Yeba said I am “incredibly stylised.”

This one is for the girl still finding her style. The girl I used to be who had no fashion sense and has become someone people compliment for her “colors 🎨” and outfit styling, and presentation in general.

I used to have friends laugh at me for wearing crocs everywhere. I had people not invite me to things because they were scared that I would be “outdressed,” and that would bring them embarrassments.

I had people tell me, “is this what you're going to where to follow me?” and somehow maybe they helped me become more interested in finding my style. I wanted a style that showcased the facets there is to myself, my being.

Let me tell you a story. When I was younger, in secondary school, I was picked on a lot. I won't say bullied because my memory is vague and I am not sure. But I know I was picked on a lot for the way I dressed during our “summer lessons.”

My classmates in senior secondary scho made sure I knew I didn’t “get it.” They scribbled it down in my slum book like a declaration: "You don’t know how to dress."

I grew up and one time I wore a color blocking outfit. I wore a yellow trouser, bright yellow with a mustard top and wore a pink inner and crowned it off with a forest green scarve and showed up to church, bold, bright, and unaware.

I was singled out by the minister and given a “prophecy of madness.” Yes, madness, because apparently, my colors clashed too loudly for their spirit. She told me that I would run mad in a market place and thus began my fear of churches then.

So I grew up believing that style wasn’t something I could own. That it belonged to other girls—those with the dainty gold earrings, massive wardrobes, the matching bags, the quiet confidence in their walk. Not me.

Fast-forward to now—

Yeba. Yes, Yeba—founder of the iconic Yeba bags, a fashion force in her own right—looked at me and said I was incredibly stylised.

Me. She said that to me today randomly.

And I won’t lie: It felt real good. Not because I needed her approval to feel good about myself. But because I realized just how far I’d come. That little girl who was mocked and misunderstood had become a woman with presence that can be recognized by people prominent in fashion. A woman with style.

My former boss during our team trip said she looked forward to what I would wear the next day and how I would present “me.” She said I had good taste and style.

This is also a woman in the fashion industry creating beautiful bags that held stories for women.

Ngl it feels good and I feel welcomed by these iconic women who see me. My mother sees me too and wows each time I pull a fine look off.

She says, “Eyyy I gave birth to this stylish lady my baby girl is beautiful.” She knew that my lack of representation or effort in showcasing my taste came because we were in lack. How can you have the chance to think of fashion, when what you would eat remains priority in your order of things.

She knew this and she knew me.

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If you’re reading this and still feel unsure of how you show up, let me be the one to tell you this gently:

Style is not a mold you force yourself into, it’s a language you learn to speak fluently in your own time. It is a language you will speak comfortably once it aligns it will align.

It’s the “yes” when you wear a piece that feels like a warm hug to your skin.

Style will become important to you. You know. I have my testimony cloth mapped out and look mapped out that anyone who knows me knows the way I would begin to look when “answered prayers,” start falling in place.

They would know from the hair to the shoe to the kind of earrings I would be wearing. This alone fuels me. It makes me excited to look forward to that era mehn. And fuels me to push forward to get there.

Style is the the courage to try the odd pair of shoes just because they make you smile and fbe color lights up your heart.

It’s knowing that trends may come and go, but your taste and style and yourself are timeless.

To the girl still finding her style, I see you. And one day, you'll look back and realize your journey wasn’t about clothes at all—it was about becoming you and healing that inner girly.

And let me tell you now that you will certainly wear your becoming beautifully.

Let's keep showing up.

With love,

Win.

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Thank you for reading. ♡

Btw my IG is ohthatswin. 💞✨