Harlem, NYC bred artist Azaelia Banks is killing the beat on this track. Chick has some serious lyrical skills. I like that she has range, I’ve listened to a couple of her tracks on SoundCloud and she goes from trap to electro in a heartbeat. At only 20 years old, she sings and raps but her music isn’t teeny-bopper. Click play on the video to check  out Runnin’.

Check out Azealia Banks on SoundCloud

I know many of you who read this blog own online businesses, and I think its time to begin sharing interesting marketing ideas and campaigns to get your creative juices going. I’ll keep bringing the style and music inspiration, but I’m a (retail) marketer, so expect to see more marketing related content going forward.

Now that the formality is out of the way, I want to share a cool email marketing campaign from one of my favorite indie clothing boutiques, ShopRuche. Indie fashion retailers are killing the game when it comes to engaging their customers through social and email marketing channels, mostly because they are unafraid to take risks and try new things.

The Gist: Shop Ruche sent an email campaign to their customers this morning asking for help deciding what items will be featured in the Shop Ruche boutique. Customers are asked to vote on Shop Ruche’s Facebook fan page for the items they want to see featured in the store. After voting is done, customers can sign up to receive notification emails when winning items are available for purchase.

Reasons why this campaign is so damn cool:

1. Gives customers control of deciding what they want to see in stores.
2. Moves the customer-retailer interaction from email to Facebook and drives conversation.
3. Gives the retailer the opportunity to hear directly from their customers what they like (or dislike).
4. Increases sales to a highly targeted audience – if the person voted for an item, they are likely to buy it

Campaign via Shop Ruche

Afternoon inspiration via HipHopMuse.com

Happy weekend lovelies! Check out newly added pieces to the Etsy shop:

Gold Aztec starburst earrings – $23.99 purchase here

Large gold hoop earrings – $27.99 purchase here

Designer Christian Dior silver earrings – $39.99 purchase here

More items will be rolling in,  stay tuned!

Remember that beautiful butter leather handbag you bought at last year’s Nordstrom annual sale? What about those designer pumps you victoriously nabbed at a sample sale three years ago that you don’t wear, sitting in the back of your closet collecting dust. You don’t want to toss them in the donate pile because you paid a pretty penny for them and they’re designer. Who wants to see their investment cast to the Goodwill pile? Goodwill shopping is great, but it’s tough to part with a designer item without receiving anything for return for it.

The minds behind Style Recovery offer a solution to this dilemma.

“ I had many nice things in my closet that I didn’t use, and was turned off from selling them on websites like eBay because it’s hard to find an audience who knows the value of the designer items that I love. Most of the things were simply not sold or at very low prices. I noticed a gap in this market and decided to create a website and a community that has the same expectations as I do.“ – Pauline Truchot, co-founder.

I so agree on the eBay point- it’s a huge marketplace but finding quality goods can be tough. It’s much simpler and a better experience to buy and sell on a platform that speaks your style – high fashion on a budget. Boasting brands like Stella McCartney, Nina Ricci, Diane Von Furstenberg, Miu Miu, and Alexander McQueen at up to 80% off retail, you can still look like a milli on a budget.  Sell your designer stuff and buy (almost) new designer stuff with Style Recovery. With the end of the year only weeks away this is the perfect way to clean out that closet and refresh your wardrobe with updated statement pieces.

Check out Style Recovery here

Disclaimer: No compensation was received for writing this post.

Check out another mini-documentary featuring young women behind the turntables – this time featuring female DJ duo Guila From Above and Elisa Bee. Kids in Italia goes behind the scenes and follows the ladies as they gear up to headline one of the biggest parties of the year, the Magnolia Club in Milan.

Being an American girl it’s always interesting to observe street style on an international level. Italy is thousands of miles away from Los Angeles but the urban style aesthetic is still very relatable. I’ve seen girls that look like Guila and Elisa strolling down Melrose eating frozen yogurt in Los Angeles, or walking down Telegraph to grab sushi in Berkeley.

Click play to hear Elisa Bee and Guila from Above discuss their musical influences and style inspiration.

“Like” 55DSL on Facebook here to listen to an exclusive mixtape by Giulia From Above and Elisa Bee for the Kids in Italia series. I checked it out, it has a nice soul house-lounge vibe.

Kids in Italia mixtape tracklisting:

• 1 – Spank Rock – Cool S#@!
• 2 – Yasmin ft. Shy FX – Light Up (The World)
• 3 – Roots Manuva – Get The Get ft. Rokhsan (Breakage Remix)
• 4 – Mosca – Done Me Wrong
• 5 – C.R.S.T. ft. Didz – Vision 2K (Part 1)
• 6 – Myomi – Sun In My Eyes (Keith & Supabeatz Remix)
• 7 – X Press 2 ft. Doll- This is War (Kink Remix)
• 8 – Beyonce – Countdown (Jack Beats Rework)
• 9 – Drop The Lime – Bourbon Blitz
• 10 – Friendly Fires – Hawaiian Air (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)
• 11 – Radiohead – Lotus Flower (SBTRKT Remix)
• 12 – Frank Ocean – Swim Good

Check out this film short/mini-documenatary about DJ Rashida, directed by Kawai Matthews. I’ve had the opportunity to hear DJ Rashida spin at a couple of Kiss ‘N Grind events in LA, and she surely knows how to rock a party.  From electronic to hip hop to salsa to dancehall, DJ Rashida makes you sweat out that blowout. I love to see young women doing their thing, especially in male dominated genres.  Click play on the video to hear about how DJ Rashida got started, what influences her as a DJ, some of the artists she’s worked with, and where she plans on going next.

