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?

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: The White and Gold Jewel Clutch

I love clutch bags like this,with pretty stones and crystals in them and which are striking enough to glam up most outfits. I got this clutch bag from my husband as part of my vari or bari, as his family pronounces it (which is basically the bridal trousseau given to the bride from the groom's family), along with a few outfits, some bangles, shoes and jewellery.

This was one of my favourite things which was given to me - I love the jewelled patterns and the classical pearl white and gold combination, which is perfect for a lot of my outfits. It's also quite solid and heavy, and makes a very pretty accessory - you can't see it, but it's also very, very sparkly which is ideal for me!

I've used this a couple of times already, which I'll be posting about soon - although like most clutch bags, this one doesn't fit a lot of things inside!

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: The Blue LYDC Plastic Clutch

I finally gave in and bought myself a plastic clutch bag after my previous post about them - luckily I found quite a cheap option at LYDC London, which I thought was a great find.

I picked the blue clutch (I was torn between the pink, orange and blue because they all looked so cute) - I thought this would be most versatile colour and would be easy to use with my clothes. I ordered it and it came a few days later - so here it is!

I'm waiting to use it for a few events which are coming up, but I've tried it out by putting things inside and it looks quite cute (although I have to remember not to put my used tissues in there!).

What do you think of this - would you get a plastic clutch?

FOLLOWING TRENDS: Transparent Plastic Neon Clutch Bags

I've seen these floating around in a few places, and they've really caught my eye. Surprisingly, they've grown on me and I'm quite liking them, they're colourful, fun and funky, and they seem like an easy way to jazz up an outfit.

I can imagine these aren't to everyone's taste (my sister doesn't like them at all) and they may be too bright for some people's taste - but I think these are cute way of going for bold blocks of colours for a modern look. I've seen a few celebrities carrying these (like here, for example) and I can certainly see these being worn on the Asian clothes scene too.

I saw these Skinny Dip plastic clutches in TopShop, which I though were cute, I liked the bold colours and thought the gems added a playful look - not luxurious certainly, but I don't think it's really meant to be.

 

 

 

The clutches aren't just from the last few months too, Zara had these clutches in the summer, and there's several cheap alternatives in New Look (like this one) or other styles like this one or these at Amazon. Again, the colours are bright, funky and make interesting statement pieces.

I found a cheaper alternative for the plain clutches here, for a brand LYDC London, which I thought were cute too - I'm debating whether to try one out and buy one to see how I like them, I like the idea of a transparent bag (although I do put a lot of rubbish in my bag sometimes!) - although I'm still debating what they would go well with in my wardrobe!

Clutches found at Designer Desirables

What do you think of these clutch bags - something you would use to jazz up an outfit, or is it too plasticky for your liking? I can imagine these being used at a mehndi or girly party - for example I have an image of the bridesmaids accessorising brightly coloured outfits with one of each colour of these clutches. I can also imagine this with paired with a funky sari or some pretty prints, for a 'fusion' look too - would you buy one of these?

FOLLOWING TRENDS: Patent Purses & Clutches by Ted Baker

I'm seeing a lot of the below colours in the shops lately, nudes, pinks, pastels as well as bright corals and reds, not to mention flower prints, not just on clothes but on handbags and clutches too. I'm really liking this collection of ted Baker purses and clutch bags, which are not too dressy and very pretty, perfect for a dressy night out, smart wear or just a bit of colourful pretty-ness to jazz up an everyday outfit.

While they're not too cheap, they're something different for someone willing to shell out a bit more for a pretty purse - I'm really liking this one!

Image Source

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Sparkly Clutch Bags by Butler and Wilson

I visited jewellery and accessories store Butler and Wilson at their main store in Bond Street, central London yesterday, and loved the bright, colourful (and slightly odd!) jewellery and clutch bags they had, although some were a bit too adventurous for me!

These were my favourites, although I LOVE this flamingo one too - I like how cute the elephant bag looks, although I can't imagine it being very practical, and the price certainly isn't cheap! What do you think of these?

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Lulu Lip Bags

I'm a bit slow in posting about these, since they've been in the shops for about a year now, but I'm still seeing these and although they're quite quirky, I do like these lip-shaped clutch bags by Lulu Guinness. They don't come cheap either, at about £245 per bag, but they do look fab, and now they come in the hard clutch version as well as the soft ones.

While I'm not so sure that these would compliment Asian fashion so well (I can't imagine carrying one of these to a wedding, for example), they would make really great party clutches, and I'm pretty sure they can accessorize a more Westernised or 'fusion' style outfit, for a more funky look. I've seen a few high street shops have a cheaper version of this too, but having seen the original, I do like the bright, clean look of these more!

Curly Fry's Shopping Therapy! Winter Essentials

Thought I'd tell you about some of the things I've bought recently, seeing as it's winter time and I've needed a few things. I know it's not the usual kapray shapray I post about, but thought I'd tell you about a few things I've bought this week, especially with it being the winter season, and with it our changes of wardrobes!

I bought this Zara coat as I needed a new coat and have been looking for something which I'd find warm and which I also would fall in love with. I set out to buy this coat, and ended up with this one below. I'm pretty happy with what I ended up with, it's stylish, funky and most importantly...covers my bum too.

Coat can be found at Zara

I also was in dire need of a bag (my last bag fell apart and the one I've been using since is too small to be useful for anything except holding my phone), so I bought this River Island satchel bag. I've been liking the satchel bag look recently and find this really practical, and though I'd go for something funky. My sister does not like it at (she particularly despises the pony hair part), which is probably a good sign :D

Bag from River Island

Have you bought anything new lately? If not anything new, anything on your wish list?

QUIRKY FASHION: Hand-Bag Shaped Lip Glosses

I bought these for my niece recently, as I thought they were quite cute and was sure she'd love them (she did!). I'm sure we've all seen the latest tend of lipbalms and lipglosses in cupcakes-shapes, mini shoes, handbags and goodness know what else, so I thought I'd join the tween craze and buy a couple of these prettily-made lovelies. These were perfect for a young girl, pinky, shimmery and not too thick or shiny, and of course easy to apply! I'm not sure I'm in favour of buying every novelty make-up or jewellery out there but it's nice to buy something cute every now and then : )

Come on, I know you like them!