#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!

Haiqah comes to London

Haiqah is a UK-based store which sells abayahs, scarves and modest outfits for women, combining fashion with modesty. I've come across this company online before and have liked their designs, so when my sister told me about the brand opening it's first store in Ilford Lane, East London, I was pretty keen to check out the shop.

This is the shop below, which is beautifully decorated, and has a big range of outfits. My sister and I visited this store together and loved how well put together the decor was, with a mix of patterned walls, stylish furniture and stools, and and gorgeous rugs and flowers. We also loved how the outfits were grouped together around the shop - there's different style dresses and shirts, with lots of abayahs, kimonos and abayahs for different tastes.

I love that there's a good range of colours and styles, especially as the store's collection is pretty wide-ranged. There's plenty of jackets and dresses which can be layered, which I really like, and also had a classic feel to a them - ideal for a minimalist wardrobe, especially as it can be a little difficult to find modest outfits which can be worn as classic pieces.

I also really liked the entrance decor in the shop - there's outfits framed along the walls which are blocked by colour, and accessorised with jewellery and bags, which I thought was a great idea, especially for outfit inspiration.

I really liked a lot of the dresses in the store, such as the black and white design below, and the lace outfit. I can imagine wearing a lot of these in the summer, and mixing and matching with skinnies and a plain top, such as wearing an open abayah, or wearing a dress with jeans. I also liked the lace outfits below in brown and lilac, which would look great as Asian outfits for a wedding or special event, and look really comfortable and light to wear.

These two outfits caught my eye, and were probably my favourites in the store - the pearl-sleeved top came in grey and white, both of which I liked, while the lace outfit came in black and white, which I can imagine being worn as a shirt or even open as a light jacket.

I also liked these two outfits before, the one the left is smarter and something which could be worn to the office, while the one of the right is perfect for summer, pastels and florals which is right up my street!

There's also a good range of scarves in the store in chiffon, cotton and crepe, and which are very reasonably priced, starting at £5, which makes a big change from a lot of modest-clothes outfits I've seen online before.

I ended up buying two tunics I liked in the end, the white pearl midi dress and the lace textured tunic in white - both of which I can imagine getting a lot of wear out of this summer! I was initially going to buy just one but couldn't choose which I liked more, so ended up buying both! And I'd also like to point out how pretty the bag is too - I love it when companies make an effort with their packaging, and my mum also told me she thought the bag was pretty when I showed her my goods!

My sister also ended up buying a silky tunic from Haiqah as well, which was a pretty printed top with full sleeves. She said she liked how modest it was, and the fact that it wasn't sheer, had a low neckline and had full sleeves - something which can be harder to find than you'd think on the high street.

One of the things I really liked about this shop was how reasonably priced the outfits were - there was a 20% discount at the store's opening, but even without this, the outfits are really well-priced for the quality. I've had outfits from modest labels before which aren't always great, or don't have good finishing but I was really happy with the two pieces I bought from this label. I ended up speaking to the store's owner for a little while as well, who explained the brand's philosophy and ethics, and really liked the fact that they would rather keep prices affordable and help more women be modest, than drive prices up just to make a profit.

I'm sure I'll be stopping by this shop again to pick up a few pieces, and have already got plans to wear the things I've bought to a few tea parties. I've got my eye on this outfit as well, which I love because I really like the pop of yellow, and the fact it can be layered, so watch this space!

Bridal Shower fun - Flowers & Peach Tones

I don't always post about the parties and bridal showers I've been to the in past, but every now and then I attend a special occasion which is memorable. Most of my close friends are married (and got married before me!) so for the few who are still bachelorettes, it's a special event when they get married!

So a close friend of mine got married in the last few weeks (this is what I wore to her nikah and engagement), so I thought I'd post a few pictures of the event as it was a lovely series of occasions.

For her bridal shower, she had a pretty low-key event at her best friend's place, which was decorated beautifully and which gave us friends all a chance to chill out, eat good food and play games.

I though the decor was pretty amazing, and was very different to a lot of the bridal showers I've been to in the past because it felt so elegant and sophisticated - beautiful fresh flowers everywhere, candles on the table, hand-made decor on the wall and on the balcony outside there were beautiful cushions with lanterns and Morroccan-inspired tools. I thought this made for a really lovely, relaxed atmosphere and it was really well-put together, different from the usual pink, fluffy feathers bridal showers I've been to!

The food was all made by the bride-to-be's best friend, and she did an amazing job with the nibbles which were laid out beautifully. There was also hot food which came later, but my favourite thing was a fresh juices with fruit chunks and the lime juice drink which was perfect for the warm day!

