Pantone Colour of 2020: Classic Blue

Happy New Year guys! I hope you're all having a wonderful start of 2020, new year, new decade! I'm hoping to become a little more active on the blog this year, so here's hoping!

I thought I'd start off with Pantone's colour of the year - Classic Blue. It's an interesting choice, although one I was slightly disappointed with, as it's a bit boring and it seems like Pantone chose to play it safe compared to the more vibrant colours of the previous years!

It also feels like a slightly ambiguous colour - we all define 'classic' blue in different ways, and indeed when I Googled the colour, I got lots of royal blue, mid blue, vibrant blue - so basically a rich, semi-dark blue? This is the blue given to us by Vogue below:

You know I love a good moodboard, so I made a quick classic blue moodboard of the kind of stuff to expect for classic blue in 2020 - I'm liking some of the dresses and jackets!

And then of course I had to make another moodboard with Asian outfits - although I found this harder as there were lots of shades of blue, and lots of navy/dark shades mixed in. I also found that some of these look a bit dated - blue is a lovely colour but these days the Asian fashion and bridal trends are leaning to neutrals, pastels and softer shades which are a lot more popular.

Having said that, I had a quick look at some of my outfit choices over the last few years and I do have plenty of blue! Here's just a few of my pieces - although in the last couple of years I haven't picked this shade!

It will  be interesting the year throws up with classic blue - it's a fairly easy colour to find and I've seen some flattering designs and shades, but from previous years I've seen that the colour of the year doesn't always hit the shops!

What do you think of the classic blue colour?

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!

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?

Saverah Women Expo '17

I recently attended the Saverah Women Expo 2017 at the O2 Arena, which was a weekend featuring a collaboration of vendors selling scarves, modest and Asian outfits, jewellery, halal food, skin care products and makeup, and Islamic art and stationary. There was also a series of seminars and workshops, fashion shows to see the latest collections by different brands, and even a nasheed concert to enjoy.

I only managed to attend one day of the event, but I had a good browse at the shopping hall, caught a catwalk show and managed to speak to lots of other bloggers and vendors, which was a really fun-filed day!

I  managed to get a good look at the vendors who had outfits and scarves available - I often see a lot of outfits and modesty-wear from online websites or Facebook/Instagram groups, and it's nice to see some of these brands up close and see whether they are as nice as they look!

I managed to find a few vendors which I wanted to list, as I get asked a lot by readers about UK-based brands which are reliable, and I thought some of these had some really nice outfits!

First are Traditional Images London, who carry a lot of Pakistani designer pret wear, such as Khaadi, Maria B, Agha Noor, Sapphire, Gul Ahmed and Threads and Motifs (all brands that I LOVE!), which I was really pleased to find!

I also really liked the dresses by Amore Mio, a brand which sells dresses and modesty-wear which I thought were really pretty.

I also liked the abayas by Avyaana Abayah, which had some really chic pieces that caught my eye - I really like that these incorporate current trends like frills, bell sleeves and rich materials.

There were also pretty scarves available by Aidijuma, a Malaysian brand which had scarves for a very reasonable price (from £5.99 upwards), and beautiful dresses and abayahs from designer Jenny Tyayawati who also had her pieces on the catwalk as well.

Lastly were pieces by Haiqah UK, which was a range of dresses, abayahs and scarves, as well as some more luxurious pieces by Sana Zinga, whose pieces I thought were beautiful, with lovely fabrics uses and interesting cuts.

I'm a big fan of jewellery from Pakistan and India, but it has to be decent quality pieces, as there is also a lot of junk out there too! I also came across jewellery vendor Artisan Jewels, whose pieces were beautiful, and who I bought a few things from (post coming soon on that!).

We also came across a halal makeup brand FX Cosmetics, which was developed by two scientists to be properly wudu-friendly, which I thought was really interesting. I liked that there was a huge range of products available, and there were some seriously pigmented eyeshadows and highlighters which I loved!

Halal skin-care company Tamese & Jackson were also at the exhibition - have a read of my post to find out more about them!

I also found a really cute stationary and card company Islamic Moments, which had a range of products that caught my eye (and naturally I bought some cards and notebooks from them!)

I also managed to catch a fashion show with a few brands showcasing their collections, with a range of modesty brands and Asian fashion-wear. I loved the colours and styles of these pieces, although I would have liked to have seen some more dramatic pieces as well.

And of course here's what I wore, a kimono with off white separates (which were the comfiest pieces ever!), and accessorised with a colourful yellow bag!

It was also nice to catch up with the other fashion bloggers while I was at the exhibition - here I am with Modest Seamstress (here and here) and also Be.Hijabi, both of whose blogs and social media accounts I love!

The Saverah Women Expo was a pretty fun event, although I do feel that more could have been done to interact with customers and people who attended, as a it took a while to get busy (although this is also down to the bad weather that weekend as well!). I was really glad to find a lot of new designers, vendors and sellers, and managed to make my purse a bit emptier by spending on a few things too!

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.

#STYLE ICON: Queen Rania

I thought I'd do a series of posts of real women who I see as style icons, and who inspire me through their amazing outfits and style. It's always great

I've always been a fan of Jordanian royalty, Queen Rania - she's a wonderful dresser, a beautiful woman, and has always managed to maintain modesty wear with elegance. I also really like the fact that she's not just royalty, but has worked hard to establish educational initiatives, women's rights and community empowerment in her country (and apparently she's Victoria Beckham's style icon too!)

Here are a few of my favourite ensembles worn by the queen from the last year or so which has caught my eye. A lot of these are outfits at formal events, but I love how well put-together these are, and elegant they look.

I also liked these two outfits below - one traditional and one more Western. I like how classic both of these are, and can imagine them both being worn for a variety of events.

I also really liked these two smarter outfits, which would make perfect smart-wear for work, and could easily be modified with a longer shirt or a smart jacket on top as well.

Queen Rania is quite well-known for her outfits over the years, and has a few iconic looks from her earlier years which I love. Here are a few of my favourites she's been seen wearing in the past which I've loved, again most of these are evening dresses, but I love how elegant they all look.

I also really liked these two outfits below, the one on the left if by Elie Saab (although I'm not sure who the embroidered pink one is by on the right). One of the things I really like about the Queen's dress sense is that a lot of her outfits have been seen on the catwalk and look more revealing, but have been subtly altered when worn by Queen Rania so that her shoulders and chest are more covered and gives a a more modest look.

I also love the fact that the Queen has worn her coronation outfit more than one - re-wearing outfits and still looking great!

I could post hundreds more of Queen Rania's outfits, but I'll let you search for them yourself soy ou can see her style as well. I'll be posting more of my style inspirations in the future - let me know what you thought of this one!