On July first the Surinamese people celebrate the abolition of Slavery in Suriname. This is a very big celebration in Suriname and a National Holiday. In the Netherlands there are also celebrations of this historic occurrence for all the Surinamese people who live here. Little history class: Suriname was a colony of the Netherlands and became independent on November 25, 1975. That day is our very own Independence Day, our 4th of July. But that’s a whole nother story. On July 1st we celebrate the emancipation of our black ancestors and our freedom. The biggest celebration is the Keti Koti Festival in Amsterdam at Oosterpark, a big park in Amsterdam East. On this day I couldn’t think of anything better to wear then a piece by one of my favorite Caribbean designers, a powerful black woman, the very talented miss Sonia Noel.

The piece I am wearing is a leopard print poncho from the First Resort line by Sonia Noel. A very talented designer from Guyana with her couture brand Mariska’s Designs. Styled it with my new leopard print pumps from Jane Norman, some gold bangles, and since it is summertime I wanted to add some summer to the look. My necklaces and earrings did that, which were very matchy matchy with my outfit. Finished it with my favorite red lipstick from Nouba for that pop of color. Et voilà! Ready for Keti Koti Festival 2014 at Oosterpark. Got a lot of compliments with this outfit, so way to go for Sonia and Jane.

Time for some selfies :):

As every year it was a very fun day at the Keti Koti Festival with lots of food, drinks and music, just like we Surinamese people like to celebrate. Keti Koti means ‘broken chain’. In this context you can understand the choice for this name. The main entertainer of that day was Gyptian, the dancehall/ reggae singer who came all the way from Jamaica. Mostly known for his songs ‘Beautiful Lady’ and of course ‘Hold Yuh’.

The First Resort Collection and the other pieces from Mariska’s Designs by Sonia Noel are available on the website.

My outfit

Poncho: First Resort by Sonia Noel

Shoes: Jane Norman

Bangles (no label)

Beaded necklace: New Yorker

Necklace (no label)

Earrings (no label)

Lipstick: Nouba