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?

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Navy Angrakha Anarkali

I've always been a fan of the angrakha (or angarkha) style outfits - wrap-style dresses which wraps across one side of the bodice. I've seen a lot of outfits and bridals which do this well, and I've always thought this was quite an elegant look.

I don't have many angrakha-style outfits, but I do have a few that I've kept over the years. Most of them are long dresses and kameezes which have a classic look to them, which is why I've kept them.

I pulled out an angrakha anarkali suit from my wardrobe to wear for a wedding (the last one on 2016!) recently, and loved that it still looks pretty classic.

This is the outfit - you can see the wrap style with the ties and tassels at the top. I kept this look quite simple, with matching bangles and a silver clutch.

I don't usually show the makeup I use, but thought I'd show one of my favourite highlighters from Make Up Revolution, which I paired with nude lips. I also matching with silver and blue bangles, which you just can't go wrong it, really!

This is how it looked on me, the outfit is a lot more flowy than it looks in the pictures, especially as the bottom part of the anarkali had more material for a 'dress-y' shape.

Outfit - Dhanak Fashions

Clutch bag - Raishma

Shoes - Call It Spring

Bangles - Bombay Looks

As much as I love the current trends of short kameezes and layering, I don't think long kameezes and anarkalis will ever leave the shops or people's wardrobes - they're very flattering, modest and have a classic style to them which I can imagine will still look great in a few years.

I also love that this outfit was so reasonably priced (I recently went to the Green Street branch of Dhanak and loved some of their pieces, which were about £50-80 for heavier formals), and always find it handy to have outfits like this in the wardrobe for various functions!

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Pretty Pastels & Churi Dupattas from Umsha by Uzma Babar

I saw these two outfits today - both by the same designer, Pakistani label Umsha by Uzma Babar  - with the same signature style, but with two different colour palattes and style that I loved equally. I saw both of these in east London with stockists Texheeb London, which carries the designer (plus a few more), so it's always worth a look when going past.

The first outfit was this lovely anarkali piece with a skirt, in a soft peachy pink with pale blue accents and floral embroidery and gold work all over. I loved the soft colours of this piece, and though it would be perfect for a summer wedding or a spring event. It's a lovely piece which can be dressed up as a bridal (it does come with a skirt) or worn by guests for a special event, which I thought would look lovely - I can image a whole wedding theme catered to these colours!

The second outfit was this bridal by the designer in a soft creamy yellow mixed with a rich red and rusty orange. I like that the heavy kameez is balanced out by a brocade skirt, but my favourite thing is probably the addition of a chunri dupatta (you can see some examples of these here - they're dupattas with printed dotted patterns for an ethnic look), which I haven't seen in years. I remember seeing these when I was younger, and I even have one hidden away somewhere which I bought for my own mehndi (and didn't end up using!), so it's lovely to see this used as a bridal dupatta. I've seen examples of chunri dupattas used in bridals in Pakistan, but not in the local stores in London, so it's lovely to see this.

I'm still deciding which outfit I like better (I'm leaning towards the pastel pink and blue one) - which one do you like more?

On the Catwalk, On a Celebrity: Raveena Tandon in Mantra by Shalini James

I'm a big fan of Raveena Tandon and I always keep an eye out for her on the random channels and photoshoots, partly because I'm a fan of her from the 90s films, and partly because I love her dress-sense. She's always very well put-together, and a lot of her outfits are very modest and mature, which I love because she still looks the same gorgeous self that she has from the 90s era and only seems to look classier with age.

The Bollywood heroine was spotted in a Mantra by Shalini James outfit yesterday, promoting a jewellery brand in a gorgeous printed anarkali.

On the catwalk:
Like a lot of the brand's designs, this is a beautiful printed dress - I really love the fusion of gypsy-chic and boho with traditional Indian trends. I love that the outfits from this brand are made from rich fabrics, beautiful deep colours with subtle accents, which make for beautiful outfits which look classic.This outfit is pretty lovely on the model because it looks so flowy, and it works well with her height without looking baggy or boring on her. The only criticism I would have is that the look is very plain - although this was probably a deliberate effect from the designer to take away attention from the model such as accessories, and focus on the dress.

 Image source

On the celeb:
I loved the way this outfit looked on Raveena Tandon, it's perfect for a wedding without looking too overdressed. I also love that the jewellery doesn't clash but rather adds to the rich-look of the material and the outfit, making it look very traditional and classic, not to mention Raveena's updo and smokey eyes which give a little more of a dramatic effect.

