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Here's How To Rock A Little Black Dress
While most of the outside world is slowly reopening after a lengthy six months of back-to-back business shutdowns, I feel the energy in the air returning along with a certain zest for life. As I yearn to reunite with loved ones, I marvel at how much I'd taken advantage of their quality time pre-pandemic. While others are still met with a slight hesitation when posed with the idea of moving freely around strangers once again, people such as myself are thrilled to rejoin society much more than anticipated.
With birthdays and celebrations being a never-ending season, what a better time for small occasional gatherings celebrating more life. With holiday festivities soon to come as we quickly head into the winter months, I decided that widening my scope to shop outside of the sweatpants and leisure-wear I've been confined to since mid-March. As more events begin to fill up the rest of my alendar, I decided to round up my favorite go-to little black cocktail dresses this fall. Once retail stores began to reopen, I took advantage of items I saw myself wearing once "normal" life resumed.
Call me a shopaholic or optimistic, either way, here are three LBD styles I'm impatiently waiting to keep me chic all night long this holiday season:
The Cutout
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
I love anything designed with a pop of skin. Super modern, a cut out mini black dress is a perfect choice for a date or chic night on the town with your girlfriends. Ultra chic and reminiscent of a vintage 90's silhouette, this ultra-chic v-cut out dress is one of my favorite finds this year. Styled with minimal jewelry, I allowed the dress to speak for itself.
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Blazer Dress
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
This dress is tailored for the self-made girl boss. Dressed in all black with a plunging neckline, this look is the perfect structured look for a woman about her business during the day and cocktail hour at night. A classic silhouette that never goes out of style, don't be afraid to steal your boyfriend's oversized blazer jacket to easily achieve this super chic look.
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Ruched in all the Right Places
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
Ruched details are having a major moment this year. This body-hugging design feature has been a personal favorite to enhance my figure, adding more curves and shape to the proper areas. With a halter neck tie as the cherry on top of this delicious look, I plan to find any excuse to wear this LBD for the coming holiday season.
Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole
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Featured image by Shahirah Ahmed for xoNecole.
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Nicki Minaj’s Appearance At The ‘Barbie’ Premiere Is A Moment For The Culture
Nicki Minaj is opening up about the significance of her involvement in the upcoming Barbie film, highlighting how the brand has impacted her career as she attended the Los Angeles premiere of the highly anticipated project.
From the beginning of Minaj's rap career, which dates back to 2007 following the release of her first mixtape Playtime Is Over, the star coined the nickname Barbie after the Mattel doll. Minaj's love for the toy and the brand's representation ran so deep that she continued to incorporate the Barbie persona in practically almost every project, including the cover of Playtime Is Over, where the “Queen” rapper appeared as a figurine trapped inside a box. Over time, the emcee nicknamed her fanbase The Barbz and created numerous titled tracks containing the word Barbie. The list includes "Barbie Tingz," "Barbie Drip," "Barbie Dreams," and the newly released "Barbie World" featuring Ice Spice as a part of the Barbie soundtrack.
During a July interview with Entertainment Tonight, Minaj explained why she considered being a part of the Barbie soundtrack a full circle moment and her initial thoughts about "Barbie World."
Nicki On Being A Part Of The Barbie Project
In the discussion, the 40-year-old revealed she was excited to lend her voice to the soundtrack because of her admiration for the Barbie brand.
"I'm so excited to be here and be a part of this entire moment. I'm glad that they thought of me because I'm excited just like everybody else is excited to see this movie", she said. "I know I've been saying Barbie my whole career. So it's a very full circle moment."
Further into the interview, Minaj shared that before making "Barbie World" --a sample of Aqua's 1997 hit "Barbie Girl"-- she was given several songs that she didn't vibe with. Still, after hearing the Aqua sample, Minaj came up with the idea to incorporate some drums to provide the track with a more urban feel.
"There were a couple of songs that I didn't love, and this Barbie sample, I loved it. I just wanted it to have a dope drum, and so the one that they sent me, I loved. I jumped on it right away," she stated.
Nicki Gives Thanks To “Barbie” Director And Mattel
Immediately following the premiere, Minaj took to Twitter to show her appreciation to Mattel, Barbie director Greta Gerwig, and the film's soundtrack producers Mark Ronson and Kevin Weaver for including her in this monumental occasion.
"Thx, Forbes & s/o all the incredibly talented artists/producers on the #BarbieMovie soundtrack. Mark Ronson, Kev Weaver, Greta Gerwig, Mattel," she said while mentioning how much it meant to her and the Barbz. "You guys could have chosen anyone to be a part of this project. Glad you knew how much it would mean to the Barbz & me. So Grateful."
The live-action Barbie follows the adventures of the figurine as she adjusts to real life after getting kicked out of Barbie land for her imperfections. The film stars Margot Robbie, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, Issa Rae, and many others
Barbie is set to make its theatrical debut on July 21.
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Feature image by Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage