the neon newbie

via style pantry

i'm usually a primary color kind of gal.  if i'm feeling rebellious, maybe i'll throw in a complementary color here and there (a green or purple), and then there's my staple black and white.  but one trend that has really intrigued me lately is the neon rage.  normally when i think of neon, i think of the aspects of the eighties era that i wasn't fond of.  yet, i've been noticing many fashion forward brethren rocking this style in a way that can only be described as cool and classy.  it inspired me to not only try the trend myself, but to incorporate a few pieces into the posh brown boutique.  above are various ways to include neon yellows and greens to your wardrobe that won't make you look crazy or like you're trying too hard. 
so, how do you feel about the neon craze? 

besos jenna pearle

back in business

hola, my lovelies.

it's been a while, i know.  i really wasn't sure if i would be back to the posh brown experience for a variety of reasons. 
 numero uno:  honestly, i just began to find the whole fashion world to be so extremely shallow and empty, i couldn't bring myself to come up with anything to talk about here.  i could care less who's wearing what when there are so many more important events happening in society.  this seemed even more evident to me as the political election of 2012 took over our lives.  not to mention hurricanes and elementary school shootings.   a lot was (and still is) at stake.  
numero dos:  i'm finally writing a novel!!  this is a statement i've made many times.  the difference is that i intend to complete this project.  it's  young adult fiction filled with diverse characters and compelling plots and subplots.  i am about more than halfway in and i am so proud of my progress.  since i am so determined to finish this book, i didn't want to have any other writing obligations.  therefore, i put this blog on the back burner.  
reason #3:  i have other blogs and microblogs where i continue to share my thoughts or the thoughts of others that i wholeheartedly agree with thanks to twitter, fb, and my tumblr pages.

anyhow, i was reading a writing blog yesterday that advised me to write publicly every day.  according to them, that would only enhance my skills.  since i've missed the posh brown experience so and plan on resurrecting my boutique soon, i thought 'what the hell?  let's do it again...{in my staples sisters' voice, though.}'  i also remembered that the mission of this blog had very little to do with fashion and that phony, shallow lifestyle.  we were actually all about celebrating diverse and inclusive beauty.  pbe was also a blog about beauty in art, literature and nature.  so with that in mind, the posh brown experience is back in business!!

besos jenna pearle*

kinky since 08'

so, there has been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere and beyond about 'going natural.'  it didn't really apply to me since i had been there, done that (and do it daily) so many times before.  as you may have already noticed, my standard of beauty is not quite so narrow or rigid.  therefore, i try to highlight as much as i can women who choose to embrace their natural beauty (ie. curls and naps). 
however, after visiting a blog (can't recall which one, sorry) a few weeks ago, i began reflecting on the natural experience, my natural experience.  the blogger posed (and then answered) the question, 'what made you decide to go natural?'

i can't remember exactly the moment for me.  what i do know is that right around the end of middle school and the beginning of high school, my sense of self and the world become more clear.  i was being shaped by events like the rodney king brutal beating, the malcolm x movie (among others), the news...in high school, i was reading nikki giovanni, toni morrison (well, outside of high school, actually) james baldwin...i was writing papers on apartheid in south africa, the black panther party and why rap music was so genius.  celebrating the kinky texture of my hair seemed to be a no-brainer.  unfortuanetly, talking the talk was much easier than walking the walk.  i would swing back and forth between relaxing my hair and going natural SEVERAL TIMES.  when it was straight, i wasn't really unhappy.  in fact, i worked hard to get it as straight and silky as possible. usually, my hair was pretty and healthy. but there would be this nagging guilt whispering in my ear that i knew better than this.  i was disappointing myself.  and i would be so envious of the girls with their lovely locs or fluffy twists when on occasion i'd see them.  i knew better but wasn't doing better.  on the flip side, when i was natural, all the hard work would get the best of me (trying to keep it cute), and i'd do what was easiest (laziest): get a perm!  this inner turmoil continued well into my twenties.  after having locs for three years, i realized it wasn't for me at this stage of my life. i cut it off and relaxed it again.  i don't regret that decision at all.  it was the right call at the time.  but one evening in 2008 while watching tyra's talk show, i had an epiphany.  the guest was mary j. blige.  tyra asked the r&b queen if there was anything she could have, what would she wish for.  mary responded that what she wanted most in the world, what she would get if she could...was long, indian hair!  when a shocked tyra tried to help mary out by suggesting she could get a weave, mary made it crystal clear.  no!  she wanted it to be her hair flowing down her back.  i thought that was really sad.   however, i didn't blame mary.  i understood exactly what she was saying and why.  i made up my mind then and there.  for my future daughter, sons...for my adorable little nieces, i would stop fighting against my kinks and celebrate them...show them off, adorn them.  and that's exactly what i've been doing since. 

besos jenna pearle*