It was 1994. Our family had been in the UK for all of 6 months and I was slowly settling into school life the British way. With each day that passed the loneliness presented on a platter by this country began to eat away at me. I had tried in vain to fit in at school. I wasn't bullied as I had been in Zimbabwe for my skinniness. No, here I just didn't quite fit in. When you first arrive at a new school, you are a little bit like a new toy. Everyone is fascinated with you and curiosity abounds. A lot of kids had never met anyone from "Africa". Questions like "Do you have electricity there?" were sarcastically replied with "No, the villagers held up fire torches as the aeroplane sped down the runway during take off." I was disheartened by the general ignorance where it concerned anything outside the UK, European holiday destinations, sex, and American tv.


Soon there was nothing much to talk about. And as for fashion - forget that. I was only allowed to wear skirts, so with 90s being the jeans era I was well and truly out of sync with the cool kids. There I would be on non uniform day in a black pencil skirt and embroidered blouse whilst every other kid rocked up in levis with no belts - cos that was just sad- and doc martens. The girls loo became my domain, my diary my best friend, and self loathing an active pastime. I began to refer to myself as the loch ness monster. Each day was ended with a swift round up of things that had taken place that confirmed my ugliness and lack of belonging: did a boy look my way today, no. Did anyone compliment me, no. Did I spend lunchtime in the loos again? Yes. Yep, I'm repulsive. Why God did you have to create me? 

The days my dad would take us to school, we would listen to the radio. On one such rare occasion, a song came on the radio that I couldn't but pay attention to. It had me at that little guitar and drum intro. Then he sang:


I was instantly taken. "It's plain to see you're the reason God made a girl." That's all that stuck in my mind for the rest of the day. Prince had told me I was the most beautiful girl in the world and that's all that mattered to me. In the spirit of taking baby steps, I decided I was the ugly duckling - a big jump from a monster -  but one day I would be a swan. And one day some man would sing this song for me and in his world I would be the most beautiful girl. In the meantime I decided to concentrate on being the most beautiful girl on the inside - and earned myself the nickname "Mother Theresa" for going around befriending all the outcasts. Every so often that diary did come out & a picture depicting my hideousness would be drawn. But at least it wasn't daily, nor in the solitude of the girls loos. 

Thank you Prince for using your gift. We never met, but for this one girl that cried on her house master's shoulder lamenting her existence as he awkwardly tried to reassure her that one day boys would be queuing up for a date (don't ask!), you made a huge difference. And when I tell my daughter the most important place to be beautiful is on the inside, I can say it with conviction, because I know it to be true. Thank you for the music. RIP.

this is my godsister ivana. she's been invited to a grease-themed party and her mummy reached out to my mummy for some help with a cute outfit for her to wear.  after years of buying different outfits for themed parties that never get worn again, she's decided she wants to get some non-costume pieces that ivana can wear again and again outside the house! as ever, mummy was ready for the assignment! she loves to shop - whether it's for herself or someone else!

Ivana, my other godsister Carmen & I at the end of my 4th birthday party

character-wise, there are no black girls in the original movie. however in january this year, FOX released Grease:LIVE which was broadcast live in the US to much acclaim. in this version, we see keke palmer take on the role of marty, the ‘beauty’ of the Pink Ladies. marty is pretty, looks older than the other girls, but betrays her real age when she opens her mouth. she tries to act sophisticated.
this sounds a little like ivana :)

so what are we looking for with this character? well, all the girls wear the "pink ladies" jacket, which is an iconic element of the movie's costumes along with the leather jackets the boys wear.  the jacket was always teamed with a neckerchief. for marty we'd then have to source a pretty yellow top & blue skirt and we're done.





1. Jacket - New Look 
2. neckerchief - asos 
3. yellow top - river island 
4. blue skirt - river island
5. shoes - monsoon



another character to go for would be sandy, the main girl.
a look that screams "grease!" is the black fitted jumpsuit that sandy wears in her transformation scene. obviously, worn as is, it could be a little too sexy for an 8yr old. one could take elements and create a cute outfit.




Sandy's pre-transformation outfits are definitely more likely to easily translate to an 8yr old girls wardrobe. they have a very "park avenue princess" feel to them. key elements of sandy's style: flared skirts, feminine blouses (think ruffle details / lace / pearly buttons), dresses with flared skirts, gingham checks, cute ballet flats & ofcourse the cardi thrown over the shoulders. she also always wears a ribbon alice band!




1. blouse - la redoute
2. prom dress - river island 
3. white cardi - zara
4. white belt - zara
5.silver ballet pumps - la redoute
6. skirt - la redoute
7.blue cardi - zara




hopefully ivana and her mummy love some of the suggestions mummy has made. we'll share pics with you once we hear from them!

we love hearing from you! if you would like help with achieving a particular look or have any other style queries, please contact us: tanaka@whatmummywore.com.



 **marty character synopsis source

for those of you who follow us on facebook & instagram, you'll already know i've been asking mummy why i don't have a twin. i mean honestly, she could have planned it better. judah and i could have been twins and we would be running around in the garden jumping across sprinklers like Topsy & Tim.





the conversation i had with her was replayed by mum for all of instagram & facebook to see:

"Mummy, why don't I have a twin?"
"If I could've planned it, you would have - one trip to the hospital & all that!"
"So why didn't you plan it mummy? You should have planned it properly mummy!" 

2 days later 
"Will Judah and I be twins when we are older?"
"Um, no...it doesn't work like that.."
"Why not mummy? I want to be twins with Judah!"
"Sorry sweetie, you are his big sister...isn't that fun?"
"No. I want to be twins." 

1 week later in the car **crying**
"I want to be twins with Judah! You should have planned it mummy!"
"Sorry MH, I should have. Sorry."
"Can we be twins when we are bigger?"
"Sure thing darling, you can!"
**Beaming**
"Yes!"



now that the twinning is all sorted, i have moved on to the next thing on my wishlist. a baby sister. last week on thursday i informed mum that i wished to have a baby sister. she would be called amelia. the next day i changed my mind. she would be called isla. i spent the rest of the weekend harrassing her whilst she nursed her sore jaw after a wisdom tooth extraction. she showed me a screenshot on her phone. apparently after our photoshoot with nimz was shared on bella naija one picture went a little viral - well, 2 other sites published it. lets not make a man flu out of the common cold hey?
so, anyway, this picture was published on one page and attracted all sorts of random comments from the public. mummy says one of the comments has forbidden her from having anymore children. see below: