Nikki Billie Jean: My 26th Birthday! “The Ankaranista” Nikki Billie Jean 2 Piece Suit + Overcoat

Happy new month and fri-yay ankaranistas! 2017 has gone by so fast. Can’t believe there is only two months left in the year.

So my 26th birthday was on Thursday, October 5th, 2017. In Nikki Billie Jean fashion, I wore a ankara pant suit and sported a hairstyle with marley hair. The goal was to look like a bonafide ankarainsta on my birthday. You might ask, what is an ankaranista?

Ankaranista – [an-ker-uh-nis-tuh] – noun : A person devoted to ankara print fashion clothing.  Being a ankaranista is more than just what you wear, it’s a lifestyle, a movement. A ankaranista is confident and could careless what people think. A ankaranista wears mixed prints, multiple prints. The more, the better. A ankaranista is a person who has found her own individual style, and knows how to mix it with what’s trendy at the moment. Real ankaranista do not believe in trends. All they wear is ankara. -Nikki Billie Jean, The Ankaranista (Founder, All Things Ankara)

The day before my birthday, on October 4th, blogger Ann Wynn posted this photo on her Instagram of a new mural in Hyattsville. When I saw the mural, I started smiling because I knew this would be a perfect place to take photos in my birthday outfit.

FYI: I didn’t plan my outfit to match the colors of the wall.. Pretty cool how the colors matched my suit and overcoat.

Interior design firm and store, Green Owl Design, as part of their “Flight the Blight” campaign, have painted three vacant commercial buildings along Route 1 in the heart of Hyattsville, Maryland. The multi-colored panel murals is painted on the side of one of those vacant commercial buildings. If you are interested in checking out this spot, it is close to the intersection of Baltimore Ave and Longfellow Rd by the Busboys & Poets (5331 Baltimore Ave, Hyattsville, MD 20781).

I have always wanted to take photos on a color wall. So this was literally the best birthday gift ever! The have a few similar walls like this in the D.C. area, but majority of them are in warmer states like Atlanta, Miami, Houston and Los Angeles.

There is a similar color wall like this, in Houston, Texas, created by Sugar & Cloth. Check it out here.

Here are some closeups on my hair and make up. Hair and makeup was done by Jackie Cyrille.

The sleek side-part, back bun hair style, went perfect with this look.

I didn’t notice this until recently, but I look so much like the founder of Stella Jean in the photo below.

We also stopped by the brand spanking new 4 star hotel, The Hotel at The University of Maryland, in College Park, Maryland for a few street style photos.

Just minding my business.

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter got me looking lit!

FYI: The bling on my earring was not edited on this picture. Pretty dope how this naturally happened!

Pink suit with the pink toes to match.

I teamed up with photographer and videographer extraordinaire, Othello Banaci for the video visuals on this look.

 

Credits
Model: Nikki Billie Jean
2 Piece Suit & Over Coat: Nikki Billie Jean, Purchase here
Earrings: Rainbow
Zera Heeled Sandals: JustFab, Available here
Creative Director: Troy Massa
Photographer: Sir Niick
Videographer: Othello Banaci

Hope you enjoyed this post! Did I slay this or nah? I think I did. Comment below.

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