Image source

Honestly. I loved the outfits on the catwalk and the celebrity, but I think Raveena pulls it off a little better because of how well the outfit is put together with accessories and doesn't look too overly-dressed.

What do you think of this look?

FOLLOWING TRENDS: Floral Maxi Dresses (again)

Over the last couple of years I've seen the floral trend burst into into Western and Eastern fashion, and over the last year or so I've seen this translated into various styles and designs which have seeped into the high street. I've already posted about these gorgeous floral maxi dresses from a local store which caught my eye, but they were above what I was looking to spend. I've still got a hankering for a floral dress or maxi skirt which I can wear as a lengha, and it's been great to see more variety in the shops.

I've seen these lovelies in several shops over the last week or so in Green Street, Ilford and Whitechapel (all East London hot spots for Asian clothes!) - all for pretty bargain prices from as low as £69 in some shops to £120 for the embellished ones in others. All in all, these are a pretty good buy for someone looking for something floral and they're perfect for a summery look (I know summer is more or less over but it's still nice to see colour!)

I've been contemplating these for a future wedding, or even Eid, the styles are simple yet pretty and there's a lot of colours and styles available, not to mention being such a good bargain.

What do you think of these? Would you buy one?

COPYCAT DESIGNS & DRESSES #13: The Green Anarkali Dress by Sonas Couture

I thought I'd post about this dress, which I ordered a long time ago (about 7 or 8 years now!), that I ordered through a friend from her contact in India.

Green and gold are my favourite colour combinations when it comes to Asian clothes, although weirdly enough I don't have many clothes in these colours (my wardrobe just feels like its full of blue dresses right now!)

I originally ordered this dress a few years ago, and found that it was too heavy to wear to my friends' weddings, which is when I wanted to wear it - back then I wore a lot less heavier outfits that I do now and it just felt too dressy for a guest to wear! I then decided to save it for my engagement, should I have one, although in the end I didn't have an official engagement so I never wore it, To be honest, even if I had an engagement, I would probably have gone with something else, perhaps because I felt like I outgrew the style of this outfit.

My opinions of this dress also varied over the year - when I first ordered it I was astounded at how long it was and didn't like it, and packed it away. A few years later I pulled it out (when the fashion of hemlines were long!) and wished it was long - it was too short for me! Eventually I didn't wear it at all and actually ended up selling it online, I didn't think it suited me and thought there was no point in it taking up wardrobe space.

For anyone who wants to know about this outfit and where I ordered it from, I don't have specific details as a friend of mine ordered it from India. I do know that the tailors are called Hafeez and that they were based around Delhi area.

So this is the original design that I sent to India, which I think is from Sonas Couture but I'm not 100% sure, although I do remember this being a popular design which was copied by a lot of online sellers.

Below is the dress that I got, which was actually a pretty decent copy, although one of the reasons I got it so cheap was the work was a lot more cheaper, being mostly french knot threadwork, beading and sequins. The colours were pretty spot on though and the shape of the dress was good, although the bust area wasn't perfect but it looked better on.

Here's a few close ups of the dress - it was pretty full of work and really heavy because there were motifs and a heavy hemline on the front and back. It was also pretty tightly knit, in all the years I had the dress the work didn't really get messed up, surprisingly enough. It also helped that the dress itself was made from georgette rather than the usual chiffon material sellers often use, which meant the fabric was a little sturdy.

I haven't got a picture of myself wearing this outfit because I only tried it on a couple of times, and while it didn't look quite as good as it did on the model in the picture above, it was really flattering. It was pretty slimming on as well, although I do remember wishing I could get it made longer!

THE GOOD: The price - at the time of buying this outfit, I bought another 4 and paid £250 for all of them, so this worked out about £60-70 because it was the heaviest outfit. I may have gotten a discount because there were so many outfits, but there would be no way I'd ever get a dress like this for this price!

THE BAD: The bust, I really wasn't a fan of it. I didn't get a lot of choice at the time of ordering in terms of making alterations, and because it was done through a friend who had to shout down details over the phone to India, I didn't want to confuse or complicate things so I didn't make any changes at all. I don't really tend to go for outfits which emphasise the bust area too much, it did fit pretty well and I always like to make sure something is tailored to my body properly, but I didn't think this was a an amazing shape on me because I'm more straight than curvy in terms of body shapes!

