OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Gold Maxi Dress and Raani Haar Outfit

I've been going through my wardrobe recently, clearing out outfits I won't wear anymore and looking at outfits I can get more use out of. One outfit I definitely will be keeping is this one, a creamy-gold maxi dress with pink and purple accents, given to me by my mother-in-law as a gift when I got married.

I wore this to a family wedding a couple of weeks ago, and decided to make the most out of my wedding jewellery by re-wearing the set again (although I didn't wear the gold choker necklace this time!) I'm glad I did, it really made a difference to the outfit and added some glamour to it.

This is the dress I wore, which apparently came from Mohsin & Sons from Islamabad, Pakistan, which I was really happy to hear as I've been wanting to get something from them since one of my friends bought a gorgeous bridal outfit from them. The dress itself is amazingly stitched, not only did it have proper lining which was sewn properly, the embroidery and metal work was good quality and very tightly-knit. The necklace itself is a saat-lara haari (seven-layered necklace) style, although I opted for 5 layers instead of 7 to make it more manageable, which is why I also would call it a raani haar (queen necklace) which seems to describe most long-chained necklaces.

This is what I accessorised with, I went a little heavy with the accessories (partly because I have so many gold-coloured things!) to give a heavier look, this was for a close family wedding so I wanted something which felt appropriate without looking too bridal. I used my jewelled clutch as well as most of my bridal jewellery and some bridal bangles, finished off with a peachy hijab scarf to bring out the pink accents of the dress.

This is me wearing it, it's hard to see the several kaliyan or pleats, which add to the volume of the skirt, giving a very pretty A-Line shape. You can see though, that the pearl necklaces were low enough to not be hidden by the hijab and stood out well with the work on the neckline are, which I loved.

I loved the fit of this dress and the fact that it went well with the pink accents - I don't often wear light colours so it was nice to go with something like this and layer on the gold jewellery, as well as the lovely jewelled clutch.

I thought I'd also post a picture of the eye-makeup I did to go with the outfit, using peach and gold tones to go with the outfit. I don't always get my eyeshadow blending right (YouTube tutorials always make it look so easy) but for once I was happy with the way it looked, the colours worked well and weren't too heavily smokey or dramatic, with worked for me.

I don't think I have a lot of weddings coming up this year, so it was nice to dress up and spend time with all of the extended family, and see everyone all glammed up (not to mention a lot of naughty toddlers in pretty dresses running around!).

I'll be posting more of my casual outfits soon, as well as some budget tips (for those of you who are waiting for more of my wedding posts, I'm sorry for the wait, some of my files and pictures from the wedding have been messed up and I'm still working to recover them, but the posts are still coming!)

OUTFIT OF THE DAY: The Indigo RDC Anarkali

I recently wore this lovely anarkali to a wedding, which I was pleased about as I haven't had much opportunity to wear it, and also because it's such an easy outfit to wear. This long anarkali was from RDC London, which was fairly classical in design, and also different to the usual chiffon and silky materials that a lot of my outfits are made from, as this was made from a thicker self-printed silk, almost like a jamawar material.

(My sister and I have an on-going argument about whether this outfit is blue or purple, I'm certain it's blue, and she insists it's purple, so I'll just class it as indigo to make my life easier!)

This is how I accessorised it, I was running late while I was getting ready for the wedding so didn't really get a chance to be over-imaginative with accessories, so decided to keep it simple with matching bangles and a tikka to wear with my hijab. I also picked an icy-blue silk scarf to complement the dress, and navy heels and clutch.

 

And this is me wearing it (I apologise for the shameless selfies, they get worse and worse don't they?) - I think the photographs don't really show the flow and volume of this dress, but it was really a comfortable outfit which felt really easy to wear.

 

Outfit - RDC London

Clutch - New Look

Shoes - Kurt Geiger

Bangles - various shops in Green Street

Tikka - (part of set) Shringaar, Green Street

I don't often match all of my accessories/scarves/whatnot together with my outfit, but I like the look here, and I love deep colours like dark blues (or indigo!), because I find them easy to wear and flattering on my skin tone. I also like the fact that this outfit feels quite classic - it's a long style dress which fits with today's trends, but simple enought to keep wearing over the next few years.

I also loved the fact that it's hijab friendly - the sleeves weren't sheer and the dress wasn't overly-fitted, and it was an A-line shape it flowed outwards rather than being too clingy. I also really like the fact that the churidar peeps out at the bottom so gives an elegant peek of the ankles!

The Mehndi Outfits

We (the sisters of the bride) decided to wear simple outfits made of banarsi material, in bright colours for the mehndi night, to keep things simple and also give a pretty, traditional look. I'm a fan of banarsi material and jamawar prints, so I was quite happy to go with this. My mum bought fabrics from her trip in Pakistan and got them stitched for us, in these colours below:

My outfit was the coral pink one, which was basically stitched in a simple kameez with loose trousers. I wasn't a fan of the lace trim on the neckline, but the colour was a really flattering one, and it did come together well. I kept the look simple rather than overloading with jewellery, as the outfit is a bit shimmery, so just accessorised with a pretty silver tikka and some matching bangles brought from Pakistan.

And this is me wearing the outfit, which was surprisingly comfortable and very easy to run around in on the night. My sisters and I got a lot of compliments on the night about the outfits, especially as the colours did look beautiful together with the jewel themes of the mehndi night and the rich colours of the fabrics. Initially we weren't sure about the outfits we got, as we weren't sure that they'd work together, but on the night we were really pleased with how they looked; simple, pretty and eye-catching.

I'm not sure whether this outfit fits into the trends of the catwalk today, but it's definitely a classic style because of the fabric print, and the fact that it's so simple. I really enjoyed the night too and found that the outfit accommodated for the activities (running around, dancing and singing!), and that it really went well alongside the bride's outfit too!