BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE; Anushka's Charming Colourful Outfits in Sultan

I recently watched Salman Khan's latest blockbuster Sultan, which made for an interesting watch, about a Haryana-based wrestler and his struggles, not least because the subject had a surprisingly decent plot.

One of the things I loved about the film was the beautiful set, and the attention to detail with the village and the use of beautiful colour, the landscapes and the buildings - it's grand and vivid yet still remains something which is easy to imagine as being in many parts of India, which I loved. (My husband loved a scene in the film where the boys are chasing cut-down guddis - kites which are flown and fought over by boys and then chased to be caught - it reminded him of his boyhood days!)

The first outfit which I loved was this ivory bridal worn by Anushka (sorry for any spoilers, but she gets married!), with traditional gold fringing on the dupatta, and delicate zari work all over. I've always been a fan of the very traditional look and this one harks back to the 1950s and 60s with the sharara bottoms - perfect for a down-to-earth nikkah event, and serious bridal inspo!

I also loved the jewellery worn by Anushka here - beautiful gold pieces with pearls and beading, which really gives a beautiful bridal look, as well as the pop of green from her bangles.

Apparently this is part of a collection called 'Lafz' by Diva'ni - which is a India's first cinema inspired brand and a collaborative venture of Yash Raj Films and KBSH. You can see the outfits below which are available to order which all have a gorgeous theme of ivory and golds, gold fringing and detailed work. I think the one Anushka is wearing is most like the first outfit, but the third one is also very similar.

Images from Elle

The second outfit which caught my eye was this vivid green affair, which was a lot more playful and colourful. While it did remind me of Anushka's royal blue outfit in Band Baaja Baraat (the style of the song too!) I think this is a lovely outfit and it certainly suited the character. While it's not something you may see on the catwalks, it's a classic Punjabi style (or should I say Haryana?) outfit which

I also thought I'd throw in a mention for the 440 Volt song in the film, which is basically just a fantasy song but has plenty of beautiful colour and funky outfits - there's a quick mix of traditional saris, a glamorous gold maxi dress and this flouncy skirt with a biker-studded style leather jacket - is that payals (anklets) I see on her boots?

I also loved the set on this song - neon lights, a night-time funfair and lots of gold gramaphone-style speakers - very artsy!

I've mentioned how much I loved the setting in this film - it doesn't feature grand palace-like buildings or exotic locations but more real settings - the big courtyards in someone's house, the local villages and the fields - all again something which can be easily recognisable in any part of India (or Pakistan!)

I loved the flowers in this wedding scene - the whole house is covered in marigold garlands and floral structures (including a huge flower peacock and there's a hanging aeroplane made of flowers somewhere too!)
I think I loved this scene because it reminded me of the traditional weddings in the village where my grandparents used to live - usually done in the house and in the huge courtyards with plenty of friends and family around, lots of food, lights and decor.

I also liked this nikkah scene - the decor is mainly white with red flowers for a lovely decor look - but the room is homely, filled with guests all squashed around the bride and groom!

Images belong to creators of Sultan

All in all, this is a colourful movie which aims for a very down-to-earth look, both in the setting and the outfits. While the outfits look gorgeous on Anushka, they're not too glitzy or over the top, and they definitely look like outfits you can easily get made. I'm sure you can guess that I loved the bridal outfit best - I've always been a fan of traditional ivory and gold with the vintage look, and it works well with the jewellery here.

To be honest, while there are colourful song sequences and a couple of weddings thrown in, the bulk of this film involves the main characters in dusty vest tops and learning to wrestle. The outfits and decor of this film make up a smaller part of the story of this film, but it really contributes to the homely feel and the way that it seems to show small town life.

Have you seen this film? What do you think of it?

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

Bollywood Fancy Dress...Ideas!

I'm attending a Bollywood fancy dress party in a few weeks, and have been trying to think of some iconic outfits which I can copy (based on the contents of my wardrobe and what's easy to replicate!)

Here's the top 5 ideas that I've narrowed down to - I'm still deciding on the pros and cons and what I think would work best though.

1. Madhuri in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
This is nice and easy, a plain green kameez (I'm sure I can find one somewhere), a white skirt (I already have one, although mine has a bit more lace on it!) I'm thinking I may have a harder time finding the jewellery, but anything close enough would work! Personally I'm leaning a bit towards this one because I feel like I can also make it hijab friendly, and it looks pretty simple to copy.

2. Meena Kumari in Pakeezah
This is one of my favourite iconic Bollywood looks, not to mention one of my favourite golden-olden actresses. The key to this look, in my opinion, is the jewellery, it would be fairly easy to weat a simple, plain anarkali suit and jazz it up with jewellery. The half matha-patti would be fairly easy to find as well, as they are quite popular at the moment too. I'm also quite inspired by Dia Mirza's take on this too, although I doubt I'd be able to look as great as she does! If in doubt, otherwise, I can use one of my mum's old dupattas with tinsel along the hem!

3. Madhuri in Devdas
I have a green anarkali which I've always imagined looking like this outfit, it's a similar shade of green and it has a lot of gold work on it, although I'm less keen on this look than the others. I also love the iconic white and red sari worn by the two actresses in this film for the Dola re Dola song, and it would be easy to borrow a sari in these colours, but this idea has already been taken by the fancy dress party's host! Pity, eh?

4. Anything 60's, eyeliner flicks and vintage Bollywood
...like this Asha Parekh look, sari, eyeliner flicks and all, plus some added beehive. Can I also mention that I love Hema Malini back in her heyday? The only downside to this is that there's no one identifiable iconic look, which I would love to go for. Plus side if, all I'd need it a lot of eyeliner, back combing and some tight kameezes!

 

5. Deepika in Om Shanti Om
I think this would be another outfit which would be easy to copy, a hot pink dress (which I have more than one of!) and some beehive hair styling and eyeliner flicks. I think I would also enjoy trying to create this look, and it does allow for some flexibility in terms of jewellery and make-up. I'm not sure how 'famous' or iconic this look is though, or whether it would be instantly recognisable, which is a bit of a drawback.

 

Other ideas are:

• Something from Jodha Akbar, for a Rajasthani look, although this would involve a lot of jewellery
• The black dress worn by Aishwariya in Taal (nice and easy!)
•  The green lachcha worn by Kajol in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (although I'm not keen on the lime green, I'd love to wear a lachcha!)
• Kareena's t-shirt and salwar look in Jab We Met (okay, not really!)
• Madhubala's Anarkali in Mughal-E-Azam, quite possibly one of the most iconic costumes in Bollywood history, although I think this outfit would be hard to copy.

I'm still googling/asking around/brainstorming up ideas at the moment, and will most likely go to the shops for a few ideas as well.

In the meantime - what would you dress up as for an iconic Bollywood fancy dress look?

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

 

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Vintage 50s Shoes by Dior

I saw a picture of these pretty-in-pink vintage shoes by Christian Dior which were displayed some time back at the Victoria & Albert Museum in their vintage clothes collection. The Museum will be doing a 50s collection show again for the next six month which may be worth checking out too! I thought these were interesting, as you rarely ever get designer and dressy shoes with this extent of work on them, and I'm not sure they'd appeal to everyone today, but I did think they looked prettily made and delicate. I'm not a pink-shoes girl myself, but I thought these were worth a mention! What do you think of these? Would you wear them?

Image from V&A Museum