COLOUR COMBINATIONS LOVES: Grey and Deep Red

This is a colour combination I've rarely seen, (perhaps once or twice), and eve though grey has been very 'in' this year and last year, I'm still finding it a classy colour which is very wearable. I've seen grey paired with peach, hot pink, teals and even various greens, but I love the deep red accents of this outfit here, which looks striking without being too dull or bright.

Personally, I'd wear a matching deep red lipstick with this too, but I do like how the red is not too much and doesn't overpower the outfit so that grey is still the main colour. I've worn grey before (such as this maxi dress) but I would love to try this colour combination - I even think this would make a great reception colour combo for a bride.

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Sparkly Clutch Bags by Butler and Wilson

I visited jewellery and accessories store Butler and Wilson at their main store in Bond Street, central London yesterday, and loved the bright, colourful (and slightly odd!) jewellery and clutch bags they had, although some were a bit too adventurous for me!

These were my favourites, although I LOVE this flamingo one too - I like how cute the elephant bag looks, although I can't imagine it being very practical, and the price certainly isn't cheap! What do you think of these?

DESIGNER MODE: Mehndi Outfits by Waseem Noor

I'm in mehndi mode this week! I saw this outfit recently in a local store, Ruby Plaza, which carried Waseem Noor outfits, which I thought would look wonderful as a mehndi outfit (apologies for the slightly rubbish picture!):

I tried looking up the same outfit for a better picture, and although I didn't find it, I did see the rest of Waseem Noor's colourful collection from 2013, which include party dresses and bridal wear. I love how vibrant and not-heavy a lot of these are, they're beautifully embroidered and look very comfortably and light as well. I also like how the colours have been put together (such as the first one, I wouldn't have thought of putting ice blue, mustard, orange and black together!), and I like the 'layered' look a lot of these have, such as closed jackets on top of anarkalis.

Although the designer could be accused of making his designs a little repetitive here, I think that it shows a good range, and also shows a full palette of colours for different people's tastes. I think these outfits are quite affordable too, they're not greatly cheap, but they're not too expensive either (I've seen prices ranging from $99 to £400), so it's definitely something which I think is well priced.

Personally, I still like the outfit I saw in the window (above) most, the colours are just right and I love the banarsi print mixed with the gold lace work on the hem.

 Image Source

MEHNDI NIGHTS: Henna Heart Biscuits

Saw these beauties today by the mehndi artists at Henna Lounge, and thought they were a great idea for a mehndi (or indeed, any other party!) I've seen biscuits, cakes and cupcakes like these before but I love how beautifully decorated and neat these ones look. I'd love to have biscuits (or even mehndi on my hands, which is their primary business!) but Henna Lounge, but they're based in the US (you lucky, lucky Americans!) - I'm thinking of trying my hand at these myself, but they're probably won't look as nice!

Images belong to hennalounge.com

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: Purple and Olive Green Kashimiri Style Dress

I like wearing loose, long dresses and kameezes, particularly on weekends when I prefer clothes to be comfy, not too fitted and easy to lay around in! Now that the weather is getting warmer, I find that it's more convenient to wear loose outfits from cool cottons and lightweight fabrics, which are a lot more easier to move around in.

I wore a Kashmiri style dress recently, which was bought from local store in East London called Maria's Collection, which carry beautifully embroidered and semi-formal outfits which are perfect for more everyday wear and less formal events. This outfit came in light orange and black as well as the purple and olive below, but I loved the colours of the purple and olive more and so ended up with this one. Here's how I wore it and what I put it together with.

And this is me wearing the dress, which was very comfortable, although it helps that I kept the look very simple and didn't wear a lot of accessories or jewellery.

I've worn this outfit a few times and it's one which feels quite classic to me, the colours are very wearable and are flattering, the shape of the kameez drapes well, and that it feels elegant and comfortable. I like the style of the dress and would certainly recommend it for those  looking for something different at their less formal or everyday wear!

Ash's Black & White Ensemble at Royal Ascot!

Saw these yesterday and thought Aishwariya Rai looked great at the annual Royal Ascot - wearing a fabulous Philip Treacy black and white hat to go with a lacey white dress by the same designer, with black flowers. I though this looked very classy on actress, and she showed off her curves well. I love how simple she tried to keep it with her accessories too, simple patent pumps and clutch bag (by Wilbur & Gussie) and no blingy jewellery to be seen.

What do you think of this look - classy or boring?

 

Images from here

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Vidya's in Glamorous Green in 'Ishqiya'

I saw this recently and thought it was pretty, it is meant to be a traditional nikah (although dream sequence) scene in Bollywood film Ishiqiya, which is also different because her character wears saris mostly through the movie, and I though this would be good as inspiration for those brides (or even non-brides!) looking for a more traditional look.

I like this not just because of the rich green outfit, but more because of how well balanced the accessories are, and the fact that Vidya has light, flattering make-up which I thought looked great on her. This also seemed a bit 50s-ish to me, it seemed like a modern take on the sort of things our mums used to wear in their youths, the nose-ring and the embroidered dupatta particularly reminds me of this!

