Fashion & the fashion shops in the Cape Town fringe

Fashion is an element that cannot be excluded from our everyday lives. Fashion has been in society for centuries and it stands firm, and it does not seem like it is going anywhere anytime soon. Society has mde it clear that fabrics play a very important part, in classing individuals. It also has a great influence on individual’s behaviour and the plays a great part on how individuals feel. Fashion has also become an element that outlines the status differences in society. Whether we like it or not, Fabrics and shoes have a great influence on how society views you, and entre preneurs will take this opportunity to price these shoes and fabrics according to the increase and decrease in demand.

The fringe is one of the areas that enforce these policies of shoes and bag. A walk around the fringe shows how fashion has penetrated its way into being the main thing that puts society together and binds it, in order to function more effectively. It has proved people with jobs for many peoplein the fringe and created status and wealth in the society. It is impossible to move around the area and not notice that fashion has made itself the most important element of human survival.

Even if we may go to our closerts to choose a pair of normal jeans, thinking that we have made a choice thatresents us from the fashion industry. Little do we know that we will be making a choice of a jean that was selected for us by people in the fashion industry. The shops in the fringe play a part in selling these garments of human survival

The Grand Paraid is an open space where you will find about a hundred vendors selling second hand clothing or some imitation clothing of real designer clothing. The majority of the vendors are generally foreigners from the upper countries of Africa. They are said to have an undisclosed supplier for these clothing that they sell. “We are just making an honest living, it’s better than selling drugs and we are proving for those who cannot afford to buy the realand expensive labels.” A vendor states when he wasasked to comment on why theyare selling immitations of real labels and why don’t they create their own labels.

The shops on Long Street, which also fall part and parsle of the fringe, serve to put Cape Town in the world map of fashion, attractingtaurism and creating job opportunity for those who are less fortunate. And when the less fortunate become fortunate, they will then purchase these shoes and fabrics to be placed in a particular class. 

Every day is a good day.

A week after I arrived at home my neighbour and a close friend of mine asked me to talk to her class about the road to success. She had recently graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand.  She figured out that the teenagers needed some form of motivation either than from her. I gladly accepted the offer and themed my talk with the first group as “every day is a good day”

Every day is a good day, that’s how life is supposed to be, or that’s how we would like to be.  Well I’d like to inform you that life is not bad, it is just filled with bad people who do bad thing, and they can make you victims of circumstances. And even if you are already a victim, there is always a chance for you to start all over again. While we are in high school, we are being told that we can become anything that we want to become, we tend to believe it for that period of time then it is swept out of our minds when we are exposed to things that will make us look cool or make us become part of a social group. We all have the urge and want to belong to a certain superior entity, and we would do almost anything to belong to the group. At most times, the sacrifice is at the expense of our health or future. Yes we can still become someone or something, even though we have massed up in the past or present times.

Even though I had the privileges to go to a private high school, and receive the best education that one could ever wish for, at the back of my mind my conscious reminded me that my mother was the woman who worked at the factory at a clothing company, as I sat next to the child of a millionaire who got the tender to build the SAFA House.  Morning after morning I watched her get ready for work, and it hit me, that she is trying her best for me to get the best education so I can bring change in the family. We were a middle classed family, and I was proud of it, and not ashamed to point it out at school. I was not the most popular kid at school, but I assure you that I was one of the smartest. Every day of my life was a good day, and not a day will pass when I did not have lunch money.

I will not lie to you and say it was easy, and nor did I come from a perfect family where only your mother supports you. Regardless of the situations and challenges, I made it a point that I smiled every day, I laughed every day, and I learnt something new every day, good or bad.

Life is a journey of a thousand miles; an Author once said you will meet people in the future; you will make friends and loose them. People will be born and people will die in front of your eyes. The most important thing is that you come back from the sad moments, the challenging times and the lowest moments of your life to take a breath and smile. Even though your heart is aching, or you are being abused or you may not have enough to get by. Your happiness, passion, faith and love are sometimes the only things that you only need to get to where you want. So look at that mirror every morning and care to give yourself that smile and laugh.

Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses.

If you have been reading my blogs, you must be wondering where I met this B- and who this B-is. Well Somewhere around the course of the year I met this wonderful person whom I would like to refer to as B, the wonderful and very intelligent being. The colour of B’s skin is that of a light hot chocolate with extra milk. B’s has a wide smile with perfectly straight white teeth and about 1.6 metres tall.