And of course, a quick peek at what I wore. I paired a pastel pink skirt with a lace top on top of a pink one, which I thought worked well together and looked girly and flattering. It was also a really lovely, warm day so the skirt was ideal, it looked floaty and felt very cool on! There wasn't really a dress code other than being 'dressed-up' but since it was a summer's day, everyone ended up wearing a lot of floral dresses and soft colours which looked amazing together.

I forgot to take a full-length picture of what the bride wore, but she wore a lacy royal blue maxi dress with sparkly heels that looked fab - especially as she said she ended up picking it last minute! Here's a shot of the yummy cake as well, because who doesn't love cake?

I loved how fun this bridal shower was, it was a really lovely start to the wedding festivities and a nice way to relax with friends. Even though it was fairly low-key, the bride's best friend put a huge amount of effort into the food and decor, and I though this was a really lovely way to hold a bridal shower which was more like an elegant afternoon out!

The Oscars Red Carpet 2016

I was following the Oscars like many others on Sunday night (and Monday morning) and like everyone else, cheered when Leo finally got that Oscar!

And like everyone else, I loved the beautiful designer dresses on display, which were looking beautifully elegant. I won't post all of them but here are a few of my favourites:

L-R - Jennifer Garner in Versace; Olivia Wilde in Valentino; Sophia Vergara in Marchesa; Eddie Redmayne and Hannah Bagshawe in Alexander McQueen; Dorith Mous in Black Lace

Priyanka Chopra also caught our attention with her dresses, wearing Zuhair Murad in white at the red carpet and a pretty sparkly grey Jenny Packham dress for the after-party.

And here are a few more of my favourites from other celebrities:

L-R: Daisy Ridley in Chanel; Cate Blanchett in Armani Prive; Jennifer Lawrence in Dior; Rooney Mara in Givenchy; Margot Robbie in Tom Ford

I can't post all of the dresses from the event (there are about 150 of them!) but I did love the variety, and of course the not-so-spectacular dresses! You can see more pictures of the outfits here, as well as pictures from the after party here.

What did you think of the dresses? Which one did you like best?

Inayah Collection's Sample Sale

I'm a big fan of modesty wear which caters to customers looking to be modest and yet stylish. Although the bigger brands in the high street and Western catwalk are beginning to expand to provide modest clothing, it can still be a hassle for those of us looking for something which covers us, whether it is a pretty abayah or just a modest dress or skirt.

Inayah Collection is one of the bigger brands which I follow, which primarily focuses on simplicity with modesty, and has a large following which is popular with a lot of young women looking for stylish hijab outfits. I've posted about this company before, and my opinion hasn't changed - I love how this brand has evolved with the fashion trends and has compromised in their styles.

I recently saw notifications on the Inayah Instagram page which was advertising a sample sale week during the holidays for their products, which I thought was great as their products are only sold online. I emailed the company for a time slot to visit, and went down today with a friend to see what was on offer.

There was surprisingly a huge range of outfits, scarves and abayahs available - most of these are on the websites at full price still - but at the sample sale a lot of these were about half price or less - I loved this maxi dress which was reduced in price by quite a lot and was tempted to buy it (but didn't in the end because I couldn't find my size!)

This is what I bought, a few dresses and scarves at amazing prices (the scarves were only £3 and £5 each!) and which I know I'll be getting wear out of!

If you're looking to attend the sample sale with Inayah, and you're around London area in the next day or two, email showroom@inayahcollection.com and you should hopefully be given an appointment slot - I highly recommend a look - it's the Christmas sales after all!

FOLLOWING TRENDS: Floral Maxi Dresses (again)

Over the last couple of years I've seen the floral trend burst into into Western and Eastern fashion, and over the last year or so I've seen this translated into various styles and designs which have seeped into the high street. I've already posted about these gorgeous floral maxi dresses from a local store which caught my eye, but they were above what I was looking to spend. I've still got a hankering for a floral dress or maxi skirt which I can wear as a lengha, and it's been great to see more variety in the shops.

I've seen these lovelies in several shops over the last week or so in Green Street, Ilford and Whitechapel (all East London hot spots for Asian clothes!) - all for pretty bargain prices from as low as £69 in some shops to £120 for the embellished ones in others. All in all, these are a pretty good buy for someone looking for something floral and they're perfect for a summery look (I know summer is more or less over but it's still nice to see colour!)

I've been contemplating these for a future wedding, or even Eid, the styles are simple yet pretty and there's a lot of colours and styles available, not to mention being such a good bargain.

What do you think of these? Would you buy one?