BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Amrita Rao in Payal Singhal at Filmfare Awards 2014

Curiously enough, I'm a kind-of fan of Amrita Rao - I don't see her as one of the more bigger, more successful stars of Bollywood, but there's something about her which I find cute and understated. Or maybe it's because of that one film she made back in the noughties which I enjoyed at the time and has stuck ever since.

Anyway, seeing the elegant Amrita Rao at the Filmfare Awards 2014 in a Payal Singhal sari makes me like her style too - it's gracefull, simple and works beautifully together, reminding me slightly of the 1950s Bollywood stars too (maybe it's the hair). I thought her look was finished off well with the her with her polki uncut diamonds studs (apparently by Esta), a simple ring (by Aquamarine) and a pretty, sleek black clutch (by The Source) - with Amrita being styled by stylist Triporna Majumder.

You can see more pictures of what the beautiful Bollywood celebs wore here and here. There's a few more outfits that I thought were funky, like Neha Dhupia in a Payal Singhal lengha, and Karishma Kapoor in a an Anamika Khanna designed saree-gown - which celeb outfit did you prefer most?

Image Source

Image from Payal Singhal Twitter

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: Zahra Ahmad Print Dress

I thought I'd post the first Outfit of the Day for this year - starting with comfort as well as style. This is a very comfortable outfit from label Zahra Ahmad, who are more known for their reasonable prices and easy-to-wear designs. When I first saw this outfit, I loved the eclectic, bohemian style of the colours, prints and embroidery and it fitted perfectly (although my mum was less keen and said it looks like it's been pieced together from parts of other outfits!)

This is the outfit I wore, a long maxi kameez which was a dress shape, with lots of black accessories. I wore this with with a deep red scarf to pick out the detail and the maroon embroidery, although didn't think there was much else needed because of all the patterns on the dress.

I kept the accessories quite simple, with this sparkly black cuff and a simple ring (which I took off half-way through the evening because it felt too chunky!). I paired this with sparkly ballet pumps and a relatively light lacey clutch, which felt quite ideal.

This is me wearing the outfit, although this is the only picture I have and it really doesn't reflect how flattering the shape was. The dress itself is very fitted and really emphasises my waist (which you can't see in the picture!) and has lots of pleats which gave a lot of 'swish' and made it feel slightly heavier (in a satisfying way).

Outfit - Zahra Ahmad

Clutch - New Look

Shoes - Barratt

Cuff Bracelet - Queens Market, Green Street

Ring - no idea, it was a gift from one of my sisters!

Zahra Ahmad is known for their comfort as well as style, I'd definitely call this a high street brand (and there is a local store near me which sells their pieces) and I see this as one of the more accessible labels out there. Although some of these outfits look less glamorous than others, I loved this one because of how playful and colourful it is, and it still has a feminine look to it because of the flowery and paisley prints. The outfit is also made of quite a thick cotton which felt very comfortable on and added a swish to it.

I can imagine this would feel really nice on in the summer time, especially because of the flowt shape and bell-shape sleeves. I always keep an eye out for their designs in the local stores because the brand is so easy to wear and perfect for a lot of occasions,not to mention very affordable.

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Lime & Blue by Kamiar Rokni

So I saw this interesting outfit by designer Kamiar Rokni, whose work tend to be quite heavily embellished, and thought it was a really interesting mix of colour, a bright lime green, sky blue and plents of metallic silvers.

I've been looking at different colour combinations and designs of outfits for a few upcoming weddings this year, and thought this was a really funky colour combination. I've seen lime green and blue together before, but I love the addition of silver here, especially in the sharara bottoms, and thought it gave a touch of the traditional.

What do you think - too bright and shiny for you liking, or something you'd love to rock at a wedding?

Image from Facebook group

DESIGNER MODE: Rano's Heirlooms

I recently came across the beautiful work of Rano's Heirlooms by designer Rano Usman, who creates beautifully embroidered pieces which result in some very beautiful, classy piece.

There's dresses, saris and skirts in plenty of vibrant colours, which don't distract from the beautiful work of the outfits - I love the colourful peacocks, birds, flowers and shimmery gold work which seems to be a theme with her work. There's a lot of embroidery and subtle, intricate detail in Rano's pieces which adds to the vintage look of the outfits, and also echoes

I like the designer's take on her work too - that detail is more important than flamboyance, that the input of tailors are important too, and what really shines through is her love for creating designs and beautiful work.

I'll be keeping an eye out for more of her work this year - I have no idea what the price ranges are for some of these but I'm sure that they aren't cheap, but it's definitely worth finding out. What do you think of this designer's work?

 

Images from Rano's Heirloom Facebook group

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: A Delicate Gold & Royal Blue Ring

I bought this pretty ring recently from a shop in Green Street, East London called Touch, which I found by pure luck while I was looking for something else, and thought this was a really good find. I love the delicate style of the metal in this ring, it has kundan-style crustals in it and some pretty patterns, but what I loved was the deep royal blue stone in the muddle of the ring.

