A Little Luxe by Artisan Jewels

I'm always on the look out for decent jewellery, especially as over the years I've culled my jewellery box and gotten rid of the plastic rings, dinky necklaces and random mis-matching bracelets to make room for more quality pieces. When I was younger I would collect a lot of colourful pieces of jewellery - some of it I'd get given, some I'd pick up from Green Street, junk sales, random friends and even some I'd attempt to make!

These days I prefer a more minimal look - quality statement pieces over heavy blingy sets. Probably the last heavy jewellery set I've bought and worn was my wedding set - although that at least was a nice quality set! But having said that, it's quite dressy and not one I'd wear often, especially with my hijab. I also often find that although there are nice designs out there in the shops and online companies, the quality isn't always there. I'm not a fan of cheap crystals (is it me, or does every shop all claim their crystals are from Swarovski?) or and I tend to go for understated pieces which reflect good quality - good settings, good quality stones and wearable designs.

I bought this necklace and bracelet set not too long ago, from a jewellery company called Artisan Jewels, who I came across at an Eid exhibition. What I liked about their pieces is that each piece can be worn alone or combined but doesn't look over the top or too blingy. I particularly liked this set because it felt quite solid and elegant, and I love it when white and gold is done well. The necklace and bracelet both have stones and mother of pearl enamel in them, which looks really pretty and not too flashy. I've worn it a few times already, although I will admit that they don't always stand out in photos! The two pieces were just under £50 for both, which I thought was a good deal, especially as I have seen a lot of jewellery companies which sell their pieces for a lot more.

I'm still on the look out for some nice bracelets and necklaces that I can wear with occasion wear, so will post any more companies I come across, but I thought this was a nice one which had decent items which don't break the bank!

My Eid - Eid with the family!

We had a lovely Eid celebration this week, wand it felt like a busy one with lots of family and guest all congregating my my mum's! We had a fantastic meal (as always) cooked by my mum, with lots of giggling children, dressing up, photo-taking and gifts, made complete with some sunshine!

For Eid this year I wore this gorgeous peach suit from Pakistani label Sapphire Pakistan, which my husband picked up from Pakistan a couple of months ago. I absolutely loved the colours when I first saw it, and thought the work on it was really decent quality. I'm a fan of Sapphire Pakistan, and it was one of the places I asked my husband to stop at while in Pakistan - I only wish I had bought more of their pieces! I also loved that it came with a lovely silky dupatta, which had a pretty print on it, and both the dupatta and the suit were embellished with pearls. What I particularly liked was how well stitched the outfit was, and the fact that the pearls were sewn on properly - no half-hanging-by-the-thread pearls or damaged seams!

I also thought I'd make an effort this year wear some decent jewellery too (in past Eids I've worn minimal jewellery pieces!). So on one hand I wore some pretty glass bangles with pearls all over from Pakistan, which came from my mum, while on the other hand I wore a 'haath panja (a hand harness) piece which was sent to me by my mother in law. I loved how these looked, and they went wonderfully against my outfit.

As usual, the kids in the family bought the outfit game and rocked it - I loved all of what they wore. There was a lovely mix too, two wore pretty ghararas, one of my nieces wore an Afghan-style dress from Pakistan, and two wore party dresses! And of course, they all wore the cutest shoes!

Here's a peek at some of the food we had - this is only one table (we had another one full of more food!) and which we fully enjoyed. Even though it was straight after a month of fasting in Ramadan and we were stuffed, we ate well and enjoyed it!

My sisters and I have created a tradition of gifts over the years, if not always for each other, then we try to get them for the kids of the family. It's well worth it when we see how excited they get, and gives them something to look forward to as well! This year I received an abundance of chocolate and makeup. One quirky present we all liked was pretty mugs for each of us with our initial on it, which was a nice idea.

Eid was a fun day for us, full of silly jokes, games and of course sweet treats. We usually try to spend the next day doing Eid too but some of us had work the next day, and a lot of us wanted to catch up on sleep, getting energy back and get into routine again after all the madness!

My Eid - Chand Raat

My chaand raat was a fairly quieter one to previous years, in that I didn't get a chance visit the local shops and stalls which set up for the night. We were invited to dinner at my eldest sister's house though, which is always a fun way to start our celebrations, especially as she is a great cook and it's nice to be around excited children!

Here's what I wore - a comfy, loose Nishat Linen kurta (link here, although I have no idea what shipping is like!) I was lucky enough to get a bunch of kurtas and outfits from Pakistan this year, as both my husband and my mum made a trip to Pakistan so I'm quite well equipped for the year! More on my haul later, but this was one of the outfits my husband bought back for me. It was loose, super comfy and perfect for the warm weather. I wasn't sure whether to wear black pants or white, but I opted for white because I liked how they looked, and they look quite summery. I also paired these with wooden bangles from Pakistan (via Mum) and an embroidered velvet clutch (also from Pakistan, via hubby!)

