June 30, 2015

My Notes from the VANE STYLE CLINIC by Veronica Odeka

Two weekends ago, I attended the Vane Style Clinic, run by professional stylist Veronica Odeka. I promised that I would share my notes from the event on how to have a great sense of style. I came across the style clinic online, and it seemed interesting, so I sent an email to find out what the ticket cost was - I was surprised to learn that it was just N2000. I quickly paid and secured my space, as the event was limited to about 20 people or so.


It rained heavily that day, but I was determined to show up and ended up being the first guest there. The event was held at The Social Place (which I've been to sooooooo many times for different events). When I walked in, they were still setting up but the decor was very girly and pretty (the set designed by The Wedding Guruu, who you may remember from my Brides Day Out post).


Veronica looked very very nice (what better way for her to sell her service?!), and y'all have to take into consideration that she has a new baby.


When more guests came in, Veronica started her presentation. She talked a little about herself, how and why she moved back to Nigeria - she wanted to help Nigerian women clean up their style, improve their dressing and organize their closets. Like she said, "Style is the first thing people see about you, and it helps to put your best foot forward. Your style can be emotional and interpretative about the kind of person you are." 

BUILDING YOUR WARDROBE - 12 STAPLES or BASICS
Veronica listed 12 staples for every Nigerian woman's closet and recommends INVESTING in at least 3 of each item. Investing means paying more for better quality materials because you'll be wearing these items more often than others in your closet.
  1. White Blouse/Shirt/Tee
  2. Dark-wash Denim - Dark wash is slimming
  3. Black Pants - NOT leggings
  4. Blazer - Black, White or maybe Navy Blue
  5. Denim Jacket
  6. Shift Dress - One that skims your body, NOT a fitted dress. Should hit right above or at your knee 
  7. Maxi Dress
  8. Anything with Stripes - Stripes act as a neutral and can go with everything. It also works with all body types.
  9. Ankara Jacket - It's very versatile and can be worn to church, while traveling, with a dress, skirt, jeans, pants, etc.
  10. Pencil Skirt - Black is preferable
  11. Caftan or Bubu - You can dress it up with heels or down with flats. Also dress it up or down with jewelry.
  12. Little Black Dress - You can take it easily from Day to Night
  • Bonus - Open-toe or Peep-toe black shoes, and Black pumps.
When you have all of these items, it's easy to mix and match and create multiple outfits that make a statement about your style. Veronica Odeka showed us some examples of basic outfits that you can add items to for different looks.


Sometimes, it's just a matter of leaving your shirt tucked in or left out.


ACCESSORIZING
When looking for accessories to go with your outfit, make sure of these points:
  • Follow your neckline or the cut of your top
  • Your accessories should complement your outfit, not compete with it
  • A guideline to picking accessories is picking the strongest color in your outfit and using that color to accessorize
  • Make sure your accessories don't distract from your outfit

Next up, was Dodos of I Am Dodos who gave a demonstration on how to fill in your eyebrows. Here are two links to her blog with her tips for Eyebrows and Everyday Makeup.

Her model, one of the guests, runs Rent The Vogue - a company that supplies designer clothes for rent in Nigeria.
Veronica continued with her style tips, giving us the following pointers:
  • It's always better to be OVERDRESSED than UNDER-DRESSED.
  • A shirt dress can be worn as a jacket, and gives a slimming effect
  • Know your body shape and dress accordingly 
  • When mixing and matching prints, MATCH COLORS NOT PRINTS
  • Go monochrome (one color palette) for a polished look
  • When layering, do so with open jackets or shirt dress
  • Her preference for neutral colors are Black>Navy Blue>White>Purple

We were there for about an hour and forty-five minutes. I think the event was worthwhile, and I've been trying to incorporate some of the tips into my every day style. 

Thanks to the contributors - Bobby Taylor Company, Eventi Cocktails, I Am Dodos, The Wedding Guruu, Bland2Glam, Cookie Skin, Beauty Rev Nigeria, R&R Luxury, MAC Cosmetics, The Social Place. I'll upload the photo of the goodie bag later today.

Some of the contributors - Bobby Taylor, I Am Dodos, Eventi Cocktails, R&R Luxury

You can find Veronica Odeka on Instagram (@veronicaodeka or @vanestylesr) and online at Vane Style Show Room.


15 comments:

  1. this is reli cool.... #off to incorporate some of the style#

    Read WHY MEN LOVE BITCHES

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  2. How about she tells all of this to Tiwa Savage? After all she's her stylist abi? Tiwa always manages to look a hot mess. Lol.

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    1. I think Tiwa looks good, over 90% of the time.

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    2. I don't really follow Tiwa's style, but the few times I've seen her, she looked alright.

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  3. Sounds like a really good event, thanks for sharing.

    www.wurassecrethair.blogspot.com

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  4. Great looks, and style. Have a nice week!

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  5. Seems like a fun event. Def my kind of thing.

    Epiphany29.com

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  6. Thanks for sharing Berry! Bookmarked for later

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  7. Wow, great tips. I really needed this, as I have been trying to work up my fashion sense this year. I have really good stuff, but always leave them in the wardrobe, and mixing is not really my skill, but I am learning.

    My Baffling Instagram Relationship

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  8. Gosh....for these types of useful events, I can tolerate the Lagos life!!! Thanks Berry for being our eyes and ears...lol.
    She's so right about investing in basics....good quality fabrics, good cut. Alas I haven't been able to find a reasonable black blazer small enough to fit me. Does she have a store?

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  9. Hi Berry,

    I love the silhouette of your grey dress, it's girly and so pretty. You look lovely.

    I totally agree with Veronica's 12 wardrobe staples, especially a black pencil skirt :-)

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