Get the Look: Beyonce's Samburu Hope T-Shirt

Fabsugar has the scoop on the t-shirt Beyonce was spotted wearing recently at LAX airport:
...it's a $38 Public Library's Samburu Hope T from www.boutiquetoyou.com. Proceeds of t-shirt sales benefit The Samburu Project, which works with communities in Northern Kenya to bring clean drinking water to the region.
Work it out Beyonce!

Reader Spotlight: Lovetta Conto

The Fashion Bomb readers are super savvy, talented individuals, and 16-year-old Lovetta Conto is no exception!
A survivor of Liberia's civil war, this young entrepreneur and finalist for the 2008 International Children's Peace Prize decided to use her talents in jewelry design to help others. Fashioning necklaces and bracelets out of bullets left behind from the war, Lovetta sells her creations to raise money for the renovation of a war-ravaged hotel in Liberia that will soon be home to other gifted youths from challenging circumstances.

Left to Right: Akawelle Bracelet in Silver, $125;Akawelle Necklace in Leather, $75; Akawelle Necklace in Silver, $125
Turns out Lovetta loves the Fashion Bomb! She became a fan when she moved to the US from a refugee camp in West Africa--the good old TFB was her first bookmarked site and one of the reasons she learned to use the internet! Wow.
The young stylista hopes to create her own teen fashion magazine in Africa. You can do it girl!
Read more about the fabulous Lovetta on her website here, and buy one of her pieces as a holiday gift for a good cause.
Bisous!

Real Style: Rocking for Barack

So on November 4th we will vote for the next President of the United States.

While the candidates debate on issues of national security and the economy, it's clear only one candidate is the front-runner in bridging the gap between politics and fashion:

Barack Obama

I asked all you fabulous readers to send me examples of you 'Rocking for Barack', and hey, you didn't disappoint!
Check it:
And of course I had to get in there:

Smootches!

A few words About Voting This Year:

*Rocking for Barack is cool for the weekend, but word on the street is that if you wear your t-shirt to the polls, you will be blocked from voting. Apparently this is considered campaigning, and wearing a pin, t-shirt, or hat is grounds for a polling official to turn you away. Don't risk it: Make sure your vote counts!
*Are you registered to vote? If not, go to www.rockthevote.org, and register in your state. If you're not sure, click here. The last day to register to vote varies by state (for Florida it's October 6th!). Find out your state's deadline here.
*If you need an absentee ballot, contact your Secretary of State here to request one. Hurry! You must mail in your letter no later than 7 days before the election.
*Tomorrow is Obama Blue Day. Wear Blue, and encourage two people to vote!
*Donate to the cause here.

Breaking into Fashion Forum!

Hey Bellas!
Happy Monday!
So yesterday I was delighted to attend my buddy Malcolm's Forum on Breaking into Fashion.
Around 5pm, I made my way over to Runway at 4 East 28th street, and took a seat amongst the crowd...
...the room was filled with aspiring and established models, designers, bloggers, and writers of color.
After Malcolm introduced the panel (and everyone introduced themselves), we got down to advice hour. Want to know how to break in?
The following tips:

For Models/Actors: Be prepared to specifically talk about who you are and what you want to do. Be able to sell yourself in 30,60, 90, or 120 seconds. Practice! For models, have your portfolio ready--your portfolio should have 5 good pictures and 10 wonderful pictures. Also always have it on you: you'll never know who you could run into! Ms. Jay and Malcolm stressed that portfolio pictures must be professional--no back shots from the club or pictures from your sister's wedding! Also, models, Ms. Jay stressed to show up to castings with clean hair, clean makeup, a nice wax, and nails and toes done. Got it?

For writers: Intern, intern, intern at magazines you love. If you can't work for free, find ones that pay (I know of a few, e-mail me if you want details). Also network your booty off (this goes for everyone), because most times it's not what you know, but who you know.

For Designers: To get your line going, don't wait for a golden egg: get your products out there! Malcolm started his line with $500! Make what you can, then go online and sell them on myspace; make your friends cart them around; create a buzz and get blogs to write about it. E-mail me!