The food was yummy and plentiful - lots of curries, rice, salads, chaats and roast chicken, finished off with several desserts and tea to wash it all down!

I didn't get many photos of the guests or my sisters, but the little girls happily posed away for me in their super cute pink gharara outfits from Pakistan (while I kept pulling up their trousers before they tripped!) My sister also made and handed out Eid sweet packets for everyone after dinner, which was happily munched by us all, although I think all of us were quite full at this point!

She also gave the girls in the family a gorgeous personalised box each with pretty presents inside, which I thought was a lovely touch - mine was the pink box of course!

Every Eid I promise myself I'll put henna on, and most times I forget, or am too tired and just go to bed! This time around I made myself stay up and used a cone to apply some mehndi (especially as I had about 4 mehndi cones sitting in the fridge!) - not professional but I like what I finished up with!

Did you do anything on Chand Raat? Did you get any mehndi done?

Eid Mubarak!...Eid-al-Fitr 2019/1440

Wishing you all a lovely Eid and hope it's been a fun celebration for you all! I've been loving all the outfits I've seen people wear on Facebook and Instagram, and can't wait to show you my outfits !

Hope you all had a lovely Eid, and wishing you all a wonderful week of food, family and fun this Eid (which I'm sure will carry on onto the weekend for me!)

In the mean time, here's a quick peek at what I wore for Eid, which was very comfy (plus some seriously yummy chocolates from my sister!)

Love,
Curly Fries
xxx

PFW 19 - Pakistan Fashion Week London 2019

I was lucky enough to attend Pakistan Fashion Week London 19 a few weeks ago, and managed to see a few of the latest collections from upcoming designers as well as a few of the established Pakistani labels. Some of the outfits were stunning and it was a pleasure to see the designs up close.

I wasn't able to stay for the whole show, but luckily I've managed to get a few photographs from the official photographer of the show, Shahid Malik, so see below for your viewing pleasure...!

Adil Ali
This was a fairly colourful collection, using a traditional rich palette of reds, greens, gold and royal blue for the outfits. I have to be honest, I was a little underwhelmed with these, as I nothing stood out for me, although the blue drape dress was quite stylish.

Agha Noor
This was a pretty yellow and orange collection (which reminded me of marigold flowers) and I though this was a really nice summer collection which was light and simple. I'm lucky enough to have an Agha Noor store not too far from me so will definitely check these out when they come in!

Ananya
This was a collection which reminded me of the vintage, old era style outfits - big ghararas, short kameezes, shawls mixed with dupattas. I did like some of these but personally couldn't see myself wearing any of them, and also though the cream/nude designs were nicer than the other ones.

Ayesha Imran
I've seen this designer's collections from previous shows, and this one was very similar - very bridal focussed, with heavy work, rich reds, rusts and creams and a full on look. I didn't really love the bridals as the designs didn't stand out for me, but I did like their formals - although they may be a little heavy for some wedding guests!

Diva by Sana Rashid
I loved the concept of this collection - pastel, florals and flowers in baskets. I have to say, I much preferred the formal kameez pieces as they looked sleeker and more flattering, over the skirts and maxi dresses which looked a little fussy.

Fatima Saifuddin
This is a new designer, and I liked that she had a range of styles - maxi dresses, lenghas, jackets and jumpsuits. The collection is less about heavy work and more about rich fabrics, rich colours and flowy designs, which I quite liked. I can also see myself in the jacket below (or the purple dress) and love that the material and the cut of the outfits look quite flattering.

Gogi by Hassan Riaz
I had a quick look at this designer's collection at the exhibition before the show, and I liked the interesting cuts and work on his designs. Some of the pieces are a little too adventurous for me, but I do like how creative some of these are!

Haris Shakeel
This is a designer who has been around for some time, and I remember liking some of the bridals he has made a few years back. I do like the collection below, but I feel like he played it safe a little - the cuts and colours are quire traditional. Having said that, I love the yellow dress and would love to pull something like that off!

Komal Nasir
This is a collection which focussed mainly on shawls - which was a very colourful, rich collection. I love beautiful shawls and these were seriously pretty, and I like how this collection highlights that you can have a simple outfit and dress it up with a worked shawl.

LGBTQI Segment Designer Fahad Hussayn
This was a unique part of the show, and a first for a Pakistani fashion show - a catwalk collection by Fahad Hussayn modelled entirely by LGBT and transgender models. I thought these were pretty funky, and really colourful, which suits the models quite well!

Naika
One thing I don't see enough in Pakistani fashion shows is sarees, and this was a collection which was only sarees. I thought the floral prints were nicer than the heavier ones, although that's probably because I prefer a good floral saree!