THE UGLY: Squeezing into the outfit a few years after I bought it, and realising I wasn't a size 6 anymore!

OVERALL: I got a pretty decent deal with this outfit, and although I didn't end up wearing it, it was pretty beautiful to me when I got it. I loved (and still love) this colour combination and would still wear them as a formal even now. I remember looking into getting a jamwar or brocade fabric skirt or sharara made for this outfit, so that I would give a really flowy look to the outfit but in the end I didn't because I decided not to keep the outfit.

It's nice to look back at outfits I've had in my wardrobe and see how far fashion has come, and also the idea of ordering from India and Pakistan. Nowadays I do a lot more online shopping and I have more of an experienced eye when looking in the shops and online, although I don't think I did too badly with this one!

RE-INVENT YOUR WARDROBE #1: Add a Jacket on Top

I'm a big advocate of re-inventing your wardrobe, whether it's just mix-and-matching your outfits, altering your outfits, or just changing a look so that it looks different to the original.

I thought I'd do a short series of posts about re-inventing your wardrobe - where instead of buying a whole new wardrobe, you just use what you have and make it look different and more in line with current trends.

(Although a quick side note to say that not all of these may work for some people, and I understand that not everyone has as many jackets as I found in my wardrobe!)

1. Wear a jacket with a jumpsuit.
I've posted before about experimenting with a jacket on top of a jumpsuit, and I loved the results. This was a simple embroidered jacket from one of my Eid outfits that I wore with a jumpsuit from the high street. I know the trend is also to wear wider-legged jumpsuits for a looser, flowier look, but I wanted to try the jacket with the one I had, and loved it.

I've had a really good response from a lot of readers about this outfit, with several people saying they wanted to try this - it's ideal for a night out as well as an Asian event, and it's also more of a fusion look. While it's not completely modest (the jumpsuit I had was quite fitted), it can be made to look modest and for a first attempt, I was quite happy with the style.

2. Add a jacket to a maxi dress or an abaya.
I know that maxi dresses and abayas are not the same thing, especially as maxi dresses tend to be more fitted and fashionable, whereas the primary purpose of an abaya is to hide the shape of the body. Nevertheless, they both are maxi length and come to your ankles (or longer), and adding a jacket is a great way to dress up both.

I don't wear an abaya but my eldest sister does, and she has worn embellished, loose jackets to dress up her abayahs for weddings or functions. I love the idea of a dressed-up maxi or abayah, particularly where it doesn't have to be a heavy jacket - one of my favourite looks has been a brocade, metallic jacket with a plain dress.

This jacket came from the outfit I wore to my sister's wedding, which was a little looser at that time! The maxi dress itself is a simple cheap one from an unbranded company (one of those random shops you find on the high street) and comes in various colours and styles, which I thought went with the jacket quite well in terms of colour and shape. I really like how modest this outfit was, and the flow of the dress with the jacket, which felt really swishy and girly one. I could have dressed the outfit up more with jewellery, like a long necklace or hijab jewellery, but I thought the jacket itself was heavy enough!

3. Add a jacket to a normal kameez and churidar or trousers.
It sounds obvious really, but it's a pretty way of layering without looking weird. It's difficult to layer Asian outfits the way we can with Western ones - where we can add a cardigan to a short sleeve top or dress, it's not always as chic with Asian outfits. This jacket came from another suit, which I wore with the outfit from my sister's mehndi - I haven't had a chance to wear either suits for a while, so I loved the fact that I could pull these out again!

I thought this outfit looked really girly and cute, it's really ideal for a mehndi function or even to wear to a dawat/dinner, without feeling overly heavy. Although there is a lot of corals in this outfit, I tried to tone it a little with maroon accents and nudes. The jacket really slimmed down my figure and gave it a longer look, and I liked the fact that this had a shorter hemline, which meant I could wear it with shorter kurtas to fit in line with current Pakistani fashion trends.

4. You can even add it to an anarkali outfit.
Rather than having a slim-line effect like the above, having an anarkali dress with a jacket gives more of an A-Line look. This might not be to everyone's tastes, but again, it's a new way to wear an an old outfit.

