Interview With Fashion Stylist Kelu Ogunleye

Sometimes if you worried about what to have on , on a particular day or event, you just never can tell what to expect from fashion stylist/Image Consultant Kelu Ogunleye. Her style gives you double confidence.She has styled celebrities like,Tuface,Waje,Kalu,Ego ogbaro,Dare A Alade,Funlola Aofoyemi,Sound Sultan,Bumi Ademokoya and world supper model Oluchi.Kelu is fearless, she is equally as fearless when it comes to experimenting with beauty and style.

Career profile-?
I’m a fashion stylist/Image Consultant. I happen to be the principal consultant for KELU Image Consultants. I’ve been styling celebrities and individuals for red carpets, photo shoots, fashion shows, TV reality shows and day-to-day lifestyle professionally since October, 2008.

What inspired you-?
My mother is my inspiration. Her closet is my earliest memory. As a young girl, I thought she epitomized glamour. Everything about her was and is still beautiful-her hair, her jewelry, her shoes and those long leather bags. Through her olden days pictures, I have been inspired to revamp so many ready to wear outfits to 1960’s and 70s vintage styles. I study her pictures whenever I need fresh ideas. Something definitely always comes up.

In your own opinion what is fashion-?
Fashion isn't defined solely by our clothing choices, but is also conveyed through the way we carry ourselves, our personalities and our views of the world.

How would you describe your personal Style-?
My personal style is very girly but detailed. I feel most comfortable in pretty shift dresses, 4inches pumps and big leather bags.

Signature Style-?
Knee length shift dresses; I’m a lady to the core.

Beauty Routine-?
Clinique facial foam wash; I wash my face at night before going to bed. I also go to the spa once in a month to get my facials done.

Shopping-?
Wow!!! Every time, I go shopping, it feels like therapy, it’s soothing and very relaxing. It’s fun and exciting. Being a personal shopper, it is very important that I pay attention to details. I wouldn’t just buy an item basically because it is in vogue. When shopping, I bear the following in mind; quality of fabric, type of color, texture, choice of fabric, if it is a trend or a timeless piece, the body type of the person who will wear it and the event/function he/she will wear it to. When making shopping decisions, you don’t choose what you're going to purchase (pronounced purr-chase, as in chase a boy). You edit!

Signature Fragrance-?
Euphoria by Calvin Klein.

Style Icon-?
Rachel Zoe of course.

Favorite fashion accessories?
It’s got to be shoes. I love them and I can’t do without them. However, the best accessory anyone can wear is a smile, and it’s absolutely free!
Do you have a Style Crush on anyone-?
Well, that would have to be the ever radiant and magically beautiful Ms. Kruger. The muse of The Karl Lagerfeld and the toast of fashion’s elite, this woman really know how to dress. Maybe it’s her oh-so-innocent radiance or that rocking’ figure, but damn, EVERYTHING looks good on her. She has yet to make a fashion misstep—a rarity in the world of tabloids documenting every bad hair day and bad outfit pairing of Hollywood’s young starlets. She’s a true fashionista through and through.

Who has been your greatest fashion influence-?
My sixteen-year-old niece, Ifedolapo. She has the ability to make a fashion statement out of any item of clothing. She has many hand-me-downs from me, and if a shirt is too big, she simply ties a knot in it or adds a scarf as a belt and wears it as a dress. She can mix and match colors and patterns that most people would never dream of, and she always looks beautiful.
What types of items do you like to save money on-?
One fashion item you don’t need too many of is a handbag. I always advise my clients to invest in a good quality leather handbag that can be used from the meeting room to that cocktail party. I recommend coco brown; it’s a neutral/multipurpose color. (And it doesn’t have to be a designer label!)

What do you think about Shoes, especially heels-?
I think about shoes all the time. God bless whoever invented them and I’m pretty sure that the woman who first made them must have been kissed on the forehead. For most young women tottering in heels has always being one of the rites of passage into sophistication. Before becoming a professional heels wearer, I was amazed by women who seem to live in heels! They run in heels, waltz in them, fall in love in heels and wear them all over the house.When you wear your heels for the first time, you tend to work gingerly in them and at the same time send kudos and envious looks at the women who walk in them with gusto and chutzpah. It’s actually fun watching first time or new converts to the hall of heels wearing, even though I used to be one! Like a horse is broken, you have to be broken into the joys and sometime pains of wearing them. < /b>

Things people do not know about you-?
I attend Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries where I work for God as the children’s’ Sunday school Teacher. And amidst the entire Brazilian/Peruvian hair craze, I wear my natural golden brown hair more than half the time because my brother told me 7 years ago that nothing fits me better!

What is a guy’s fashion trend that confuses you-?
Absolutely nothing! Men’s styling is part of the services I render. Each design and male personality that I come across inspires my sense of style. All I have to do is to revamp an idea of a design, alter it (if necessary) and create something that’s completely new and futuristic.

What words do you live by-?
Once you realize the world goes on without you, begin to value your purpose.

Most ladies complain about their beauty what’s your definition of happiness-?
Happiness is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without happiness.

What items do you normally have in your purse-?
A mini bible, a fashion magazine, my Victoria secret pink lip gloss, ID card and ATM cards.

What would you never be caught wearing-?
Why do some women wear small tops on leggings? For crying out loud, it’s not a trouser pant or denim pant so please, cover your bum!!! Leggings are meant to worn with long tops. Definitely, I wouldn’t be caught wearing my leggings/jeggings in that manner.

If you have the opportunity to meet someone dead or alive who would that be?
Michelle Obama; I will make sure she shows me her entire wardrobe.

Locally and International who are your most stylish Celeb-?
Locally, it’s Omowunmi Akinnifesi. Internationally, it’s still Diane Kruger.

In your own opinion what makes a woman beautiful-?
A woman with a good character is absolutely beautiful.

3 important things every lady should have-?
God, self-confidence and a LBD.

Fashion advice-?
Don't be afraid to play around with a palette or trend....so listen to other people's rules but make your own, figure out what works for you, through trial and error.

Your hair looks great how do you manage keeping it hot-?
Most of the time, I wear my hair naturally. I wash/condition it myself twice in a month. Then straighten it out and viola, there I go looking all stylish!