Purple Haze by Rubina Azmat
I thought this was a decent collection of formals, I really liked some of the cape ideas and can imagine them being quite popular for Eid or weddings. It also mixed rich fabrics wells with the work so it doesn't feel overloaded.

Rana Noman
This collection focussed on golds, creams and whites and was all about opulent bridals and rich work. I did like these but a couple of the designs looked similar to each other - but I can imagine these would look great for a nikkah event or a reception.

Sanam Boutique
This collection didn't appeal to me at all, the bridal's were not anything amazing at all and the formals were ok but not that creative. I don't think this is a collection which I would look at if I went to the store, as there's probably other designers who would appeal to me more.

Sonia Mahajan

I liked this collection, it was colouful and pretty and  thought some of these would make really nice mehndi bridal or formal outfits. I also liked that there is a good mix of flowy dresses and skirts with rich kaam and art work on shawls, which looks feminine and flattering.

Voile by Sabeen Arshad
This was a collection I liked, the colours were pretty, the cuts were flowy and modest and I thought they were quite wearable. This is another designer whose pieces I managed to check out at the exhibition, and the work up close looked pretty beautiful

Wajahat Sharoz
This collection was quite a subtle but glitzy one, using subtle colours for a rich pieces. Their bridals were a little simple for my taste, but I liked their formals which had a nice luxurious feel to them.

Yatashi
I think out of all of the collections in the show, this one had the most which had pieces that were wearable and would be easy to look for online. I can't imagine these are very expensive, and I liked the colour palattes used - perfect Eid inspo!

Zarsha by Ahsan Waris
I thought this was an intersting collection - it had that old style Mughal glamour to it but I thought osme of the pieces looked quite nice. I liked how flow and dressy some of the cuts were, and they would make great pieces for a wedding.

Zoe by Zoha Khan
This is another collection which I didn't think was that great - the pieces look slightly generic and I can't imagine that there would be slightly better versions of these elsewhere, although the cream gharara was quite pretty and would look nice for a summer wedding.

What did you think of these collection? Which one was your favourite?

Credits: 

Show Produced & Directed by Adnan Ansari  

Choreography by Hira Shah 

Styled by Saima Kiran 

Choreography Hira Shah  

Model coordination by Muneer Muhammad   

Photography by Shahid Malik @iamshahidmalik 

Media partners ARY 

Brand Director Hajra Lalljee 

PR Enigme International

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Madhuri's Orange Look in Kalank

I love a good Madhuri Dixit post, especially as she's an actress who can pull off a gorgeous outfit and still dance beautifully in it.

Her latest to-be released movie is the star-studded Kalank, in which a teaser song has been released featuring Madhuri herself. The actress looks as graceful as ever, in an orange embellished anarkali with contrasting rich purple piping and churidar pants. The dress itself is dreamy - it has several panels to give it that 'ghair' (the flare) and looks beautifully swishy.

I love, love LOVE Madhuri's jewellery, which looks tasteful and elegant - especially her pearl hair piece and her matching pearl and kundan tikka and earring set which all compliment each other. I also like the fact that her makeup and hair is fairly toned down but still looks quite classy and suits her face and her age.

And of course the complimenting outfits of the back-up dancers, the luxurious setting all look amazing against this shot - a good peek at what's to come!

What do you think of this look? And will you be going to watch this movie when it releases?

A Silky Purple Abaya by Hafina Official

I was recently gifted a gorgeous silky open abaya from modest clothes company Hafina Official, which does beautiful dresses, co-ords and abayas in gorgeous, vibrant colours. The abaya I received was a beautiful silky abaya in a rich purple shade, with white piping and lace embellishment on the hem and sleeves.

This is the abaya - doesn't it look gorgeous? I love how silky the abaya feels and looks, and it looks quite easy to style open or closed. I love my deep, rich colours and this is a gorgeous shade of purple which you can't go wrong with.

This is how the abaya looks on me, it's quite flowy and long, which I love. I can imagine this will be perfect for the summer months when I don't want to layer too much with heavy outfits, as it is quite modest and still feels quite loose and cool.

I also wanted to show a close up of the sleeves, which I love. I really think that the lace adds a gorgeous delicate touch to it which makes it look quite girly without being too heavy or OTT.

I love how easy this outfit was to style andwear - I can imagine wearing it with a plain dress to dress up an outfit, or using it as a summer staple, which I'm looking forward to! I love that there's a good range of colourful abayas out there, which means there's something to suit everyone's tastes, and also doesn't necessarily mean that it's just aimed for people who wear hijab, but just want something modest.

Hafina Offical has a pretty range of dresses, abayas and co-ords so the website is worth checking out. Let me know what you think of this piece!

Website and Shop - Hafina Offical

Instagram page - Hafina Offical