Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Tiger Tem...is your Pusherman

In life we're all as happy as we decide we want to be.

Just finished reading a book and that was a key line that stuck in my mind.

Obviously good and bad things happen to the best of us, but the trick is to decide how much you let these things affect you and how you want to handle them.

Easier said than done as always but its seems like good advice to me.

So on that note, the sun's always shining in my world. If anyone says it isn't...they're not looking properly.


And when the sun's shining, what do you need? Some seriously superstar sunnies. You know, the-notice-me-but-you-can't-see-me superstar style stunnas. Sunglasses, like rings and pashminas are another obsession of mine.


And even for those of you in colder climes. Rock those sunglasses. I do. My people do. Perhaps I was born with eyes that are very sensitive to bright light, or perhaps I've made them that way now. Either way. Rain or shine. Until its dark, I have my barrier between me and the world. But if you want to wear your sunglasses at night and look like a user/dealer...go ahead.

For the most part I don't bother with the designer ones anymore. I remember so clearly one summer I had my Guccis, Gogo had her Diors, B had her Diors, Ems had her Prada, D had her Chanel. And I kid you not when I say within one week, they all went kaput! The soft padded bit that supposed to protect the bridge of your nose on mine fell off. Went to david Culow to replace. For £10. The next week the other one fell off. Nonsense. Gogo lenses kept falling out. Bobo sat on hers Ems had her nicked and D's got scratched really badly. For £150? Rubbish. And the worse part is when you see other people rocking the same sunglasses as you. Hate that!

I was hesitant about getting sunglasses into Tiger Tem. I suspected Nigerians were very attached to their labels. Too attached to buy non-label sunglasses? Luckily the answer has been a resounding NO! I don't choose fakes as that's just wack. I pick out vintage, retro style but most importantly absolutely fabulous styles on sunglasses and they've been a REALLY big hit.

Running Tiger Tem is like a being a gambler that finds they can legitimise their addiction by being a stockbroker. I'm a total shopaholic but now I get to shop for work...fantastic!

I LOVE it when I find that new thing that will be perfect for the boutique. I love it even more when I design a new bag that looks perfect in my mind, looks alright on paper (I'm not a great illustrator) and after a few samples, comes out looking perfect.

So I think you can see I'm rather excited that I've just found a new source for Tiger Tem sunnies.....I still haven't decided which ones to keep for myself. And that's always a good sign.

Which are your favourites?





These are the Curtis. I've named them after Mr Mayfield and I'm sure that name has cropped up in a number of those old school Blaxploitation films. Aviators are one of the most popular and classic shapes for sunnies. Love these mirror effect smoky grey ones. A little different from the norm...which is the look I'm usually after.






Yep, this choice was inspired by Kanyeze (Yes I think Kanye's a total prat but most people don't) but I'm calling them the Isaac (as in Hayes) as they're such bad mamma jammas. Tiger Tem is such a girly place I always forget we get loads of guys coming in too. These could work well for guys too...so lets see how quickly they get snapped up. Not sure about the male stunna market, but let me test it out.




These fabulously vintage style sunglasses are the Georgia. That was the main chick in Superfly. So cute, so stylish and so...different. Love them. Never seen anything like them. And I'm suddenly falling in love with green a little more every day.





These are quite possibly my favourites. The Cleopatra (as in Jones..remember that film?) They look super expensive (but they're not which is what we like) with that tortoiseshell and gold detail. And the amber coloured lenses makes them so fabulous and supremely feminine.




Meet Foxy (as in Brown, no not the hussy rapper, the original bad MF..Pam Grier) With the clear pink frame and pinky amber lens these are the perfect pair of Girly Glam stunnas.


Meet Jackie (as in O..well I had to really didn't I?). Simple, stylish, sophisticated oversize sunglasses. LOVE these.

Ok, I'll be honest. Have these. In black. Oh ok, and in tortoiseshell.


And these are Queen B..who was the madam that ran the whorehouse in Dolemite. They're just so fabulous aren't they? With the diamante detail on the side. Normally i'd stay well clear of any embellishment but I am loving these babies.




These are Sydney. I know my Blaxploitation films. Sydney as in the chick in Black Belt Jones. In fact, I'm feeling rather inspired by the Blaxploitation genre. All before my time...so I'm going to start digging through the crates and watch a few. Let me see how I can work it that style with the clutches. And the tees. Hmmm. Grabbing my sketch book. And you know I'm listening to Curtis Mayfield right now!




xoxo

9 comments:

Jen Juma said...

The Sidney and Curtis. Curtis definitely cuz I love Aviators and I noticed not too many chicas rock 'em in Abuja just the tomboys do .

Do Lagosians actually purchase the big names with the Naira-licious price tags?

Uzo said...

I love Georgia, Sidney & Cleopatra...

I have 3 designer sunglasses and i think thats enough until i see another pair that rocks my world and they are similar to the Jackie O - classic, very dark and i think evergreen...

For trend sunglasses, i'd rather do no name glasses...that way it wont hurt to let them go when i get tired of them...

I got a fab pair from Tiger Tem a few weeks ago and they are what i have been rocking ever since...

TigerTem said...

@ ladi...very true. Not that many girls rock the aviators. Yet.

@ Uzo...Fly that Tiger Tem flag. And the ones you choose are rather fabulous!

SET said...

I like you blogspot, came thru from Uzo's blog. I think sunglasses are addictive, I am a victim, lol. I like these selected few as well.

TigerTem said...

@ set...I'm joining your sunglasses anonymous club..just can't get enough! thanks for stopping by!

Unknown said...

loving the sidney, foxy and georgia.They are all very chique.
whats the price range?

TigerTem said...

Hi Nkem, they look even better on. They sunglasses range from 3500-6000N so very affordable.

Anonymous said...

Those are some amazing vinatge sunglasses !

TigerTem said...

@anon...most of which are still available at Tiger Tem....nice site, BTW. Email me, lets 'discuss'! tigerbites@gmail.com