On the Catwalk, On a Celebrity: Mahira Khan in a Grey & Mustard Nida Azwer Kameez

This is not a recent design from 2013, but I still really liked it -  a Nida Azwer design from last year on the catwalk, a greyish taupe kameez with silver work which is brightened up with mustard accents and pants. I love how modest this outfit looks, it it long and flowy and is beautifully embellished in a way which looks dressy without feeling too heavy - definitely one of my future outfit idea/inspirations!

On the catwalk
I think the outfit looks really elegant here, especially with an asymmetric neckline and mustard tassells which gives a slightly funky, eclectic style to it. This outfit is great for those looking for a more Western look, particularly because it has been styled with no dupatta for a less traditional look and more of an evening-wear style.

Image Source

On the celeb
This is the lovely Mahira Khan, a popular Pakistani actress known for her stylish looks, wearing the same outfit to a live show about the TV serial that she stars in (you can see some of it here). I think she has accessorised it well and not tried to over-do the make-up, so it looks quite effortless and very comfortable. I love the sleeves on this outfit, and here it adds a touch of chic luxury and remains quite modest, which makes a difference in my opinion. I'm also glad that the neckline isn't too deep and is quite small, so doesn't look tacky or too revealing for my tastes.

Images from here

Personally, I think both the model on the catwalk and Mahira Khan wore this outfit beautifully, it looks chic on both of them, and both have been styled well so that there are not too many accessories with it. I'm not too keen on the model's hair with the outfit, as I think it needs a bit more volume and perhaps looks less feminine, but I think Mahira Khan could have tied her hair slightly up to show more of the dress's design.

On the whole though, neither of the wore it better, they both look pretty good (I've shown this to my sisters and they love this too) and it's nice to see a fresh colour combination like this.

DESIGNER MODE: Greys & Golds by Priya Prakash

For anyone looking for something elegant and a little different to wear when celebrating the New Year - how about this lovely collection of greys and gold saris and dresses by designer Priya Prakash?

I'm a fan of grey when it's done well, and this is certainly quite chic and a little different to the greys I'm used to - not overdressed yet beautifully cut. I don't even go for stripes normally, but the strips of gold on the grey sari at the top is just fabulous, and I'm also loving every sari's blouse which has a different cut to it.

Lastly is the anarkali dress with the gold strips - again something which sounds odd in theory, but looks beautiful on the actual dress. I can see any of these outfits being worn for an evening dinner or a elegant party - and can seriously imagine wearing one of these metallic saris to a shin-dig at New Years!

 

Reblogged from Anais Events, images via Priya Prakasha Facebook group

Pretty Glass Lanterns

I saw these beautiful glass lanterns a while ago and loved them, the beautiful colours and the dull gold frames, which look beautiful together. Unfortunately the price for them were a lot less attractive, which is inspiring me to buy some glass lanterns myself and painting the panes myself (I'll post any that I do manage to buy and paint!)

I think these would look great for a mehndi tray or as part of decor, but seeing as New Year's is nearly upon us - these would also look great in the garden or around the house for a New Year party as well.

What would you use them for, apart from a mehndi event?

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Kangana's Green Maxi & Freida's Chic Sari

I know, I know, I've not been posting for a few days! I've been busy with a few things at home which has meant no browsing at eye-candy for a few days, but I'll be back with regular posts now that I have a few days of Christmas holidays!

In the meantime, how lovely are these - a beautiful green maxi dress complete with retro curls on actress Kangana Ranaut, and a funkily-draped a sari (not to mention that lovely work on the high collar of the blouse) on Freida Pinto (although I have to say I'm less keen on the lace number of the maxi dress on the right). Worn at a Winter Weekend gala thrown by A Small World foundation, the girls look glamorous and effortlessly chic, probably because they haven't overloaded the look with accessories.

Freido Pinto wears an Anamika Khanna sari, which is accessorised with a beautiful Pinky Saraf clutch which you can't see in the image below, but is in this picture and which I love (and want!). The lovely Kangana wears a green Gauri & Nainika gown complete with a cute pink Vince Camuto bag, although it's her hair (which seems 1920's inspired!) and lips which I really love.

pink Vince Camuto clutc

pink Vince Camuto clutc

pink Vince Camuto clutc

pink Vince Camuto clutc

pink Vince Camuto clutc

pink Vince Camuto clutc

pink Vince Camuto clutc

You can also see pictures here, as well as the same outfits on the catwalk - do you like the way these have been styled below?

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LOVELY HIJAB: Hijabi Box

I've heard of beauty box subscriptions before, but this is something new that I discovered - Hijabi Box. It works pretty much the same way as a beauty box does, you pay for a subscription and receive various products - in this case, some scarves with matching accessories like hijab pins, a hijab cap/bonnet as well as perhaps some skincare or make-up products (or in one case, some chocolate!)

