COLOUR COMBINATION LOVES: Sonam in Nude Pink and Black

I love, love LOVE this colour combination,Sonam Kapoor sporting a beautiful Anamika Khanna sari, which is well accesorised with a chunky gold necklace and flawless make-up. I love how pretty and flattering this looks, and although this is not a traditional looking sari in it's style. the work and colours of it look classic, and Sonam manages to pull it off with elegance.

What do you think of this look?

Image Source: Style Me India

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Green and Gold Kundan Jewelled Jhoomar

I've said before how jhoomars make ideal hijab pins, and I'm a sucker for beautifully crafted pieces of jewellery. This is a jhoomar I fell in love with which I found in one of the many jewellery shops of Green Street, which I was really pleased with (especially as I managed to haggle the price down!) and which is ideal for the weddings which are coming up over the next month.

Over the years, I've become quite a minimalist in terms of jewellery, especially as when I started wearing hijab I didn't see the point in buying jewellery like earrings or pretty, dinky necklaces which I loved but would rarely wear. And I'm a bit of a drama queen too, I like to go for statement pieces or sometimes a blingy piece to jazz up an outfit when I do wear. So I find that things like this are easy to wear without taking off the hijab, and it also gives that slight traditional touch which I love so much.

I'm sure I'll get some good wear of this over the next few weeks, I'll post pics if I do!

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Bipasha in Black and White Neeta & Lulla

I really like this elegant ensemble worn by Bips, designed by Indian designers Neeta and Lulla, at Aza Store launch a few months ago. It's a really ideal, flattering outfit which looks beautifully embroidered and makes for a really classic piece - I can imagine this being sold on the high street and I can certainly imagine it being worn by a lot of people I know! I also like how Bipasha also kept her style very simple, without any jewellery and a beautifully made-up face, to keep the look elegant.

Definitely a wearable look, and I imagine that it would look pretty in other colours too!

Source: A Wardrobe Affair

My Eid Outfit!

Eid Mubarak everyone, I hope you had a great day (full of food too!) and spent quality time with friends/family/pets :)

I can't post many pictures today (I'm still trying to get my pictures off my SD memory card which is driving me crazy), but I managed to get a few snaps of my outfit at the beginning of the day. I wore a black embroidered dress which was made by my mum from Pakistan, although because of the scorching hot weather, I did feel a bit lazy and didn't dress it up as much as I could have, plus I spent half the day lounging about and slowly removing the scarves I was wearing!

I'm not normally a 'pink' person but every now and then I'll throw splashes of pink into my outfit which I did this time round, and also jazz it up with some sparkly sandals and bangles.

Here's hoping I'll get hold of the rest of my pictures, but until then, I hope you had (or are having) a great Eid! It was a  great day for us, finished off with cake and ice-cream too.

Please do let me know what you wore too, I would love to know! :)

A Bridal Offer from Karma...

Reknowned Pakistani designers Aterlier Karma are doing a special offer on their bridal outfits, which is to offer any of the below outfits to customers for 1.5 lac rupees (about £1000) if an order is place by Chand Raat (basically by this weekend!). I think this is a pretty great offer for brides who don't have a huge amount of money to spend on their wedding dresses, and the pieces below are just beautiful ones to pick from.

I think I would either pick Noor Jehan for the luscious deep maroon colour, or Laila for the long kameez design which I love! What would you choose?

Image from Karma

Busy times ahead...!

I'm finding that I'm becoming more and more busy (and having less free time to blog!) due to upcoming events, including Eid which is coming up, friends' wedding events, and not least, my sister's wedding which will be happening in a couple of weeks! So if I disappear for a couple of days, don't worry, I'm just preparing for lots of colourful posts ahead - and believe me I have a lot of ideas already, all these events have meants getting new outfits and shoes galore - so keep checking back!

In the meantime, I LOVE this beautiful black and white dress by Umar Sayeed, which was part of his collection showcased in Fashion Pakistan Week 2012. I've seen several copies or similar versions  of these in the high street, but I absolutely love this version because of how chic it looks.

What do you think of this outfit, is it something which appeals to you?

Image Source

OUTFIT Of The Day: Navy and Beige Cotton Embroidered Kameez

I've not been able to post many of my outfits that I've worn recently, as I've not been going out as much! I did go to a dinner a few nights ago, and was able to put on some glad rags on!

This is a really comfortable navy blue long kameez with brown and beige accents,which was quite a simple suit and ideal for a casual dinner out. I purchased it from from a tiny shop in Ilford Lane, East London called Leemaz, and was happy because it didn't cost much at all, at a bargain for £25!

Outfit - Leemaz, Ilford Lane, East London

Black suede mid-heel courts - New Look

Large kundan ring - Present from my mum, from Pakistan

And this is me wearing the outfit, although I kept it quite simple so that it would be more of casual look:

 I really like how flattering the shape of this dress is, and although it isn't very dressy it's quite classic in terms of wearability and in terms of colour. It's also very ideal for the summer, as it's light and the cotton is quite comfy. And for the price, I really can't complain!

