KAPRAY SHAPRAY: 5 Kurtas I have Fallen in Love With This Summer

The summer heatwave has hit London in full blast for the past weeks - so you know what means? Pulling out the kurtas! I've been meaning to get a few new pieces for summer which are casual kurta that I can mix and match, so have been browsing to see what catches my eye. Unfortunately I have been a little out of touch with the latest collections in the Asian Fashion World, so some of these below might not be part of the lastest releases!

1. Sana Safinaz Yellow Kurta

This is from the Ready To Wear Dresses Collection 2018, which is part of the silk kurtas collection. Unfortunately this has sold out, I've been looking for this online but so far no luck! I'll be keeping an eye out for more of this collection as I really like how cool and comfortable it looks.

2. The floral outfit by Zaha Online

This collection is a new one by Zaha Online, which was released on 1st August  acclaimed fashion designer Khadijah Shah - I love the prints and the feminine feel to the whole look, although the company is Pakistan-based so I'm not sure how good the shipping is to the UK!

3. These lace overlay Agha Noor Kurtas
I recently visited the Agha Noor store in Westfield Stratford, and had a quick browse (during my lunch hour at work!). I loved the collection I saw - light pastel colours, embroidered lace and and pretty cuts which are perfect for the summer. I really liked these two below which were on display - the lilac kurta was a really pretty pearl embellished piece, while the pink kurta on the right has a lovely asymmetric hem that I really liked. Both of these are around £55.00 which I thought was really reasonable, and would look great paired with plain white trousers!

4. These embroidered kurtas from Amelia Boutique
I came across this company on Instagram a few weeks ago and loved the pieces I saw - they're beautifully embroiderered and look great for formal occasions. I haven't found out the prices for these yet (I do have a few bookmarked though!) but will be contacting the company soon.

5. The Sania Maskatiya Eid Collection
I've always been a fan of this brand, although it is a bit pricey for me - that doesn't mean I can't ogle at their designs though! This is part of Sania Maskatiya's Eid collection, which I really liked as they looked pretty classic but very wearable. These kurtas are longer than the usual and are also available as 3-piece suits, with prices ranging from £129.00 up to £600 for the heavier formals.

I'll be keeping an eye out for more outfits and kurtas, especially with Eid coming up, and will try to post my finds! If you have any companies you can recommend, do let me know so I can look these up too!

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Grey & Red Outfit by Elegance of Oooh My

I'm always looking for affordable (translation: cheap!) outfits online - if I can't find them on the high street then I usually have a search online on various websites, Instagram pages or just stalk some of my randon style icons to see where they shop!

I was recently sent a lovely outfit by online company Elegance of Oooh My, (their sister company is modest fashion wear Oooh My), which sells affordable ready made Asian outfits, ideal for casual wear or slightly dressier occasions (I'm thinking dawats, bbqs and random dress up days!). The outfits on the website aren't too dressy and are mostly cotton, lawn and chiffon embroidered pieces, with the emphasis on comfortable, including kurta style tops and 3-piece outfits.

I was invited to pick an outfit to try, and picked this outfit below - a grey 3-piece suit with black embroidery, accented with a pretty scarlet red scarf and red rose embroidery on the hem of the kameez. This is the kameez below - I loved the tassel details!

Here are the details while the kaam is not high end, I think what you pay for a cheap outfit is not too bad. The embroidery is machine-worked, and the material is standard cotton, but I thought the cut of the outfit was done quite well.

This is me wearing it - I really liked the fit of the kameez and thought it looked lovely with the red dupatta. I'm a little wary of outfits which don't fit well in a flattering way, and also am not too keen on kameezes which are too short - so this was the perfect length for me, short enough to  be trendy but still long enough to be modest.

I loved how easy it was to wear this - just pair with red shoes, red lips and you're done! It was also a lovely suit for the heat - the material is quite lightweight and it's very fuss-free.

Outfit - Elegance of Oooh My

Shoes - New Look

Handbag - Zara

Overall, my experience with Elegance of Oooh My was great - the communication with the seller was great, my outfit arrived in about 2 days after I confirmed the order, and it was exactly what it looked like on the website. 

I have often bought custom-made outfits in the past (especially in the days of Facebook sellers!) but am a little more wary now - I would rather buy an affordable branded outfit or a buy from a reputable seller who posts pictures of their actual products rather than generic photoshoot or catwalk photos so I know what to expect. I am also finding that as the prices of designers and custom-made businesses are raising their prices, there are also more companies filling the need of those who want affordable ready made outfits (although not all of them are brilliant!).

