Swimsuit season is upon us, ladies and gentlemen, and GabiFresh has all the ammunition you need to have the Hot Girl Summer you deserve. Recently, the blogger released her latest collab with Swimsuits For All to give us the size-inclusive swimwear collection we didn't know we needed and xoNecole has all the details. The line, which hit the internet yesterday, consists of nine unique pieces that range from $80 to $108 and promise to give you the ultimate drip all damn summer.
While this cute AF line will likely be known for its fun prints and sexy fit, brand creator Gabi Fresh says that there is a much deeper, sentimental meaning behind her latest release. In an interview with Refinery29, Gabi revealed that her latest collaboration is a tribute to late Haitian-American fashion model and activist, Mama Cax, who she worked with shortly before her untimely death. Gabi told Refinery29:
"We hadn't met until the shoot, but I followed her [career]. I knew who she was and I celebrated her all the time. I remember when I first saw her years and years ago, she was a new model and had just gotten signed. I was so excited to see someone doing the things she was doing and breaking the boundaries that she was. So, the fact that she got to be cast in my campaign was so exciting — it was the first time we actually were able to really connect in person and spend time with each other. I saw that as the first of many."
Mama Cax, who had her leg amputated after being diagnosed with bone and lung cancer at only 14 years old, lost her battle with cancer in December; but her legacy of being a badass boss will live on for generations, and Gabi says this is exactly why the late-activist was perfect for this collaboration. In the interview, Gabi also opened up about a moment she shared with Mama Cax that she will remember forever.
"One of my favorite moments from the shoot was when Mama Cax literally lifted herself off of a rock using nothing but her signature crutch. It was just the most inspirational, beautiful moment because she was set-up with this amazing backdrop and lifted herself off of this rock in the coolest way."
Over the past few years, Gabi has used her eye for fashion to pursue her passion, secure a paycheck, and walk in her purpose and her latest collection is no exception.
To check out more looks from the latest Gabi Fresh x Swimsuits For All Collection, scroll below!
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All
Featured image by Ben Watts/Swimsuits for All.
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Since it’s Stress Awareness Month, we caught up with Keanne Owens, LCSW, founder of Journey To Harmony Therapy Center, to talk about these triggers and what Black women can do to manage and cope.
Owens is an experienced South Florida-based counselor and social worker who offers her services via Grow Therapy, a therapy and medication management platform. She has worked with Black women professionals to unpack issues related to workplace stressors. “One is the pressure to perform–having to meet deadlines and deliverables. And a lot of times, these subtle stressors from performance are put upon ourselves as Black women. We want to make sure we’re doing our best. We don’t want to be critiqued in certain ways.”
Excessive micromanagement leading to fear of overly critical bosses is another subtle trigger that can negatively impact Black women in the workplace.
“Whenever something is done wrong, or we experience some type of injustice and have to report it, it’s the fear of retaliation–[fear that] we won’t be taken seriously or [our words] will be taken out of context because of being deemed as the ‘angry Black woman,’” she said.
Black Women And Workplace Stress Triggers
Her sentiments are backed by research. A recent report by Coqual found that 28% of Black women (compared to 17% of White men) say their supervisor uses “excessive control or attention to detail” when managing them. There’s more: A survey by the National Employment Law Project found that Black workers were “more likely to have concerns (80 percent) and twice as likely as white workers (18 percent) to have unresolved concerns at work, with 39 percent reporting they were “not satisfied with the employer’s response or did not raise concerns for fear of retaliation.”
The survey also found that 14 percent of Black respondents said they “avoided raising concerns to their employer for fear of retaliation—more than twice the average rate of 6 percent for all survey respondents.”
Owens pointed to the fact that these subtle stress triggers can negatively impact our physical health and our career advancement. “A lot of time it’ll affect our productivity,” Owens added. “We start to have negative thoughts of ourselves. The stressors can also cause fatigue. We’re no longer meeting or working up to our desired potential.” Other challenges as a result include insomnia and increased insolation, withdrawal, and lack of motivation to apply for jobs or promotions even when qualified.
valentinrussanov/Getty Images
How To Manage Subtle Stress Triggers
While there are systemic issues at play for Black women at work that has less to do with us and more to do with major overhauls that must be addressed by the powers that be, there are steps we can take for the betterment of ourselves and our mental health. Owens offered the following tips:
Tap into a support system, whether it’s a coworker you trust, a family member, an organization, or an outlet like a hobby.
Create a good work-life balance before burnout even starts. “Having certain boundaries [is the goal] such as, for example, if you get off at 5, you get off at 5. If your job description is this, you don’t go above and beyond because that brings you to a lot of burnout,” Owens said.
Prioritize self-care, whatever that means for you. “If you don’t have a routine, create one. Practice mindfulness and even some meditation,” she added.
Create structure in your life outside of work. “Even if you have a family, applying some structure in your routine helps relieve stress,” she said.
Get into grounding techniques. “Do a real quick square breathing exercise, that’s literally 30 seconds, or you can do a grounding technique that’s less than two minutes, right there where you are. You don’t need any other materials. That’s something you can do with just yourself and your body.”
Ask for help. “As Black women, we don’t ask for help enough,” she said. “Find where you need to ask for help. A lot of times, people think that’s indicative of weakness, but we need to rewrite that narrative. It’s okay to ask for help where you see fit. [If] you’re a mom, [it could be] every Wednesday from 5 to 6, your children are with the dad. You have to carve out that time.”
For more information on Grow Therapy, visit their website. You can also find out more about Keanne Owens, LCSW, via BeginYourJourneyToHarmony.com.
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