May 24, 20202 min read

Marché Tilène

Hello, I hope you're all doing well and enjoying these first few weeks of spring. I love this time of the year because every thing starts to bloom and I begin to feel more centered, focused, and energetic. I took some time off of publishing fashion posts because I was quite busy with school. However, now that things have calmed down a bit, I'm ready to get back into it :)!

I was never a fan of animal prints until now - snakeskin has totally become one of my favorites. I was on the lookout for a snake print blouse for the longest time but couldn't find one. Then, I stumbled upon one during a random shopping day. I guess it's a good reminder that things come to you when you stop looking for them ;)

The blouse itself is somewhat of a wrap top. It drapes right in the middle which I really like. It also has a loose and light fit so it's perfect if you want to wear it in humid setting, which is what I did.

Because of the print on the top, I wanted to shoot it in a location that was colorful and vibrant. After some brainstorming with the photographer, we decided it would be a great idea to shoot it in a marketplace.

Marché Tilène is one of Dakar's most buzzing markets. It's known for its fabric stalls, household goods, spices, fruits and vegetable stands. It's very busy; there are people everywhere who are either selling items, listening to music, or chatting with one another.

I absolutely love busy areas. I think it's the energy that it gives me. There's so much happening, and everything around you can serve as inspiration. We shot right in the middle of the market. The people around us were nice and welcoming; many thought I was some celebrity shooting for a magazine which was flattering haha. Everyone was staring and was curious as to what I was doing. If you were to put me in that setting a few years ago, I would have never been able to muster up the courage to shoot there, but blogging has definitely helped me boost my confidence.

It was important for me to talk to the people there at first, and ask them if we could use their surroundings as backdrops. I know some people aren't always comfortable with this, so I wanted to make sure I had the "go ahead" first. Of course, some joked and said I had to pay a fee to use their market haha, but really, it was nice of them to let us work there. We even got to shoot on a motorcycle, which made me feel so cool haha!

This was my first time shooting in a market and I enjoyed it. It was a nice change from the locations I usually work in. What made it even better was that I got to know some people briefly during the photoshoot. It's always interesting to hear people's stories and learn something new.