Simbiat’s House of Style: Relieving Nigerians of their Everyday Anxiety

AgegePulse Magazine

Simbiat’s House of Style (SHS) was founded by Simbiat Bakare. A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Simbiat obtained a bachelor’s degree in English Language from the institution. She also holds a master’s degree from the University of Lagos.

Simbiat has worked in the media industry for many years. She is the host of The LWS Show (Livelihood with Simbiat) and author of the book: Love in Hell.

Like many other Nigerians, Simbiat had anxiety when it comes to getting a fashion design outfit with a great customer service to cater to her fashion needs. She also had a challenge getting her preferred clothing designs from fashion designers who she perceived as quite affordable. In addition, finding one organization to cater to her hair needs, makeup, massage, among others, was a big challenge.

She wished there was a place in her locality that is a one-stop shop for fashion and beauty needs with great customer service that would ease her fears. She discussed these anxiety issues with her friends and colleagues, and she soon discovered that she was not alone in it. She also learned that many Nigerians wish they could work in an environment without having to suffer from mental and emotional anxiety.
To make these wishes come true, Simbiat decided to launch SHS (Simbiat's House of Style). Located in the heart of Lagos at the famous Binukonu Ultra-Modern Market in Ojota, SHS is envisioned to be the number one business for fashion and beauty care in Nigeria with the best customer service.

Although getting talented staff that fit into the company’s vision was a challenge, the company soon scaled it by assembling the best team. Customers’ fashion needs are met satisfactorily and clients often feel like they are among friends and not strangers waiting anxiously to empty the naira in their pockets.

Aside helping to reduce unemployment in the country, SHS has also been able to create a healthy working environment where staff are not afraid to express their creativity and individuality. They are free to express their opinion and work in the best way they know how to.

Although SHS is yet to fully develop its hairdressing, makeup, and spa segments as intended due to financial constraints, the company is currently providing professional tailoring service to individuals and organizations. They also stock different styles and sizes of quality bags in their outlet and supply schools and offices with bags and other fabric outfits and accessories needs.

SHS empowers youth through their quarterly fashion design training and also provides a space in their outlet to serve as drop-off points for individuals organising party events such as weddings to drop their fabrics (aso-ebi) for guests to pick up anytime.

The company, dedicated to serving Nigerians indiscriminate of time and season, opens every day of the week. They also keep exploring ways to relieve Nigerians of their anxiety, making them a cheerier people at each passing of the day.

Exercise: A Future Investment

If current life expectancy is 58 years and adulthood begins at age 18, your midlife crisis is expected to occur between age of 35 to 40. Yoruba have an adage that says life begins at age 40. It is merely described as a time when adults contemplate their mortality and the waning years they have left to enjoy life. Now before the age of 40 many people have started experiencing symptoms of diseases depending on individual life style

According to Arbaje (a well known Psychologist), for many people, the mid-40s is the time in life when our future isn’t a scary unknown, our past is something we can laugh about, and our present is filled with marriage, kids, careers, and a general satisfaction in knowing who we are and what we want out of life. So it’s not surprising that we may feel melancholy beyond our 40s, when the future can once again seem uncertain. Let me tell you the truth, whatever your life style is before the age of 40 matters a lot.


As you grow old, the body physiological parameters also grow and wears out gradually. In some individual it is faster while in others it is slow depending on your lifestyle. Research shows that only 8 percent of young adults reported no daily stressors, compared with 12 percent of middle-aged adults (ages 40 to 59) and 19 percent of older people (ages 60 to 74).

Regular physical exercise boost both your energy and your mood, and it reinforces you more at old age Exercise is about way more than fitting into our clothes as we get older, it is one of the biggest factors determining our quality of life, says Rhonder Anderson.

The day-to-day activities they find hardest at age 50 and above include putting on socks, stockings and trousers, using escalators, stepping up into garden beds or bending down to pull out weeds, carrying groceries, walking up and down stairs, and getting up off the floor.

All of these require balance, strength, flexibility and coordination, which can be developed through circuits and obstacle courses — pulling, pushing, lifting and squatting. To walk up and down stairs, over things and around things, with changes of direction, going backwards and sideways has become so challenging for so many adults all because of lack of regular exercise.

Many of us are investing so much into material things which cannot save us at old age. So many people have fleet of cars but couldn’t at least buy one exercise equipment and even those who manage to buy it use it to decorate their room. Let us look at it this way, when you read, you increase the capacity of your brain. The same way reading increase the capacity of your brain is the same way exercise increase the capacity of your body system to function well at old age.

Human beings often aren’t good at thinking about the long term benefit of exercise, but  I am telling you that nurturing your health and developing good exercise habits in our 20s - 60s is a huge investment in the quality of your 70s and 80s.

To exercise is very cheap but to treat complications arising from lack of regular exercise is very expensive, don’t allow yourself to be a lab rat from which others learn from.

 Check your diet, do your regular exercise

By Toye Okunola
Exercise physiologist
For AgegePulse Magazine
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