COPYCAT DESIGNS & DRESSES #10: The Olive Green and Ice Blue Patchwork Kameez

Thought I'd do a quick post about another copycat design we have, this time one of my sister's outfits from years ago (we're talking about a suit we got copied about ten years ago!). Back before the rise of online replicas and the growth of the Asian clothes industry, my sisters and I all used to buy a copy of the latest Asiana magazine whenever my Mum went to Pakistan, and pick an outfit for her to copy. We could have designed our own but there were too many risks of colours being wrong, designs looking ugly, and tailors not understanding our instructions, so we just sent ripped out pictures from magazines and ask for outfits in that way.

This outfit below was one of those pictures we got made about a decade ago, I can't remember which magazine it came from but I managed to find a picture on Bargello, surprisingly enough, which was the same picture my sister sent to Pakistan to get made. At the time, fitted kameezes and trousers were big in fashion trends, and this was something which was bright, colourful and very stylish. It was a 'patchwork' style design, in a bright rich ice blue and olive-limey green, with dark blue embroidery work.

Image from Bargello

This is the version my sister ended up with, in the same colours and design, although my sister added longer sleeves and opted for plain silk trousers in blue rather than the same patchwork style trousers (it actually looked better with the plain silk trousers, in my opinion).

We kept the embroidery fairly the same and it worked well with the outfit, the thread work was very neat and well-done, which we were quite impressed with. I also liked the fact that the colours of the outfit looked so rich because the fabric was silk, which made it a very pretty outfit.

THE GOOD: The outfit looked very pretty on, while it's not in fashion by today's standards, it could easily be adapted for the current trends (I've suggested replacing the trousers with a plain sharara, which would make a great mehndi outfit!). The colours themselves are beautiful, they're very flattering and the quality of the outfit has meant that it has lasted well even after ten years.

THE BAD: Comparing the outfit to current trends, where everything is long and flowy, this outfit looks very short and outdated. But it's still very pretty!

THE UGLY: My sister wearing it for the first time on Eid morning and then having to put an apron over it to wash up. Oh dear.

OVERALL: My sister said this outfit was very comfortable, which was the case with a lot of outfits my Mum got made for us when she went Pakistan. While it's not on par with today's trends, it's a beautifully made outfit which could last for years, and certainly looks classic because of the colours. If I saw the original picture today, I wouldn't be very keen on it, but having seen my sister's version, I love the rich colours of the silk and the simplicity of it. Perhaps it's something that could be recycled in futures years, for a 90s' themed party maybe!