This week's contributors: Lydia, Dore Fasolati, this week's subjects: bizarre fashion, gold, thermometers, mobile addictions, jollof, morris mini

Today’s bizarre fashion

Taking you back to the dawn of time where fashion was exquisitely modest and decent, only certain jewels and style represented and. differentiated amongst the classes. But in today’s fashion world, there’s no difference between the royal and the slave, or the priestess and the prostitute.

In the 1900s, most men wore suits, and everyone wore a hat in public. The jazz age flapper of the 1920s got rid of all those restrictions in order to have fun. Fashion has incredibly morphed through different eras of time to this day.Fashion in the 20th century went from strict corseted dresses to the anything goes attitude of today. Here are some bizarre fashion trends of the 21st century that make you wonder “what were they thinking ! ?”

-Inflatable balloon trousers designed by Harikrishnan for a show at the London College of fashion.

Fried chicken crocs; what!!! Not only does it look like a bucket of chicken but it also smells like a bucket of fried chicken.

-Three-toed sandals by Givenchy; what is the point of these????

-Grass-stained jeans by Gucci and this absurdity also comes with a ridiculous price tag of $950.

-Watermelon bag.  Wait? What!!!? Why would anyone want to be carrying a watermelon freaking it around?

Wondering why work outfits have strongly maintained its grounds till date!!! That’s because people tend to abuse the scenery.

Here are some 21st century fashion trends which have changed the narrative.

Hoodies under blazers, Power Bohemian florals, Color clashing, Tractor Trek-Sole Boots, Chunky Loafers

Academia, Hot Goth, Y2K fashion, The Wide leg pants, and Loud logos

And as the landscape keeps changing and morphing, staying up with the latest fashion trends is paramount. Without further delay, there are some stylish, innovative, affordable and easy to pull off fashion trends. In our next Episode.

Gold. The magic word, and especially wedding rings should (?) be made of gold. Let's look at some details. First of all, there is only one gold, gold. It is yellowish, but because gold is a rather soft metal it easily wears out (chain lockers, rings), so normally it is mixed with at least 25 % silver, nickel or zinc (giving white/yellow gold), or copper, (giving red/rose gold) to give it more hardness. The purity of gold is expressed in karats, 24 karats gold is pure gold, 100 %, that's the type of gold Central Banks like the Bank of Ghana have in their vaults (we hope) to assure investors that in case of need they can buy their way out by selling some of that gold. If you want to invest in gold you buy 24 karat gold bars. But for our jewelry we would typically get that gold which has 25% of something else mixed into it, thus it is 25% metal and 75 % gold, making it 18 karat gold. Diluting it more would give 14 karats (58.3% gold and 41.6 % metal). So, if you buy a 4-gram gold ring, 18 karats, only 75% or ¾ is gold, so in fact you are only buying 3 grams of gold. Then, an ounce of gold is 31.1 grams of gold, (a cooking ounce is 28 grams) and has a price quoted on the internet, today about 1720 $ per ounce.  So, your 4-gram gold ring is 3-gram gold is 3gm /31.1 gm x 1720 $ = $ 166. This price is more than double than it was a few years ago, and not affordable any more for many. And then, of course the jeweler will charge something, typically they charge double or triple.

There are a few options out, for example hollow rings. They look big but weigh little.

And then there is gold plated, but that comes in qualities, how many microns (thickness) of gold was put on top of the metal ring? This should be at least 0.5 microns, and would wear off in about 2 years. Was the metal covered in nickel first to avoid getting through the gold layer and discoloring it? Or better still, is it silver that was gold plated? Recently I was gifted a gold-plated anklet, bought at the Accra Kotoka International Airport, and the gold on it lasted less than a month and then we saw copper. As for the value of the gold, less than a Dollar on a ring, so you rather talk high priced metal or silver jewelry. And silver does not really have value these days either, less than a Dollar per gram.

But maybe after 2 years you have more money, or maybe the marriage has been dissolved. Call it a shining beginner's investment.

All in all, try to find a jeweler you can trust and who is pricing reasonably. Start early. And how to test gold? That's a whole separate blog...

Gold, from yellow to red...

Thermometers. With so many newly named or rediscovered diseases around, be they Monkey Pox, Marburg Virus, Covid 20, Covid 21, or Covid 22 for this year, the least headache or ill feeling now

literally gives me the shivers. So, I have bought a thermometer and now I know if I have a fever or not, I can monitor and I can react accordingly. Take matters in your own hand. As this blog is not supposed to be too long, telling you where to put that thermometer is for next time.

Mobile? I am not sure under which heading to put this one, but there is a new word around, momophobia, meaning being afraid without a mobile phone. And mobile phone addiction has now been recognized as one of many addictions which eventually can damage your health, like cannabis or alcohol addiction. One of them is a legally addictive drug anyway.

Italian Jollof. Ghanaians like Jollof so much that Accra Airport City's Italian Restaurant “the Tomato” owner Claudio has added it to his menu. His Italian kitchen is excellent, and now with the introduction of Jollof more Ghanaians are entering. So, are we going to eat more Italian food or is this the beginning of the end of spaghetti for the Italians?  I am not sure where Ukraine comes in now.

My newest car I've bought 48 years old Morris Mini, without really seeing it, it was dark. I hear it could be worth 25000 Pounds when done. Wish me luck.

Lydia...

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