IN MY WARDROBE: My Faiza Samee Outfit

I'm a big fan of Faiza Samee, so this is something I've been excited about posting - my first outfit by the wonderful designer herself! I've always loved the colourful, eclectic style of this designer, the use of bold colours and beautiful fabrics, so I took the opportunity to buy an outfit when it came up.

I have sent messages in the past via Faiza Samee's Facebook group, but did not have much luck with a response - to date I still haven't received a reply from the Facebook group so I assume it is not a very active account, or it may not have strong links with the actual designer and her company.

Truthfully, I managed to get this outfit by luck, and didn't end up going through contacting the designer to make a specific outfit. I don't tend to spend a lot on a single outfit, and haven't really gone for designer outfits before as they tend to be quite expensive for me (especially if I won't get a lot of wear out of it).

I managed to get this outfit by from a someone who went to a clothes boutique which is in Karachi, and who purchased the outfit for me. Although it wasn't cheap, it was less than I expected it to be, which is probably because it's not a heavily worked formal, and also because it was a ready-made outfit.

This is the outfit below, a long, fitted kameez with long slits on the side, with wide, slightly-cropped silk pants and a beautiful rich purple and light blue scarf. I've also posted a few close ups of the work because of how detailed it is, and how well done it is - even the dupatta has some beautiful hand-painted flowers on it.

I love the bright mix of colours in this outfit, the coral pink, rich orange and turquoise blues with beautiful embroidery. I also like the fact that although it's not heavily embellished, it doesn't need to be because of the rich satins, silks and brocades, as well as the print-work and hand-painted work. I don't have many outfits like this so this was certainly a nice, fun change from what I am used to (the orange silk wide trousers were different for me especially, but felt very nice on!)

I've worn this outfit a couple of times already (and will post pictures soon!), and have had a lot of compliments every time I did from everyone who has seen it - and no wonder, it really is a lovely outfit. I've found it to be an ideal outfit for a mehndi event too because of the colours, and it's very comfortable to move around in and still looks flattering to my shape.

I'm not a massive advocate of always buying designer outfits, but this outfit by Faiza Samee looks exactly how I imagined her designs to be, and I certainly would recommend these because I haven't seen these styles in many other places. It's also nice to have something which feels dressy without actually being too heavy, which again, makes a change from heavy maxi dresses that I've worn in the past!

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Deepika's Vibrant Sarees in Chennai Express

I saw (and enjoyed!) Chennai Express recently and loved Deepika's role in the film, including not least, her beautifully colourful skirts and saris. Although I wasn't too sure how realistic her outfits were (especially as I'm not an expert when it comes to saris!) and I wasn't sure about the depiction of South Indian culture and fashion, I did really love the bright colours and simple styles uses for the saris and lengha/skirts (or perhaps lengha-saris) which were worn by Deepika's character.

There are several outfits in this move worn by Deepika (I think designed by Manish Malhotra, but I may be wrong!), all of which are colourful and look similar throughout the film, but I like this style as it looks consistent and creates a theme. Although some may find this a bit repetitive, I thought it worked, and it certainly makes for great colour inspiration!

First is this yellow, orange and green number worn by Deepika, which is a beautiful skirt draped with her green dupatta - this same draping is used for most of Deepika's skirts and saris in this film, but it's quite flattering. I love the colours in this outfit, bright but great for something like a mehndi outfit!

I also liked this pretty sky blue, hot pink and orange outfit, which is very similar in shape to the outfit above, but it's still a pretty outfit and again, these colours would look great for a mehndi outfit.

I've seen navy and pink paired together a few times with Asian outfit, and it works nicely here - I also love the fact that with each of Deepika's outfits, she accessorises with pretty earrings and bright, colourful bangles which look very striking. As with the other outfits, the draping of the dupatta is the same so that it looks more sari-like.

This was a more of an icy, light blue colour, which looks quite interesting with the yellow piping - I'm not sure whether I like this colour combination or not, but I do love Deepika's wavy hair with this outfit.

This is another outfit which caught my eye, a pink skirt with a white blouse, which gives different shades of pink and orange - of course, accessorised with red bangles.

 

I also liked this royal blue sari, which is a very flattering, rich colour and had a similar look with the banarsi edging with a hot pink sari. Again, the jasmine in her hair made a nice touch, with the simple jewellery and striking bangles.

Being a Bollywood film, there was of course, also a bridal outfit, which in this case was a red and orange brocade sari, which looked quite traditional with Deepika's jewellery and the flowers in her hair. I liked that they kept her make-up quite neutral, and the outfit itself seemed quite faithful to South Indian traditions (although I could be wrong here!)

 

Lastly, I also loved this sari, which was quirky yet really appealed to me, mostly because of the bright colour and the chequered sari. There's something about this sari which reminds me slightly of modern designers such as Masaba, where the focus is on bright colours and prints and less work or embroidery, I also really liked the coral blouse which is matched to Deepika's lipstick, which looks great on her and which adds a really pretty pop of colour.

