OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Change Beige & Black Kurta

So this is my first outfit of the day post this year! I’ve been hibernating at home in my pyjamas, which are lovely but not much to post about! But I did wear this outfit during the Christmas and New Years break, which was perfect for comfort as well as style!

This is a pretty kurta I received from my mother in law which came from Pakistan. It’s from a Pakistani label called Change Clothing Pk, which is not one I’ve heard of, but they have a good range of casual and formal wear which seem very wearable. I’ve seen a few similar kurta styles like this (I’m sure you all have!) in local shops, and most of them are pretty affordable, and have a lot of everyday designs as well as slightly more dressy ones. This is the outfit I wore, which is a beige and black cotton kurta with a gold and silver print all over.

I’m normally someone who either sticks to just gold or just silver accents when it comes to outfits, but on this kurta it actually looks quite nice to have both. The back of the kurta has a different print from the front, which is something I’ve seen on a lot of outfits, and gives a nice quirky feel.  One of the things I really liked was the cut of the kurta, which is in a wrap shape and has a V-shape cut at the hem.

This is me wearing the outfit – I paired it with a light beige pair of cotton trousers from Khaadi – they weren’t an exact match but it worked well enough, and I preferred these over black trousers. I wore these with flats that I managed to find in beige and black, that looks nice together – a little matchy-matchy but I like it here!

I love how comfy this outfit is to wear, and the fact that it looks stylish without needed to much. I’m pretty sure I could easily dress this outfit up a little more with jewellery and heels, as it looks quite on trend and the colours are quite flattering. I’m leaning towards simpler suits and easy to wear cuts these days, although I think this may also be because I tend to go to less dressier events and prefer to wear kurtas and simple outfits for dinners or just lounging at my mums.

I'll be posting more outfits I've been wearing soon, as well as some bargain finds I've seen online! I often get asked about where to buy casual wear, and I though this kurta was lovely. I've seen a lot of similar designs in local shops - probably where the business owners have bought a bulk from Pakistan and decided to re-sell it on, but there are some pretty ones out there!

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Navy Angrakha Anarkali

I've always been a fan of the angrakha (or angarkha) style outfits - wrap-style dresses which wraps across one side of the bodice. I've seen a lot of outfits and bridals which do this well, and I've always thought this was quite an elegant look.

I don't have many angrakha-style outfits, but I do have a few that I've kept over the years. Most of them are long dresses and kameezes which have a classic look to them, which is why I've kept them.

I pulled out an angrakha anarkali suit from my wardrobe to wear for a wedding (the last one on 2016!) recently, and loved that it still looks pretty classic.

This is the outfit - you can see the wrap style with the ties and tassels at the top. I kept this look quite simple, with matching bangles and a silver clutch.

I don't usually show the makeup I use, but thought I'd show one of my favourite highlighters from Make Up Revolution, which I paired with nude lips. I also matching with silver and blue bangles, which you just can't go wrong it, really!

This is how it looked on me, the outfit is a lot more flowy than it looks in the pictures, especially as the bottom part of the anarkali had more material for a 'dress-y' shape.

Outfit - Dhanak Fashions

Clutch bag - Raishma

Shoes - Call It Spring

Bangles - Bombay Looks

As much as I love the current trends of short kameezes and layering, I don't think long kameezes and anarkalis will ever leave the shops or people's wardrobes - they're very flattering, modest and have a classic style to them which I can imagine will still look great in a few years.

I also love that this outfit was so reasonably priced (I recently went to the Green Street branch of Dhanak and loved some of their pieces, which were about £50-80 for heavier formals), and always find it handy to have outfits like this in the wardrobe for various functions!

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Blush Pink and Jamawar Outfit

A close friend of mine got engaged a few weeks ago, and also did her nikah on the same day, so celebrated with a reception party with her family and friends. Apart from being pleased for her (which I was!) I was pretty glad because it gave me the chance to pull out an outfit I'd been wanting to wear for a while.

Below is the outfit with what I wore (which I've laid out very artfully here) - I kept it simple with the shades of pinks and silver accents. For some reason the jamawar-printed trousers look gold in all of my pictures - it was actually a very pale pink with silver print, so it did go with the outfit, not to worry!

The kameez was taken from my Eid outfit which I wore last year, and the trousers were rose pink ones which I had bought separately from a local shop, which I had not had the chance to wear yet.

I love the details which are in the outfit and the trousers - the kameez has pearl details and silver threadwork mixed with metal-work, while the trousers were a very pretty shade of pink with fine print work on it. The only thing I wish the trousers had (which it didn't) were pearl buttons on the cuff, but I can always sew these on another day!

