From baggy pants to figure-hugging gowns and dresses: The amazing transformation of Carol Radull

And for as long as anyone can remember, Ms Radull's fashion sense was pretty simple. No razzmatazz, no pizzazz. 

She loved her denim pants and tops. That and sneakers. A tomboy’s denim dream.

Occasionally, she would throw on a hat. She was a woman of many hats both literally and figuratively and as a sports journalist, that seemed to be part of her look. Until it was not.

It is quite an experience seeing people comment whenever they see the “newly launched” Radull, the Arsenal jersey and baggy faded blue jeans are gone and in its place, (gasp) a red bandage dress and heels that make her look down on 90% of Kenyan men.

Ms Radull, who recently left Radio Africa Group capping her 21-year career at the media house, appears to have unleashed another side, hitherto unseen by the public. She is currently at Nation Media Group.

She did not just change her clothes, she also changed her weight scale reading shedding a staggering 16 kilos by January of 2021. 

A quick check on her Instagram account where she enjoys a following of 267k followers is testimony that Ms Radull, one of the most-accomplished sports journalists in Kenya has switched her sartorial game. 

Gone is the side that she comfortably let lie low, simmering softly behind the Arsenal FC jerseys that she regularly threw over her jeans. A look that compared with the new Radull deserves a double take.

With a stylist now, Ms Radull appears to have stepped off the pages of the Vogue: exit the pants and tees, enter slip-dresses and haute couture gowns.

Speaking to Citizen Digital on Thursday, Ms Radull said her transformation journey goes beyond the dresses and the makeup.

And it was inspired by the global pandemic.

"You see, COVID-19 just happened, and people died, they did not make it, but some did and this called for a celebration, especially you pulled through what a most trying year," she told Citizen Digital. 

"This was part of my celebration, I started working out and decided to explore a little more, which is how we ended up here.”

Between April 2020, and January 2021, she put herself on a new work-out challenge, losing an impressive 16 kilos by the start of 2021. 

She looked terrific, by all standards but for Ms Radull, who has a decorated resume that began at the BBC in 1997, terrific was just not enough. 

She decided to enlist the help of a fashion stylist, landing into the dextrous, talented limbs of celebrity stylist Brian Babu. 

"I'm not very sure of my taste in fashion," she adds. "So I called my friend Babu for help, and he guided me through it.” 

Ms Radull says that the first time she saw the dresses, she was taken aback. A mango in a peach tree. 

However, with delicate prodding and re-assurance from Babu, she slipped into the dresses, and stepped into a pair of heels. A new dawn.

"I complained the entire shoot with Babu, I just kept complaining," she adds "But when I finally saw the photos, I was pleasantly surprised by how good I looked.”

Ms Radull who vows to continue wearing her many hats with poise and grace says her style has not changed permanently. 

The sporty look will continue, just like her undying devotion to Arsenal.  

But unlike before she will occasionally break it with a dress, or a gown. And some face-beat.

"My style will always be sporty, because really, that is who I am, before, I was wearing dresses maybe once a year and thats when I probably had an event to emcee," she recalls.

On the ooohing and aaahing from adoring fans who litter her comment section, Ms Radull says it’s fine, she sees and acknowledges everything, but remains unfazed. 

"I do this for me, I dress for me, to feel good about myself," she adds. “The fan-love is great but I'm not in my twenties anymore, I see, I like and keep it moving.

Keep it moving Radull, as long as it is classy!