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Jamaican Patois T-Shirts Are About More Than Fashion
Patwa [Patois] isn't just something you speak. It is something you perform.
That may be the single biggest difference between Jamaican Patwa and most other languages. Most standard languages are designed to survive on a page. Patwa comes fully alive in the space between two people.
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Jul 194 min read
The Book I Never Meant to Write
We assume we journal so we won't forget. In fact, we journal so we can eventually understand.
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Jul 25 min read
The Mighty Small Island Effect: SIIM on Jamaica’s Global Influence
Small on the Map. Massive in the Mind: Celebrating Jamaican Culture Through Fashion I’ve been to places where Jamaica barely even shows up on the atlas. Just a little speck, off to the side, fighting for space with the scale bar. When you’re in parts of Asia, and you look at a world map, we literally “drop off” the map. And yet, just a mention of Jamaica makes people’s eyes light up! They know our music. Our athletes. Our language. Our food. They know we are small. But they a
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Dec 19, 20254 min read
Threads, Strings & Multiple Personalities
(One dress. Four personalities. Plenty drama.) By now, you’ve probably realized that SIIM isn’t one tidy likkle ting you can put on a shelf. I don’t do ordinary. I do everything at once. A chaotic kitchen with Thai curry bubbling next to some Gungo Rice and Peas; a cookbook full of stories or a storybook full of recipes; playlists that bounce between Kingston, Amsterdam, and Detroit; and idle-but-not-so-idle talk of online games that take you on a run through streets of so
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Oct 15, 20255 min read
One Bagga Claat
Model wearing SIIM Quarter Halter in the streets of Kingston. If A Conversation with SIIM: On Being Jamaican, Becoming a Brand, was about...
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Sep 15, 20257 min read
A Conversation with SIIM: On Being Jamaican, Becoming a Brand
We’re not here to repeat what’s already been done. We're not here to perform “Jamaicanness” in expected ways.
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Aug 4, 20253 min read
The Fountain of Youth Part 2
...as long as you keep searching, keep learning, and keep exploring, you’re living young.
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Dec 6, 20241 min read
The Fountain of Youth Part 1
Twenty years ago, while wandering around Southeast Asia, I learned that we don’t start out seeking new places to find ourselves.
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Nov 22, 20241 min read
Create Your Own Escape
Escapism comes in many forms, and for me, it’s about indulging in the things that let me feel free: fashion, travel, food…
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Nov 8, 20242 min read
PRACTICAL ESCAPISM
Escaping doesn't require a plane ticket. Small, everyday acts can offer freedom. Simplify your wardrobe, wander aimlessly, cook something...
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Nov 1, 20241 min read
OCTOBER ESCAPE
My favorite is miserable brownin' wid di bleach hair and tattoos. But what they don't know is that, yes, mi a wrerk ha'ad [I'm working hard]
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Oct 25, 20243 min read
IS FASHION GOOD FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH?
Fashion, often dismissed as frivolous, can be a powerful tool for personal expression and positive change. While it can be superficial...
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Oct 14, 20241 min read
THE POLITICS OF JAMAICAN DESIGN
Design is an integral part of human existence and survival, and survival is determined by the rules of the society we keep...
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Apr 14, 20241 min read
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