Granted, this ring isn't exactly made of precious gems and didn't cost a lot, but I really liked the style of it and could imagine wearing it with a lot of my outfits which would make the ring stand out, so I snapped it up for my ring collection! :)

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Madhuri's Graceful 'Purana' Style

The glamorous Madhuri's latest flick 'Dedh Ishqiya', co-starring the lovely Huma Qureshi features some sumptious outfits, a lot of which remind me of the old-style courtesans of older era movies past, like Umrao Jaan and Pakeeza. Maybe it's the simple yet striking anarkalis, paired with pretty jewellery and an old-fashioned style to it - but it's something that Madhuri pulls off well.

With costumes designed by Payal Saluja, I'm really liking what I see - classic, simple colours for what the designer calls a "nawabi" (royal) look.

I'm looking forward to seeing more shots of the actresses in this film and their outfits, it's a nice change to see outfits inspired from another era and I like that it's beautifully and realistically done here. I think Madhuri fits the costumes well here, and still retains her unique style too - what do you think of these outfits?

  All images in this post are from Dedh Ishqiya movie and do not belong to me

Khaadi comes to London...!

I'm a bit late in posting about this, as I've heard about Pakistani label Khaadi coming to Westfield Stratford and Westfield Shepherds Bush in London weeks ago. I finally got a chance to visit yesterday though, when I popped into Westfield Stratford for a quick browse.

Here's a look at the store (which was surprisingly quite big) and the pretty kurtas being stocked inside. Some of the clothes were slightly colourful for my taste, but I did like some the simple kurtas and printed long kameezes which looked pretty and summery.

The store itself is pretty easy to browse, the sizes are in the standard UK 8-16 sizes and there is enough variety in colours, shapes and style to appeal to a broad group of potential customers. I also love the fact that everything in the store is categorised by colour, which looks very pretty too!

I can imagine this store being quite popular as the weather gets warmer later on in the year, and it's certainly in with the trends in terms of long kameezes that can be worn with leggings or jeans.
I loved the black and white print kurta (above, left) with the pink hem and cuffs, which I though looked quite chic and pretty - I don't often wear kurtas much but I can see the appeal here. I also really liked the fact that there are canvas bags with funky prints on them, which would be great as book bags or beach bags too.

What do you think of this label - will you be visiting Khaadi anytime soon?

FOLLOWING TRENDS: Transparent Plastic Neon Clutch Bags

I've seen these floating around in a few places, and they've really caught my eye. Surprisingly, they've grown on me and I'm quite liking them, they're colourful, fun and funky, and they seem like an easy way to jazz up an outfit.

I can imagine these aren't to everyone's taste (my sister doesn't like them at all) and they may be too bright for some people's taste - but I think these are cute way of going for bold blocks of colours for a modern look. I've seen a few celebrities carrying these (like here, for example) and I can certainly see these being worn on the Asian clothes scene too.

I saw these Skinny Dip plastic clutches in TopShop, which I though were cute, I liked the bold colours and thought the gems added a playful look - not luxurious certainly, but I don't think it's really meant to be.

 

 

 

The clutches aren't just from the last few months too, Zara had these clutches in the summer, and there's several cheap alternatives in New Look (like this one) or other styles like this one or these at Amazon. Again, the colours are bright, funky and make interesting statement pieces.

I found a cheaper alternative for the plain clutches here, for a brand LYDC London, which I thought were cute too - I'm debating whether to try one out and buy one to see how I like them, I like the idea of a transparent bag (although I do put a lot of rubbish in my bag sometimes!) - although I'm still debating what they would go well with in my wardrobe!

Clutches found at Designer Desirables

What do you think of these clutch bags - something you would use to jazz up an outfit, or is it too plasticky for your liking? I can imagine these being used at a mehndi or girly party - for example I have an image of the bridesmaids accessorising brightly coloured outfits with one of each colour of these clutches. I can also imagine this with paired with a funky sari or some pretty prints, for a 'fusion' look too - would you buy one of these?

Happy New Year!….2014 - New Year, New Kapray!

Happy New Year everyone, and hope you all had a good rest over the last few days!

I'm hoping that this year will be a busy one for me (although I'll try to keep blogging regularly!) - I  already have a few events to look forward to, and I'm hoping to find new things to post about too, not to mention expand on my sister's and my online shop Feroza. I've had an interesting year in 2013, and can imagine that 2014 will be even better - although I'm aiming to do more like travel more, visit more places and eat some scrumptious cupcakes!

I'd also like to ask you to visit my sister's Muslim Inspiration Journal 2014, which she has created and is making available for download for free - check it out and let me know if you find it useful!

So at the beginning of this year, here's hoping that 2014 goes well for all of us with plenty of good memories, good food and some amazing clothes :)

Love, Curly Fry x