00:00The following is brought to you by L'Oreal, Maybelline, and Garnier.
00:11Have you ever gotten dressed and you're looking at yourself in the mirror and you're like,
00:16I'm looking good, but something is missing? Chances are you're in need of a statement piece.
00:22So I'm here today with accessory connoisseur, Ms. Natalie Howe of Decote,
00:26and she's going to educate us a bit on how to choose the correct accessories for your outfit.
00:34Now, Ms. Howe, would you say that accessories simply complete an outfit or would you say they
00:39have the power to make or break your look? It has the power to make or break your look
00:44and it also completes your outfit. So if it is you're looking for accessories, it's either you
00:50choose your accessories and then build your outfit from that or you can have something in your wardrobe
00:55and you want to accentuate. So Decote is a brand that of course is founded upon the latter.
01:02So you have your clothing in your wardrobe and you want to build upon it. So basically,
01:08Decote is French for low and plunging neckline. And yeah, so the carrier of the brand is actually
01:14necklaces. So it's a female centric, built to empower women kind of brand. And we're using the
01:22neckline as sort of a way of saying, you know, how would you see the beautiful piece if you don't
01:28keep your head up. So it's an empowerment brand and it's bold intentionally, it's colorful intentionally,
01:34and it's Afro-Caribbean. So you would see that it's handmade using fabrics from, you know,
01:40the West African coast, the Kinti and the Angra fabrics. And also our Caribbean fabrics are tie-dyed,
01:47but very vibrant, very colorful, indicative of our people. And of course, the brand has a range of
01:53products. So it's not just necklaces. Although it's the carrier of the brand, we have earrings, bangles,
02:00we have brooches, belts, different things. So a piece like this, for instance, how would we wear this?
02:06So this is a stacked choker and it is made to be woven around the neckline. So close to the
02:11neckline
02:12like this. You fix it and then you attach it to the back. But you can also wear it loose
02:18because
02:18there's a chain attachment where you can wear it along the colour board. All right? So that's
02:24visual effect. But it's based on actually the body type of the individual. So the colour would
02:30complement your complexion and also what you're wearing. And the piece that you choose will
02:36complement the body type of the individual and what you're wearing. So for example, if someone has
02:42a shorter neck, all right, I would not choose a choker for that person. All right? I would choose
02:47something that would elongate the neck, bringing attention more to the body itself. If someone is
02:53heavy chested, I would not choose something that rests on top of the chest. I would choose something
02:57that is a little bit longer. People usually ask, you know, how long does it take for me to create
03:01one item? But the thing is, when I'm in it, I'm in it. So it takes hours and I create
03:06a batch.
03:07And this is something that you would have taught yourself? Yes. So actually, as I said,
03:12it was divinely led and inspired. And yeah, so I am a handmade artisan that is self-taught.
03:19Do you feel as though there is a need though for, you know, some sort of infrastructure around
03:27these types of the arts to really get artisans out there?
03:31Yes. I mean, there are areas where there needs to be more injected into putting artisans out there.
03:41That would be great for artisans to, for there to be a local place, a centralized place actually,
03:47for artisans to come together, to, you know, to sell their crafts, to build community. And that's
03:52something that, that have been typical amongst, amongst artisans. And it will really create a hub
03:59for persons to go to rather than, you know, hear about a market and buy the way, you know,
04:03you visit. But if there's a home, that would be awesome.
04:06So what is next for the cool thing? Um, definitely you'd see me, um, online,
04:12so a website, um, that's fully functional as well as a storefront because people like the feel to
04:18feel to try on that opportunity. And I really want to make it happen for, um, Trinidad to be with.
04:23So a storefront for sure. And, um, um, a website, yeah, so that you can order and you can ship
04:30abroad.
04:30All right, beautiful. Well, all the best to you and of course to your brand.
04:34And that's it for this segment of street style. We'll be back with another episode next week,
04:40Thursday. So look out for that. I am Vanessa cutting and this was street style.
04:49The proceeding was brought to you by L'Oreal, Maybelline and Garnier.
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