Happy Good Day Travelers,

I don't know when this blog became my own personal musings but I refuse to stifle where this is going so I am just going to let it flow and see how this space evolves in the area of my Fashion Freeway and how I travel on it. I do know that this post is just a form of Part 2 of my previous musings about names and how that affects one's brand.

This morning I was getting ready to journal but I chose to blog these thoughts instead. It's no secret that I am a Christian and so in my morning devotions two separate resources just happen to be on the topic of being a woman, what it means to be feminine, the beauty of our emotions, our necessity in society and the home, and how we have embraced or rejected those roles. This got me thinking about all the areas in which I am involved in female development (this is not the phrase I want to use at all, I may come back and change this).

Now I know that this topic can get all kinds of out of hand so I will not be releasing a full post until I am fully confident that my thoughts are organized. This is not at all a post about what it means to be a woman, I am so about having one's own definition, and maybe I just want to express my musings on how I look at it and what roles I play in developing as a woman. There are some thoughts and ideas that work for me, but maybe not for others, and that is helping me to develop my adult self, which in the long-run shapes and maps my Fashion Freeway.

Until that time feel free to watch this new single by Lupe Fiasco "Bad Bitch" I really like the message in this song, but you know Lupe (or you might not...so enjoy), he always has a differing opinion that the majority hip hop artists.




No tagline today as this post is TBC......

 Happy Friday Travelers!

This week has been filled with lots of articles and talks of names and their purpose and importance. On Sunday my pastor spoke of the importance of ones name and how it can subconsciously determine their future, there have been many twitter discussions on how blatantly ethnic names can hinder one from getting a job or moving up in their career, and lastly three fashion articles regarding Jil Sander, Yves Saint Laurent, and Doo Ri have surfaced which makes me ask the question..Comment vous appellez-vous?

It's no secret that I am a branding junkie and love to read and analyze about how  a company brands itself and its product, and there is nothing bigger in a brand than the very thing that creates the first impression. Before I started working in the fashion industry it never occurred to me that one could lose ownership of their name. In my world if say, Calvin Klein left, then the brand Calvin Klein was over, bye bye Gaultier, doors closed....so not the case. When I first realized that I was incorrect in my assumptions I got a bit angry, partially due to the fact that I am the only Mei-Li that I know (I am sure there are others, Asian, find me a black Mei-Li and I promise she is under 6yrs old), and no matter where one goes like Beyonce not one person can say her name and they go...the singer or...same with me, I'm an original and worked hard at being the authentic me and for someone to tell me they are going to carry on Mei-Li with out the Mei and the Li, well I'm not okay with that. So what's hind the scenes of all that to make a person walk away, or in Sander's case, come back to their name? What is that contract process? I recently heard a horror story about a well known and super talented designer who has an awesome fashion brand in her name that no longer belongs to her but is making millions. She was shafted by a former partner who has got to be living a serious yacht lifestyle off what her parents gave her in love...her name.

We now live in the age of sign and sue where contracts and court cases are as common as top knots and peep toes, and I don't understand any of it. I am glad that I am exposed to it in some frame though. As I await to hear if I have been accepted into graduate school for my MBA in Management Consulting I am seeing all the needs of the industry. Though I don't deal with indie brands directly I have a heart for them. There are some great brands out there with amazing product that don't get the recognition they need or close their doors too early due to lack of funding for things like decent PR or low sales. Thankfully social media helps the tech savvy work their way around that, but I would love to see more brands follow the Dries Van Noten route and not sell to larger companies no matter how much they promise autonomy.

I'll end this post there, there is so much more for me to learn and understand before I can get in a deep enough post/conversation/debate about this subject, but it was on my mind and I really am interested in how my degree in Management Consulting can help me help small companies keep their name, flourish, and run efficiently. There ends my thoughts Travelers! Until next time!!

"One Step Forward, Just Glance Back. No Fear, Just DIVA!" 

Hola, Aloha, Bonjour, and Bom Dia Travelers! The past couple of months have been such a journey, I lost my father a week before my birthday, I started my Mary Kay business, applying to USC and LMU for my MBA, and joined the MS Society's YPG group for professionals in their 20's and 30's that are affected by or just plain old advocating for multiple sclerosis. And that was just the first 6 months of the year. Whew!

Through that time I have had so much to say but just not taking the time to say it. I thought that adding an app to my blackberry (yes I still have one, TMobile is a terrorist), would keep me blogging on the regular, that didn't work. So I thought that if I voice noted my thoughts then transcribed them that would be better, nope. Lastly I started carrying a notebook with me to jot down my thoughts then type them out....you see the pattern here. There was nothing really working to keep me blogging consistently besides me well...blogging consistently.

My goal is to blog once a month, it's a simple goal that I think I can maintain. I really like the writing and appreciated the fan base that I had grown as well as some of the networking I was able to do with some of the bloggers that I admire. So let's get into this title....

As I mentioned in the intro the first 6 months have been a worldwind of emotions, change,and redirecting. Talk about pot holes and detours! I really couldn't get back on my freeway, I just kinda chilled at the rest stop of my journey trying to remap toward a new Point B. This is where I froze. I know that I have said in previous posts (idk where lol maybe I will link later) that fear can be paralyzing and will stop a traveler right in their tracks, I can't afford that anymore. The closer I get to 30 the more I am aware of how what I do, or don't do, today affects my tomorrow. So I have to keep going...but it doesn't come without caution. Fearfully fearless.

I think that many of us get to a point where more of us is required than before in order to make it to our destination. We want to remain in cruise control even though we know good and well that we aren't where we want to be or even have the potential to be. That's where I am right now. I am in a place that requires me to be more intentional of my time as well as more organized with my time and paperwork. I need to be accountable to those that I have committed to work with, which includes myself. So let's look at each of my responsibilities and what this means shall we?

Church: There is a spiritual accountability that I have to my God in the areas of character and finance, but hear I want to touch on the youth as I am a youth leader at my church. Showing up on time and engaging the youth that attend on Sundays, showing great ownership and being approachable are key and require my attitude to be intact as I know I'm being watched by a gang of middle schoolers!

Sorority: I am the co-chair of our mentoring initiative which runs like a separate organization in and of itself. For anyone in an NPHC (National Pan-Hellenic Council) organization knows that as an active member there are meetings, activities and dues that need to be tended to. As a committee leader I am required to keep my committee  up to date as well as execute the objectives of this particular initiative...read - paperwork. I don't know why I am having such an issue with paperwork but I am. Sitting down and do it and then remembering to turn it in!

YPG: I have just joined this group so for right now I am enjoying sitting back and learning, however if I say that I am going to volunteer at an event it is up to me to make sure I am there on time and in the proper attire..if needed.

MBA: 4 letters --> G M A T ! I am accountable to my score and my studies to make sure that score is competitive justifiable to get that acceptance letter. This means more time management. How long I study and how often I take a practice test is up to me.

Mary Kay - newly added as an additional source of income is literally my part time job. This is probably where I feel the most overwhelmed. There is so much to know, and for some reason I think that I have to learn it all before I move forward with it. But the fact is momma got bills and her first job just aint cutting it like she needs it to. However, in Mary Kay I earn my effort, which means that my income is a DIRECT reflection of what I am or am not doing. Which goes back to moving out of cruise control and putting myself in drive. (this will come in a second post soon)

So with all of that said welcome to the transitional portion of the second phase/season of 2012. I hope you enjoy the ride as I learn how to.

Happy Travels!

"One Step Forward, Just Glance Back. No Fear, Just DIVA!"