men's style - Taji Mag

Taji Mag (TM): Nonso, as a trained doctor of pharmacy in Nigeria, how did you transition into lifestyle fashion in Toronto?
CHUKWUNONSO Ezekwueche aka Dr. NONSKY) (N): Nice question. I’ve been asked this question a million times. It was not a transition per se. I have always had a flair for fashion from a young age and I came from a family of fashionistas that paved the way for what I’m doing right now. I also never dropped my Pharmacy career, I am currently in pursuit of my license to practice here in Canada.

TM: What is a signature piece that is necessary to complete your look?
N: Definitely jewelry – necklaces, bracelets, watches, lapel pins, etc. I always feel incomplete without a sprinkle of accessories here and there. Accessories are like vitamins to fashion, we should all learn to use them liberally.

TM: Your tagline is, “I show men how to dress without breaking the bank.” What’s a tip for men who want to look great on a limited budget?
N: First of all, I would like to let you know that you don’t really need to spend money on luxury, exorbitant designer clothes to look good or make a fashion statement. Not that I have anything against them, I have quite a few myself, but my point is you can still look your best in affordable clothes. The trick is finding your personal style, reviewing what you have in your closet, see what needs to be added or discarded, then, most importantly, mastering the act of perfect color matching and only wearing the right fit of clothes and shoes.

TM: How has fashion helped to transform your esteem?
N: It’s no doubt that what you wear has a significant effect on your self-esteem and I’m certainly not left out. Putting on a beautifully designed suit elevates my spirit, extols my sense of self, and helps define me as a man to whom details matter. How I look has a lot to do with how people receive me and how I feel about myself. Fashion is my getaway place when I’m sad or depressed and shopping for new clothes for whatever purpose has a way of boosting my self-esteem.

TM: What advice do you have for rising fashion influencers?
N: Consistency! It certainly won’t be easy at first. I felt like giving up a few times because I wasn’t getting the recognition I felt I deserved but I never gave up. Focus on creating excellent content that would resonate with your audience and attract new followers and sponsors to you (content is definitely king). Keep learning, there is always a learning curve. Collaborate with other fashion influencers, learn from each other, and soon you will be flying.

Nonso can be reached easily via email to charlscee@gmail.com or via a direct message on Instagram at @_nonsky!

“I’m about to wear all black for a year straight..” said Jay-Z on “Death of Autotune” which released in 2009 off of his Blueprint 3 album. So why is it that now, eight/nine years later, wearing all black has become so trendy throughout the entire world –especially New York City! Maybe it was Kanye West with his monochromatic looks he’d wear and inspire various celebrities to wear as well. Did Ye’ do it again? Is Kanye to credit for yet another trend swallowed by the fashion forwards? Or is it a lackadaisical effort for depicting ones mood of “I didn’t know what to wear.” Don’t get me wrong, the black monochrome look is pretty artistic when pieced in an artsy manner. But let’s be honest, not everyone who wears all black seems to be reflecting it in a form of fashion, which is also considered art. I wonder how the Gothic society feels that their “uniform color” is now looked at as trendy by larger society. There was once a time where you only wore all black if you were attending a funeral, working for a particular retail company, or considered yourself emo/goth. Well, that has all changed now hasn’t it.

Last week, I randomly stopped a woman wearing the monochromatic black look and I asked her “What about all-black do you like?” She explained how deeply she perceived the color, while also clarifying with me that “it’s a shade, not a color.” She then stated how all-black provides a sort of mirror for the observer. Further explaining how black allows the public to perceive however they feel, so if you feel their look is sad and depressing then that says more about yourself, same as if you perceive it as rich, said by the fashionable young lady awaiting her Uber. She then concluded, “It’s like a painting… I am fashion therefore I am walking art. There is no right or wrong when perceiving a piece. Either you have a vision of some form of the art or you see… nothing.” I’m not sure if everyone has the same cognitive likeness for wearing all-black but I can say, I definitely appreciated her creative way of thinking. It allowed me to then perceive the many other black outfits I later witnessed that day, and even now. All black has become a staple within fashion by being more than just a trend. I mean, it’s been what, nine years since Jay-Z rapped the lyric which is the epitome of today’s no. 1 trend. How will you wear it? Lackadaisicalness of “I didn’t know what to wear” or artistically allowing observers their own perception as “a piece of walking art”?

I’ve complied this look to give you an idea of how to put together an all-black look in an artistic manner: