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Yoliswa Dube

I MUST say I’m quite chuffed.

Despite the chilly weather, my people showed up for the Bulawayo Arts Awards dressed to the nines last Friday.

The bar was set pretty high and it’s heartwarming how not one, not two, but scores of people went out of their way to look their best for the red carpet at the black tie event.

There were luxurious shades of green, blue and red fabrics as well as bold African prints and the subtle, but rich black and white on the red carpet. It was a vibrant mix of different fabric colours and textures — quite a fashion fete.

One of my favourite looks was by Sithandazile Dube, the poet, one of the hosts of the awards ceremony. She has a curvaceous body and clearly understands this perfectly well. Sithandazile had a couple of changes and both her gowns accentuated her figure very well — she quite frankly achieved a perfect silhouette each time. Life would be so much easier for all of us if we understood our body types and what works well with them as opposed to just wearing what we like.

I think we all need to accept that Sarah Mpofu is a diva. She’s diva fire! I’m still trying to find words to describe her outfit, but she sure is the epitome of confidence. With her, there’s no box at all — she keeps breaking all the rules of fashion. I’m not sure if this is a good thing but it’s probably time you and I agree to let her be.

After a National Arts and Merit Awards wardrobe malfunction a few years back, Albert Nyathi got the memo and stuck it on his fridge with a magnet! Now, he slays and looks like a perfect gentleman each time. Although he decided to pair his look with traditional Ndebele head gear, he still looked pretty sleek in his suit.

I was underwhelmed by the hosts of the red carpet — Morris Touch, Bathabile Dlamini and Cde Phil. I’m not sure if they were dressed by a particular clothing retailer, but each of their outfits were a complete miss for me. Cde Phil should have started by getting his suit size right before we talk about how plain he looked. I mean, if he’s going to be asking me about the Givenchy I’m wearing, he might as well be in a well-fitted and elegantly accessorised Hugo Boss suit himself!

Although there was nothing particularly wrong with Bathabile’s dress — she has a great figure — her hair looked rather undone. It seemed like her hairdresser had removed the hair rollers and forgot to style her hair. Then there was Morris Touch and that red bow-tie. His red and black jacket was elaborate enough; he really didn’t need that pop of colour. Black would have worked just fine. Actually, it wasn’t just Morris Touch. A significant number of men attending the awards ceremony accessorised their blazers with red or pink bowties. Big mistake. That was trying too hard. A good old black bowtie would’ve been perfectly fine.

Someone needs to get Sandra Ndebele a Bells! She had three outfit changes and slayed in each of them. For the red carpet, she wore a peach gown with lace trimmings. The dress hung perfectly on her body, she looked stunning. She changed into a black jumpsuit for her performance and I’d say this was an appropriate look for the stage. Finally, Sandy changed into a black gown which did her figure equal justice as the peach one. She really thought this through and made sure she slayed at each stage of the ceremony.

Then there was comedian Thubelihle “Nceku” Sibanda and gospel singer Chelsea Mguni. They showed up in coordinated African print outfits. I wonder if they’re a couple — I’m sure they are if they’re going to be showing up in matching outfits. Anyway, that’s beside the point. They looked really adorable and getting matching outfits shows they planned their look in good time which should always be the case if you know of an event and the required dress code in advance.

Nceku somehow reminded me of Jidenna with his African print pants and six button beige blazer. It was pretty sleek of Scarless Designs to hook him up with such a dope number. Hip hop artiste Cal_Vin and his bae tried to do the matching outfits thing but I think they missed it. They ended up looking like two Michael Jackson’s — not adorable at all!

Until next week, flaunt your pattern and style and don’t forget to catch up with me on Twitter handle @Yolisswa, visit my blog, www.stayera247.blogspot.com or like my Facebook page Pattern & Style.