I thought this outfit was a pretty good bargain - this particular one is only £35.00 which is cheaper than a lot of the pieces I've seen on the high street, and the company has come across as quite reliable. The website itself has outfits ranging from £25 to £38 which I think is reasonable, and the outfits are pretty on-trend which is always great!

Elegance of Oooh My - website
Elegance of Oooh My - Instagram page

I'll be posting most of my experiences of Instagram sellers, but do let me know if you have tried any companies worth recommending!

Eid Outfit Inspos!

It's that time of the year - the struggle to look for a decent Eid outfit! I've been browsing around online as well as looking in the shops for a decent piece (or three!) to catch my eye. I thought I'd post a few of the pretty pieces I've seen online as inspiration, even if I don't end up going with them.

#1 - This lovely embroidered Eid collection by Nida Azwer

I do like Nida Azwer and her formals (I even have a couple of outfits by this brand!), the outfits are pretty, wearable and strictly non-fussy. This collection dropped last month, and I loved the pretty pastel tones, gorgeous worked dupattas and simple cuts of the all of the outfits. The outfits range from £60-90 for the simple printed kurtas, to £200-400 for the worked formal pieces. I have to say though, as much as I love this range, it does feel a bit much to shell out a couple of hundred for what is essentially a simple-ish range.

#2 - Nishat Lawn UK Kurtas

Nishat Lawn is an excellent quality lawn brand which has finally hit the UK this month, and which I'm loving right now. The company sells a range of ready-to- wear outfits and kurtas, as well as unstitched material, and something for the kids and men to wear as well.

I've already got my eye on a few kurtas, if not for Eid then for summer wear, as the pricing is really reasonable and perfect for the summer - most of the kurtas start from around £25 and even the luxury wear is very reasonable at around £45-65 per outfit.

#3 - Elan's 'Nuit de fête' collection

For a little more luxe in our lives, Elan comes to the rescue. The new collection just released today (and half of it is already sold out, so don't hold your breaths!) - but some of it is just darn pretty.

Shimmering fabrics, bead fringing and something a little Parisian about some of these outfits which really makes them look chic. But again, this is a pretty pricey collection, ranging from £250-600, which may be a bit too much for some of us mere mortals, even if we do manage to get hold on any available pieces! Here's just a couple of their pieces, you can see the rest of the collection here and the advert for the collection here.

#4 - Agha Noor at Westfield City, Stratford

Agha Noor finally has opened up a shop for us on East London, with a glossy, sleek shop in Westfield City, Stratford. I made a visit a couple of weeks ago to look at their pieces and liked what I saw - a lot of summery embroidered pieces which are light, girly and easy to wear. Unfortunately I haven't been back to look this week so I'm not sure if they have had any new deliveries of outfits yet, but it's worth a look! Outfits range from about £28 for kurtas, while the full suits are from £50-80.

#5 - Hali H Eid Collection

Hali H is a company I quite like because their outfits look amazing in person, and I have personally had a really good experience with this company! Although I ordered online via Instagram, they have a physical store in Tooting, London so you can check out their latest collections as they come in. Here's a few which caught my eye, they have pretty kameez suits as well as heavier lenghas and ghararas in lovely colours.

I will be posting some more outfit inspiration soon so don't worry if these aren't what you're looking for!

I've been looking online at a few websites, as well as the growing number of Instagram companies which sell outfits, so will be doing a separate post on those soon. I've seen a number of sites selling designer wear, and would love to explore affordable outfits soon so will be posting a few ideas soon!

Have you bought your outfit yet? What do you think of these?

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Mauve Hali H Gharara Outfit

I've already posted before about this beautiful mauve gharara outfit I got from fashion brand Hali H, which I was really happy with. I thought I'd show what the outfit actually looked like when it was on, because it's one thing seeing it on the hanger (or on my bed), and another seeing it worn! Ghararas are trending all over the place recently, and I love how they are being styled at the moment, so really wanted to try one for myself, and this fit the bill perfectly.

This is the outfit, which was a 4-piece ensemble, consisting of a beautifully embroidered short kameez, a matching full-sleeved slip for underneath, a silky jamawar gharara pants and a matching duaptta. I wore this to a wedding of a close family friend, and the outfit was perfect - dressy enough without being super heavy, comfortable and right on trend.

