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, Titi. This week's subjects: How to Look Expensive, Polished & Effortlessly Elegant—Without Designer Labels, Fashion Show Galore, Pain killers, Sticky Non-Stick Frying Pans, The Internet of Things and Make Sure You Don't Lose Your Password, and People Social Eatery

How to Look Expensive, Polished & Effortlessly Elegant—Without Designer Labels. Dear Accra corporate girl, luxury is not always about the logo on your handbag or the price tag on your blazer. Sometimes, the most expensive looking woman in the office is the one wearing a perfectly tailored pair of trousers, a crisp shirt, and enough confidence to make everyone wonder, “Where does she shop?” Welcome to the world of quiet luxury—Accra office edition. Tailoring Is Your Best Investment: You don't need a wardrobe full of designer clothes. What you need is clothing that fits beautifully. A well-fitted blazer, tailored trousers, or a structured dress will instantly make your outfit look more luxurious. Avoid pieces that are too tight, too loose, or awkwardly proportioned. The secret? Sometimes, a simple trip to your tailor can make an affordable outfit look like it belongs on a luxury runway. Keep Accessories Elegant, Not Excessive: Quiet luxury doesn't need everything to scream for attention. Choose one or two beautiful accessories: a classic watch, delicate jewellery, a structured handbag, or elegant shoes. Remember, the goal is not: “Can everyone see my accessories?” The goal is: “Why does she always look so polished?” Your Shoes Can Make—or Break—the Look: You could be wearing the most beautiful outfit, but tired-looking shoes can change the entire story. Invest in versatile styles such as: – Classic pumps – Elegant loafers – Minimal sandals – Pointed flats – Clean, sophisticated heels And please, Accra corporate girl: keep them clean. Luxury is often in the details. So the next time you walk into that Accra office, remember: You don't need a designer logo to look expensive. You just need good style, great tailoring, and the confidence of a woman who knows exactly who she is. That is the Accra Corporate Girl luxury aesthetic.

Fashion Show Galore. It seems we are in line with what is happening in the world. In quick succession we had the New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks. And in Ghana, we had the Ghana Garden and Flower show, which took place at the Efua Sutherland Children's Park, and last weekend the HnM Fashion Show at the National Theatre and on the same day the Style Runway FW26, and then Glitz and RodR (Rhythms on Da Runway), and the Ghana Fashion Week coming up, and Black Star Fashion Week in the making. Is there money to be made there? Is this the latest fashion fad, to organize fashion shows called fashion weeks? As a designer, what should I do? Apply for all? And pay for all? These things don't come cheap if you add all the expenses involved: making the collection, paying your fee to the show organizer, (ranging from 3000 to 8000 GHC) transporting your stuff to a fitting session and back, transporting it to the show, getting a stylist to make it look good, taking it back, and sending it all to the dry cleaner to remove makeup and sweat. Say somewhere between 5,000 and 13,000 GHC. And what do you get? A bit of publicity. Any sales? Any foreign buyers giving you contracts for 500 pieces of this and 500 pieces of that? Hmm.

Pain killers. What Is Pain? Mostly, it’s a signal that something somewhere in your body is wrong. So, to get rid of that pain, you take a painkiller. Problem solved? No, problem suppressed, not solved. The same thing is still wrong with you. Now, if you take a painkiller once a month or so I don’t want to argue much, but if you take painkillers daily, then you are not on the right track. And many are not on the right track. Try to find out what creates the pain, and rather try to solve that problem than taking the pain away without knowing what’s wrong with you. And as you take more pills, you will need more pills. Your body gets used to them, the same as when using narcotics. Eventually, you get into the overdose mode. Brrrr.

Sticky Non-Stick Frying Pans. The famous one is the French Tefal, and that contains so-called forever chemicals, which everyone is currently agitating against. They cause cancer, hormonal disruption and other health problems and don’t break down, hence the name forever chemicals, also called PFAS. So Tefal came up with a big campaign: “Now we are healthy.” But currently, they got attacked by three groups, the ClientEarth (an environmental law organization), Generations Futures (a French environmental organization) and Notre Affaire à Tous (a French environmental justice organization) who claim Tefal is still using the poison. So they’ll probably stop using it and close the factory? Of course not. Keep the show going. Africa also needs non-stick frying pans. So be aware. Stainless steel or cast iron is a better option. The good news is that the FDA recently destroyed a container with dangerous nappies. Let’s hope they get their act together and also look at cooking pans and makeup.

The Internet of Things and Make Sure You Don't Lose Your Password. And how secure is that? My computer friend, one of those geeks who seems to be married to the screen, pizza and beefburgers, says nothing is secure. Imagine a lock on your room door. You have the key. But things get missing. Either someone has a spare key or came in through the window, or removed the entire door, or came in through the ceiling. It’s a bit like that with computer security. And then we read that a 15-year-old boy hacked the USA Ministry of Defense system. 15-year-old boy hacked the USA Ministry of Defense system In Sweden, they tried to introduce a cashless society, so everything went through the internet. Now they don't trust that anymore and ask everybody to keep a reasonable amount of cash at home. This morning, I read that hackers got into the cooling systems in supermarkets (I never knew they were connected through the internet), and thousands of tons of refrigerated food have to be thrown away. Who thinks this is funny? But I think maybe someone is testing. Like you design a weapon and then quietly test it somewhere. The next war will probably be fought by shutting down each other's internet. And drones, which use computers to hit the target. So don't rely too much on all of this. Have two bank cards from different banks and have some cash in the house, spread your savings over several banks, and have two mobile numbers from different operators. Paranoia? Maybe.

People Social Eatery. We went to Orca at Spintex to buy a few things for the new bathroom, but were disappointed and walked out with nothing. To make up for it, we went to the People Social Eatery next door and had a honey nut granola banana at 110 GHC, which was nice, and orange juice at 50 GHC, and a double espresso at 55 GHC, which was small and came without sugar, though on request it was brought. Our 5 GHC change was taken and not brought back, and the waiter had disappeared.

Lydia...

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