BRIDAL COUTURE: Yellow and Pearl Inspiration by Samreen Vance and Dhaani Official

This is a campaign I came across recently, which caught my eye because of the unusual colour combination - but it was one I really liked! Pakistani model and actress Sara Loren modelled for Samreen Vance jewelry company, and Dhaani Official (who outfitted her) and I love the results. There was a heavy presence of yellow to compliment the jewels, which I think looks stunning - yellow and grey, as well as yellow and orange, which make perfect mehndi bridal inspiration!

The jewels are mainly kundan (gemstone) and pearl, with a vintage look to some of the pieces. I'm not a fan of overly embellished naaths (nose-rings) as I'm a fan of the delicate, thin ones, but I love these pieces - each one looks elegant without being overly blingy (although I think this is helped by the makeup being balance well with the jewellery).

I'm also a fan of the outfits themselves - the colour combinations look beautiful together, particularly the grey and yellow (although my sister did once say the combo reminds her of boiled eggs!). Each outfit is quite vibrant but also has a slightly 60s look to it, with mirror work, beading and gota work (the strips of material sewn on in patterns) that reminds me of an older era.

What do you think of these colours - would you wear them? A campaign I really like - where the jewels are equally as gorgeous as the outfits!

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!

Our Eid...Day #1

Our Eid this weekend was a nice long weekend (just the way we like it!) so my family and I took full advantage by celebrating on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, getting dresses up and having dinners with family.

This is what I wore this Eid - a frilly sleeved short kameez with white culottes and a simple, summery hijab with bangles - simple, comfortable and very fun to wear! My sisters and I did our usual trek around the local shops and didn't see a lot of affordable outfits, so I decided to look online and see what was available. I've noticed that a lot of the local shops have increased their prices, or otherwise started stocking designer labels in order to compete with the online businesses which can afford to lower their prices, but unfortunately while I would like to support the high street, I can't always afford to!

I bought this outfit below from a local vendor in east London call Aisha's Boutique, who does online orders, and gets outfits made in Pakistan without raising the price too extravagantly. I placed my order with the vendor about 10 days before Eid, gave my measurements, colour samples and rough design of what I wanted based on a photo of an outfit I liked, and it arrived pretty quickly! The price was also extremely reasonable, at £50.00 for the kameez and trousers, including stitching and shipping - bargain!

I do have to admit that I didn't end up wearing the original pants on the day and picked culottes instead - the pants I did get were a chikan-style flared pants, which I didn't love so didn't wear.

We did our first day of Eid at my eldest sisters house, with a delicious lunch being cooked by her. One of the things my sister always does every year is have a decor theme to set the mood, and this year it was blues and greens, with beautiful Islamic tile backgrounds that we all loved.

As usual, we were all too busy eating to take many photos of the food, but here's a peep! I also loved my sister's home-made mojito which was a perfect refresher!

I didn't also get many chance to take pictures of my family's outfits, but here's some my sister took off my sister and sister-in-law - I loved the vibrant colours and how pretty the work was on both of these.

As usual my nieces looked like princesses in their dresses, and here they are standing with a tiny cousin of mine that they all love to play with!

Another thing my sister never forgets is treats - for the adults and the kids! We all have a terrible sweet-tooth, and it just isn't Eid without some sweets! My sister also received some seriously cool sweets/mithai from British fusion-food company Barfia, which had a very cool mix of Indian-and-British flavours, like red-velvet Ladoo and candy-floss mithai!

We had a really fun lunch with the family, and as always it's lovely to have a laugh with them, as well as get all dressed up and enjoy the day. It was a really nice start to the weekend, and the only thing I wish I could show you but didn't get a photo of, was that my husband finally listened to me and matched his t-shirt to me!

Bollywood Stars at Lakme Fashion Week Autumn-Winter 2016

I do love celeb-spotting when it comes to fashion weeks, and Lakme Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2016 which took place just over a week ago was chock-full of them. I won't post all of the collections and red-carpet pictures because there's too many, so here are a few of my favourites which caught my eye on the catwalk.

You can also see more pictures of the LFW16 event here - Day One, Day Two and here, plus these gorgeous Sabyasachi outfits at the finale.

Kareena stole the show with her baby bump, wearing a beautiful Sabyasachi ensemble as the designer's showstopper. As always I love the designer's bridals pieces and this is a beautiful combo of sequinned-net and worked top.

Both Illeana D'Cruz and Shilpa wore vibrant, colourful lengha outfits - Illeana's rich purple design was by Ridhi Mehra while Shilpa's was by Anushree Reddy.

Alternatively, Karishma Kapoor went for a more contemporary look with this bright red maxi dress by Archita Narayanam, which looks like the perfect party or reception dress for brides. While I don't love the work on this, I do like the cut of the dress and Karishma carries it well.

I loved this dramatic outfit worn by Prachi Desai by SVA - I've always liked their striking designs and their fusion style, and it works here well with the draped sleeves/cape look and the flowy skirt.

Dia Mirza and Bipasha went for the traditional sari route, although I love that Bipasha had the traditional South Indian bridal style to it (by designer Sanjukta Dutta) while Dia's sari was more regal and deeper-coloured (by Tulsi Silks).

