Charles Mombo
Meet Dr. Christy Russell. Christy is originally from Columbus, Ohio, born to Nigerian parents and moved to Chicago in August of 2021. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies. For over 20 years, she has worked in higher education at Ohio State University, Auburn University and most recently Vanderbilt University. She is proud to have been able to work with first generation students and student athletes. It was during her tenure at Vanderbilt University working with the Vanderbilt Football team that she earned her nickname of – Dr. C. She is married with two beautiful daughters. She recently overcame a battle with stage 3 metastatic breast cancer. Her journey started in October of 2019 and in February of 2021, she had her last treatment and surgery, and she is now a thriving, survivor, and advocate. Her experiences during her breast cancer journey made such an impact on her that she started a non-profit called Lola’s House Chicago.
How did you get interested in blogging and fashion?
I have always loved fashion and love putting together bright, colorful outfits. Over time, this became my signature look, and friends and family soon began to refer to me as a “fashionista”. I embraced that title and decided to start a blog in 2016. I loved writing as a creative outlet, and soon realized that I loved it and I was exceptionally good at it. My fashion sense and view of life is result of my colorful Nigerian heritage and my strong Christian faith. God created a world filled with beautiful colors so why not embrace it? Thus, Christy’s View was born, and I love sharing my view of life through colorful fashion and traveling. I invite people to follow me on Pinterest, IG and TikTok.
Where do you get your inspiration for the outfits color combinations?
I am inspired by beautiful color combinations that occur in nature, other fashion bloggers and fashion designers that embrace bold, vivid colors in their designs. Color is a beautiful way of expression and I love the quote by Wassily Kandinsky – “color is a power which directly influences the soul”. My favorite search engine when looking for outfit inspiration is Pinterest.
What are some of your favorite fashion trends now?
I love the way designers are infusing saturated bright colors in their designs. It is not the bright neon colors of the 80’s but a more sophisticated version with deeper saturation. I am also loving the knitted and crochets textures especially for the winter. Lastly, all the infusion of color, patterns and texture that make you happy. They call it “dopamine dressing”, and that is just a fancy way of saying colorful, joyful clothes that make you happy – literally!
What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to learn about you?
I think people would probably be surprised by the fact that as much as I love color, I do not have a lot of color in my home. Other than my glam closet where I shoot my content, I have a lot of brown and neutral colors in our apartment.
Who are the most influential individuals in your life?
I would say my daughters because I try to think about them in everything that I do. I want to be the type of woman they can look up to and be proud of. I also love looking at the world from their perspective, they live in a world that is so different than the one that I grew up in and I want to be mindful of their experiences and it enables me to help them navigate their way through life.
How can one support Lola’s House?
I am so excited about Lola’s House, and we are in phase 1 of our 4-phase process. Currently, we have an IG account – @lolashouse_chicago where we share information and share resources for breast cancer survivors and their families. I would love for people to follow us on IG and go back and read our current post so they can get the full story behind Lola’s House and watch for upcoming information about our progress on our 501C-3 status and some Federal grants that we are applying for. My goal is to have an actual community center that would be a stalwart in the Chicago community!
What do you like about Hyde Park?
What’s not to love about Hyde Park? From the moment we arrived we knew this was the place we wanted to live. We moved from the suburbs of Nashville, TN because we wanted an urban, city atmosphere and a walkable community. The restaurants, the pet parks, the community events, the local business owners, and the musicians that perform live on the weekends – I love it all. I feel a sense of pride and connection to the African American diaspora that I have never felt anywhere before, and it is so inspiring!
Lola’s House (Instagram): @lolashouse_chicago
Christy’s View2.0 (Instagram): @christysview2.0
Pinterest: @ChristysView0
TikTok: @ChristysView2.0
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