My Eid - Chand Raat

My chaand raat was a fairly quieter one to previous years, in that I didn't get a chance visit the local shops and stalls which set up for the night. We were invited to dinner at my eldest sister's house though, which is always a fun way to start our celebrations, especially as she is a great cook and it's nice to be around excited children!

Here's what I wore - a comfy, loose Nishat Linen kurta (link here, although I have no idea what shipping is like!) I was lucky enough to get a bunch of kurtas and outfits from Pakistan this year, as both my husband and my mum made a trip to Pakistan so I'm quite well equipped for the year! More on my haul later, but this was one of the outfits my husband bought back for me. It was loose, super comfy and perfect for the warm weather. I wasn't sure whether to wear black pants or white, but I opted for white because I liked how they looked, and they look quite summery. I also paired these with wooden bangles from Pakistan (via Mum) and an embroidered velvet clutch (also from Pakistan, via hubby!)

The food was yummy and plentiful - lots of curries, rice, salads, chaats and roast chicken, finished off with several desserts and tea to wash it all down!

I didn't get many photos of the guests or my sisters, but the little girls happily posed away for me in their super cute pink gharara outfits from Pakistan (while I kept pulling up their trousers before they tripped!) My sister also made and handed out Eid sweet packets for everyone after dinner, which was happily munched by us all, although I think all of us were quite full at this point!

She also gave the girls in the family a gorgeous personalised box each with pretty presents inside, which I thought was a lovely touch - mine was the pink box of course!

Every Eid I promise myself I'll put henna on, and most times I forget, or am too tired and just go to bed! This time around I made myself stay up and used a cone to apply some mehndi (especially as I had about 4 mehndi cones sitting in the fridge!) - not professional but I like what I finished up with!

Did you do anything on Chand Raat? Did you get any mehndi done?

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?