Lastly are two very different styles, but both beautifully done. On the right is Radika Apte in a heavily-worked, red Saroj Jalan bridal. I'm not a huge fan of the fishtail lengha and crop-top look because it reminds me too much of the 90s bridal look, but I love the work on this and the shape of the lengha skirt is done well. In contrast is the rich blue worn by Pooja Hegde on the left, which is a skirt and top design but looks almost like a modern jumpsuit look. I actually like the played-down dressy look this is going for and think this is quite wearable.

So far my favourite is still the ever-classic Sabysachi, although the lengha ensembles are also on my wish-list!

DESIGNER MODE: Faraz Manan presents the Imperial Collection

Who doesn't love Faraz Manan? In the last couple of years the designer has really made a name for himself and gained popularity, and it's no wonder why - his collections just keep getting better and better. I meant to post this earlier but couldn't get any decent pictures until now - Faraz Manan's launch at his flagship store in Dubai, debuting his Imperial Collection.

I followed a lot of the designs from the launch on instagram and loved what I saw - shades of creams, golds and silver in beautiful dresses and formals.

I won't go on too much about the outfits, but I thought each one was beautifully detailed and made amazing outfits - ideal for as bridals for wedding functions or heavy formals for special events. I also loved the colour themes in this collection, which all complemented each other and look every elegant and regal.

Here's some pictures of the outfits below - my favourites were the maxi dresses but I also loved the cuts of the saris and trousers suits too.

You can see the beautiful detail in each piece, which have intricate embellishments and crystals in silver and gold which go wonderfully with the outfits - right up any bride's streets.

I think Faraz Manan also managed to produce an amazing range of outfits which would appeal to a lot of body shapes and tastes too, and you can certainly see how luxurious this collection is. This is a collection for special events and weddings, and each piece certainly is designed to stand out.

I also thought it was interesting that while not every outfit is modest, there are plenty of flowing maxi dresses which are, and there are a lot of dramatic pieces too. Faraz Manan certainly made a splash with this launch and received a lot of praise for this collection - since then we've seen a few of his newer pieces in the year and he has not disappointed.

Images from Wedded Wonderland and Facebook

Did you see any of this collection's launch? Which one did you like best?

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: The Tree Clutch Bag from Raishmas

I've been eyeing up this clutch bag for a while now, from East London designers Raishma, which recently re-located to the newly-opened East Shopping Centre, and had it's official opening yesterday.

Raishma have a range of bridal, formal, and Western-inspired wear, and also carry some clutch bags and jewellery - the clutch bag range caught my eye as something beautifully made and also very, vary reasonably priced.

This is the clutch I bought, there's a good range of colours but I went with the grey with gold embellishment as it has such a pretty look and would make a lovely statement piece.

I like that Raishma have established themselves in terms of fusion fashion - I know a few friends who bought their wedding bridals from Raishma which looked amazing, but recently I've been seeing a lot of their range of ready-wear formals, which draws on various influences from English and Indian fashion, for some very pretty, wearable outfits. I also like that they are one of the few brands which have a easy to navigate website that allows you to buy their products online, ideal for those who can't come to the store.

I've seen some of the dresses in store, and love the 1920s-inspired dresses particularly, perfect to dress up for a night out, or to pair with leggings or churidar pants, throw on a scarf and making a perfect Asian suit for a function.

I was debating on whether to buy this colour, or another clutch in black with gold work, which looked a little more dramatic. I went with the grey because it's harder to find a grey clutch that looks pretty, and which also works with accessorising both Asian and Western outfits.

If you're in the area, I'd certainly recommend having a browse in Raishmas, if not for the accessories then for the pretty formals. I'll certainly be getting use from this clutch soon as I have a few events coming up very soon - what do you think of it?  Have you bought anything from this company?

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Sophisticated Blues and Greys at Seasons

Here's some eye candy this weekend, something I saw in a shop window recently. I love the colour combination of grey with deep blue, and this window display by Seasons by Nabila Fayyaz, in Ilford East London is spot on with the different styles that are compiled together here. My favourite is the first design on the left (although it's a little heavy for me to wear to a lot of places!) because of how pretty the work is and the little accents of blue. I can definitely imagine this being a beautiful colour theme for a wedding or reception, and think it makes a nice difference from some more feminine colours I've seen lately.

DESIGNER MODE: The Sea Blue & Grey Sana Safinaz Bridal

Yep, another Sana Safinaz bridal! I saw this in the same shop that I saw the last Sana Safinaz bridal, and absolutely loved this one. I think the colours worked really well on this outfit - it's feminine and classic, and doesn't feel too heavy - I think this would make a perfect reception outfit. I love the white embroidery on top of the fresh sea-blue, and I think it works well with the brocadey-feel skirt.

I like the Sana Safinaz brand, but I don't always love it because of how overloaded some of the designs can be, which feels a bit too dressy (not to mention very expensive!) Sometimes less is more, and in my opinion it can be better to stick to a more visible, simple design than covering the whole outfit in work. Although this outfit is still quite heavy, the kameez/shirt of the outfit is balanced out by a simple dupatta and the toned-down skirt. I'm less keen on the pouch purse, but it still kind of goes with the outfit.

What do you think of this outfit - does it appeal to you or is it not quite striking enough for your tastes?