M.A.G. blog, signed by Lydia

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: Power Dressing Reimagined, Take off the make up? Alcohol, the legal but highly addictive drug, Sub Box, and Zen Garden

Power Dressing Reimagined: Forget the monotone pantsuits and the rigid dress codes — the modern workplace is undergoing a quiet revolution, and fashion is leading the charge. The avant-garde corporate aesthetic is where art meets ambition, where structured silhouettes collide with unexpected textures, and where creativity walks confidently into the boardroom. In a world that values creativity as much as competence, dressing avant-garde for work isn’t rebellion, it’s evolution. Styling Tips for the Workplace. Balance the Bold: If your blazer has exaggerated proportions, keep the rest streamlined. Let one piece be the conversation starter. Play with Layers: A high-neck silk blouse under a sleeveless jacket adds visual intrigue without breaking professionalism. Accessorize Intelligently: Sculptural jewelry — think geometric earrings or asymmetrical cuffs, adds artful punctuation to the outfit. Confidence Is the Final Layer: Avant-garde fashion thrives on presence. Own your silhouette, and the room will follow. Designers Leading the Movement. If you’re looking to build your avant-garde corporate wardrobe, look toward designers who master the balance of innovation and wearability. Maison Margiela and Junya Watanabe for structural experimentation. The Row and COS Atelier for minimalist, architectural refinement. Peter Do and Helmut Lang for urban, clean-lined power dressing. Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake for poetic yet professional drapery. The Future of Office Fashion; The next generation of professionals isn’t asking for permission to express individuality — they’re demanding design with purpose. As workplaces embrace hybrid models and flexible dress codes, the avant-garde corporate aesthetic is becoming not only accepted but aspirational. It symbolizes intellect, innovation, and the freedom to create — both in fashion and in thought.

Take off the make up? I think the myth around make up is overdone. First of all it is becoming more and more clear that a lot of the make up products, and specially here in Africa where controls are less, contain things which are not very good for us like parabens, phthalates, triclosan, benzophenone, and certain synthetic fragrances, and even brands like Nivea contain things that have been linked to breast cancer and hormone disruptions. And do we need these things? I can imagine that if you have a big scar or pimple on your face that you want to hide it. Or draw the attention away from areas which you are not too proud of, to other areas. But must you cover yourself under a foundation and then paint a new face on it? More often than not this is overdone and the person starts to look unnatural and gets what I call “pig eyes”. I'd rather be myself with a bit of colour here or there to enhance some of my features. Let's keep it as natural as possible, and in any case wash it off as soon as you can.

Alcohol, the legal but highly addictive drug. Traditional narcotics, in order of addictiveness, are heroine, nicotine (tobacco), cocaine, alcohol and cannabis (wee, ganja, herbs). Both nicotine and alcohol are 100 % legal in Ghana, moreover alcohol is a social drug. We say “cheers”, wishing each other good health with a glass of alcohol in our hand, we pour libation or we open a bottle of champagne to celebrate success. Even chimpanzees have been found to eat a lot of fermenting fruits and on average get the same amount of alcohol per day as 2-3 glasses of beer. (Recent study in Tai national park, la Côte d’Ivoire, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/chimpanzees-drink-the-equivalent-of-two-alcoholic-drinks-per-day#:~:text=Chimps%20consume%20the%20equivalent%20of,d'Ivoire%20are%20shown%20eating.), It is thought they socialize better because of the alcohol. But a former British Chief Medical Officer, David Nutt once said that if alcohol were invented today it would immediately be forbidden, (he also said that horse riding statistically was more lethal than using heroin and promptly got sacked). A Gypsy wedding party, Romania, 1930s Alcohol is a strange bedfellow. You may drink 1 glass a day only, but after not too long a time you want that glass. And to get the relaxed feeling that one glass gave you, you now need 2 glasses. And as the years pass by you drink more, you may even get drunk with a hangover the next day, start to underperform at work and get sacked, start to mess up with the family by being aggressive or spending food money on alcohol and so forth, or cause traffic accidents. Most hard drinkers can survive for years, often the environment of the alcoholic suffers more than the person himself. Cheers to that?

Sub Box. Labone, Ndabaningi Sithole Road, Accra, always nice on a Saturday morning to have a coffee there and some fresh orange juice, though, as said earlier, there's a taste of orange juice from a pack in there as well. That's strange, packs of orange juice are more expensive than fresh juice. Sub box also sells lots of different bites, the quality is not bad and we bought some donuts to take away, which were ok. The nice thing is that the take away food box was carton, and I see that more and more. It would be nice if all that plastic were replaced with less damaging materials. Malawi recently banned the use of thin one use plastic bags, in Ghana we never hear any discussion about these things.

Zen Garden. Orphan Crescent, Labone, Accra. More known for live music in the evenings they also serve lunch, sit inside or outside. We had 2 house burgers with added cheese @ 135 each and a fruit juice @70 GHC, a bit stiff for a glass of juice from a pack. Delivery was a bit slow, and being inside it is difficult to get the attention of the waiter. But the place is quiet and correct, good for a lunch meeting and discussion and the quality was a bit okay.

# Lydia...

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