This is how I wore the outfit, I didn't go too much on the accessories side (although I did go for purple eyeshadow!) - I went for pretty silver bangles rather than any other jewellery, and opted for khusay, rather than my usual heels. I do love my heels but I just felt that with this outfit, the khusay completed the look perfectly, and let me walk around in the gharara a lot more comfortably.

This is how the outfit looked on me, which looked very flowy and girly. It took me a while to get the hang of the pants and not trip on them, but I really loved how gorgeous they looked, and how elegant. I have always loved wearing lengha outfits and this felt the same - very dressy, elegant and perfect for the occasion.

Outfit - Hali H

Khussay - Green Street
Rayon Hijab - Inayah Collection

Clutch bag - Dune London

Bangles - Bees

One of the things that I liked about this outfit is that it is such a throwback to earlier generations - my husband loved the colour of this outfit, although he said he couldn't believe how old-school and vintage this outfit looked, and kept remarking that it looked like something from our parents' generation. I couldn't wait to show this to my mum when I got this outfit because I knew it would be something she would love - and indeed when she saw it on the day of the wedding, she laughed and said she couldn't believe this was in fashion now.

My sisters and I have often found that it has become more difficult to find outfits which are both reasonably priced and good quality - often you get one or or the other! One of the things I really liked about this outfit was that it really does tick all the boxes - trendy yet classic, beautiful colour, comfortable, easy to style and looked great on. I'm already thinking of how else I can wear the outfit (I'm imaging the top with plain, tapered trousers maybe) and the fact that I can dress this up or down.

What do you think of this outfit - would you wear a gharara?

DESIGNER MODE: Baroque Official Pakistan

Baroque Official Pakistan is a label I've discovered in the last year, and whose collections I've been loving (and isn't the name lovely too?). One of the things I really like about their outfits is how pretty yet wearable their collection looks, and it seems pretty reasonably priced.

I've been checking out their latest collection - Chantelle Collection - which is full of pastel kameezes, embroidered designs and lovely floral designs which has been pretty popular so far. The collection goes live this Saturday, but is available to pre-order too.

I haven't seen a lot of their heavier designs, as they seem primarily focused on casual wear, lawn, digital prints and embroidered formal pieces, but most of their heavier embroidered pieces are nice enough for special occasions and weddings, which I love.

As with other brands, Baroque has a pretty, floral printed lawn collection as well, as I like how muted the colours are rather than flaring bright colours, with pretty florals which make these perfect for casual wear as well as dressing up.

I've got my eye on a few pieces from this brand (although in two minds about whether to order or not!), and think this kind of stuff is perfect for events like Eid or parties. I also like the fact that most of their pieces range from about £50 to £80 for a decent formal, which is probably about what it costs (or more!) in London.

Have you bought from Baroque before? What do you think of this collection?

Baroque Links:
Website (they ship worldwide)
Barque Instagram page
Baroque Facebook page

My Online Shopping Experience: Hali H

I haven't ordered a lot of outfits in the past year, partly because I've had less of a budget, and partly because I haven't had as much need to, as there's been less weddings and events to go to. I do still keep an eye out on the fashion trends though, and do love a new outfit every now and then!

Over the last couple of years, there has been a huge increase of Instagram sellers (remember when it used to be the Facebook sellers?), who have created a business online by selling replicas, designer outfits and budget-friendly outfits for people to buy. I find that Instagram has been much more successful for businesses that Facebook because it's more visual and accessible, and pretty easy for people to place and order and order and outfit.

I wanted to post about a brand that I found online recently whose service I loved, and who I ordered a outfit from for a wedding we had recently. The brand is Hali.H, a UK vendor on Instagram who sell their own designs, which are pretty, trendy and quite wearable. I have seen their designs before, and was also recommended to them by a friend who had ordered and who had a good experience with them. The brand is actually not just Instagram-based - they have a website as well as a London-based stored which is in Tooting so London customers can easily go there and try on things before they buy.

So after being recommended to Hali Ldn, I messaged the company via the Instagram messaging system and asked the vendor to show me their latest stuff, as I wanted to see what they had as well as what was on their page. The vendor showed me a few things from their collections, as well as a few things which were on display in the store, like these pretty outfits below - I loved the colours of all of these and couldn't decide what I wanted!

