Slay & stay gracious
14th April 2016 - A date to remember from here on out.
The world was shaken - more like slayed - when Beyonce officially launched her Ivy Park athleisure collection on this day and what's even more surprising is that it was managed to be launched a day later at Topshop, Mid Valley (It can also be found on Zalora too, FYI)
I'm still pinching myself in disbelief.
When the news flooded my social medias as I was scrolling through Instagram, I literally jumped out of bed, got dressed and drove all the way to Topshop just to check her collection out. I mean, I could've checked it out online but why should I when I can check them out right before my eyes? Kristen's logic. Hehe.
Queen B, that's why. You got to do it all in the name of Beyonce. Cause' you know when she drops something in the world- be it an album or her clothing line - best believe that it's going to be something world-reckoning. And one can't deny the forces of nature that draw your attention to her every step and move that she makes in life - that's just the power Queen B has on all of us, even my 83-year-old grandma for goodness sake.
I was reeling in excitement when I walked into Topshop, just like a kid in a candy store. I simply adored every piece of clothing in her line. Every single piece. But when you're still a student and live off your parent's income, just please bring your broke ass home. This line is too expensive for your spoilt ass. That was the first downside to her line - the price. Even an ordinary mesh baseball cap costs RM98... why? Because it's by Ivy Park. Geez.
After scrutinizing every detail of every piece of clothing from her line that was on display, it was brought to my attention that IT'S JUST LIKE ANY OTHER PIECE OF CLOTHING. Apart from the ridiculous pricing of these items, there's nothing 'WOW-worthy'. The t-shirts and tank tops that have Ivy Park printed on the front (pictures above) have a really thin and airy material. All will be good in the world if it wasn't priced at RM99 though. Let's be reasonable here: for the same material but without the Ivy Park print, you could have gotten the same thing at H&M or Uniqlo for a fraction of that price. Your wallets would've been thick enough to last you through another week.
But in all honesty, I got to give Queen B credit for her sense of fashion, how every piece is designed to represent her, to represent her style. And that's what I like. And you'll see what I'm talking about in all of the 200 pieces of clothing, ranging from bodysuits and booty shorts to printed sports bras. Although these pieces look too fancy to actually workout or break a sweat in, you gotta give it up to B for living up to this saying, "In everything you do, do it style" - even if it means dripping in sweat and being a salty mess; but at least you're in cute clothes.
As you can see from the pictures above, I chose the Drop Armhole Tank in Black (and was lucky enough to get it at a discounted rate. Yay! ) because I love to run and usually, I run outdoors. As tempting as it is to run in a sports bra and booty shorts, the area I reside is not as open-minded as they are in sunny-side California. These people see toes and get turned-on man, like wtf?! I kid you not. So yeah, I thought that if I'm going to get something from this line, it has to be something that doesn't hide the wordings 'Ivy Park' like a sports bra under my workout top would or an ordinary-looking cap.
And I also thought that if I were to wear something with wordings, it would at least have to be something I'd be proud of advertising. The Ivy Park collection represents a woman's strength and confidence to hustle and hustle hard. B even explained further about her line:
"The park became a state of mind, the park became my strength, the park is what made me who I am. Where's your park?" It didn't really give us a definitive answer on what the name meant. Is Ivy an homage to her daughter? Is the park a physical or a mental place? Wonder no more, because we've finally got an answer straight from Beyonce.
According to the singer's cover story with Elle, the message is about uniting and encouraging women. “I called it Ivy Park because park is our commonality. We can all go there; we’re all welcomed," Beyonce said. So it is definitely more metaphorical than a physical place. "It’s anywhere we create for ourselves. For me, it’s the place that my drives come from. I think we all have that place we go to when we need to fight through something, set our goals and accomplish them," Beyonce told Elle.
About time you check it out too, ladies!
Love, Krissy xx