than the grammatical colouration and packaging. We want to see it happen.

Why is it that some people have great dreams and all they ever have is the dream with no result to show for the dreams? We can go on with a long list of reasons the dreams of people do not come to pass. In some countries of the world, including my own unique country, Nigeria, people blame the failure of their dreams on the government or the society. There are people who think the failure to actualize their dream was because of the family they were born into, or the circumstances surrounding their birth.

A few others really think that if they had been born into a wealthy family, they would have been able to achieve their dreams easily. That may not be so far from the truth, but it could also have turned out differently. Some of the people who start out on the platform of wealth are so comfortable that they will never be forced to think as hard as you are thinking. You don’t have it all so your survival instinct is forcing some creative juices out of you. If I will put it in another way, I should say it is pressure induced creativity.

It does not even matter if it is pressure induced creativity or not. I always appreciate the fact that people are thinking. So many people think their dreams are not being achieved because of the people who have refused to help them. They have presented wonderful ideas to some people, who in their opinions have the resources to help, but these people always come up with one excuse or the other and never help.

Some people even make promises to you and they allow you to relax. By the time you are completely relaxed, you suddenly realize that a lot of time has passed and nothing has happened. When you get back on your feet to follow up, you realize nothing was going to happen in the first place.

I have been there. I have spoken to people about my dreams. On several occasions I have shared how I intend to do some businesses or even run organizations that will strictly mentor teenagers and help them to become purposeful in life. I can’t count how many proposals I have written with tons of emails already exchanged. Some of those conversations start on a great note with some promises. At the end of it all you just discover that you have been dispensing some energy that you ought to conserve.

The natural tendency is to get bitter with some of those people. It’s even worse if they are your relatives and you see them on daily basis doing good or even living large. Sometimes you may even calculate in your head that what this person spends in a month is far more than the capital you are requesting. If you are even going to achieve that dream in your heart, one of the things you need to avoid is being bitter with those people. If you ask me why, I’ll tell you that bitterness is too acidic for both you and the dreams that you carry. It’s like a pregnant woman taking alcohol and gulping it like water.

Never blame the people who don’t support you over the dreams of your heart. With or without them, if you don’t make them the focus of your life, the dreams can be achieved. You also need to remember that they were not the people who put the dreams in your heart. They had no idea how the dreams got there and when they also choose not to help, they will have no idea how the dreams will materialize.

You owe your dream a duty to stay committed to it and keep thinking, modifying, brainstorming, consulting and making propositions until the dream is achieved. I have seen people whose dreams became a reality and they are indeed grateful to those people who refused to help them. In fact, they say that if those people had helped them when they wanted the help, they may not have done much in life. Some of those other people that you are also blaming for not helping you are probably those who would have destroyed the dreams if they got on board to help. A few of them might take over everything from you or just choke the idea to death.

It is your dream, not theirs. If no one else believes in you, I do. I also know that the dreams you have been nurturing will become a reality so long as you keep working at them. If you choose to keep blaming those who have not helped you or are not helping you, your energy that could be used on getting the job done will be expended on blaming and fighting people.

Some of them will come back to say they are sorry they did not help or they may watch from a distance. Just know that their help is not the constant factor in the achievement of your dream. It is a variable. You are the mother of that dream. You must nurture it, watch it grow and eat your reward when it comes. At that point there will be no other person coming to claim that they did it for you, thus having to remit some of your rewards!

                                               ----------Piece by Fola Daniel Adelesi------------

Tales of a fashion designer.....Bank Palava

Bankers parade everyday, marketing and asking sweet citizens like us to come and open an account. I opened a corporate account with Bank D, I was really excited and felt like I was finally becoming a responsible entrepreneur, it's so unprofessional to have people pay money into a personal account when you have a registered company, so you can imagine my joy on that very random day when I was given a cheque book with my company's name on it, i felt like a little Dangote, I had taken another step, no matter how small it was and it felt damn good. My relationship with Bank D was terrible, they kept deducting a certain amount of money from the account every month. My entire family bore the brunt as I complained bitterly every month telling them I had been deceived by Bank D's advert, which by the way was really catchy. After some months, I sent a mail to their head office in Lagos, they apologised and said the marketer probably did not explain the terms and conditions of operating a corporate account with them. The next day, a polite lady representing Bank D called me and asked if I wanted them to close the account, I politely said "Yes". That was the end of the relationship between Bank D and MiDe Fashion County.

