{"id":6328,"date":"2026-09-01T19:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=6328"},"modified":"2026-09-01T19:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T19:17:11","slug":"a-week-of-outfits-mbiye-kasonga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=6328","title":{"rendered":"A Week of Outfits: Mbiye Kasonga"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"Mbiye<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always chasing that feeling of walking down the street and having someone do a double-take at my outfit,\u201d says Mbiye Kasonga<\/a>, a D.C.-based podcast producer behind Naked Beauty<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m always smiling, and<\/em> I\u2019m Congolese \u2014 we wear bright colors and have no fear of standing out.\u201d Here, she shares a dress made for adventures and three books to discuss at a book club\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/p>\n

Dress: Mara Hoffman<\/a>. Shoes: Marni. Bag: Luar<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAt my old marketing job, whenever I went into the office, I\u2019d wear a cardigan, wide-leg pants, and clogs. But now that I work for myself, half the week I\u2019m wearing T-shirts with swingy pants; the other half, I\u2019m in dresses. Never will you find me working from home in hard pants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/p>\n

Dress: Free People, similar<\/a>. Purse: Luar<\/a>. Sandals: Birkenstock<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI wear this dress everywhere<\/em>. It\u2019s perfect for those summer days when you meet up with friends for brunch and end up staying out all day long. I also like taking myself on dates to read at restaurants, and this dress has huge pockets for my keys, Kindle, and phone. Last year, The Strategist<\/a> reached out to me for a summer dress rec, and I shared this one. It sold out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to business school, then worked in market research, but I\u2019ve always been interested in digital media. I worked on the morning news in high school and in the TV studio in college, and I took a course on how to produce podcasts. When the pandemic rolled around, I had extra time on my hands, and my friend Brooke<\/a> was looking for a podcast producer. So, I started that as a hobby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/p>\n

Jacket: old Zara. T-shirt: similar<\/a>. Jeans: Free People, similar<\/a>. Shoes: Vans x Telsha Anderson Boone collab.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFor two years, I produced Brooke\u2019s podcast Naked Beauty<\/a> while working my full-time marketing job. Finally, that December, my husband pointed out that producing was obviously no longer a hobby. I needed to bet on myself and start my own agency. Now, I\u2019ve been running Moyo<\/a> for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/p>\n

\u201cMy current team is a mix of people who are younger and older than I am. At first, I felt imposter syndrome whenever I had to assert myself as their boss. But over time, I realized that the proof is in the pudding. Naked Beauty has won two iHeartRadio awards for \u2018Best Beauty & Fashion Podcast.\u2019 I\u2019m really good at what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/a><\/p>\n

Dress: D\u00f4en, similar<\/a>. Shorts: Warp + Weft jeans<\/a>, altered by Mbiya. Tote: made by Mbiya. Shoes: Miista, similar<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is actually a dress from D\u00f4en<\/a>, and it came with a tie to cinch the waist. But I like wearing it as a top with cutoffs. Being curvy, if I were to wear cutoffs without some layering, I would probably stop traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThese cutoffs were originally jeans from Warp + Weft<\/a>, which is a great place to find denim as a curvy girl. Almost everything is under $140, and many of their silhouettes go up to size 24. Plus, they have just enough stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom loved to knit and taught my two older sisters. She passed away when I was two, but my sister taught me to knit when I was in elementary school. For a long time, I stopped picking up the needles. But when I moved to D.C. after college, I didn\u2019t have any friends, so I dove into knitting. When you lose your parent as a child, you lose the opportunity to do things with them. But knitting is my way of feeling close to my mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSince learning to knit, I\u2019ve realized that the best way to get the clothes I want is to make<\/em> them. This going-out top<\/a> is the first garment I ever made. I found the pattern<\/a> on TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/a><\/p>\n

Dress: D\u00f4en<\/a>. Sandals: Dr. Martens, similar<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI was a big reader as a kid, to the point where the librarians would let me check out 10 books instead of three. I devoured them; I\u2019d go to bed reading, then wake up and read. I also used to host a social reading event<\/a> once a month at Shanklin Hall<\/a>, a Black-owned bar. Everyone brought a book, and we\u2019d either hang out and discuss them, or the whole bar would just be reading. It was so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mbiye<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole thing is, I just want to connect with people over books in the same way that we connect over reality TV. Half the time, the stuff that\u2019s happening in the books is just as wild! My top three book club picks are My Sister, the Serial Killer<\/a><\/em>, The Office of Historical Corrections<\/a><\/em>, and Homegoing<\/a>.<\/em> Those are my heavy hitters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thank you, Mbiye. We adore you! You can follow her on Instagram<\/a>, if you\u2019d like.<\/strong><\/p>\n

P.S. More week of outfits<\/a>, including a graphic designer with the best denim-on-denim set<\/a>, and a writer who\u2019s over six feet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(Photos by Maeva Komenan<\/a> for Cup of Jo.)<\/p>\n

Note: If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission or have a sponsored relationship with the brand, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like. Thank you so much.<\/em><\/p>\n

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