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

Saverah Women Expo '17

I recently attended the Saverah Women Expo 2017 at the O2 Arena, which was a weekend featuring a collaboration of vendors selling scarves, modest and Asian outfits, jewellery, halal food, skin care products and makeup, and Islamic art and stationary. There was also a series of seminars and workshops, fashion shows to see the latest collections by different brands, and even a nasheed concert to enjoy.

I only managed to attend one day of the event, but I had a good browse at the shopping hall, caught a catwalk show and managed to speak to lots of other bloggers and vendors, which was a really fun-filed day!

I  managed to get a good look at the vendors who had outfits and scarves available - I often see a lot of outfits and modesty-wear from online websites or Facebook/Instagram groups, and it's nice to see some of these brands up close and see whether they are as nice as they look!

I managed to find a few vendors which I wanted to list, as I get asked a lot by readers about UK-based brands which are reliable, and I thought some of these had some really nice outfits!

First are Traditional Images London, who carry a lot of Pakistani designer pret wear, such as Khaadi, Maria B, Agha Noor, Sapphire, Gul Ahmed and Threads and Motifs (all brands that I LOVE!), which I was really pleased to find!

I also really liked the dresses by Amore Mio, a brand which sells dresses and modesty-wear which I thought were really pretty.

I also liked the abayas by Avyaana Abayah, which had some really chic pieces that caught my eye - I really like that these incorporate current trends like frills, bell sleeves and rich materials.

There were also pretty scarves available by Aidijuma, a Malaysian brand which had scarves for a very reasonable price (from £5.99 upwards), and beautiful dresses and abayahs from designer Jenny Tyayawati who also had her pieces on the catwalk as well.

Lastly were pieces by Haiqah UK, which was a range of dresses, abayahs and scarves, as well as some more luxurious pieces by Sana Zinga, whose pieces I thought were beautiful, with lovely fabrics uses and interesting cuts.

I'm a big fan of jewellery from Pakistan and India, but it has to be decent quality pieces, as there is also a lot of junk out there too! I also came across jewellery vendor Artisan Jewels, whose pieces were beautiful, and who I bought a few things from (post coming soon on that!).

We also came across a halal makeup brand FX Cosmetics, which was developed by two scientists to be properly wudu-friendly, which I thought was really interesting. I liked that there was a huge range of products available, and there were some seriously pigmented eyeshadows and highlighters which I loved!

Halal skin-care company Tamese & Jackson were also at the exhibition - have a read of my post to find out more about them!

I also found a really cute stationary and card company Islamic Moments, which had a range of products that caught my eye (and naturally I bought some cards and notebooks from them!)

I also managed to catch a fashion show with a few brands showcasing their collections, with a range of modesty brands and Asian fashion-wear. I loved the colours and styles of these pieces, although I would have liked to have seen some more dramatic pieces as well.

And of course here's what I wore, a kimono with off white separates (which were the comfiest pieces ever!), and accessorised with a colourful yellow bag!

It was also nice to catch up with the other fashion bloggers while I was at the exhibition - here I am with Modest Seamstress (here and here) and also Be.Hijabi, both of whose blogs and social media accounts I love!

The Saverah Women Expo was a pretty fun event, although I do feel that more could have been done to interact with customers and people who attended, as a it took a while to get busy (although this is also down to the bad weather that weekend as well!). I was really glad to find a lot of new designers, vendors and sellers, and managed to make my purse a bit emptier by spending on a few things too!

Pakistan Fashion Week London 11 - 2017

Last week saw the 11th Pakistan Fashion Week London, which showcased a range of Pakistani designer's latest collections. I loved the last one which took place last year, and it was interesting to see how a lot of the designers who have returned had gone for a different look.

The event took place at the beautiful Lancaster House, which involved an exhibition for people to buy clothes and accessories, a two-day catwalk show and a ceremony with the Pakistani flag being sent to Pakistan's first ever embassy at Lowndes Square in London.

I wasn't able to attend the event, but was luckily able to get pictures from the official event photographer Shahid Malik and get a glimpse of the outfits! I won't be posting all the photos, but you can see more here and here.

Agha Noor
These were lovely metallic shades of gold and nude - I liked most of these, very wearable!

Aisha Imran
These were in a range of lengha styles - short and long tops, peplum tops and flared out skirts. Some of them are a little busy for my liking but I did like the colours used.

Amour Faith Hope
A range of summery prints, these look ideal for daytime wear, for a more Western look. I'm not sure I'd wear all of these but I did like the summer/holidays vibe to them.

Aminah Badar
A gorgeous nude and neutral-coloured collection, with a good mix for formal pieces and heavier bridals. I do like these, but they just feel too similar to designs already done - Faraz Manan, Elan and Farah Talib Aziz have all done these kind of styles - maybe it's just me? I did like the first two pieces though, which look a little different.

