BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Zarine Khan's Classical Style in 'Ready'

I recently watched Ready featuring Salman Khan and Asin as the lead characters (girl meets boy, girl tries to change boy, girl gets kidnapped by her crazy mafia uncles, same old predictable storyline really) and a few outfits in the movie caught my eye. Not least was Zarine Khan's cameo in her item song number (doesn't every film seem to have one nowadays...?), in which she looked noticeably slimmer and seemed determined to flaunt it. I'm sure most of you remember Zarine Khan from her debut in Veer, and in this film she similarly leaves her own mark. The song she appears in, 'Character Dheela' apparently pays tribute to to legendary Bollywood actors - Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra.
Firstly, is the parody of Dilip Kumar alongside Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam:

 Next comes the scene in which Salman and Zarine pay tribute as Dharmendra's Viru and counterpart Basanti:

And lastly comes the classical black-and-white era in which they present Raj Kapoor and Narghis in a scene:

I quite liked this touch in the song, I think its a nice way to show that the classics are far from forgotten without undermining them, and gives a nice twist to the film. I also like Zarine's wedding outfit in her small role as a runaway bride,I couldn't find better pictures of the sari she wears than these though:

All images owned by T Series and Sohail Khan Productions 

 

Maybe it's just me but I feel as if there is a slight hint of her traditional style from Veer such as the pearl strings decorations and the gold headpiece. Not my favourite outfit of the film though!

HSY comes to O'Nitaa at Baker Street

Fashion couture store O'Nitaa, based at the heart of Baker Street, has been given the luck of exhibiting a selection of  HSY's 2011 collection, which was also for sale for customers who'd like to buy. I went to see some of the outfits they had in store today, and to see some of the detail of HSY up close (how often will I get the chance really?)
Due to the large attention that the HSY collection has received, I was directed to this collection as soon as I came in, and then was left to it. Most likely the owner knew that I wasn't looking to buy and had just come to gawk at some HSY suits. My first impression when I looked at the designs were that they looked nothing like the designs I was expecting to see, nor like any of the ones that had been advertised on O'Nitaa's website. Admittedly I came to the store on the second day of the exhibition, and was told that many pieces had already been sold and there were around 50-60 pieces left. The suits that were hanging were in rich shades, mainly blues, purples and golden creams. I wasn't able to take any pictures for obvious reasons - plus I didn't want to get kicked out (although I was very, very tempted to be sneaky and take some shots, but decided against it.)

The main outfits I saw was the long kameez styles, with dabka work and diamonte work in intricate detail around necklines and hem. Most of the outfits were less heavier than the ones I'm used to seeing, and there wasn't any bridal samples. I can't find exact pictures of what I viewed but here's some that are pretty close;

Image Source

These actual designs weren't part of the collection but there were some that were quite similar. The prices were what I pretty much expected: the lighter suits (and cheaper suits) were around £500 each, with the heavier ones around one or two thousand each. The designs were quite nice, and there was a lot of good quality detail, but I didn't think that this was enough to justify the prices of the suits. I've seen a lot of suits with beautiful dabka (metal) work and intricate designs and stones, but these are still not as expensive when they come from the high street. What we're really buying here is the label, and in this case, it was the elite HSY brand being sold. 

What really caught my eye was a few pieces from the other designers at the store. The main collection I liked was Zainab Sajid, whose suits were pleasingly sparkly and traditional. I liked this piece which I saw from the bridal collection:

I'm not really a hot pink kind of person, but in this case it was less of a girly colour than a vivid, traditional style of colour. It cost around four and a half thousand pounds for this one, and there were several others of similar calibre and price. Another designer I also liked the outfits of was the Nikki'n'Nina collection, which also had some very pretty party-wear outfits. Again, these outfits were very well made, and satisfyingly heavy but quite expensive.

All in all, it was nice to see the HSY and other designers' collections up close so that I could compare to what we see all the time in pictures. I don't expect to buy anything from these collections however, as I just wouldn't think I would be satisfied that what I was paying could be justified. Those were were lucky enough to buy some suits from this store seemed to be quite happy with their purchases, but for myself, I think I'll stick with the high street.

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Louboutin Goes Classical

The famous Christian Louboutin brand has joined up with photographer Peter Lippman to recreate and re-interpret famous classical paintings to show the Louboutin famous shoe brand. I think this is an ingenius concept, and the details that have gone into these are absolutely beautiful.  The addition of the shoes in each picture are done very naturally (although the fifth one down incorporates a Hermes bag rather than the shoe), and really fits in with the iconic image and the women of each painting. Previous campaigns such as a shoot done in 2009 which Lippman worked on with Louboutin on can been seen here.

You can see the comparisons of the original paintings and the Louboutin versions here, as well as further details about the creators of the concept.
Anyone else a fan of this campaign?

DESIGNER MODE: Omar Mansoor

Omar Mansoor is a London-based Pakistani fashion designer, who has already made a splash with his East-meets-West fusion style work (which isn't easy to accomplish) and has already featured in several fashion events. I am not alone in applauding this emerging designer, who has garnered a niche of his own, combining intricate draping and work, with flowy, sylph-like fluidity in many of his dresses:

With collections entitled "Stitching the Gap", "Paradise Lost" and " After the Dance", there is clearly a lot of influence from both the East and West in regards to the meanings attached to each poetic-sounding collection. Having seen some of these designs up close,  I can see that there is a lot of love that goes into the designs of his pieces, Mansoor's dresses often have embellishments of beads, crystals and sequins which are tastefully and intricately worked into the dresses. While many of his designs are meant to be styled after evening dresses, the elegant beauty and femininity of them show how it really is aimed at any woman to be flattering. His latest collection from London Fashion week earlier this year show no different:

All images owned by Omar Mansoor and Shahid Malik Photography

Using very natural colours and very flowy fabrics, this collection (called "Paradise Lost") really does capture the beauty of the female figure in the elegant cut of his designs. Mansoor may be a young designer, but he is certainly making his mark, as other reviews has stated how his designs have been selling out quite quickly.

