BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Sabyasachi in Cocktail

Sabyasachi has been getting a lot of coverage recently (there was a fashion show held by them in London recently too), and it's easy to see why the designs are so popular, with their beautiful prints, vivid colours and signature embroidery style, which is ideal for weddings and mehndis.

Cocktail, which was released earlier on this year actually has very few Asian outfits in it, although I did like the girls' trendy style in their western outfits which was put together and looked quite simple yet flattering.
The only Asian outfits which really stood out to me are these one, which are part of a song sequence at the end of the movie, featuring Deepika wearing Sabyasachi, and although I'm not too sure what Diane Penty is wearing, it looks like it could also be Sabyasachi. I love the styles of each outfits, both as different as the other; the colours put together on Diane's outfit are beautifully colourful and traditional, while Deepika's outfit remind me more of a fusion-style sari, which has a layers theme going on.

What do you think of these outfits? Deepika's outfit seems to be getting more praise in the Blogisphere, but I think that Diane's one appeals to me more because of the traditional colours of it.

Image belongs to directors/producers of Cocktail

Happy Eid!

It's been a super-busy weekend, starting with Eid celebrations which began on Friday, with plenty of dinners and a party just yesterday for my newborn niece (more on this later!).  As per usual with my family, we all got dressed up and stayed at home! Although we had plenty of family around this year, and lots of food, cake and sparkly bangles. The only thing I wish I had managed to do is put on some mehndi, which I didn't due as I was feeling a bit too lazy. Oh well, I'll practise later.

Here's some peeks of my sister's outfits and one of numerous cakes we had over the weekend (the picture at the end is of my newly-wed sister showing off her sparkly bangles and her very pretty outfit!)

My outfit was a bit more toned down (for me anyways!), I chose a navy and maroon maxi dress with some embroidered motifs at the bottom and a banarsi style bodice, which was paired with gold heels and some matching bangles. This outfit originally came from India (it's one of those unstitched pieces you can make to your own size) and didn't cost me a lot, so I was quite happy with it, although the net dupatta annoyed me all day by jumping off my arm every five minutes! Here's a look at the dress, although the colour was slightly a bit deeper than these pictures.

And this is me in my outfit, posing out in the garden in the FREEZING cold, although it was thankfully clear and not raining. And below are the rest of my sisters and my elder niece, wearing beautifully deep colours. My eldest sister is hiding a little behind her daughter(!), but she also had a pretty, buttercream yellow outfit on which was given to her by my mum.

Hope you all had a great weekend regardless of whether you celebrated Eid or not, and blessings to you all! x

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Kareena Kapoor in Emerald Manish Malhotra

Manish Malhotra is certainly a popular designer in Bollywood these days, and it's easy to see why - the latest thing I've fallen in love with is this beautiful emerald green anarkali with wide pants, worn by Kareena Kapoor only last month. It's a simple design, yet it looks so elegant and well made - the embellished sleeves are right up my street. I love the rich green and the fact that it looks quite modest - definitely something to consider for my next copycat dress (I've already seen a couple of replicas and I'm liking what I'm seeing!)

Images taken from Traditional Kapray blog

HIGH STREET DESIGNS: Royal Blue & White Flowered Dress by Henna Mehndi

I've been looking at the high street in the last few days, helping my sister trawl around for an Eid outfit which won't break the bank and will still look nice. One outfit which has really stood out to me was this beautiful royal blue dress, with flower appliques and white embroidery all over, from popular store Henna Mehndi, based in Green Street, East London.

I loved the style, colours and design of this outfit, as it stood out a lot more than the usual sort of ready-made outfits you might find - it really reminded me of the sort of thing you may find on the catwalk (although I'm not sure whether the gota border at the bottom of the dress works or not, I'm still deciding). Red and blue seems to be a popular combination right now, and with the beautiful white embroidery, this is definitely a winning formula - although at a cost of £195, I'm not sure whether I'd be quick to buy this outfit.

What do you think of this outfit?

Outfit from Henna Mehndi

OUTFIT Of The Day: Magenta Pink Sharara

Thought I'd post one of my outfits from the whole wedding season which has been happening in the last few months, especially now that most of the weddings are more or less over for me and I'm not so busy anymore! This is a deep pink sharara and kameez outfit I wore to a close friend's wedding day, which I chose to accessorise with a light metallic nude scarf and matching clutch and handbag. I kept the look pretty simple as the outfit was pretty bling, and didn't wear too many accessories.

I chose to focus more on the gold accents of the outfits to make it easier to accessorise/hijab-wise, and I think it looked nice together. I love how traditional and feminine this outfit is, and it really didn't take much to bling it up!

 

 

Sharara outfit - RDC London

Shoes - Kurt Geiger

Clutch bag - New Look

Bangles - One of the shops from Green Street, no idea of the name!

Ring - Accessorize

And this is me wearing the outfit, which I'm not sure you can tell, but I really enjoyed wearing it! It's very flattering on the figure, and it drapes wonderfully which felt really comfortable. I liked the fact that the sharara itself was fairly plain, and because it was made from pure silk it flowed really well.

 

All in all, I really love this outfit, and it felt really 'weddingy' wearing it! It also helped that the wedding venue I went to was really beautiful, with a lot of amazing detail which made the day even nicer. It's not often I get to wear heavy outfits because it's not always appropriate (can't wear a heavily stone-encrusted lengha to a family dinner, can I!), but it's always great when I can dress up a bit, especially when it brings out the inner Bollywood-queen in me!

BRIDE COUTURE: Kareena & Saif Wedding Celebrations

Finally managed to get a proper peek of happy Bollywood couple on one of their wedding celebrations, with Kareena looking beautifully old-school in her mother-in-law's rust coloured farshi lengha, and with her new hubby looking regal in a traditional sherwani next to her - and looking great too!

