Wearing Prints in the Snow: African Style- Blue Ankara maxi Dress

It has been snowing a whole lot in the twin cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) lately and we have had lots of school cancelations. It was so cold last week that the kids went to school for just one day the whole week. I felt bad about the bad weather but I am grateful that we had good quality family time from lounging by the fire place and watching TV, just listening to music and playing the piano. I also took the kids to the library to get books which they read while they were home. My highlight of the extremely cold week was snuggling in blankets which is the best thing to do on a cold snowy day and this is the reason I decided to wear this long maxi print dress to Church last Sunday. It was so cold and snowy that I actually felt  like wrapping myself in blankets 😂 Then, I made up my mind last minute to wear this blue print dress which I custom-designed a couple of years ago. The dress is made from African wax print fabric which is popularly called "Ankara." Ankara fabrics are colorful yards of material usually with very bold prints worn by Africans or people of African descent. You can get ready made Ankara dresses, skirts or pants to buy from Etsy. If you want to design your own outfit, you can also buy Ankara fabric in yards and you can design your own sketch and make the outfit yourself if you know how to sew otherwise,  you can  send it to a seamstress to have it made for you.

How to style grey color Outfits for cold weather

Grey color outfits make up a big part of my style during the cold weather months because to be honest with you, it is really hard to burst out in colors when the skies are grey and there is a carpet of snow on the ground for days on end. And when I say grey color outfits, I mean full on grey color  outfits where 70% of the outfit is grey. I am not talking about occasion where you just throw on a grey blazer over a colored outfit or putting on a grey colored pant and throwing on a colorful top. As we all know, grey color outfits can be very formal and not necessary suited for everyday wear unless you just want to throw on a grey top and jeans for casual wear and then there is the risk of the outfit being too casual if you plan on going to a serious event like Church and Work. There is actually nothing wrong with wearing a plain outfit; it really depends on how your clothes make you feel.


And I'll give you my Christian perspective since this is a Christian Fashion Blog. One of the commands Jesus Christ gave to us is to "go into the world and preach the good news." (Mark 16:15) And to be out in the world preaching, you are going to meet with strangers and approach people in different places at all times. You want to look your best at all times to be able to connect with people whether on line or in real life.


This does not mean you have to wear expensive clothing or designer clothes, you just have to look clean, presentable and dressed for the right occasion. Do not wear jeans and tee shirts to an event that calls for formal attire. Also, If not styled right, grey color outfits can also veer into the realm of uniform. In this post, I am going to share some tips that I consider whenever I want to make my grey outfits interesting and chic and suitable for work and play especially in the cold weather season.