I love the fact that something like this is available, it's great for sisters who are looking for something a little different, or perhaps even those who want a bit more help matching their accessories with their scarves.

I've read a couple of reviews from those who have signed up for this, and they seem to be generally positive - the only down side is that the company is based in the US for those who may not want to pay shipping charges. Personally I'm not sure if I would go for something like this, as I tend to like putting my hijab looks together myself and mix-and-match a lot, and I'm not overly adventurous with hijab colours - but it would be nice to get something different each month to try out!

What do you think of this idea?

Images from Hijabi Box

BRIDE COUTURE: Ali Xeshan's Royal Wedding Shoot

I loved this photoshoot by Ather Shahzad for designer Ali Xeshan's bridal collection, in which he re-created a 'Royal Wedding' in olden-style Lahore, which reads like a storybook (with titles like 'Bride with Family', 'The Royal Wedding at Lahore Fort' and lastly, 'The Rukhsati').

I love, love, love the traditional style of the outfits here, they're luxurious, beautifully embellished and have a overtones of Mughal and classical (not to mention royal!) influences here. I also love the mix of colour and layering of beautiful clothes with beautiful jewellery - which seems to be a signature theme of Xeshan's outfits.

And I have to say, I also love the men's outfits (but I can't say that I know many men who would be willing to get this dressed up for their wedding!)

 

 

All images taken from here

Curly Fry's Shopping Therapy! My Make-up Haul

Every now and then I go a little make-up crazy (after I've read reviews of make-up recommendations and beauty blogger's views) and buy a bunch of products to update my make-up bag. These are a few products which I bought recently (including some winter essentials like creams, lip-balms and skin serum!), plus a colourful scarf for my hijab collection (in the right-bottom corner).

Since I've bought these things I've used most of them, my favourites so far are the the Mac Beet lipliner (which is a lovely deep shade of raspberry red) and the Sleek blushes, which are beautifully pigmented and amazing value for what they cost. There's a few more products that I love here but I'll review them properly later!

Have you bought any new make-up items lately? What do you recommend?

DESIGNER MODE: Varun Bahl's Flowery Dresses

I saw these maxi dresses by Indian designer Varun Bahl, and thought they were just lovely - they're elegant without being over the top, and there's something almost abstract and retro about them which is a style in itself.

I like how minimalistic they seem, the floral embroidery seems subtle but beautifully done, and the emphasis is on long flowy cuts, bold colours and a western gown feel. I can imagine this being worn to a wedding or to an evening dinner, and it would look great as it is, no fuss and no extra embellishment needed.

What do you think of these?

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OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The F&A Peacock Dress

This is an outfit I bought in the summer from Pakistani label F&A (by designers Farhan & Ambreen), which I wore to a close family friend's mehndi. I haven't heard of this label before, truthfully, but I loved it because of the beautiful peacock-style colours, the full skirt of it and fact that it's very hijab friendly.

This is the outfit I wore, which has a lot of kaliyan (or pleats), so this added a lot of volume of the dress and gave it a pretty A-line shape. There is some work on the dress but it's not heavy, especially as most of it is gota-work, embroidery and bead work, so it kept the dress pretty light and swishy. My favourite things about this dress, though, are the range of blues and greens, which are very peacock-y.

The outfit is a variation of this one below by F&A, although it has slightly more work on the front, and it's also worn differently by the model (for example she's wearing leggings and has a sleeveless look) so it looks slightly different to the look I ended up with.

Here is what I accessorised it with (although it feels like I overloaded with more than I did!), I went for a fairly traditional gold and green look with the jewellery and clutch and then went a bit crazy with mixing all of my various blue and green bangles together. Normally I don't like matching everything to my outfit too much, but I think the green and gold jewellery picked out the shades of the dress nicely.

This is me wearing the dress at the mehndi, which flowed pretty nicely to my ankles. The dress was slightly loose for me, which I didn't mind much because I tend to keep my dresses slightly looser anyway, and it had the added effect of making the dress more flowy.

Outfit - F&A

Clutch - Indian Hanger

Shoes - Faith

Ring - Feroza

Jhoomar (used for hijab) - Green Street

Bangles - all over the place!

I got a lot of compliments with this dress, and it certainly felt very easy to wear and accessorise. I think this is a perfect outfit for a mehndi, (it's great to dance in if you wanted to as well!) and it's certainly quite hijab-friendly too. I've been looking at more F&A designs since I bought this one, especially because I'm really liking their use of colour. What do you think of this outfit?