I also thought this was something which reminded me of some of the jewels in high street store Bees' collection (like this or this), which I thought would help in replicating this look - I think it would be perfect for a mehndi night, or even a simple bridal look where the focus would be on accessories with a simpler outfit.

Images taken from Ishiqiya

 

EYE CANDY WISH LIST: The Kim Kardashian Kollection Ombre Jacket

I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of the Kardashians, I don't really follow them and I don't know much about them. I did hear about the new Kim Kardashian Kollection, however, which is a new collection being retailed in high street stores Dorothy Perkins, and loved this jacket, an ombre-style nude and greyish-dusky purple colours which I can imagine looking great with black pants and black heels (there's a dress too, but I like the jacket more). These have sold out quite quickly, and I can't quite decide myself whether I want one or not.

What do you think of this? Is it something you would wear, or do you think it's not a classic piece?

Image found on Dorothy Perkins website

FEROZA POST: Sparkling Gold & White Kundan Bangles

We've added a new product in the Feroza shop, some beautiful luxury white and gold kundan bangles! We love these bangles (truth be told, I've been looking for a pair like these for the shop for a while!) so I was delighted to get these.We've tried to capture the bangles as well as possible, but they sparkly a lot more in real life :)

So have a look at them, and please tell me what you think of them!

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LOVELY HIJAB: The Texas Muslim Women's Foundation 'Fashion for Compassion' Show 2013

I have some friends across the pond in  the USA and Canada who keep me updated (via Whatsapp!) every now and then about fashion shows they've attended, or new things which have come out. One of my friends told me about a hijab-friendly fashion show which was being held in Dallas, Texas, which she knew I would be interested in called Fashion for Compassion.

I loved the imagination, the styling and the colours which went into this show, there were a lot of vivid colours like yellows, hot pinks and black/white combinations, which really looked funky. I also liked how they styled the hijabs in different ways and used various accessories to bling it up, from smart looks to causal and funky, to dressy, going out looks.

Here's a few pictures from the show which were taken from here and here. (I don't have a favourite, but I did think the all-over-sequins outfit was glamorous, and I LOVED the flowered-print abayah/gown with the blue scarf, which was just pretty!)

 

My friend also sent me pictures of the show as it was happening (a lot of them are blurry so I won't post them all) - this one was my favourite because of how funky it was, and how easy it would be to replicate. I love how everything is put together - I've never been big on polka-dots before but I loved it here.

This was another style which I thought was cute (although less because of the giant sunflower!, I liked the mix of greens and blues, with the printed harem pants. I've seen a lot of printed and colourful trousers in the UK so it's interesting to see a similar trend on this catwalk.

Lastly was this navy blue sequined ensemble, which I actually liked more than the green one because it reminded me of something from an Arab or even Turkish style (particularly with the way the scarf was wrapped on the head). While I would probably not wear something like this, I can appreciate the glam factor of it!

All in all, I loved a lot of the styles in this show, it's always good to see hijab incorporated in fashion where it can be kept modest as well, and it's also interesting to see the fashion trends in places in the US like Texas, which can be compared to the trends we've been following in the UK.

Which outfit was your favourite?

Curly Fry's Shopping Therapy! My Summer Haul

I've been updating my wardrobe with summery items, seeing as the weather's getting warmer (yaayy summer!), so I thought I'd post about a few things I've bought lately, and what's out on the high street. I've been favouring more looser, flowy clothes and simple blocks of colour, which makes it easy to mix together and accessorise with my hijab.

So far, I've bought these skirts in light mint green, and a pinky-nude colour, which I'm happy with, particularly as I'm loving my nude and pinky-brown shades lately, and the mint green is something different for me (plus the cut of the green skirt is very flattering and feels great on!)

Skirts from River Island and New Look

I've also bought a few light, cotton summer dresses which I wear with my long cardigans, which are perfect for the summer. I loved this leafy-ish dress which is light and has fuller sleeves, so there's less layering, and the second dress (which I couldn't find an image of it on the site, so I took a picture of the pattern) which has a subtle, colourful print to it which looks pretty, and which I like because it'll be easy to pick the colours out.

 Dresses from H&M

I bought a few scarves too which I really liked, two of which were surprisingly from Dorothy Perkins, and I loved these because they're light, made of soft cotton, think and breathable. I don't tend to wear black and white very often, but these stood out to me because of the funky, almost retro prints which I think would jazz up an outfit.

Scarves from Dorothy Perkins

Lastly, an outfit is not perfect without shoes! To be honest, I haven't been going crazy over shoes this summer, particularly as I tend to stick to flats which are comfy and easy to walk in, which I do a lot of! I've also been looking for beach shoes too, which I want for when I go to the beach and to other sandy places,

Shoes from H&M and Office

I've been keeping an eye out for a few more summery must-haves, like loose dresses, cardigans and perhaps some sandals, but for now, I'm happy with these! Are there any summer items which you've had your eye on, and any you would recommend?