I paired the outfit with matching pastel pink pumps and simple silver bangles from Bees, as well as a sparkly diamonte silver clutch bag, which pulled the outfit together well. I also matched a silk oyster-coloured off-white scarf to the outfit, even though the whole outfit was pink it went better with the off-white scarf, rather than clashing with a peach or coral shade.

Kameez - Designed by myself and stitched by a local tailor

Trousers - RDC London

Heels - Office

Clutch bag -  Not a clue! Bought for my brother's wedding

Bangles - Bees

Off-white hijab scarf - Inayah Collection

And of course my post wouldn't  be complete without a close up of bangles and shoes! I love my gold-coloured jewellery and kundan statement pieces, but this was more of a classic, silver look which you can't go wrong with. Simple but sparkly, perfect for an Asian wedding!

I loved wearing this outfit (even if it does look a little off in the pictures!) and was glad that I could mix'n'match something which went well together. I got a lot of compliments from friends and other wedding guest, and it was something which was very comfortable. Although I'm still getting used to the shorter hem-line look of some kameezes, I'm liking the difference in look and the fact that it's easy to move around in, looks chic and is very easy to put together.

Here's a quick picture of the bride's outfit too, I can't post the whole thing, but here's a little peek. I LOVED the colours of her outfit, which was a traditional sari in a rich blue and gold - perfect for an evening event. There was something 'Devdas' about the whole look (perhaps Aishwariya in that rich-blue sari from the film?) but it was also very classic, and went well with the gold jewellery she had on.

The main wedding event is in a couple of months so I'll be sure to post about that when it happens - but it was a lovely start to the wedding and an evening I really enjoyed!

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Zevar Jewellery at the British Museum Shop

I read recently about jewellery brand Zever Jewellery being selected by the British Museum to be sold in their official museum store, and thought it was great news.

Zevar comes from the Urdu word, which means “ornament “, and the brand itself emphasises "traditional Indian designs that are hand-made with silver and semi-precious stones", which can certainly be seen in their range of beautiful products.

The company's’s founder and creative director Shivani S. Mohinta is a Londoner, and her brand is a tribute to her home country – India, along with it’s beautiful flora, fauna, forts and palaces. Shivani works closely with a select group of artisans based in remote Indian villages to create her pieces

Zevar’s handcrafted silver jewellery adorned with semi-precious stones such as turquoise, carnelian, zirconia, marcasite and quartz, and their collections so far showcases various traditional techniques of engraving, filigree and setting that are unique to Indian jewellery. The jewellery is apparently inspired by the vibrant colours that are used in Indian folk art, colourful Indian textiles and prints, and hand painted tiles and pottery - I can certainly see this in the beautiful colours and shapes used in the jewellery.

I can see that there is a story behind each piece, and I like that there is a focus colour or stone in each one, rather than a mix of too many colours or pieces - making each piece look much more iconic and classical.

Photo credits - Shahid Malik

PR - Enigme Internationale

I'll be keeping an eye out for these during my next visit to the British Museum, but from the website alone, I love the workmanship and designs of the jewellery, and I think it's great that an Asian-lead brand has made it into the Western retail space.

You can also buy the jewellery online at from their official website, as well as leading online retailers such as Asos, Shopcade and Independent Boutique.

What do you think of these?

Our Eid! Day Two

I meant to post this a couple of days ago, but I've barely managed to go near my computer for a couple of days, so don't worry, I'm not neglecting the blog! I'm still waiting to post loads more posts and keep trying to hide away to blog!

My family and I always like to make the most of Eid (plus some of us can be divas), so we always celebrate Eid for at least two days - which means we get to see all of the family and it also makes it easier for everyone in terms of cooking if we don't spend all day at one house. (Having said that, I didn't make anything for Eid but I'm sure my turn will be coming up soon!)

For the second day of Eid, I decided to wear an outfit that my mother-in-law had gotten made for me in Pakistan. It was a special outfit because it was the first one she had gotten made for me, and also her favourite one, and also one that I loved when I saw because I'd been hankering after a cream and gold outfit for ages and this one was lovely. I'm sure you've seen shorter hemlines creeping back into fashion, and jackets are also pretty trendy right now, so this was right up my street - a jamwar undershirt with a delicate pearl and stone-work jacket on top.