Great advice, no?
After the forum, I went around to meet and greet:
These two Fashion Bombers readers, Ashley and Alanna...
...are currently in school for Journalism and Fashion Marketing respectively. They came to network, network, network.
Lakisha and Fatiya...
...are aspiring models, and came for advice on portfolios and presentation.
Julia...
...is also a model and muse to Malcolm. Check her out in Malcolm's Spring/Summer Collection video on his blog www.cutsewandblog.com.
Diana..
...is an aspiring stylist (and Fashion Bomb Reader)!
Jewrel (left) and Marco Hall...
...are just fabulous, no? Love the colors and decolletage! Anyway Marco (www.myspace.com/marcofh) designs all of Andre J's clothes, and Jewrel is a Makeup Artist.
This aspiring designer, Nia, calls herself Suppamodel....
...She works for Blackplanet.com (and is apparently featured on the homepage). She's also in the works to create a line called Suppamodel for women sizes 14-34. Check her out on blackplanet.com...I'll keep an eye out!
Last but not least, I ran into Yannize and Lauren...
....bloggers from the hot blog Style Ammo! Always great to meet fellow bloggers in person.
I, of course, had to take pictures with a few of the Fashion glitterati:
I caught Andre J in all his fabulousness...
....I loved his coat, turban, and infectious energy! One thing he said that stuck with me, "Live your life. It's yours, noone elses."
Also, had to take a picture with Ms. Jay....
....who had so much to say about the industry. I learned that he lived in Paris for 20 years, and Japan for 3. He also speaks four languages outside of English. He's a fashion veteran...I'd love to pick his brain one day. He's a super smart dude, and I was honestly in awe.
Ran into Memsor Kamarake, Fashion Director at Vibe...
...who promised to read the blog today! Turns out he started off as a fashion assistant at Vibe and just worked his way up! That's the way to do it.
And of course couldn't leave without saying goodbye to buddy Malcolm...
...who put it all together!
It was a great event, and won't be the last. To sign up for updates, visit the forum's myspace page: www.myspace.com/breakingintofashion. Post ideas, ask for advice, and stay apprised of upcoming panels. Also, of course, continue to read the Fashion Bomb...I'll keep you posted.

A group shop of the illustrious panel members. From left: Malcolm Harris, Memsor Kamarake, Tia Williams, Tyson, model Jaizen. In back: Andre J. Image care of Tia's Blog Shake your Beauty
Smootches!
*The event's proceeds went to the organization Save Darfur. If you don't know what's going on over there, google Darfur and give/do all you can to alleviate the situation over there. Also, I read a great book that delivers the story in a gripping, searing way....
....What is the What by Dave Eggers. It's a must read...and now it's in paperback, so there's no excuse! Get it for $11 at www.amazon.com. It tells the story of refugee Valentino Achak Deng; how he lost his family, joined thousands of other orphaned children in refugee camps, and moved to America. Great reading!
*RIP Donda West

Story and image via Style Ammo

Fashion for a Cause: One Campaign Edun Project

Ah..back in New York, back on the grind!
I was able to indulge in a bit of mag reading on the plane, and came across a very cool item in this month's Elle Magazine.

Lili Tan reports that for the second time, Bono's One Campaign-Edun Project is releasing limited edition t-shirts, whose sales with help fight poverty and bring trade to Africa.

Last year, Bono's one T-shirts helped raise $276,000, which went towards providing medical care and education to the people of Lesotho, an African country where almost 1/3 of the population is infected by AIDS.

This year, ten dollars from each shirt goes to Apparel Lesotho for Africa, which provides antiretroviral drugs to factory workers and their families. Elle says, "It allows the same people who make the tees to reap trade and medical benefits."
Plenty of stars are involved in promoting the Campaign, including Kerry Washington...

Rashida Jones...

..and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Want one of your own? Visit www.one.org for info on the cause and to get your $40 shirt.
I'm getting one...
Smootches!

Where's your Black? An Informal Survey

So,
I received many e-mails yesterday urging everyone familiar with the Jena Six case to wear all black today in protest. Not familiar with Jena Six? Basically 6 black teenagers from Louisiana have been jailed and could face life in prison due to a series of racially charged events that culminated in a fight with a white student. While the boys did participate in some pummeling, many protesters contend that their charge, attempted murder, is too harsh for the crime.
The urge to wear all black is a political as well as a fashion statement, and I decided to show my support (I have plenty of little black dresses in my repertoire, so didn't find it hard...) but wondered if others supported as well. I went out during a brief lunch break...
...to see what I could see.
Surprise: the all black was in full effect!
Kelly, an executive assistant...
...looked smart in glasses, a black dress, and silver flats.
Shakema and Elizabeth...
accented their all black with bright orange shawls.
Attorney Gigi...

