“I’m all the time chasing that feeling of strolling down the road and having somebody do a double-take at my outfit,” says Mbiye Kasonga, a D.C.-based podcast producer behind Bare Magnificence. “I’m all the time smiling, and I’m Congolese — we put on brilliant colours and haven’t any concern of standing out.” Right here, she shares a costume made for adventures and three books to debate at a e book membership…
Costume: Mara Hoffman. Bag: Luar. Sneakers: Marni.
“At my previous advertising job, at any time when I went into the workplace, I’d put on a cardigan, wide-leg pants, and clogs. However now that I work for myself, half the week I’m sporting T-shirts with swingy pants; the opposite half, I’m in clothes. By no means will you discover me working from dwelling in arduous pants.”
Costume: Free Folks, comparable. Purse: Luar. Sandals: Birkenstock.
“I put on this costume in every single place. It’s excellent for these summer season days if you meet up with mates for brunch and find yourself staying out all day lengthy. I additionally like taking myself on dates to learn at eating places, and this costume has enormous pockets for my keys, Kindle, and telephone. Final 12 months, The Strategist reached out to me for a summer season costume rec, and I shared this one. It bought out.”
“I went to enterprise faculty, then labored in market analysis, however I’ve all the time been occupied with digital media. I labored on the morning information in highschool and within the TV studio in school, and I took a course on tips on how to produce podcasts. When the pandemic rolled round, I had additional time on my fingers, and my buddy Brooke was searching for a podcast producer. So, I began that as a passion.”
Jacket: previous Zara. T-shirt: comparable. Denims: Free Folks, comparable. Sneakers: Vans x Telsha Anderson Boone collab.
“For 2 years, I produced Brooke’s podcast Bare Magnificence whereas working my full-time advertising job. Lastly, that December, my husband identified that producing was clearly not a passion. I wanted to guess on myself and begin my very own company. Now, I’ve been working Moyo for 2 years.”
“My present workforce is a mixture of people who find themselves youthful and older than I’m. At first, I felt imposter syndrome at any time when I needed to assert myself as their boss. However over time, I noticed that the proof is within the pudding. Bare Magnificence has gained two iHeartRadio awards for ‘Greatest Magnificence & Style Podcast.’ I’m actually good at what I do.”
Costume: Dôen, comparable. Shorts: Warp + Weft denims, altered by Mbiye. Tote: made by Mbiye. Sneakers: Miista, comparable.
“That is truly a costume from Dôen, and it got here with a tie to cinch the waist. However I like sporting it as a high with cutoffs. Being curvy, if I have been to put on cutoffs with out some layering, I’d most likely cease visitors.”
“These cutoffs have been initially denims from Warp + Weft, which is a superb place to seek out denim as a curvy woman. Virtually all the pieces is underneath $140, and plenty of of their silhouettes go as much as measurement 24. Plus, they’ve simply sufficient stretch.”
“My mother cherished to knit and taught my two older sisters. She handed away after I was two, however my sister taught me to knit after I was in elementary faculty. For a very long time, I finished selecting up the needles. However after I moved to D.C. after school, I didn’t have any mates, so I dove into knitting. Whenever you lose your dad or mum as a toddler, you lose the chance to do issues with them. However knitting is my method of feeling near my mother.”
“Since studying to knit, I’ve realized that the easiest way to get the garments I would like is to make them. This going-out high is the primary garment I ever made. I discovered the sample on TikTok.”
Costume: Dôen. Sandals: Dr. Martens, comparable.
“I used to be a giant reader as a child, to the purpose the place the librarians would let me try 10 books as a substitute of three. I devoured them; I’d go to mattress studying, then get up and browse. I additionally used to host a social studying occasion as soon as a month at Shanklin Corridor, a Black-owned bar. Everybody introduced a e book, and we’d both hang around and talk about them, or the entire bar would simply be studying. It was a lot enjoyable.”
“My complete factor is, I simply wish to join with individuals over books in the identical method that we join over actuality TV. Half the time, the stuff that’s occurring within the books is simply as wild! My high three e book membership picks are My Sister, the Serial Killer, The Workplace of Historic Corrections, and Homegoing. These are my heavy hitters.”
Thanks, Mbiye. We love you! You’ll be able to comply with her on Instagram, if you happen to’d like.
P.S. Extra week of outfits, together with a graphic designer with the most effective denim-on-denim set, and a author who’s over six toes.
(Photographs by Maeva Komenan for Cup of Jo.)
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