“Across cultures darker people suffer more. Why?” Remember when Andre 300 wore a jumpsuit baring those words during his Lollapalooza set in 2014, and everyone went crazy? Everyone except those of us who have been paying attention to life, because we knew that. The normalization of fairer skin is so pervasive that darker women of color can’t even buy the correct underwear. That’s right. Underwear. Every woman should have nude colored things in her wardrobe: nude pumps, nude bras, nude underwear, and nude body shapers. Say you want to wear a white shirt, or a very trendy sheer skirt. Yet, the color nude never seems to be nude for us. It’s most often a beige, with undertones that aren’t a match for those of us with more melanin. We quite often experience this lack of color when looking for makeup as well. I don’t even bother to try foundation from newer brands, because it takes them a while to figure out how to get our skin tones right. You’re out here trying to give your best beat, yet you actually look like a Gross sister.

Fortunately, some companies have taken notice of the fact that all nude underwear is not equal. Click through the gallery for some companies that have nude undergarments for all shades.

As much as I love a good party, I find my office Holiday party to be so stressful.  I have a strict rule about not drinking with co-workers, because some white people tend to get way too damn comfortable at social functions when they’ve been drinking.  All of a sudden they start sounding a little…Trumpy, and want to know how your hair feels.  So then I feel compelled to drink from the top shelf open bar, because how else am I supposed to get through that?  Hence, I focus my energy on deciding what to wear, and just hoping for best with everything else.

Photo: Tre Thomas

This past weekend I had the pleasure of testing out Rent the Runway’s Style Studio in SOHO, and it was delightful.  Rent the Runway speaks to my soul as a fashion enthusiast who has neither a Sugar Daddy, nor a rich regular dad, nor a 6 figure salary (yet).  This innovative brand combines luxury fashion with technology to make quality clothing accessible to a larger number of consumers (albeit for a brief rental period).  The process of renting the runway is quite simple: