Here's looking at ... This Is Ess writer

This is Ess ...

 

Blogger , Sharon Mundia is a beauty, a brain and force on her own. Her blog This Is Ess has over 90,000 views , she was featured in a three page spread on Drum Magazine and has been photographed in the Nairobi Star. Her piece on the LWD was documented in the lifestyle section of Capital FM's website.

And no , her name is not Ess nor is it Esther. Her name is Sharon , if you are in the mood of slanting rhymes try the Baron met Sharon to ask about  fashion!

I came across her blog in July , right after I started my blog on  Audrey Hepburn. My friend Joey , told me to check out This is Ess . I was very impressed by the large number of followers and stats on her blog as well as her photographs.  
Truth be told , I only glanced at it albeit impressed but not reeled in yet. If blogging is one's online presence , what about Facebook? I found her page and liked it and to show solidarity I kept reading her facebook page . I was in the salon when I stumbled upon her three page spread in Drum Magazine , the October issue. She is making a name for herself in fashion and beauty ... watch this space.

A beauty, a brain and force on her own.

I had to meet her in person and get a glimpse of the girl behind ... " My favourite skirt has flowers on it " and "First there was a girl . Then there was a bench."
We met at a Dormans to have her favourite red velvet cake and we both arrived on time , thankfully since we had not exchanged numbers (blogger code). I was actually really excited to meet her ... in person that is . We exchanged compliments and other niceties and I had to confirm that my hair was not a weave.

Her writing is clear , concise and grammatically correct ( this is very important to her) you will discover why after you've  read the interview. So I had red velvet cake for the first time at Dormans and took out my "gadget" as she described very nervously , which is a surprise because she nailed the interview.   
Unfortunately , I put so much hope in my Casio Recorder when I got home excited to edit it and upload it . I connected the gadget and opened my Adobe Sound boothS5 and Picasa 3 , turns out the audio file I had could not be edited with her picture as a thumbnail. The operating system that had avanced editor in Windows Media Player was Windows Xp and I had Windows  7. So I did the next best thing ... consulted google for help . MP3-Tag apparently was the answer to my prayers , I downloaded the software long story short , it didn't work and blogger does not upload mp-3's. Lesson learnt. But I do have her answers in verbatim , thanks to the audio I could not upload. 

 

  The Interview 

1.What inspired you to start This Is Ess from the conception, name and the measuring vest?

(Laughs) I like that the measuring vest is in the first question.

This Is Ess , Ive actually explained it on my blog , I just came from a break-up and I needed something to focus on without really focusing on the break up so much. So the blog was a perfect place for me to divert my attention to something that was productive.I didn't think it would be such a great passion of mine. It was a good distraction ... much better than alcohol. 

I first had a Twitter account and when I told my friend about it she was like "...bham! we're on it...". So she did it for me , who created my twitter account. Initially , it was This Is S ...so she said let's add SS. Ive thought of re-branding because people call me Esther and I don't respond and think ...that little ...

2. Where do you find your inspiration?

(uuuh) Bloggers.

Vest she made with her sister to measure her hair 

journey.

 I have a list of bloggers who inspire me to start. There is this blogger called Meg(Domestic Stability)who writes about her life. Blogging is our online profile ... here is my life!

3. What is your fashion peeve?

The idea that you have to wea close to nothing to nothing to look sexy . It is ridiculous like those random Kenyan magazines ... a girl is under dressed . I don't know , you don't have to put too little ... you can rock it , you can kill it , you can still wear short skirts or a bikini and still look tasteful. I don't know it can be a little annoying when you go out and a girl is wearing close to nothing.

4. Where do you want to be in five years?

I'm not a 100% certain but I do want this blog to be an International force as a fashion and beauty blogger not so much as a stylist at least for now. I have a very firm understanding of my own style and break boundaries and I want to do it as a blogger. But what I do know is that I want this blog to be an International force.

5.You are a lip balm/nail polish enthusiast ... do you see yourself with your own line of lip balm and nail polish in Kenya?

I had not thought of that until you brought it up.Uuuum .... I don't know if ... it just seems like a ridiculously great idea , it's so out there that it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. I would love to , especially since I get so frustrated when  walk into the Supermarket or Super cosmetics and they are all the same shades ... we get it there's red in the world! I would like to ...maybe not create my own but work with a nail polish manufacturer ... but only because I'd like something new introduced , new colours , cute shades , cute pastels.