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Konkona Sen in Amrapali Jewels

I really like this image of Bollywood actress Konkona Sen Sharma modelling some lovely bridal pieces a couple of  years ago, by Indian jewellery company Amrapali - and she looks beautifully elegant and regal. I'm not quite sure what style this look would fit into, it's not quite Mughal and it's not quite traditional Indian, but it does look well put-together, and certainly wouldn't look out of place on a bride or on a Bollywood set!

I also like the fact that she wears a simple, cream-coloured sari to set off the jewellery, with accents of maroon, which really compliments the mix of white stones and gold metal, which I think really helps to set the jewellery off and pull it all together.

What do you think of this look?

Image Source

LOVELY HIJAB: The Cake Hijab Pin

This is hijab pin I bought online recently, which I thought was cute (although admittedly, it's not the most practical of hijab pins!). I love quirky pieces like this though, and it's certainly something to remember! Although I have to be careful about whacking people with it, as it's a little chunky!

What do you think of it, cute or tacky?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Asha Parekh Retro Glamour

I do love the 60s and 70s retro styles and beautiful, iconic looks of the time - eyeliner flicks, pretty saris and beehive hairstyles. I think this is a great example of an iconic, timeless look, which would still look amazing in today's trends. I'm not a huge fan of orange clothes, but Bollywood actress Asha Parekh looks great in this peachy orange sari, down to the pretty, sparkly jewellery.

What do you think of this look, something you would like to replicate?

Image source: Times of India

COPYCAT DESIGNS & DRESSES #8: Deep Red Silk Rubia Suit

This is an older outfit I got made from several years ago (which doesn't fit me anymore either! It's off to be donated to charity as we speak) which I absolutely fell in love with because of the rich, deep colours. It's a fairly simple outfit, with work on the neckline and on the trousers, and it looks very fitted in the original design.

I have no idea who the original designer for this outfit is, it's a fairly old design that has been floating around on the Internet for years, and when I got it copied (with adjustments!) it was something that was in fashion at the time. I loved the fact that it looked so chic at the time, it was simple, colourful and very eye-catching, so I decided to get something similar made via a friend who uses tailors in India.

Image from Bargello.com

This is the outfit I ended up with, I added a few adjustments to make it more wearable and modest for myself, which was basically adding on long sleeves and changing the trousers to normal straight trousers, rather than having deep slits in them.

I wanted the outfit to be made of raw silk like the original picture, but the tailors ended up making it in a soft silk instead, which changed the look slightly and made the colours less vibrant. It did make the outfit more 'flexible' and easy to wear though, and it still had that luxurious look to it. The actually shade of red was lighter too, which was unintentional (on my part), although it's a slightly deeper shade that these pictures!

This is the work on the neckline, it was mainly made from threadwork, beads and stones, as it was not intended to be a heavy outfit. The neckline shape was also simplified a little, as it was too low in the original picture for, and the tailor found it easier to make the neckline in this shape.

And this is the straight trousers, also made in the same silk fabric, and in a mink brown colour. My favourite bit was the motif on the trousers, which looked really pretty. I like the fact that the outfit was kept quite simple looks quite balanced out, and that the cut of the trousers was made quite well.

THE GOOD: The best part of this design is the embroidery on the motifs and the neckline, it's very neatly done and the colours are matched exactly (rather than some suits I've seen in the past which don't always do the embroidery in the same thread colour as the fabric of the suit). I also like the fact that this was a fairly simple suit which looked effective because of the rich colour. Another aspect I liked was the actual tailoring of the suit, it's very, very well stitched, and the stitches are well-hidden away - right down to the fitted bell sleeves.

THE BAD: I would have liked to have made this suit out of raw silk, to give it a richer, more vibrant look. This is one of my earlier 'copycat' designs, and I didn't have much interaction with the tailor while they were making it, as I wasn't aware of what input I could have at the time. Also, because the price of the outfit was fairly low and it was made quite quickly, I didn't have a lot of time to decide what I wanted to get made.

THE UGLY: Trying to squeeze into the outfit recently to "see if it still fits". Not a pretty sight.

OVERALL: I liked the quality of the embroidery and the motif designs, the original design translated quite well overall, and the colours did look pretty together. Although the design is not in fashion according to current trends, I've kept this outfit for a few years and have always gotten compliments when I've worn it. It's a very wearable design, and is easy to dress up or down. I have had a few other outfits made from the same tailor, and although not all of the designs have been copied brilliantly, the actual quality of stitching and work is quite good. I think this is definitely one of those outfits which would go into the 'trial and error' part of designing or copying clothes, and I'm glad it didn't cost a lot of money - plus it did look nice on at the time!

QUIRKY FASHION: Crayon and Pencil Bracelets

I thought these were really cute and quirky, pencil bracelets and crayon bracelets! Now, if only they actually worked as well, you'd never need a pencil case again!