Rita Dominic turns 43 today and there is no better day than today to talk about my nearly 2 decade-long crush on the screen diva’s impeccable sense of style.
Long before Beyonce introduced ‘Slay’ to our vocabulary, Miss Dominic has been about that life and at 43, she hasn’t lost any of it.
In the late 90’s and early 2000’s when Styling wasn’t a thing in Nigeria and Nollywood actresses had no choice but to wear anything handed to them on set by producers and directors who knew next to nothing about fashion or styling, Rita somehow, always managed to look “different” and well put together. (Rumour has it that the actress used to insist on bringing her own clothes to set.)
Fashion has since evolved and become a very serious business in Nigeria with producers hiring professional stylists for their movies and entertainers engaging the services of these stylists for their personal styling. But Ree Dee hasn’t missed a beat. She has stayed on top of her game even through the influx of a younger and more fashion-forward breed of actors (Somkele Idhalama and Zainab Balogun among others) into the industry.
Her willingness to take risks and push the envelope with her style – remember her iconic turban to the AMVCAs when her colleagues were more focused on showing off their pricey and mostly scraggly ‘human hairs’ or even more recently, the blush jumpsuit she wore to the premiere of Omotola Ekeinde’s movie, ‘Alter Ego’? – makes her a trendsetter.
Whether she is going for CASJ or bringing some of that old Hollywood glamour to the red carpet; whether she’s styling herself or enlisting the help of stylist Yummie Ogbebor, Rita always makes sure she stands out and she does it effortlessly.
Yes, like every fashion-loving girl, Miss Dominic has had her misses, but those are so few and far in-between that they barely count.
She’s blessed us with interesting silhouettes, wide-legged pants, brilliant mix of colours, uber-stylish head wraps and more stylish moments than we can possibly recount.