Before I had a chance to pick, I saw a new design from Hali Ldn which had just come in, which was on the company's Instagram page - this pretty, mauve outfit with a gharara. Ghararas have become pretty fashionable and popular in the last few months, and I've been in two minds about them - I've never thought I suited them in the past, and I always get confused by shararas and ghararas! (Although now I know the difference, shararas are looser, flowy two-legged pants, and ghararas are very similar but have a band around the knee and more 'ghair' or excess material which flows out from the knee).

The vendor also showed me the other colours in this same style - a pretty lilac and golden-beige, both of which I loved. I almost picked the lilac but just loved the mauve so went for that. The seller was very quick to respond to my messages, and extremely thoughtful about a lot of things, like adding lining to sleeves of the outfit, as well as checking the measurements would fit me properly. I'm very conscious of outfits fitting me properly as well as outfits which are too sheer or short, and it was really sweet of the seller to consider this in regards to my order.

I paid for the outfit via bank transfer, and the seller confirmed that she had posted out the following morning. I was a little worried that I wouldn't get the outfit on time because the wedding I wanted it for was only a couple of days away, but the outfit literally arrived the day after.

This is the outfit I received - isn't the colour beautiful? I'm a big fan of dusky pinks and purples, and this is right up my street, a gorgeous colour for a formal - perfect for a wedding! The outfit is a 4-piece one - with the kameez coming with a full-sleeved slip for underneath, the pants and a beautifully embroidered dupatta.

I loved the detail of this outfit - the beautiful jamawar used for the gharara pants, the embroidery on the kameez and the beautiful pearl and embroidery detail on the border and hemline. I have had bad experience before with bad finishing, and even bad stitching, and in this case it wasn't an issue at all - there was nothing out of place or badly made, and I thought the quality of this was great.

I was really happy with how fast I got this outfit, and how lovely it looked - we've all had that experience of ordering an outfit which ended up looking nothing like the pictures! One of things which keeps me going back to the same sellers and designers that I've been happy with is the customer service I get, as well as the quality of the outfits - and in this case it was above and beyond my expectations. Ordering on Instagram has made a lot of people's lives easier (especially those who aren't near a lot of shops selling Asian outfits, like I am) and it's really nice to see a brand which takes their customers seriously, and gives not only beautiful outfits but customer care - from quick delivery, careful packaging and being on top of their messages.

I'll be posting the outfit as I wore it at the wedding soon (which I loved wearing!) so watch this space!

Eid Mubarak...!

Eid Mubarak all, and hope it's been a fab weekend! I've been loving all the outfits I've seen people wear on Facebook and Instagram, and can't wait to post my photos!

Hope you all had a lovely celebration, and wishing you all a wonderful weekend of food, family and fun this Eid!

Love, Curly Fries xx

DESIGNER MODE: Amber Gohar

Amber Gohar is a designer whose work I've followed for the past couple of years, after discovering her on Facebook and Instagram - I like her pieces because they seem comfortable, stylish and easy to wear.

I've seen most of her outfits being worn by real customers, which I like because it shows how it actually looks on, and I love how effortlessly chic the pieces look.

The designer has a range of styles for her pieces - her latest outfits has incorporated frilly sleebs and trousers which seems to be quite popular, and perfect for summer - like the pieces below.

A lot of the outfits I've seen are a range of colours, with either separates for a mix-and-match style like many other designers are starting to adopts as well, or full suits which are perfect for occasion-wear. I really like how most of the outfits aren't too busy or heavy, and look easy to wear.

One of the first pieces which caught my eye from this designer was the cape outfits below, which I loved, and I'm sure I'm not the only one! The outfits are focused on summery colours and lacey material, with minimal work for a more simple look.

There's also a lot of embroidered pieces which I really like, that look really stylish - I can imagine wearing most of these, and I love all of the colours.

The brand also does heavier formal pieces too - I can see that they have a similar style to their lighter pieces with a focus on embellished kameezes, straight trousers and a East-meets-West fusion look.

I also like that the designer and her daughters are often spotted in their own design (and that Amber Gohar's daughter Mishal Asad has her own designer collection, Cross Stitch,which I also love!)

I've mentioned before that I had my eye on one of Amber Gohar's pieces as a potential Eid outfit, and althought I didn't end up buying the outfit, I'll be keeping an eye out for more of her designs. Her latest collection is the 'Wonderful White' collection, which is a series of cotten white seperates, which is perfect for summer.

Amber Gohar is available to buy in London via vender Hina Rasim, through website LibasUSA and also directly from the designer herself.