 

All images belong to directors/producers of Chennai Express

There were a few more outfits in this film which I haven't included, which looked quite similar to the ones above (but in various different colours), and which Deepika pulled off beautifully. I found the costumes of this film a great colour inspiration - certainly I can imagine a lot of these outfits and colours as mehndi outfits or even wedding ones.

I wouldn't mind having a simple lengha-sari inspirred by one of these outfits, in a bright colour and similarly-flowey skirt, although I would probably add a fuller blouse, and perhaps three-quarter length sleeves. Overall though, I think Deepika looked great in this film, the styling was done well, and her hair and make-up are simple but effective.

DESIGNER MODE: Mehndi Outfits by Waseem Noor

I'm in mehndi mode this week! I saw this outfit recently in a local store, Ruby Plaza, which carried Waseem Noor outfits, which I thought would look wonderful as a mehndi outfit (apologies for the slightly rubbish picture!):

I tried looking up the same outfit for a better picture, and although I didn't find it, I did see the rest of Waseem Noor's colourful collection from 2013, which include party dresses and bridal wear. I love how vibrant and not-heavy a lot of these are, they're beautifully embroidered and look very comfortably and light as well. I also like how the colours have been put together (such as the first one, I wouldn't have thought of putting ice blue, mustard, orange and black together!), and I like the 'layered' look a lot of these have, such as closed jackets on top of anarkalis.

Although the designer could be accused of making his designs a little repetitive here, I think that it shows a good range, and also shows a full palette of colours for different people's tastes. I think these outfits are quite affordable too, they're not greatly cheap, but they're not too expensive either (I've seen prices ranging from $99 to £400), so it's definitely something which I think is well priced.

Personally, I still like the outfit I saw in the window (above) most, the colours are just right and I love the banarsi print mixed with the gold lace work on the hem.

 Image Source

IN MY WARDROBE: My Peach, Apple and Maroon Outfit

I posted recently about an order I made online with clothing company Enchanted Clothings, so though I'd do a quick post of the full outfit, as a few people have asked me what the full outfit looks like. The outfit is peach with gold, maroon and apple green accents, and has pretty embroidery all over, with elegant gota work which is also all over as motifs. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, as I think the colours look lovely together and I can't wait to wear it!

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Peacock Lengha by Sabyasachi

Another outfit being retailed by the wonderful Phulkari in East London, this time by one of my favourite designers, Sabyasachi, the Peacock lengha. I love how vibrant this outfit is, it'd be ideal as both a wedding outfit as well as a mehndi outfit for a bride, and it's easy to imagine a colourful, fun night with a bride dressed like this. I've also seen this outfit in the shop up close, and it looks just as beautiful as it does here, full of intricate detail and rich fabric.

What do you think of this outfit?

 Image by Phulkari London Facebook group

Happy Eid!

It's been a super-busy weekend, starting with Eid celebrations which began on Friday, with plenty of dinners and a party just yesterday for my newborn niece (more on this later!).  As per usual with my family, we all got dressed up and stayed at home! Although we had plenty of family around this year, and lots of food, cake and sparkly bangles. The only thing I wish I had managed to do is put on some mehndi, which I didn't due as I was feeling a bit too lazy. Oh well, I'll practise later.

Here's some peeks of my sister's outfits and one of numerous cakes we had over the weekend (the picture at the end is of my newly-wed sister showing off her sparkly bangles and her very pretty outfit!)

My outfit was a bit more toned down (for me anyways!), I chose a navy and maroon maxi dress with some embroidered motifs at the bottom and a banarsi style bodice, which was paired with gold heels and some matching bangles. This outfit originally came from India (it's one of those unstitched pieces you can make to your own size) and didn't cost me a lot, so I was quite happy with it, although the net dupatta annoyed me all day by jumping off my arm every five minutes! Here's a look at the dress, although the colour was slightly a bit deeper than these pictures.

And this is me in my outfit, posing out in the garden in the FREEZING cold, although it was thankfully clear and not raining. And below are the rest of my sisters and my elder niece, wearing beautifully deep colours. My eldest sister is hiding a little behind her daughter(!), but she also had a pretty, buttercream yellow outfit on which was given to her by my mum.

Hope you all had a great weekend regardless of whether you celebrated Eid or not, and blessings to you all! x

Nilofer Shahid's Mehndi Editorial Photoshoot

Thought I'd take a quick break from the family wedding related stuff with a quick post about some of Pakistani designer Nilofer Shahid's beautiful designs, which would be perfect inspiration for mehndi outfits. I love this photo-shoot of a luxurious mehndi event, and the beautiful rich colours - my favourite outfit probably has to be the lovely green and orange striped dress (and I'm not a fan of orange or stripes, but here it looks lovely!), although there's several others which have caught my eye!

Which one do you like most?

 

 

 Images via South Asian Bride Magazine via Brides and You Magazine, Pakistan