MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Advertiser interviewed four women in town who have a distinct, individual style and are not afraid to stand out from the crowd.
They are Thusong Centre manager Nomsi Jika; Amanda Koekemoer, who works at dentists' consulting rooms; owner of the Monroe Theatre and Deja Vu Vintage House businesses Joan Carstens; and real estate entrepreneur Jacqui Young.
During the interviews it was discovered they are all extremely strong, high-achieving and driven women.
Photo gallery: Mossel Bay style icons
Nomsi Jika
Nomsi favours isiXhosa traditional attire. She has a number of feathers in her cap. She has recognition as Best Thusong Centre manager nationwide and the Mossel Bay Thusong Centre has won Best Thusong Centre nationally as well. She has changed careers a few times. While working in the police, she was selected to go to Sweden as a peace keeper in 2006. She lived there for a year.
She explains that her choice to wear traditional dress stems from what she describes as a calling - that of an Igqirha, an isiXhosa traditional healer. She says: "Some people say this is evil and demonic, but it's not." She describes how she and her father went to a sacred place to speak to their ancestors about her calling. Since she was a child Nomsi has suffered bouts of ill health, on and off, such as headaches, depression and tiredness. She said doctors could not find the reason for this, but it was later realised it was part of her calling.
Nomsi wears her colourful dress wherever she goes and has often been photographed wearing her special embroidered and beaded cloths when receiving awards for herself and the Thusong Centre. She wears traditional headgear and beads around her neck too. She sometimes makes these bead neckpieces for others, she says.
Nomsi always looks colourful and regal. She has a perfect skin and beauty spots on her forehead which make her unique. The various fabric types she wears include the traditional umbaco, isishweshwe and felt.
Amanda Koekemoer
Amanda Koekemoer.
Amanda favours a contemporary style and can wear almost anything. Sometimes she looks classical and romantic, other times smart casual. On the day of her interview Amanda chose a nautical style because she was attending a function at the old yacht club premises. Her red, white and navy outfit was complemented by a Gucci handbag in the same colours.
Amanda says her dress style appeals to ordinary women, who work and have a husband, children and pets to care for. She always gets hers and her husband's outfits ready the night before.
She loves order and groups her clothing according to colour. Her costume jewellery is also grouped, such as pearls in one place and so forth. She is able to easily change an outfit and mix and match with different accessories.
"I represent my husband in public, so I like to look good for him," she says. "I can dress up the simplest clothing item, using the correct costume jewellery. If I wear a certain clothing label, it is special, but it is not my prime goal to wear labels," she says.
She loves order and strives for excellence. Her love of colour matching translates into the gifts she gives people. She will fill a gift bag with items of the same colour to spoil someone who is perhaps going through a difficult time. Her message to women is to blossom where God has placed them. "Just as a flower needs sunshine and rain, we need both compliments and criticism in order to grow."
Amanda and the other dentistry staff must wear certain colours on certain days of the week, so this takes some planning ahead.
Amanda wakes at 04:15 in the summer and jogs and swims to keep fit. Often she will exercise in the evening too.
Joan Carstens
Joan Carstens.
Joan loves vintage fashion, especially from the 1970s. Her Deja Vu Vintage House sells good used clothing and other vintage items. She likes long dresses and long skirts especially. Joan is not afraid to wear hats and gloves and she loves necklaces. Growing up, she used to compete with her four sisters in terms of dressing up. The girls' clothes were made by a dressmaker, so they were highly original.
Joan says she never shops, only browses, and then goes home and adapts what she has to what is currently fashionable. Yellow is one of her favourite colours. She comes from an arty family which enjoys theatre and poetry. Sometimes she spruces up clothing by adding a frill or lace here or there.
She always likes to have a wrap, jacket or shawl with her. "I love furs and wear them often," Joan says. "There is nothing better than opening up a bag of vintage clothing and discovering what is inside."
Jacqui Young
Jacqui Young.
Entrepreneur Jacqui Young is reed-slim and can wear anything. She enjoys black, teaming it with bright yellow, red or blue. Sometimes she will wear all white. Jacqui has a friend who shops for a boutique, so she looks out for special items for Jacqui.
She often wears heels.
On the day of her interview she was sporting sparkly Manolo Blahnik stilettos and a Valentino handbag. A black Versace cat suit is another of her favourite items.
Jacqui showed how she could dress down her black and royal blue outfit by swapping the high heels for a pair of flat, blue suede leather pumps.
She describes herself as a perfectionist and her daughters describe her as having obsessive compulsive disorder, she says. There is exactly a finger's width between all the hangers in her wardrobe. She gets her outfits ready the night before.
Growing up in Beautfort-West, Jacqui was not content with the few shops in town. She did not want to look like her friends, so she drew her outfits and her mom bought material and had her outfits made. Jacqui always wants to look original.
She loves anything French and favours European fashion. Her home decor is Baroque, with many curlicues and elaborate picture and mirror frames.
Jacqui was brought up extremely strictly and neatness and working hard were prized highly as character traits. She was the dux of her year, sportswoman of the year, the lead drum majorette and sang in the choir.
Jacqui says: "Growing up, my dad told me: 'You can't buy style, manners or etiquette.'"
Having owned a combined beauty and hair salon, Jacqui says: "I have so much sympathy for people, especially women. We all want to look good." She used to share her money-saving beauty secrets freely with women who had limited finances.
Do you know of another "style icon" in Mossel Bay? Email lindas@groupeditors.co.za if you would like them to be interviewed.
'We bring you the latest Mossel Bay, Garden Route news'
