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Yoliswa Dube

We have a new Miss World Zimbabwe. Chiedza Mhosva was crowned queen and walked away with a cool $20 000 and a car from the glamorous pageant held in the capital last week.

With an entrance charge of $300, the Miss World Zimbabwe pageant is nothing, but glitz and glam. The who’s who of this country attend the pageant and so showing off A-list threads is a big part of the event. People go out of their way to slay, you know, show off their financial muscle. Those who’re not really into fashion and wouldn’t ordinarily go the extra mile to look good don’t have a choice.

The organisers of this event don’t allow anyone who is not dressed to meet the prescribed dress code into the venue. I’d say that’s extra, but standards are standards. They want excellence, we’ve got to oblige.

What’s great about their standard of excellence is that they lead by example. The chairperson of the Miss Zimbabwe Trust, organisers of the Miss World Zimbabwe pageant, Mrs Marry Chiwenga knows how to get her threads right and do it well.

This year, she looked elegant in a red gown with gold embellishments at the bodice. Mrs Chiwenga wore her hair down and paired hair dress with a simple neck piece that wasn’t competing with the bodice of her dress. It was a clean and classy look I so loved.

Her husband, the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces General Constantino Chiwenga cleans up very well too. He looked dapper in a black tuxedo paired with a white shirt and black bowtie — worn like a true gentleman.

But one of the small things that bothered me about the pageant was the look chosen by the host of the night, Rumbidzayi “Newsbae” Takawira. She wore a black dress with a form-fitting v-neck bodice and a tutu skirt. Rumbie wore her hair down and paired the look with animal print heels.

She’s beautiful, she has a figure to die for, but quite frankly, I think she looked rather ordinary in that black number. It didn’t help that she didn’t have any outfit changes during the four-hour show. It was all the more terrible that she hosted the event solo. It eventually got boring seeing her in that black dress.

But I get what she was trying to do, I really do. Black is safe.

It’s easy to dress and you’d really have to have a terrible sense of style to mess up a black number. But for Rumbie, who’s largely considered as a media personality, black was probably not the best pick for her.

Especially considering that she wore a black gown to the National Arts and Merit Awards earlier in the year. No, we haven’t forgotten about that.

It would seem she’s not confident enough to try new things, which I doubt very much. With her stunner looks, she could probably pull off any colour! She’s just too snug in her comfort zone and that’s not a good thing.

Rumbie got me thinking that there’re quite a lot of us who’re hung up on certain colours. We’ve filled our wardrobes with clothing items of largely the same colour because they are safe.

How about going out of your comfort zone a little bit because in fashion world, your comfort zone is not always a safe place to be. How about you spice up your usual blacks with a little colour? Instead of your usual black and white combo, why not throw in a red or yellow pair of heels. I do this all the time. I don’t get to wear vibrant colours every other day, but I like to throw in a bit of colour to spice things up a little.

Your work set up probably does not allow freedom with colour, but instead of your usual nude lip gloss, why not try a bright red lipstick. On your next shopping trip, instead of buying another navy blue dress, why not buy a floral or polka dot one. This is how you grow your wardrobe.

When you’ve accumulated the basics; a little black number, a white shirt, a black blazer, blue jeans and a black skirt — try the more elaborate pieces to spice things up a little bit. Then we’ll know you’re not boring and will definitely consider you as one fashion savvy chicca. Try it and see the reviews you’ll get. You can thank me later.

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.