Congrats to the happy couple!

Image belongs to Avinash Gowarika

SPARKLY GIVEAWAYS: Kareena's Closet

I have been approached by UK-based fashion site Kareena's Closet, who are offering our lucky Kapray Shapray blog readers a chance to take advantage of some of their lucky offer!

Kareena's Closet's mantra is simple: 'Browse-Borrow-Return', and it certainly seems like an easy concept, especially for those of us who can't afford to buy the latest designer wear, but would certainly like to wear something beautiful. Kareena's Closet offers members the chance to borrow designer items for a certain amount of days, and then letting them send the item back after it's been worn, with the postage and dry-cleaning all being taken care of by the company. The company shops for all their designer pieces straight from the designers themselves, and there are some styles which you won't find anywhere else.

The company offers access to top Asian designers at very affordable prices (around 15% of the retail price), and they have a range of clothes and handbags which members can borrow for their occasions. With outfit styles and fashion trends continuously changing in today's day and age, (and with some of us worrying about being seen in the same outfit twice!), Kareena's Closet offers another alternative, to borrow without having to pay more than we can afford.

And of course, there is still the option to buy some of their items too -  I certainly think their clutch bags are very beautiful and worth looking at!

There's some big names too, Satya Paul saris, Meena Bazaar lenghas, Niharika Sharma anarkalis and some beautiful Meera Mahadevia clutch bags.

Kareena's Closet are offering Kapray Shapray readers a chance to help celebrate the company's launch, with an exclusive discount of 15% when they sign up for free membership (just enter the code KAPSHAP on the "Shopping Bag" checkout screen to redeem this discount)

There is also a giveaway, where you lucky readers can also be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 gift certificate to use on www.kareenascloset.co.uk. To enter, either sign-up as a free member, or like the company on their Facebook group and comment on which of their products you like best and why.

And while you're here, leave a comment to let me know what you like best?
Good luck everyone! xx

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Beautiful Brides in Housefull 2

I didn't think there would be much to look at in comedy sequel, Housefull 2, and to be honest, the storyline was a little predictable. What I did love was the beautiful bridal scenes at the end of the movie (spoilers, sorry!) which featured 4 beautiful actresses in some really colourful, bright bridal costumes which actually looked really nice together.

I liked how each bride was given her own individual look and colour to set them apart slightly, yet they all complimented each other and still managed to look slightly traditional Indian - and of course they all looked stunning. Here are the brides' in their full (and colourful) glory, complete with beautiful make-up and accessories.

First up was Asin's bridal look, who was the only bride who wore mainly red, with slight accents of green, giving a very traditional colour combination. I love her kundan-style jewellery, and the fact that the accessories were quite simple, letting the outfit shine, while the make-up was also kept quite neutral. I like the fact that both the outfit and the accessories of this bride are easy to find on the high street, and are quite in fashion (especially in some of the London high street shops!)

Next was Jacqueline, whose look I think I like the most, although it does help that she is an absolute stunner. Her colour combination was a bit more interesting, a mix of rusty orange, red and hot pink, which looked quite pretty together and still quite bridal, finished off with beaded jewellery and a pretty, long plait. Again, I like the fact that her face is not over-crowded, and the fact that the style of her choli is quite simple so it doesn't look too much with the heavy lengha.

After this was Shazahn, a new actress who looked very pretty and feminine in a very funky yellow lengha with purple, pink and red complimenting colours, which again gave a very bridal look but also made it look very stylish. I think this could have been a risky colour combination because there are a lot of colours, but it does look pretty together and is toned down by her pretty dupatta setting and the fact that her jewellery is chunky yet simple.

Lastly is Zarine, who has a very traditional look, right down to the hair pieces and the matta-patti she wears which look lovely with her pink shaded outfit.  She's also the most accessorised bride of them all, with regal-style jewellery, which is again, emphasised by her simple make-up style and less embellished outfit.  I didn't get to see this outfit properly, especially as Zarine's duppatta is pinned towards the front so the lengha is slightly covered at the front and gives more of a colour block, but it is nevertheless still a very pretty bridal look and looks the most traditional in terms of jewellery.

All images belong to producers/directors of film and are copyright

Overall, the bridal look of this film was stunning - and it just shows how much the styles of Bollywood has changed compared to the older eras of Bollywood. Although the brides' style may not be to everyone's taste (some of us may not like the half-choli look, for example), I definitely think these brides looks beautiful, and each look has been well-put together so they wouldn't look out of place on the catwalk or on a real bride! I also like the fact that the actresses wore the same outfits on the ramp for a fashion show later on too, which you can see pictures of here and here.

What did you think of these outfits, pretty and wearable, or too bright and gaudy? Which outfit did you like best?

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Birthday Presents for my Mum

It was my mum's birthday recently, so I took the chance to buy these lovelies which I'd been eyeing up for a while, and buy them for her (which also made up for me forgetting to give them to her on the day, I'm a bad daughter, me). I'm pretty sure that I've inherited my love of sparkly, girly things from my mother, so I was pretty sure that she'd loved these, and thankfully, she did - I bought her a stone-embedded, gold-plated bangle and a gold-plated ring with a semi-precious ring. They weren't horrendously expensive (around £15 for the ring and £25 for the bangle), and I think that they were pretty good value for money - certainly I can imagine my mum being able to wear this a lot, and they're certainly beautiful items which get oohed-and-ahhed over.

The shop I bought these from have beautiful pieces, each which are as as unique as the next, and there's always a new piece of carefully-sourced jewellery in there everytime I go in. If you're anywhere near this shop, be sure to go in and have a look!  In the mean-time, do let me know what you think or these, good bargain or no?