On another random day, two bankers representing Bank S paid me a visit, they explained to me that I was on the bank's list, their bank was interested in Mi'De Fashion County and would like me to open an account with them. They blabbed and blabbed, I starred and starred. I told them ''I would think about their offer". That wooing ended that day because I never opened the account, so there was no relationship with Bank S.

My best friend told me about his pleasant relationship with bank F, so I decided to try Bank F. I opened the account successfully. I started operating the account and my experience was pleasant until this year when I sent my P.A to withdraw some cash and she called with a sad news "MiDe Fashion County's account had been frozen". I slowly said "Okay" and went to Bank F to get some explanations. I got to Bank F and I had to wait for minutes because according to the customer care rep, the bank's server was down. I was then told the account had been frozen because one of the reference forms from one of my referee's bank was not returned. To add salt to the injury, the customer care rep was not affable. She acted like she was doing me a favour and that was supposed to be her job.

As I left the bank, I wondered why the bank didn't send me an email or text to let me know my account may have issues and state clearly that one of the reference forms was not sent back to the branch and let me know the consequences. I was not warned or advised to get another reference form signed by another referee. I had even credited my account the previous day and no one told me the account was frozen, when I said this in the bank, I was told it was a debit freeze. Translation: I can pay money into the account but I can't withdraw. 

The following week, I managed to get another referee to sign my form. It's the 18th day of February and my account is still frozen. Is this how banking should be? I ask this question while I patiently wait for my account officer to call with some good news.

Fashion...Design...Mi'De...Colours.

Bow neckline detailed bridal party dress
inspiration: Hues of colours

Front View

Back view

Our designs are sketched by yours sincerely. At Mi'De Fashion County, we sketch, we offer you professional opinions on designs that flatter your figure, you choose the design and we produce using any lovely fabric of your choice, local or foreign.
At Mi'De Fashion County, we celebrate women of all sizes. There is no discrimination in our fashion county.

Show us some love and like our facebook page-www.facebook.com/MiDeFashionCounty
Follow us on twitter-@midefashion_c
Subscribe and join our blackberry Channel-Channel Pin:C002629E0
Chat directly with team MFC- 327E7E19
Please kindly note that this pin is dedicated to all things "MiDe" and business.

Basic tips on how to wear Midi Skirts.

Some people say midi skirts are hard to wear but you can prove them wrong. Here's how to make a midi skirt cute and fashionable for any body type.

In case you weren't sure, a midi skirt is a skirt that hits below the knee and above the ankle.

Other tips:

-Make sure your waist is cinched when wearing a midi skirt and wear a heel to keep you from looking frumpy.
-Petites should wear a midi skirt that hits closer to the knee than to the ankle.
-If you dress your midi up for night or work, think about showing a bit more skin to balance the coverage of the skirt.
-For a fun, daytime look, tuck a tunic into your midi skirt. Just make sure it's a very thin material.
-If you're curvy or want to disguise your bottom half, choose an A-line midi.
-A chiffon blouse always pairs well with a midi.
-If you're tall, you can play around with where your midi hits.

Tales of a fashion designer...The hustle.

I have pondered and asked myself if sharing this experience will make any difference, if the word “Integrity” can come alive again just by sharing my experience. It will take a lot to revive our corrupt system.

I applied for a fashion competition, I took a chance and I asked myself “what’s the best or worse thing that could happen?” I replied myself “you get to be among the top 10 or you don’t”. The competition required us to create a piece inspired by the company organizing the competition. After glancing at their website for several minutes, inspiration struck, I got inspired by the company’s logo. I rushed to my fabric supplier, searched through and got the perfect fabric for my inspiration, it was chiffon, it was soft and I was excited. I looked through my sketches and picked a feminine design with an A-line silhouette. One cut led to another cut, one stitch led to another stitch and Voila!!! My piece was ready. The second phase was the photo shoot, I hired a beautiful model, after several clicks by the photographer, my sketch became alive and was ready to be sent via email to the company. I was asked to write briefly on what inspired my design; I did and attached my photographed design.

