Silvia Rugina is a journalist with The East African and Rwanda Today and a reporter on KFM.  Rugina is an influential media personality and insists that women should strive to get better every day. She is motivated by the quote "You’re as good as your last story” because it challenges her to work hard. She spoke to Society Magazine’s Sonia Tona about her fashion sense.  

How would you describe your fashion sense? 

I have a name to my dress sense "simple and sensible”.  Age does not matter. Whether you are 19 or 60 your dress code should be respectful. For some reason I do not follow trends, I have a way of buying clothes separately, then putting them together. Dressing right is very important to me because I don’t do makeup.

What’s your favourite clothing item? 

Animal prints anytime! These pieces have a way of making one look edgy and sophisticated! What’s more, they never go out of style.

Where do you shop for clothes?

I have no specific place where I buy my clothes from. Sometimes the small shops that people ignore are where you find unique pieces. Whether in town, second hand markets or in my travels, I always get something nice to buy. I have an eye for good things. 

What do you consider when buying  clothes? 

Right fitting is the secret to looking smart. Please do not buy something that is too big or too tight – big clothes tend to age someone significantly and very tight clothes are trashy. I also consider the colour of the clothes when I’m shopping. I just don’t buy any funny colour because it’s trendy. No! I buy what will look good on me! A secret to wearing the right colours is that they will highlight your best features and make you look younger. I also go for something that looks good on my body size and figure. For a plus size woman like me it can be tricky getting the right clothes to fit your curves. So I tend to buy clothes that highlight my best features and work around that.

What is your favourite fashion accessory?

It must be a handbag! I just don’t buy any handbag.  I’d rather carry one handbag for a whole year but a nice one. A good bag has a way of adding sophistication to a woman’s appearance. Also, they say diamonds are a girl’s best friend but I say pearls! Pearls are glamourous, fun and timeless! You can wear pearls for office or dinner and look sophisticated. Coco Chanel wore hers all the time, a fashion icon of all time!

What is your favourite clothing item on a guy? 

Shoes and socks! The first thing I do when a man walks into a room is look at his shoes and try to peep at the colour of his socks – for me a man should wear navy blue or black socks, anything else looks shabby. Funny as it may sound I never look at how a man is dressed, any man can look handsome in clean clothes – but you can tell a lot from a man’s shoes and the kind of socks he wears. A man who maintains such little items with care is good bait for a woman!

What’s your favourite scent?

 Floral, which makes Jungle Elephant by Kenzo my favourite perfume. The perfume is made of nature and flower with a spicy floral fragrance. It has a sensual smell of airy mandarin, fresh cardamom, cumin and clove. The addition of ylang-ylang, licorice, mango, heliotrope, patchouli, vanilla, amber and cashmere create intense and sensual trace. Very refreshing I must say.

Any fashion advice? 

You don’t have to follow the trends to be fashionable. You can always come up with something interesting to wear out of your wardrobe. A little black dress is a woman’s staple it should never miss in your wardrobe! One little black dress can give you 100 looks; you can pair it with almost everything and it can take you from office to dinner. The secret of being smart lies in mixing and matching and not overdoing things.