I chose this RDC indigo anarkali dress to wear with a jacket of a very similar colour I found in my wardrobe. I liked this look, but it wasn't my favourite, mainly because I thought the jacket was heavy and felt too much over a heavy anarkali. Having said that, the jacket blended perfectly with the dress and added to the flowy style, and emphasised the A-Line look. I would have liked to try this jacket with a simpler dress underneath, or even another colour to see how it varied, but I think it didn't look bad as it is below and it looked quite classic.

5. For a heavier, dressier look you could add it it a lengha and top.
I'm not sure this is something which wouldn't look too heavily layered, but I gave this one a shot anyway. I was going to try this with my mehndi skirt, which has a print to it and was a lot heavier, but I couldn't find anything that matched it enough for me to be happy with.

So I tried this instead, this hot pink jacket from a Gul Mohar outfit, with a plain silk maxi skirt (which is actually from Zara, of all places!) and a short kameez. The kameez itself was altered from a longer pink slip kameez which I got cut and shorted, for the lengha-choli look. Because the outfit was quite blocky, I wore my bridal jewellery with it, which looked perfect on top, with a printed pink and gold hijab scarf to finish off the look.

I loved this outfit, it's simple but embellished enough for a outfit for a wedding (I'm actually considering this for a family wedding next month!). I haven't worn a choli-style short kameez like this in years - probably not since I was a young teen, so it felt weird having this on, but the jacket made the whole look really wearable, and also modified enough to feel modest. I've love to try this look with other skirts/tops to see if it looks as nice, but I was quite happy with this look, and it was my favourite out of all the ones in this post.

All of these styles were using outfits I already had, I didn't buy anything new and simply mixed and matched (or in the case of the last one, did some slight alterations to a silk kameez!) You will be amazed by what you may find in your wardrobe - I know some of you may think that there's not much to work with, but believe me, there is!

I have a few more posts coming up to show how to mix-and-match pieces and re-invent styles, and I've even found a few more jackets since doing this post. I didn't get the opportunity to try shorter jackets, or even Western jackets from the high street for a more funky, modern look, but I'm sure I'll give it a shot!

What did you think of these outfits? Would you try wearing a jacket on top for a new look?

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: A Spring Fling Display

I saw this display a few days ago, and thought it was interesting because there were four heavy outfits in the window, each different to the next (except for the fact that they had the Pakistani trend of longer hems/kameezes).

What I did like was that there was a variety of designers/styles on display - the first two are paler colours, golds and creams with floral work (which is quite in trend at the moment), and the second two are deeper colours. It's not often you see a heavy black outfit, but they're starting to come into the shops more often! I also recognised the last outfit as being a very similar to this Nomi Ansari outfit, which would make a beautiful mehndi outfit.

I didn't get time to go inside this store (I probably will the next time I go past though!), but I did like the fact that there are a few varieties of heavier outfits for customers for are looking for something which they can't necessarily go to Pakistan for. It's also quite ideal for girls looking for their bridal outfits, it's around this time of the year that a lot of brides-to-be start shopping around and looking for their bridal dresses!

My favourite outfit is probably the second one, it's girly and floral-embroidered, and idea for a spring look. It's also heavy enough to wear to a wedding (I can imagine a mother-of-the-bride in this outfit, maybe?), although I'm sure the price tag is substantial too!

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Grey, Blue & Emerald Nida Azwer Outfit

I thought I'd post one of the more recent outfits I wore to a party not too long ago, especially because I wore an outfit that has become one of my (many!) favourites. I had ordered a Nida Azwer semi-formal party outfit before I was married as part of my jahez collection (my wedding trousseau), which cost a bit more than some of my other outfits, but which I loved because it was such an elegant outfit. I didn't buy many new outfits for my trousseau because I already had so many and didn't want to be lumbered with outfits I couldn't wear, so I stuck to a few and picked carefully.

This outfit was ordered online via email and was a ready-made outfit, it came pretty quickly and I didn't need to send many emails - you can see some of the designers I had been researching at the time here.

This is the outfit below, my favourite part of the outfit is the embellished high collar, with beautiful emerald coloured accents and stones, as well as green stones which made buttons along the front of the dress.The front has scattered mukesh (that small flat metal dotted around) and metalwork, and the hem and cuffs were made of thick printed silk and jacquard which made for a flowy look and didn't feel heavy at all. But my favourite bit is still the collar and the buttons!

 

 
This is how I accessorised the outfit, I wanted to keep the outfit simple, and I wasn't in the mood for a lot of jewellery which I thought would be a bit too much. I love the simplicity of the dress and thought I would play up the blue accents - which gave me a chance to re-use my wedding clutch, which matched perfectly.