 

This is me wearing it - it looks simple but it actually felt really heavy on, and I forgot to take a picture of the back, which was a lot heavier than the front because it had work all along the hemline and working its way up to the top. I paired this with gold shoes and sparkly bangles and a matching cream hijab - I wanted to wear some more pearly jewellery but I didn't have any with me (except my wedding jewellery which was too heavy!) so I kep the look simple which, worked for me.

You can tell my husband took most of these pictures, I'm posing awkwardly in most of them and I look like a shorty because my husband forgot that he was taking pictures at his eye level! (I'll teach him how to take pictures, don't worry)

My sisters also had a beautiful wardrobe palette for the day - everyone wore beautiful outfits with bright colours and amazing embroidery, which was nice to see everyone dressed up. I love the hot pink Threads and Motif outfit my eldest sister chose to wore (my mum, my aunt and I have all been lusting after it)

One outfit we all loved was the green long maxi one of my sisters bought for Eid - I couldn't get a decent picture of the front (because she kept running away and hiding), but I got this sneaky shot so you can see the shape of her dress.

And of course the babies and nieces of the babie stole the show as usual - my eldest sister dressed her girls in beautiful flowery dresses, and my sister-in-law dressed her little one in a sparkly grey party dress, and my other sister dressed up her little girl in a pretty coral polka dot dress. You can see some of the dresses below (and also a picture of me fascinating one of my nieces into doing a selfie!) - the newest arrival looked like a little doll in her dress!

 

And naturally we had to do the couple shots - it was my husband and my first Eid after marriage so I wanted to get some nice shots for memories (and some silly shots later on as well!).

 

Lucky for me, Eid is not completely over, I have an Eid party to go to this weekend which means more food and dressing up, which I'll post about soon!

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Lime & Blue by Kamiar Rokni

So I saw this interesting outfit by designer Kamiar Rokni, whose work tend to be quite heavily embellished, and thought it was a really interesting mix of colour, a bright lime green, sky blue and plents of metallic silvers.

I've been looking at different colour combinations and designs of outfits for a few upcoming weddings this year, and thought this was a really funky colour combination. I've seen lime green and blue together before, but I love the addition of silver here, especially in the sharara bottoms, and thought it gave a touch of the traditional.

What do you think - too bright and shiny for you liking, or something you'd love to rock at a wedding?

Image from Facebook group

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: A Royal Blue Anarkali (with some tie-dye)

This is an outfit I wore a couple of weeks ago, which was more of a simple look that felt really flattering on - especially since I bought this outfit about 6 years ago from local store called Bombay Looks and it looked a lot better on then!

I hadn't worn this outfit for a few years because I almost forgot I had it, and also, back when I bought it long dresses and long kameezes weren't in fashion so it was more of a 'mature' outfit for me for a slightly more grown-up look. It's weird coming back to it and wearing it now, and feeling like it isn't long enough!

This is what I accessorised the outfit with, lots of nudey-pink and silvers, which I was quite happy with. The outfit came with a tie-dye dupatta and churidar pants, I wore the dupatta but couldn't bring myself to wear the tie-dye pants too, so I just switched them with plain blue bottoms instead.

 

And this is me with my non-tie-dye pants wearing the outfit, with fairly minimal jewellery and a plain matching head scarf - although I did add red lips for a pop of colour!

Outfit - Bombay Looks

Shoes - Kurt Geiger

Clutch - Accessorize

Bracelet - Accessorize

Ring - Accesorize (yes I have a lot of Accessorize stuff!)

Hijab slide - Dorothy Perkins

I'm glad I dug up this outfit, I was a bit sceptical about how well it would fit (I'm not as skinny as I was 6 years ago!) but it felt quite elegant on, and it meant I could jazz it up with some pretty, sparkly heels and jewellery. The dress is a bit more floatier than I'm used to (and the sleeves are slightly bell shaped which I haven't worn for a while!) but it felt nice on, and I did get compliments for it!

So here's to old outfits, you never know when you might want to them wear again!

COLOUR COMBINATIONS LOVES: Grey and Deep Red

This is a colour combination I've rarely seen, (perhaps once or twice), and eve though grey has been very 'in' this year and last year, I'm still finding it a classy colour which is very wearable. I've seen grey paired with peach, hot pink, teals and even various greens, but I love the deep red accents of this outfit here, which looks striking without being too dull or bright.

Personally, I'd wear a matching deep red lipstick with this too, but I do like how the red is not too much and doesn't overpower the outfit so that grey is still the main colour. I've worn grey before (such as this maxi dress) but I would love to try this colour combination - I even think this would make a great reception colour combo for a bride.