We met around the university; I was looking for the IT department to fix the problem with my student password. “Please hold the lift” I yelled as I registered the good looking person standing alone in the lift. I quickly made my way in as the lift as it automatically shut its doors. “What will you give me as a reward for holding the lift for you?” you probably asking yourself if this had happened, honestly, it actually did happen. “Anything but not money” I replied. With my strength being able to create conversations that would arouse engagement, I found myself talking on my own leaving no room for B to tell me anything about b’s world.

Yes, over communication if there is such a word.  By the time we got to the fourth floor, I had shared half my life story with a total stranger. I stopped for a moment and questioned myself if my strength is my weakness? Poor B stood there and listened as I went on and on with the one way communication conversation. “I would like to get you numbers as a reward if you do not mind” he replied. Are you kidding me? Just when I least expected it. The perfect answer had gazed into my ears.  My weakness which turned into my strength had scored me some B.  

B- My Crush, My Present, My past

Being in a relationship with B- was and still is the most interesting thing that I have come across since I walked into this dating industry. Since the day we met we have been meeting after working hours, and one day, just once we sat in one office and all we did was just work and talk. I’d like to point it out, that is the only date that we ever had. Yes, we watched movies at my place or went to the park that’s all.

This is the part where one starts to ask himself whether if there is another party to the relationship. “Are you asking me if B- is cheating?” my best friend Siphe asked. “I hate this stage of the anticyclone and I would not call it cheating because we did not reach an agreement that we are not in a monogamous relationship.” My response defeated him and I hate to admit it but I was a victim of what people call “FAT en SET”.

My situation had a simple solution, “break It up” Siphe viciously slapped me with the suggestion. “It’s so clear that you are being played here” he added to finish the job at killing my emotions. Is it that simple? To fall in and out of love as if nothing ever happened? Was is love or was it last? Or was it 3 months of laughter, joy and a promise of a brighter future?

Like most people would do, I confronted B-, with the inspiration of Tony Braxton’s new song- “why don’t you love me”- I asked for honesty and the truth.  Trust in me, I did not want to hear the truth. “I’m married and I have a daughter”. Right there and then, I concluded B- as my Crush, My present and my past.

Try a cliché

What is your cliché? Do you even have one? Well as people, most of us do not take the time to think of a motto, and motivate ourselves as we live life. Why do I need to have a motto? Well Mr, Miss or Mrs Try a cliché. It is important for humans to be highly motivated and have some encouragement in life. Whether your cliché is about love, music, talent at a certain point you will need it to get by.

A cliché assists us in sticking on track and getting through life. As Rihanna would say in her song “Life is too short to be sitting around being miserable” my motto in life was born. Now here comes the big question. What is your motto?

Friday the 13, Wo HAHA!!!

There is no way on earth that I could never Blog about this day. I had spent over R4 000 to prepare for this memorable day. It was My First Graduations, for my National Diploma in Public Relations. Friday, May 13, 2011 was the scheduled day for the honouring of all PR students that had made it as the class of 2011. “Finally the day had arrived, it was as if it will never come” my mother added the joyful comment to me as we were driving from SOWETO to Pretoria to the event.

"Make sure that you smile when you get on stage, right through to the second you get off, and look at the cameras.” My cousin’s advice popped in my head, Khanyi who had recently graduated in Transport economics in the past two months.

When we finally arrived at the venue: Tshwane University of Technology, Soshanguve Campus my level of excitement rose even more higher than expected. I suddenly felt the urge to look for all my previous class mates and squeeze in the opportunity take as many pictures as I can. You know what they say, “take a picture, it lasts longer.”

I could not help it, but I had to wait for the moment were I get on stage and my name was to be called to collect my National Diploma.  And when the moment had finally come, I grabbed the opportunity to shine with both hands; anyone who was in that hall can tell you what I did on that stage. After all, it was my “Operah Moment”, and there was no chance in hell, that I was going to let it pass me by just like that.

Woha ha ha!!! From that day, every time Friday the 13^th comes into conversation, I will remember the best and wonderful moments of my first graduations and special day for me, my mother and Family.