One day later after my application submission, I received an email from the company that I had been selected to be part of the exclusive top 30 to get an audition. I was excited and thankful; the audition was to take place in Lagos. I arrived Lagos on a Saturday; I rested on a Sunday and made all necessary arrangements to hire a cab that will take me to the venue on Monday. The email warned me about lateness, the time for audition was 8am, I was told if I came later than 8am, I would be denied access into the venue. I am not an “African Time fan”, the word irritates me, so I try as much as possible to stick to my time and respect the time of others. I woke up by 4am, by 4:30am, the cabman was around to pick me up and then we headed to Victoria Island. I decided to wake up early to avoid the Lagos traffic and I was happy I did, it was better I arrived earlier than 8am than late. I was the first to get to the venue; I arrived by 5:10am. It was still a little bit dark and really quiet, after standing for 10 minutes, a cab stopped, then a guy came down, I knew he was a designer. We stood together for 20 minutes and then he started a friendly conversation. He was a nice fellow; we talked about the industry and its challenges. He suggested we hang out somewhere till it was a few minutes to 8am.

By 8am, there was a crowd; we were more than 30 designers, that did not bother me. Then from past 8am to 2pm, designers still strolled into the venue. What happened to the rules and regulations of the audition? I remained quiet and listened to other designers complain about the organization of the audition. It was 2pm and auditions were yet to start. We were then given a “term and condition” form to fill. It took 4 hours to make up the presenter and I thought “Wow!!! This is what a reality show must feel like”. By 2:30pm, the renowned designers who were going to judge us arrived; I was too tired to even feel any excitement. I listened to all the young designers complain, It was supposed to be an interesting experience, it turned out to be an ugly experience”, Success is definitely not easy, I thought as I observed. A few minutes later, a lady came out and started calling out names, I expected I was going to be the first to get an audition since I was the first designer to fill the attendance form and show my two original designs which was another criteria for the audition but it turned out, they had already ticked some names on the paper, she kept on looking through the paper and calling out selected names. The designers started complaining again, I was calm because I really needed to save my strength for my audition. After more hours, the names were still called in that random manner. I didn't understand what was happening.

By 7pm, the lady stopped coming out, then the designers left were now paranoid including myself who doesn't reside in Lagos, I still had to figure out how I was going to get to where I was staying. Next thing, another lady comes out and starts selecting people randomly, she didn't call out names again, she would look at us all and select some people. Now there was a rush and designers including me, tried to put our faces up to get noticed.

By 8pm, I was still there with no hopes of getting selected transparently for at least an audition. My family was worried because it was late and I am not familiar with the environs of Lagos. I listened to all the other designers who came from other states just like I, complain bitterly.

All I could say in my head was "I expected more from this organization". I was so disappointed, disappointed at the fact that I travelled down to Lagos for something I applied for and was treated like "I just showed up at the venue and begged to get an audition". Disappointed that the joy of getting an email from the company for an audition had just turned sour. Disappointed that I woke up so early to make it there on time and I didn't even get an audition. I lost faith in the word "Integrity" that day. I left the venue by 8:05pm; I arrived home by 12am thanks to traffic and Police wahala. It's one day, I will never forget. I have taken a lot of chances and this experience won't stop me. It just made me stronger and wiser. The best thing to do in spite of the challenges is just to keep following my heart and intuition. Entrepreneurship is definitely not for sissies. God bless my family, they are the perfect cheer leaders, God bless the soul inside my body, My soul has this strong passion and zeal, God bless the people who wrote the Bible, the words in it strengthens my faith. I end this blog entry by thanking Nkechi Ewuzie (the pretty model I worked with), Tope Ekundayo (one friend who inspires me) and Elomena Asamaige (one friend who encourages me).