A LIL' TOO MUCH

Now, baby, I have seen it all............



Girlfriend was just trying to save face - you know she must have been humiliated. Child, she came up out of her wig................the girl in the too-tight yellow shirt tried to save her, but it was too late...ROTFL....LMAOOOOOOOO..........................

THAT MAGIC TOUCH

When I left Detroit to head to NYC to go to Parsons School of Design at age 17, I was totally green and The Big Apple seemed like Mars to me. I had never been exposed to so much at one time. I was very afraid and very leery of everyone and everything. But God works in mysterious ways. Next door to my dorm in the East Village lived an angel on earth who would become a good friend, spiritual adviser, colleague and go-to person for advice, wisdom, a good laugh, a prayer and a good dose of fierceness.

That woman is none other than the amazing Sharon "Magic" Jordan-Roach. Magic, as she is so affectionately called by her friends, is truly the Grand Dame of black fashion. Having been a muse and mannequin for Patrick Kelly, Isaia, Michael McCollom and every other black designer with a sketch pad, Magic has inspired and supported so many for so long, both on the runway and backstage. This woman is one of the world's great beauties - both inside and out. She has a smile and a spirit that will light up any room (and skin that women would die for). She is fearless and inventive, always taking the steps that designers dream that women will take. No one, and I mean NO ONE, can rock some hair, real or otherwise, like Miss Magic! That unbelievable face has taken her around the world and landed her on a million runways as her genuine, loving character has landed her in the hearts of all she meets. She is an accomplished model, producer, designer, entrepreneur, wife and mother. With Magic, what you see is what you get. There is no pretense, no fakery, no chicanery, no attitude - just pure love, creativity and humanity.

Many times people do not realize the scope, the range and the impact of their influence on others. This post is to let her know how much I adore her, admire her and respect her for all of her contributions to our community and for the love she has shared with me. Here is my friend in all of her fabulousness:

Magic - Essence Magazine January 2007 - FABULOUS AT ANY AGE. This woman epitomizes the fact "...that black don't crack". If she could, she should package her genes, bottle them and sell them at your local pharmacy because she'd make a fortune!

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WHEN SHOUTING GOES WRONG

In honor of Sunday, the Lord's day, I thought I might post something of spiritual value. I have to work today (runway show next week) so I needed a little pick me up. I believe that people can get in a zone and get so emotional that they lose themselves, but sometimes people can go a bit too far. Such are the cases below:

This man won $10,000 on a home video tv show. That is still not enough to pay for his wife's embarrassment.

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This sister with the jherri curl and the ankle length denim skirt got so entranced that she forgot to watch where she was going - well at least she was at church and could later have her injuries healed.

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Between the choir 'gettin their groove on' and the brother in the red suit 'bumpin and grindin', one wouldn't know if they were at church or the hottest club. Go here and you can kill 2 birds with one stone.

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MUSIC TO MY EARS

While growing up as a child and teenager in Detroit in the 70s and 80s, there were two constant musical influences in my life: church/gospel music and THE SCENE. I grew up COGIC, Church of God in Christ. More commonly known as 'sanctified' or 'holiness' churches, COGIC churches are the ones where people speak in tongues, shout, dance and accept healing through touch. COGIC churches are famous for their singing style and for their style of dress. I commonly went to church 2 or 3 times per week - prayer service, choir rehearsal, youth group, Sunday school, Sunday service, etc. This was my first introduction to fashion, showmanship and glamour.

Beaded suits, hats that could cause an eclipse, big hair, lace-trimmed hankies, fierce pumps and beat faces with tons of lashes are de rigueur for the ladies while the gents prefer alligator shoes ('gators'), brightly colored suits, sharp hats, top coats, canes, pristine grooming and Cadillacs. This is not about being a wallflower, this is about conspicuous consumption as a testimony of God's blessings.

As far as music goes, NO ONE sings like COGIC singers. The power, emotion, grit, range and the patented 'vocal runs' ( melisma - a way of extending, changing and intensifying notes for maximum impact - think Patti Labelle) are unparalleled. This type of singing truly speaks to my soul and has influenced my musical tastes thus far (Patti, Aretha, Chaka, etc.). No one epitomizes the Detroit gospel style of singing and dressing more than my favorite gospel singer, Detroit native, Karen Clark Sheard. She is the youngest sister from the world famous group, The Clark Sisters. This is why I love her:



THE SCENE was a local dance TV show. It was Detroit's answer to Soul Train and American Bandstand. It featured teen and young adult Detroiters wearing the latest fashions and dancing to cutting edge soul, house, rap and techno music. My friends and I raced home everyday to catch THE SCENE at 6pm. The featured dancers became local celebrities in their own right. They influenced dance styles (many nationally famous dances started on this show), fashion, hairstyles and popular sayings. THE SCENE was a bit of a guilty pleasure that many did not like to admit to watching, but EVERYONE did! Funny enough, my Pastor's son was a dancer on the show until he became an ordained minister himself. The ties that bind us.



I love that these 2 influences are so specific to Detroit. It is so amazing to think how such seemingly disparate things can influence one person so much. The participants of each venue probably thought that they were in worlds apart, but if you look closely, there were too many similarities to count.