Asaaleh
Apart from the first piece, which is not bad, I didn't like any of the pieces in this collection. Nothing feels original or pretty, although that may just be my own personal tastes.

Ayesha Aejaz
This was an interesting black and rose gold/nude collection, where the designer played with shapes and hem-lines - some of them work, some of them don't. I do like the fact that these can be worn as formals though, and don't feel overloaded with work.

Cheena Chapra
I really liked how colourful this collection was - rich silks, bright colours and beautiful statement dupattas. I think these would be perfect for a mehndi event, and love how they seem to be inspired by the older periods like the 50s and 80s.

Diva by Sana Rashid
I'm not usually a fan of two-toned fabrics, but it works here. I love the mix of the colours with the intricate embroidery here - and how nice are those headpieces?

Gogi by Hassan Riaz
This is pretty wild - a bright red and black collection which seems pretty dramatic and high fashion. Maybe not so wearable, but it does showcase the designer's imagination!

Hamna Amir
This was a jewellery collection, which the focus being on longer-hanging necklaces. I do like the fact that you can layer these though, and loved the earring and necklace set on the end right.

Khaas
This was a collection for formals and everyday occasions, which I like because it's nice to see something on the catwalk which is wearable (and doesn't need alterations!). There wre a lot of floral embroidered pieces and simple cuts, which you can't go wrong with, really.

Khushboo by Qazi
This is a pretty, colouful collection ranged ranged from formals with heavy work, and lenghas with colourful dupattas. I thought some of these were pretty, and can imagine these being worn at weddings in Pakistan as well as the UK as well.

KJ Jewellers
This was another bridal jewellery collection, althoughI will say some of them were a little much for me - I did think the diamond sets were lovely though.

Lajwanti
I thought these were nice, but not amazing - the work doesn't stand out to me, and the outfits feels a little similar to the brand's designs from the last few years.

M Couture
While I like some of the designs for these, I really didn't like the colour combinations, I feel like there were some colours which were slightly mashed together. I did like the first outfit though, which looks lovely with a cape.

Maheen Khan
I thought these were very stylish, with a East-West fusion that made them look simple but elegant.

Maria B
I thought this was a fun collection, which mixed colourful prints and embroidered pieces well.

Mazz Jee
I don't usually post about men's clothing (because I know nothing about it) but though this was an interesting collection - the designer paid tribute to founding father of Pakistan Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah with his pieces.

Miral
This was a luxurious, dark-coloured collection with lots of gold and glitter accents. I thought these were nice as formals, and can imagine wearing these.

Moazzam Abbasi
I thought this was a pretty, summery collection, with lots of cotton and white shades which I can imagine being quite comfortable!

Nihaan by Amna Bibi
This was a really stylish abayah and modest-wear collection, which I liked because I haven't seen many abayahs on the catwalk when it comes to Pakistani fashion. I also liked the mix of jumpsuits with wraps, which I can imagine wearing myself.

Noor By Sadia
I thought these were pretty, but none of the pieces stood out for me particularly. There's a lot of light colours and shorter kameezes which look nice though, and look pretty as bridals.

Rizwan Ahmed
This is another collection which looks pretty, but doesn't stand out amazingly to me, although I did like the theme of gold and red in this collection.

Sana Safinaz
This was a pretty bright colllection with black beading and embellishment, but I think it worked well, giving a fusion East-West look ideal for parties or weddings.

Shamaeel Ansari
This was quite a boho-chic, summery collection - I can imagine these pieces in Zara or Mango! I liked the floral prints and accents on these, and thought it was an interesting mix of rich fabrics and softer colours.

Shazia Kiyani
I quite liked some of these pieces, and the collection had a very royal feel to it which I thought looked good.

Shirin Hassan
Another colourful collection, these would look great as mehndi bridals. I like the fact that there's a range of lenghas and wrap-style angrakha dresses, which are lovely for mehndi and dholki events.

Sonia Mahajan
I thought this was a fun collection, and really liked these pieces - there's a of fun colour and rich fabrics which works well.

Umar Sayeed
This collection had a very 70s, hippie look to it which is different from the designer's usually heavy pieces, although I'm not sure whether I'd wear these.

Umsha by Uzma Babar
This designer's bridals has become pretty popular over the years, with a lot of brides going for the layered look. The designer continues this theme with this collection, with a lot of gold and silver embellishment involved.

Zeshan Bariwala
This was another bridal collection which ranges from gold and red bridals, to the softer shades of grey and pinks. I liked some of these, but didn't think they would be pieces I would wear as a bridal myself.

Credits:
Event Directed by Riwayat
Commissioned by Pakistan High Commission, London
Head Stylist - Nabila
Consultant Advisor - Maheen Khan
Hair and Make up - Saima Kiran
Choreographer - Hajira Ahmad of EBH
Official Photographer - Shahid Malik
PR - Enigme Internationale