Watch this space :)

Many thanks to the gracious Omar Mansoor for the pictures and the information. If you would like to see more, visit his website or email him at info@omarmansoor.com

KAPRAY SHAPRAY: Anarkali by Sabyasachi

I love this anarkali dress designed by Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, under the label "Subyasachi", which would make a lovely antique-style mehndi outfit. The simple plait hairstyle and minimalist make-up in this picture also emphasises the luxuriousness of this outfit. Fashion lovers will recognise the designer's unique designs from Bollywood films such as the recent "Guzaarish", with its rich, smouldering designs,dull gold palettes and rich work. Anyone seen any more pictures of this design?

Image Source

BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE: Kareen Glams it up in 'Marjaani'

I know this is a couple of years old now, but I find that the outfits that Kareena wears in song Majaani are just as contemporary today as they were when this song was first released. The first outfit that we see this in is the 'Amazing Techicolour Dreamcoat' style jacket she has on with this outfit:

I love the style of this jacket, it's bold and vibrant without overcrowding her look, and it goes pretty well with the white 'Ali Baba pants' (as me and my friends call them) style outfit she has on underneath, which I have seen in many mainstream designer's clothes:

The other outfit Kareena wears in this song is this black velvet outfit:

All images owned by respective directors, producers and Eros Entertainment

Although I don't think this outfit is very practical for most of us public shoppers (especially the bellydancing-style chain detail!), I like the smouldering look that Kareena has going here. I think it's the wavy hair that really completes the look, as it really gives a glamorous evening look which is complimented with the glowing gold detail on the black velvet outfit.

COPYCAT DESIGNS & DRESSES #2: HSY Purple & Silver Sari

Back to what's in my wardrobe! One of the outfits I have which is based on a designer's outfit is this is this lovely, sparkly HSY purple sari below, which was exhibited some time early last year:

 

Image owned by HSY Studio

This is a sari that was intended for a close friend's wedding, and was worn by a group of us as we were meant to 'bridesmaids' in matching outfits. We used this outfit as our base, if you like, and did not fully copy it as its design was something that we didn't feel was appropriate for us. Instead we used the main parts of the sari that we liked (the silver border and the main colours) and altered it to suit us. The results are as below:

The main changes we made was the actual blouse, which we kept in the plain purple fabric with a border to match the sari, and the fact that it had sleeves on them to suit the wearer (mine was the longer sleeved sari on the far right). We also had a fuller blouse made down to the waist and also varied the scattered-diamonte look from the original design to a more neater patterned style of sequins on the main sari piece (if that made sense!)

THE GOOD: I love the colour that it ended up as, which was a lovely shade to suit us, and the fact that the border looked very, very sparkly as desired on the main night. The overall look was also surprisingly simple due to the changes that we made, which made the sparkly bits stand out even more.

THE BAD: The saris were quite awkward to walk in, due to the heavy work on the borders which dragged down the material a bit. I also think we lost some of the glam-factor from the original design by making the sequins that are scattered on the sari too standard and patterned, making it look a bit more ordinary that the original.

THE UGLY: Tripping on my sari several times. Eek.

OVERALL: I think this was generally a success, as the colours of the sari were very flattering and this is what mainly contributed to the sparkle of the saris. I'm not a big fan of sequins (mainly because I rarely see them used well) but in this case, it meant that there was lighter work on the sari that could be scattered about. Wearing a sari is pretty much a novelty for me, this is one of the (very) few times I have worn a sari and I think that it was quite flattering on my figure, and managed to look quite elegant. I also quite liked the blouses as well, as if we had tried to copy the original it would have looked OTT and would have ruined the overall look. I'm not sure if I would  have improved much on this outfit, since I'm not an expert with saris but I think this made a nice outfit.

GLAMOROUS ACCESSORIES: Bangles from Bees

Bees in Green Street is a lovely store which sells very well made jewellery and bangles, and is often one of the first choice of places that brides as well as other shoppers go when looking for jewellery and bangles. They always have the most beautiful displays and their collection of bangles is pretty vast. Admittedly, their quality and popularity is also reflected in their prices, but I often feel as if I am getting a good worth for what I have paid in this store. Plus I signed up years ago to be a member which means I get a 5% off purchases (well, better than nothing!).

Their selection of karay or bangles (intended as the main showpieces in a bangle set) are especially gorgeous. I also love the fact that they have a new range of styles that come out every season, and right now the traditional Mughal Style is very popular in jewellery styles, and this shop has certainly snapped up the chance to take advantage of this trend. You can see some of their collection on their website but there is are not a lot displayed on there, which I am assuming is for their own copyright protection reasons. I bought some beautiful bangles from their store yesterday (after staring at different selections for ages because I didn't know which one I wanted) and finally settled on these because I like the dull gold look which made it look more traditional, and I also like the stones in the bangles. Normally mixed colour stones in bangles don't always work but in this case I think they look quite nice. I also love how heavy they feel as well. What do you think of the design?
Definitely will write more about jewellery from Bees store in later posts :)