Movie star Bimbo Akintola, in an interview with Punch newspaper,
Bimbo explained her fashion weakness. She explained in detail her
preference for black color, love for shoes and short dresses.
See excerpts below:
Why do you always dress in black outfits?
It is because black is my most favourite colour. I have always loved
black even though my mother had a huge problem with it. She threw away
my clothes at a time because they were all black. I did not have any
other colour but black in my wardrobe, so I did not wear any other
colour. She normally told me that I was not mourning, so I should stop
wearing black clothes. I am glad black is no longer the colour for
mourning, it is now white. My mother did not understand that black is
beautiful. I think it is the most beautiful colour on earth.
Does your busty nature hinder you from wearing certain clothes?
It has never been a problem for me because I am not as busty as a lot
of ladies. I believe I am still moderate. It is just that my top size
is bigger than my bottom because of my chest.
It is often said that men prefer ladies that are busty, how true is the claim?
It is not true. It was the case before but now, everybody wants to
have big buttocks. It is all about the behind and that is what is in
vogue now.
Since that is the in thing now, are you doing anything to make your buttocks bigger?
God forbid! I am okay with the way God created me. I believe I am
perfect the way I am. I cannot do anything to my buttocks. I like the
way it is.
But what if you have the opportunity to go under the surgeon’s knife for free, wouldn’t you want to alter any part of your body?
I doubt there is anything that I would want to change in my body. I love my body the way it is.
What can’t you be caught dead wearing?
When I was younger, I was a tomboy, so I was always wearing trousers.
You would never catch me in a dress except I was working. At that point
in my life, I did not have any dress. Eventually I got to a stage where
I sewed short dresses, I tried them on and I fell in love with them.
Now, I think the only dresses I cannot wear are the vulgar and tacky
ones.
So you cannot wear short skirts?
I still wear short skirts but not as much as before and they are
mostly casual dresses. The new fashion trend in the world now is nudity,
people are going naked and that is something I would not do. I would
not wear clothes that would seem as if I am naked.
But some celebrities feel comfortable enough in their skin to pose nude
I am comfortable in my skin but I cannot pose nude. I do not want to share my skin with everybody else. I would not do that.
At what point did you stop being a tomboy?
I don’t think there was anything that influenced me. I had a lot of
energy while growing up and I used to climb trees and fences a lot. When
I discovered short dresses, I ditched being a tomboy. I was about 19
years old.
You must have had lots of scars to show for being a tomboy?
If I show you my legs, you will see the scars there. I have scars all
over. Anytime I had an injury and my mother was treating me, she
normally used to say I would not be able to wear mini-skirts because of
my wounds but I never bothered about it. Whenever she said that, I
always told myself that it didn’t matter because I was not interested in
wearing mini-skirts. I never cared about the scars because I did not
think it was a big deal.
What fashion item would you not leave home without?
I cannot leave home without my lip balm; not lipstick, lip balm.
How often do you patronise Nigerian designers?
I use them as often as I can. I have bags, slippers and belts that
are made from adire fabric. It was a Nigerian designer that made them
for me. I think Nigerian fashion is amazing.
What is your most expensive fashion item?
It has to be my hair. I love hair a lot. Some of my shoes also cost a
lot. I cannot say the amount I spend on my hair because I do not want
people to beat me up. I used to visit the salon every ten days but now I
go weekly. Most times, I wash my hair and braid it.
You don’t seem to fancy applying make-up on your face?
It is too stressful. It is so bad I cannot draw my eyebrows myself. It is really bad.
Has your career influenced your style in any way?
Yes, it has because if not for acting, I would not be this glamorous.
I am very comfortable in tights and T-shirts. I used to love jeans till
I stumbled on tights. We live in a hot country where the weather is hot
and tights and T-shirt are stuffs I could wear every day.
What is your fashion weakness?
My fashion weakness is shoes. I don’t know how many pairs of shoes I
have but I have a room filled with shoes. The room is dedicated to my
shoes alone.
What fashion item do you admire in a man?
I would say the way clothes look on the person and not the clothes
themselves. I like to see a man that looks good in whatever he is
wearing.
What fashion mistakes have you made in the past?
I have made all sorts of fashion mistakes. I cannot remember any one
right now because I don’t take them seriously. I remember there was a
time I went to a movie premiere in casual clothes. I did not feel odd at
all. It was later that people told me that I should have dressed
appropriately and I asked them why. I felt what I wore was okay, because
left to me, I would wear tights and T-shirts to movie premieres.
Fashion means being comfortable for me.
How come you do not have any tattoos on your body?
I cannot do that because I am very lazy. I cannot allow someone use
needles on me because I am very skittish. It is painful and I cannot
stand it. I like to see people wear them but I cannot.
Do you bleach your skin?
No, I don’t and I have never. I think there is a lot of focus on
bleaching and it has not changed anything. I think we should focus on
the reason people bleach their skin. People say women bleach but I have
seen a lot of men that bleach their skin in Nigeria. The number of men
bleaching their skin in Nigeria is very high. They do so because they do
not believe that their natural complexion is good enough. They do not
believe that black is beautiful and amazing. I think it is inferiority
complex when you think that being white is better than what you are.
