Passion Fruit from Trinidad and Tobago

It gives me great pleasure and happiness to introduce to you -- if you have not discovered her blog as yet -- artist Brianna McCarthy who hails from the lovely region of the West Indies, and more specifically from Trinidad and Tobago.
She is an amazing artist who appears to focus on portraits of women, and what is so remarkable about her work is that instantly you know these are West Indian women, even without being told. I think it is fascinating that she achieves this as she does not produce West Indian women in the typical way. She presents them more ethereal, thoughtful and pensive than I have ever seen them before. But I'll just shut up now and show you some of her artwork, for I think it speaks for itself.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these images. They are all the property of Brianna McCarthy.

So that's the blog I've been really feeling lately. Its nice to see us West Indian women depicted so sensitively and delicately. If you are also impressed with this young talent make sure to check out her blog here.

Hey, garcon! More salt and pepper at table six, please.

For awhile now I have been obsessed with all things Salt n' Pepa. I think their style was fresh and fun and thanks to them I am now obsessed with gold hoops and tight cropped shirts. However, its not really within my personality to bear my stomach, so lately I've just been watching old Salt n' Pepa videos with the intention of living vicariously through them. I do like that the cropped shirt style has made a comeback, but I've noticed that they are looser than Salt n' Pepa's uber tight ones. In any case, I'm not one to bare my midriff. I wouldn't say I'm a conservative dresser, but that's one area that I have never felt compelled to reveal. So when I do buy a couple cropped shirts, I'll wear it with a very high waisted pants. Urkel style! Ha!

Anyway, here are some of my fave pics of Salt n Pepa

 Aren't those over-sized gold hoops great? I love gold hoops and I do have large ones but I have thinner, wide ones, as opposed to thick, big hoops. However, Salt rocks the thick ones here!

Salt, Spinderella and Pepa look great in this colour because orange is a great colour for rich complexions... Actually its a great colour for every complexion! ...Unless you're a redhead, in which case, this colour could clash quite badly...

 Okay, okay.. one style I will admit should stay in the 90's is the plaid beret. And pants-skirts. That I will admit. Not a fan of either. In fact, I think the only person that ever could wear them simultaneously and pull it off is Salt. She was my fave member as well. She was fierce!

I can't think of a better colour than black. Wait, hang on a second. *Ponders*. Nah, there's nothing better. Black will always be the new black.

 Well, that's it. Salt n' Pepa is one of my fave fashion inspirations, just for the irreverence and wackiness of it all. (Gotta love the 90's.) When I do incorporate ideas from their style, of course its never the whole look but just elements like hoops or cropped shirts. Who are some of your fashion inspirations and what are some of the elements you draw from them?
I'm really excited to know. I already know someone is gonna say Anna del Russo or Rihanna or Alexa Chung. I feel it in my bones! :)