Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, this week's subjects: The Met Gala 2, The Game Has Changed, Women Now Take the Lead, Leather, and NFT Art or the art of making money disappear_

The Met Gala 2: Fashion with a Message: A Spectacle of Style, Statements, and Sustainability. Formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, this is an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. It is popularly regarded as the world's most prestigious and glamorous fashion event and social gathering and is known as “fashion's biggest night”. The first gala in 1948 comprised a dinner, and tickets were 50 dollars each (3000 $ in today's value). Several stars used the red carpet as a platform to make powerful statements about social and environmental issues. Bold slogans, symbol-laden designs, and politically charged ensembles sparked conversations about pressing global issues, proving that fashion can be a powerful medium for advocacy and change.

Throwback to Vintage Glamour: Echoing the ethos of sustainability, many celebrities opted for vintage and archival pieces, breathing new life into iconic designs from past eras. The red carpet witnessed a nostalgic celebration of classic couture, highlighting the timelessness and longevity of well-crafted fashion pieces. Standout Moments: The Queen of Upcycling: Renowned for her commitment to sustainable fashion, a certain A-list actress (Nicole McLaughlin), stole the show in a jaw-dropping gown created entirely from repurposed materials. Her ensemble not only turned heads but also set a new standard for eco-conscious luxury in the world of high fashion. The tech innovator's statement: Dressed in a mesmerizing ensemble that incorporated cutting-edge tech, a young entrepreneur made waves by showcasing the fusion of sustainability and innovation. His outfit, a fusion of recycled materials and wearable technology, exemplified a harmonious blend of style and sustainability.

The game has changed. Many ladies were brought to where they are today by a benefactor who introduced them to the right people. In the past, this often was at the instigation of the benefactor, who sometimes insisted on sex before moving her forward, and many figured out that maybe that was the only way to move forward and accepted. Wicked? But real. But Today the game is often played differently. The lady figures out who can move her forward and rather proposes to this potential benefactor herself. Wicked? But real. But it is sad if after both have accomplished what they wanted one starts boosting and making things public. That's wicked indeed. And real.

Leather, used to make shoes, bags, belts, and even coats, jackets, skirts, bracelets, and watch straps is the tanned skin of a mammal like a cow or a sheep, or a bird, or a reptile like a crocodile, or a snake, or even a fish. Anything else is not leather, artificial leather, semi-leather, or leather PU does not exist. All these may look and behave a bit like leather, but bluntly put, they are plastics. If you have a leather bag or shoes you will know the difference between the real thing and the imitations and appreciate the price difference. The only disadvantage of leather in our humid climate is that leather becomes damp and shows mold on the outside, but this can easily be wiped off. Leather needs maintenance in the form of polishing with something fatty, but I think these days only the armed forces and the police polish shoes and boots. You can ask yourself why they still wear leather shoes and boots while there are quality kambuls available. Off late, animal rights fans go for things called vegan leather, typically made of e.g. pressed banana leaves, again it is not leather. But serious efforts are underway to find alternatives to leather from plant rests or mushrooms, once one is able to copy the qualities of leather, these vegan imitations will be much cheaper. Mylo ™ is leading the pack with something that originates from the mycelium of mushrooms (that underground part that we don’t see), and already Hermès and Stella Mc Cartney are using it in high-end bags. Would be nice to have a quality alternative to leather as against the plastic things we now buy which very quickly look really worn out. And the most expensive leathers? Alligator, crocodile, and ostrich come at between 200 and 500 $ per square foot, or, even higher, Komodo dragon leather at 1000 $ per square foot but that is because that animal is now so scarce that it is almost extinct and on the protected species list.

NFT Art, or the art of making money disappear. NFT Art, a non-fungible token, is a record on a blockchain that is associated with a particular digital asset. When I first wrote about NFTs in August 2022, blog nr 10, prices were increasing daily and those with money to burn came in, trying to make more money. But I predicted it would not last. After all, what is the real value of a memory stick? Well, that money has now evaporated and prices are back to what they were 2 years ago. The same for collector's watches, there are too many around. So keep your feet on the ground when you see fantastic investment opportunities, you can indeed be lucky but mostly money does not come for free, and the bigger the potential returns, the higher the risk that it will not happen. And never gamble with money that you have to pay back.

Lydia...

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