IN MY WARDROBE: Jusst Pink Maxi Dress

I got a dress designed  for a close wedding by Jusst Pink a while back, a bespoke designer located on Green Street, East London. Their previous work has been the wedding dress outfits for Eastenders (as seen here). This is the dress I got designed and made by Jasmin, the designer at Jusst Pink:

 Jusst Pink also uses this dress in their professional website gallery, and it is also one of the dresses that is often advertised when showing their services, as shown here. The dress is made from yards and yards of georgette to create a fuller skirt (without making it look puffy) and crystals and diamontes were used for the embellishments. There was also a lot of ruched material around the neckline to give it s a better texture, and the long arms were also added to fit in with current trends. Below you see my dress modelled for the website:

 Image Souce

Overall I think the customer service provide by this designer was quite pleasing, as she went through each step with me to make sure I was happy with the dress I was getting. I would say that I was given a good quality dress and the order time was the usual 6 to 8 weeks. The only down side would be the high cost of the dress, as it went over my initial budget, and also the fact that the dress ended up being a little longer than I had predicted it would need to be (my fault not hers!) which meant a lot of people ended up stepping on it all day! It is definitely a dress I could wear again, as it made me look taller and flattered my shape. It is not a heavy dress, nor too extravagant, and felt relatively comfortable to wear. Although I don't regret my purchase, I am not sure I would buy from here again purely because of the high costs (it costed me around £400.00 in the end which I think was not justified in the end product), and the fact that it is not something I can simply exchange for something else, due to being a one-off piece.

COPYCAT DESIGNS & DRESSES - A Culture of Copying

We live in a culture where everything is copied and copied again, and designer clothes and accessories are certainly no exception to this rule. This can be due to various factors: the high costs of getting designer items, not knowing who the original designers are of a certain garment, the location and accessibility of getting clothes that are especially based in India or Pakistan, and also the fact that there is a large market available for copied stuff.
Admittedly, I myself too have over the last few years ordered a few outfits from various places which were based on a design or magazine picture which I have liked and wanted a version of, and this has had both successful and unsuccessful results (which I will be posting in later posts!)
I would warn you to be wary of some designers who sell you a cheaper version, as sometimes the cost you paid for a copy will show. It is understandable that some people may not wish to or may not be able to afford to get the original designer items they want, so have to find a way around this or compromise, so I am not in any way trying to discourage or disparage anyone who chooses to do this. I am sure that you yourselves have seen a designer's item altered and copied and modelled on various people throughout the internet, be it a wedding dress with small alterations, to a whole suit which has been redesigned into something else. You will find home-based designers as well as professional shops and boutiques who make a business out of this, especially as fashion evolves continuously and tools such as the internet, magazines and televisions project this all the time. My own personal opinion would be to stay within your means; as much as you may fall in love with a certain item that you *must* have or need for a certain occasion, you would still manage to find something suitable to wear even if you didn't end up buying that new outfit. I am not saying that you should stop buying clothes or even be more frugal, we should all enjoy the luxury of beautiful things. My point is just to be careful not to become too caught up in the addiction of too many clothes, as you may find that you have more clothes to wear than occasions and places to wear them to!

I will be posting my Copycat Designs soon, please do tell me your opinions!

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Katrina Kaif's tribute to Meena Kumari

Katrina Kaif's recent role in her recent movie 'Tees Maar Khan' features a song called Wallah Re Wallahi in which she wears a lovely red net and sequinned/diamante sharara suit, with a a simple jhoomar and traditional style earrings. Apparently this was a tribute to Meena Kumari, although I'm not sure how fitting this is, I think this was a nice touch, and was one of the few nice outfits that Katrina wore.

Images owned by Hari Om Productions/Three's Company/UTV Motions Pictures

The other outfit which Katrina wore in this movie which also caught my eye was a long yellow  maxi dress, which was quite pretty, which had some ribbon and diamonte work:

Images taken from the 'Tees Maar Khan' movie and owned by respective directors and producers

Did anyone else like these outfits, or any of the others that she wore in the movie?

DESIGNER MODE: Gul's Style

Designer Pushhun Yar Gul of Gul's Style, has really taken a lead on traditional-style outfits, whether bridal or occaison wear, making each piece something very beautiful and unique. Below are pictures from Gul's Style contribution at the Asiana Wedding Exhibition in April 2011:

 All pics belong to Gul's Style website

This is more traditional than the East-meet-West fusion that Gul's Style's range had last year, and this year's outfits certainly experimented with more colour and a twist on the usual traditional joda. Gul's Style is a popular choice for many, although the price tag that comes with it is also a feature to take into considerdation.

