agony helse | A Passion for Virtual Fashion

Cassandra is the evening hostess at the Cosmopolitan Club. She has a winning personality and easy style that welcomes patrons to the mostly African-American jazz club in her town. She loves jazz—its sound, its history, its resonance deep in her bones—so this job is just perfect for her. The women visiting the club love Cassandra for her sweet but non-committal friendliness (she doesn’t flirt with their men); the men call her “Baby” with affection and tip her well, knowing she is the club’s “little intellectual,” or so her boss says.

Her momma raised her to go to college, and so Cassandra did, choosing a most unmarketable degree–Literature. Cassandra focused specifically on women’s literature, loving the books of Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and even Angela Davis. She would have liked to continue her schooling, filling her head with literature and history, writing herself, but she couldn’t afford it.

The job market, being what it was when she got out of college, led her from being a phone customer service rep for a multinational to filing and secretarial in an insurance office to this job. She works at “the Cosmo,” as they call it, to support her baby girl, Gwendolyn, during the hours when her boyfriend, Diante, is not working as a mechanic at Briggs’ Ford. (“We’ll get married when we can afford to have a reception with a live DJ and a sit-down dinner with everyone,” she tells her mother.) She also works to collect her favorite books. Her prized possession is a first edition of Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.”

That being said, Cassandra realizes the importance of dressing for success, but success in her line means treading the fine line between underdressed and outshining her patrons. Therefore she tends to wear something sedate (for club wear), not revealing too much but not looking prudish. This outfit from Sascha Frangilli was perfect for a night of jazz standards and blues. With the velvet top and bolero and imprinted velvet skinny pants, it is dressy but not ostentatious.

Her skin is a gift offered by Agony Helse at her new store, Akeruka. The skin is sensuous and the makeup glittering. I am not sure Agony intended this to look African-American, but it seemed to fit with its full and beautiful lips and blue shadow, which sets so nicely against brown eyes (these from Ikon Innovia). Cassandra’s hair is one of Elikapeka Tiramisu’s offerings at the Hair Fair this year, a lovely long bob with bangs pushed to the side. This is what I like about Elika’s hair: it’s never outrageous, always fashionable and wearable. Her textures are, of course, amazing.

Shoes are from Oct Oakleaf’s new line of PLATFORMAs. With their beautiful sheen and ingenious blending, they are an ideal end point to this glamorous club hostess outfit.