...looked amazing in a black turtleneck sweater, pencil skirt, and hot suede mustard peep toes.
And Elsa and Lisa...
...accent their black with cool retro specs and necklaces.
Cute!
A few people didn't get the memo.
Accountant Andre...
...said he didn't know that people were wearing black. Besides, he said, he's from Jamaica, and was unaware of the national news.
And lastly, Cherise, right, was in all black...
But her friend, Natalie, said she just didn't know!
A bit of a mixed bag, but it seems that people (in midtown at least) dusted off their old black pieces to show their disdain for a sad case in racial politics.
How's it look where you are?
Smootches!
PS Not familiar with the case? Read about it here and here.
PSS Send me pictures!

Say it Loud: Politically Chic

Hey hey!
So there's a lot going on right now in politics with the war, issues with the current administration, and the upcoming presidential election...and none of this is lost on political fashionistas who want to voice their views through their clothing. I've found two websites that offer a plethora of politically cute t's for diva's with an opinion.
Urban Outfitters (www.urbn.com) has dozens of shirts that sport political messages such as, "War What is it Good For" "Vote for Change" and "I love Peace."
Take a look:

Top Row: Thread for Thought Bombing Tee, $38; What is it Good For Tee, $28; Draft Beer Not People Tee, $24.
Middle Row: Vote For Change Tee, $28; I Love Peace Tee, $24; Lux Peace Now Tee, $28.
Bottom Row: Don't Let Friends Vote Republican Tee; $24;War is Over Tee, $28;Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Democrat Tee, $24. All at www.urbn.com.

Another site, Sir Alistair Rai (www.siralistairrai.com/), has great t's that are a bit more stylish (and expensive!), yet still purvey a message that takes a stand:

Save Darfur Beater, $38

Vintage Rock & Roll Peace Tee, $48

Camo Long Sleeve Thermal, $62
Sir Alistair Rai even sells the Obama for Change T that Halle B. was spotted wearing here...

and Kim K here...

Get it for $46.
I'm sure offerings will increase and diversify as the race gets closer...
Smootches!
Fashion News:
*Naomi Campbell says that Fashion has sidelined black beauty. Quel Surprise!
*Alek Wek contends that a Fashion Calendar was racist. Have black models just had enough? Seems like they're speaking out a lot lately...
* Page Six predicts stars will be scarce at NY's upcoming fashion week. Oh Well! More room for me!
*Yawwwwn!
PS Really want to show your support? Attend Strut for Sudan this Sunday...

Click to enlarge
...featuring clothes from hot boutique Harriet’s Alter Ego. Proceeds go to My Sister's Keeper. Read more here .

DesignersforDarfur + Jennifer Hudson

Hey Guys,
As promised, today, a review of the DesignersforDarfur Benefit.
I'm a little late, but the weekend and Grammy's...you understand.
So the event was last Friday at 9pm in the Roseland Ballroom, the same venue of the Baby Phat fashion a full week before.
What immediately struck me about the event was the limited security, limited paparazzi, and empty halls. While Baby Phat was literally a *circus*...


... this event was relatively tame.


Given the importance of the event, I thought it was a sad showing, I mean...when celebrities are involved, everyone sits up straight and pays attention. When anyone starts talking about real issues...genocide in Darfur, war in Iraq, it seems as if eyes glaze over. Yet and still, this event was the perfect marriage of fierce fashion and philanthropy, and I was glad to show my support!
When the show finally started...a good hour late...it was well worth the wait.
A few pictures:

Beautiful dresses, great designs from everyone from Zac Posen to Chado Ralph Rucci... it was really inspiring. Danielle from ANTM walked, as did Carol Alt.

All the pieces will be auctioned on www.ebay.com

Visit the e-bay store here. Lend your support in any way.
Smootches!
PS Danica Lo and Raakhee Mirchandani of the New York Post had an....interesting take on the show. Read it here. Malcolm Harris was *incensed* at the article to say the least, and posted on Myspace that he wants both authors removed from the Post. Read the article and decide for yourself. Send your e-mails to letters@nypost.com


PSS Say What? JHud on the cover of March Vogue?!?!

Here are a few scans from inside:


Will *definitely* frame my issue! My friend said he thinks she's the 3rd black woman to ever grace the cover. Is that accurate?
A reader answered my question. Check out Clay Cane's entry here for the answer.
PSS Barney's Sale in NY and LA!

Barneys Warehouse, LA
Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Air Center
3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA
Thursday, February 8th - Monday, February 19th
Barneys Warehouse, NY
255 W. 17th Street
Thursday, February 15th - Sunday, March 4th
My shopping friend Val told me the sale is just as good on the last day...will definitely hit it up!