MAKE-UP REVIEW: Bourjois Liner Feutre Eyeliner

I've been using the Bourjois Liner Feutre for a few months now, and it is very easy to apply, as it comes in a pen style and is relatively non-messy. I've found the colour quite a reasonably inky black, and it's nice and easy to remove, which is a big relief for me as I don't like spending ages scrubbing at my eyes to get some eyeliner off. I'm a huge liquid eyeliner user, so it's quite a relief to be able to use an eyeliner pen that's not so much liquidy, as more like using a defined felt tip pen. The pen nib itself is quite long and defined, so it's easy to reach the corner of my eyes, and the colour comes off fair easily. It's also quite easy to make a thin line, or add a thicker line to make the look more dramatic. Because the pen itself feels so light and easy to use, this is a big help as you don't feel burdened by any bulkiness.

 Image Source

 The only downside to this pen is that it runs out, or rather dries out very quickly. The only way around this (to avoid wasting money on an eyeliner that you only can use for a few days) is to leave it for a few days (perhaps even upside down) and the pen nib will be filled with ink again. Due to this, I have a few Liner Feutres lying around my room to be picked up at various times!
 All in all, I would say that this is quite a good buy, it costs more than the average liquid eyeliner and can be frustrating when it runs out, but the actual result of the eyeliner is very nice!

For videos on how to apply eyeliner (and other tips!), go to Bourjois' YouTube channel for some fairly simple ideas.

BRIDE COUTURE: White Bridal Gown by Nilofer Shahid

I'm rarely a fan of white wedding dresses, simply because it is rare to see something that hasn't already been done to death. I am a big lover of the more traditional styles in clothes, and so I was suitably wowed when I saw this absolutely showstopping number, designed by Pakistani designer Nilofer Shahid:

 Picture Source: Paklinks

An absolutely gorgeous dress, admittedly it was designed back in 2009 but it is definitely an enduring classic. And it still very much falls into the long-dress and long-kameezes fashion of today, as more women are opting for a more traditional look.

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Floral Egg Clutch by Judith Leiber

For those of you who love unique and unusual clutches, here's one to feast your eyes on. The Floral Egg clutch designed by Judith Leiber, made from pink crystals and gold beads with a tassel. And it's only $5295.00! (That's about £3272 for us on the other side of the Atlantic.)

Image Source

BRIDE COUTURE: Happy Brides

I love this image of a dancing bride and groom (not that you'll ever catch me doing that on my wedding day!), but gosh, I do love the whole free-spirited joy and the luxurious backdrop :)

Image Source

Just an image to inspire all you brides-to-be out there to enjoy your wedding day, and the one you're with!

Shreya Ghoshal - Live & Kicking at Wembley Arena

I went to see Shreya Ghoshal last month at Wembley Arena last month to hear her lovely singing voice, and was duly impressed by the number of songs she managed to belt out. Just wanted to comment on the outfit she was wearing at the time, as it was really something quite lovely (and I kept hearing my best friend sitting next to me muttering "that would look so good on me".) Shreya was wearing a lovely outfit for the first half of the concert, a full-sleeved jacket style kameez on top of a fuschia pink skirt. Then in the second half she came back out in black leather pants and hot-dayam-heels.

(I know you can't see her clearly in this pic but this was the only one I took at the concert)

(pics courtesy of boombastic007 who also went to the concert)

As you should be able to make out, there is a goldeny-white jacket on top of a skirt with embellished hem, really flattering on Shreya's figure and surprisingly quite modest too. Any ideas who designed this?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Hema Malini - The Original Icon Of Bollywood

I love love LOVE Hema Malini in her earlier films, particularly the classic Seeta aur Geeta, in which her demure and softer side comes out with her sassy and utterly loveable contrast. The outfits worn by Hema are gems, easily recognised in todays fashion with her beehive hairstyle, eyeliner flicks, and funky clothes which I've seen in today's trends.

Her long-sleeved firozi blue sari could easily be worn in today's times:

Similarly, she has a lovely green sari which consists of shades of very flattering green (complete with her red rose in her hair):

While her english counterpart would fare just a popularly in today's trends, with her lacy tops, fitted cuff shirts and long waist-coats:

And lastly, her beautifully made-up face is something that really shines through, whether is is light and refreshing, or emphasised to be smouldering and dramatic, accompanied with beehive hairstyles, or puffy-style ponytails:

(All images owned by COPYRIGHT: Eros Entertainment)

(Not too sure about her choice in gypsy clothes, but can't have it all I guess)

Hema Malini is a true icon, and one of the real legends of Bollywood, you only need to watch her films to see her amazing acting skills as well as gorgeous outfits and dress-style :)

Hi All!!

I have always had a love for beautiful clothes, jewellery, make up, flowers and countless other things, you name it! So I decided to create a blog to share my love of beauty and hopefully give others ideas for that-something-different that they are looking for. Feel free to leave comments and give more ideas and feedback (please!)
Here we go...!