This is me wearing the outfit (can you see my husband is getting a bit better at taking photos?), it was an all-girls event so I didn't wear a hijab, but if I had I probably would have worn a dark blue one to go with it. The outfit was very comfortable, and the shoes went with the look perfectly and completed the look, as did the clutch.

 

Outfit - Nida Azwer

Clutch - Lovetobag

Shoes - Kurt Geiger

Ring - Green Street

I loved wearing this outfit and received a lot of compliments for it - it fits perfectly and felt very comfortable on. When I received this outfit in the post I was over the moon, it looked better than the pictures, and looked very elegant on. I'm waiting for the next chance to wear this again because it looked so lovely, perhaps trying to highlight the green accent this time for another look!

What do you think of this outfit - have you ordered from Nida Azwer before?

BRIDE COUTURE: Dia Mirza's Beautiful Wedding

I've been wanting to post about this for a while, so I'm a little late to the party but I couldn't resist posting about this Bollywood beauty, who is also one of my favourite actresses. Dia Mirza married her long-time partner and business partner Sahil Sangha in October this year, and the beauty queen did not disappoint with her wedding outfits! I've always been a fan of Dia Mirza and it's rare that she ever looks bad, so naturally her wedding was a colourful extravaganza!

Kicking off with her mehndi was this beautiful Ritu Kumar anarkali, which was a beautiful buttery yellow with colourful accents. The picture on the right is actually from a photoshoot she has done in the past, and it's an amazing outfit, Dia pretty much had the same look and added a long necklace and some pretty jasmine flowers, which made her look really fresh and pretty.

Next after this was her sangeet, which was a bit more dressy for Diya, as she wore a beautifully heavy purple/blue lengha by Anita Dongre, which she accessorized with chunky jewellery and wavy hair. I love her makeup on this event as well, very soft and glowy (although this is pretty much her signature look!)

There were a lot of speculations as to who Dia would go with for her wedding outfit - and she went for a mughal-era inspired sharara by Ritu Kumar, wearing a champagne gold outfit with beautiful green and blue accents. I LOVE everything about this outfit, it's not too heavy so the greens and blue are striking, the jewellery is done beautifully, and the kiran (tinsly) fringe on the dupatta just completes the look beautifully.

I also really liked the fact that she had a fresh, dewy look for her wedding, rather than heavy, smokey eyes or heavy lips, and it really shows off her beauty well. Everything about this outfit shouts traditional, classical and regal, and it really makes for a lovely wedding outfit.

In contrast to this was her final, reception outfit, which was more of a modern lengha by Shantanu and Nikhi, in peach and bronze, with a sari-style net drap around the bodice.While the make-up (namely the eyes) are a bit heavier, her updo and beautiful emerald jewellery make a beautiful contrast for a very glamorous look.

Image source

I loved all of Dia's outfits and looks for each of her wedding functions, my favourites being her mehndi outfit (I love a good anarkali!) and her beautiful wedding outfit. I'm sure all of you have seen a few pictures of her wedding already, but which look did you like most?

Eid is coming...!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to post about the wedding! I'm still collating all of the photographs I have for the next post, and I'm hoping I'll get some of the professional ones in time to post too - fingers crossed I'll have some to post, especially as I was really impressed with my photographers and I'm itching to see my pictures!

In the meantime, I'm sure you are as excited as I am about Eid coming up this weekend, which is always an excuse to go and oogle at some beautiful clothes. I'm a bit spoilt for choice this year as I have new outfits from the in-laws and from my mum, so I didn't need to buy anything new this year, but I still decided to be nosey and had a look around.

I loved this collection of ombre outfits below, which my sisters and I loved, they're chic, not too heavy and have beautiful colours (we all liked different colours, I'm leaning towards the corally-tomato one myself!).

I also though this would make a perfect look for a mehndi for sisters of the bride, the green dress is missing from this picture but there were more colours in-store including a darker blue, purple and shades of green which looked very pretty together. I did consider ombre outfits for my sisters for my own mehndi, but it didn't go with my theme (or my outfit!), and I also didn't see this until way after everyone bought their outfits, but these are really pretty and would have made an amazing alternative.

I'll be posting my Eid outfit soon once I've taking some decent photographs (and decide which shoes to wear) - what are you going to wear?