Via Nu-Soul Magazine

Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away? Strangely during this time of year I begin working out more and eating lighter, because I know I’m going to be throwing down from November to December. I’m mentally prepared for a few extra holiday pounds but I don’t want to tip the scale completely over, feel me?

I’ve made my Christmas gift list…but I haven’t started shopping yet. Admittedly I’m being less creative with gift giving this year because people on my list have explicitly told me they want gift cards (thank you for making holiday shopping easier!) but I’m still at a loss on what to get the special men in my life.  Does anyone have any suggestions on holiday gifts for the fly guys in your life?

Check out these cool links around the web:

Is it trifling if I trade my Saturday morning coffee for Hot Buttered Rum? Maybe, but it looks so yummy! My Thirty Spot

Thanksgiving nail art that’s actually quite stylish. Refinery 29

If you have curly, kinky, or coily hair read this: a guy’s opinion on curly hair. Youse a lie, Patti Stanger! The Frisky

Tyler Perry thinks Kim Kardashian is a role model. In other news, the earth is flat and the sky is green. YBF

Great week in music news: Busta Rhymes & Mystikal each signed to Cash Money. MTV RapFix

Have a safe and wonderful weekend, stay warm and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! And if you do,  don’t call me from jail!

Peace and love,

xoxo

Image Credit: Kayla Ann’s Flickr

Check out the video for Mateo’s latest single “Say It’s So.” I saw Mateo perform at UCLA Jazz Reggae Fest a few years back, he’s an artist with true passion and presence. Fella isn’t bad on the eyes either. On “Say It’s So” Mateo’s clear, crisp voice blends well with production by Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, the Grammy Award winning producer behind Alicia Keys’ career. The song features background vocals from Ms. Keys herself, and hubby Swizz Beatz.

Download the single on iTunes

Connect with Mateo
www.facebook.com/therealmateo
www.twitter.com/mateofan
www.twitter.com/mateoonline

Get ready for the newest experience in online shopping: woman-founded eCommerce site Atelier-To-Go. Bringing you luxurious styles at affordable prices, Atelier-To-Go gives users a personalized, concierge style shopping experience online. We’ve all experienced the painstaking process of determining fit when shopping for clothes online. Atelier-To-Go allows you to try on outfits on a virtual model based on your body shape and size. How cool is that?

It is absolutely free to browse and shop on the Atelier-To-Go platform. Signing up for an Atelier-To-Go premium membership gives shoppers access to special rewards such as a personal stylist, loyalty points, and access to handpicked beauty and fashion treats based on your style preferences, sent directly to you.

Atelier-To-Go is currently giving away free Founding Memberships while they’re in prelaunch. Take advantage of the free founding membership before it goes away. Sign up here.

Membership has its privileges!

Disclaimer: No products or compensation were received for this post. I just wanted to bring light to a new innovation in fashion and online shopping technology created by a couple of kick-ass women.

Image Credit: Charlotte’s Heart

Thanksgiving will be here in a few weeks, but why wait until then to express gratitude? I’m no spiritualist, but I do believe that numbers are symbolic and it’s no coincidence that we are alive to experience this very day. It will be a very, very long time before 11/11/11 will come again. 100 years, to be exact.

With all the trouble going on today – economic uprisings, and constant imminent threats to humanity from our environment, society, and sometimes fellow human beings – it’s important to remember that no matter what, we’re still alive and that alone is a reason to be thankful. Every day, somebody didn’t make it. But we did, and that’s reason enough to be grateful.

In honor of 11/11/11, I’m thankful for:

1. My family and friends.

2.  The breath filling my lungs, blood pumping through my veins, and beautiful brown skin to keep my organs safe.

3. A healthy, loving relationship with the man in my life.

4.  A career that allows me to utilize my natural talent and creativity.

5. That I have food, shelter, and clean running water.

6. That I have means to pay my bills, even punk ass Sallie Mae.

7. That my grandmother, who has lived through the Great Depression, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights, is on this earth to experience the first black President of the United States.

8. That I’m on this earth to experience the first black President of the United States.

9. That although I’ve had my share of battle wounds, I’ve made it through life so far mostly unscathed.

10. Understanding and expression of self.

11. Being an aunt to my 2 year old nephew.

Do you think 11/11/11 has any significance? What things are you thankful for right now, at this very moment?

Image: Favim.com

Creating a capsule wardrobe – a timeless way of expressing  your individual style Style & Beauty Doc

If making a bungee cord bracelet is this easy, pass me the hot glue gun! I-Spy-DIY

Still on the DIY tip…make your own flour tortillas Annie’s Eats

How to wash vintage silk scarves Couture Allure

The secret to writing great content: research. Never stop learning.  Copyblogger

Queen Latifah is coming back to daytime TV, yay!  KeepItTrill