6.I saw your video on YouTube,will you be vlogging soon. Inquiring minds want to know?

Yes I intend to , I hit a little snag because I couldn't figure out a way to compress my videos and how to edit them. I am talking to someone who will help me edit the videos. I really want to so that I can talk about my hair journey and the products I use.

7. What tip can you give bloggers out there in Kenya?

When I read a blog and I see a thousand spelling mistakes and a thousand grammatical errors , I really do try - no one's perfect but if it is supposed to be "i" make it a capital "I". If you want your blog to be of an international standard you have to make sure people can read it.

8. Have you thought about having a show /column based on your blog?

No ... not so much. I don't think I have a firm idea of where I want my blog to go or what ill do with it. If someone said write a monthly column that would be fun ... I wouldn't be like " No I'm not interested ..." , I think I'd take it up. TV , maybe but then It would have to be aligned to what it is I want , which I don't know yet.

9. What can't you live without?

Lip balm. Lip balm. Lip balm.

Honestly , I think I have about 8 tubes , well not tubes but containers. When I see chapped lips , I get into my bag and say  "Here get those lips moisturised!" Lip balm and then there is red velvet cake , which I must have at least one month. Nail polish and my sister Amani , I can't live without her. I love her.

 

Check out her blog , the text is linked to This Is Ess and don't forget to subscribe.

                

Fashion tells the world who we are without uttering a word

   The Maasai , Turkana and the Samburu tribes are one of the most authentic fashion trendsetters in Kenya. 
  A few communities in North-Western Kenya are still clinging to their traditions of wearing red kilts and lesos. 
 While this is a very marketable feature overseas , sadly most Kenyans including myself are straying from indigenous fashion.




 
 This is due to a number of reasons:

Colonization of the mind:  
When most Kenyans were colonized by the British many of them adopted an assimilation system , abandoning their traditional attire for trousers and skirts. Even after Kenya attained independence in 1963 , they never looked back and saw the Western model of civilization and the future , losing cultural credibility and identity. When I look around and see the Maasai living their lives exactly as their fore-fathers did 100 years ago , I'm always puzzled wondering when they will integrate into the system like the rest of us. At this age , I'm glad they didn't they are one of the few surviving tribes that are preserving African heritage.
 
Drastic fashion passes:  
I'm talking about being topless! In my community women wore leather skirts made from cow hide , accessories and nothing else. I hardly think , I would be comfortable walking around with my bare breasts. Although let's be honest with the amount of cleavage in Nairobi ... Our ancestors saw no perversity in bare breasts  they were viewed primarily for the sustainability of their offspring. 




Local designers are expensive:  
To buy a genuine African outfit from a local designer ranges from 5,000kshs or more. Through no fault of their own due to the many expenses incurred and the time. While mtumba or mtush offers clothes ranging from 100kshs , it is easy to see why many of us do not go for the former.

Modernization:  
Due to exposure to western programs and content we have all develop tastes that range from there. The Internet has  made this globalization trend even more realistic and accessible. Programs such as the OC , Gossip Girl , Sex and the City which we've all been exposed to at an early age has had us emulating like drones. The rapid spread of these tv shows is proving to be more of a disruption to traditional social structures than an agent of progress.We all know about the French , Italian and American designers we hear about and admire , Coco Chanel anyone?

"The rapid spread of these tv shows is proving to be more of a disruption to traditional social structures than an agent of progress."

The Kenyan Fashion Scene is growing and people are actually beginning to buy clothes from local designers. 
One of my favourite designers is Seraphina from Aphina fashions who has been a designer for almost 15years and is now being discovered in the mainstream fashion cycle.

This Blog is about :

 Appreciating our Kenyan roots no matter which tribe we come from , we are all Kenyan and more importantly we are all African. 

Like the song says : It's time for Africa. We have a lot of beauty , art , scenery in our native lands we shouldn't have to try to be something we are not. That is not to say that we should ignore other cultures , let them influence us , but let us remain with our little quirks and gimmicks that we have had for generations. 

Fashion tells the world who we are without uttering a word ...