Feroza - Our New Online Shop!

I mentioned earlier about a project that I was working on with my sisters, and now it's ready, I can tell you what it is!
Introducing Feroza, our new online shop, created by us four sisters, HappyMuslimah, JoJo Jeenius, and Shutterbug, which will be selling handmade and kundan style  jewellery, scarves, hijab pins, accessories, handmade cards and tasbeeh - and we're launching today!

We named Feroza after our grandmother, whose name it is, whom we were all very close to, and also because the name also means 'turquoise', which is our Mum's favourite colour (and which also refers to those pretty turquoise stones we see in jewellery!). Our logo is actually a tree brooch I own, when we all saw it, we exclaimed that it would be perfect. From then, our company was born!

We've all been working hard on the company's website, on getting the right products, on taking images of the products and on promoting - and now we'd like you to come and have a look at the shop and see for yourselves!

 
Click here for the shop link, and please also visit our Facebook group and Pinterest page, we'll be updating it regularly with fresh products and news.

Here's a taster of the things we will be selling, with many more things to come! (Look at out category list for an idea of the things we have):

Rings

Handmade Rainbow Tasbihs

Scarves

Hijab Pins

Earrings

Handmade Beaded Necklaces

I really hope you will visit the shop and the Facebook link, and that you see something you like, and of course, recommend to others. One of the things we would like to hear from you is ideas about what you would like to see on our site, and what you want more of. We will be adding new things all the time and would like to know what is popular and what is in demand, so please let us know!

All that's left now is the launch party!

-- Curly Fries x

FOLLOWING TRENDS: Colours which pop!

I've been seeing a lot of highlighter-ish, bright colours in the shops lately, such as these super-bright colourful shoes (these by Unze, but I've seen similar in other high street stores like Office, Topshop and New Look). I know orange has been a really big colour this year, and I've seen various shades of it all year in different styles and clothing - but I'm undecided on these crazy shades.

While I love how daring they are, I'm also a bit dubious about whether I'd be able to pull them off with my every day wardrobe (although my sister and sister-in-law seem to love them!) What do you think of these, something you would wear in the summer?

Amir Khan and Faryal Makhdoom tie the knot!

Boxing star Amir Khan and his fiance the lovely Faryal Makhdoom finally tied the knot on Saturday last weekend, after their engagement last year, with the bride in a pretty Tarun Tahiliani lengha, which I thought was quite pretty, and not too over-heavy. These images are the only ones I have seen so far, from the UK magazine Hello, although I'm sure there will be more on the internet soon!

While I did think Faryal's bridal make-up was heavier than something I would prefer, I think she looks beautiful nevertheless, and the two certainly make an elegant looking couple. Congrats to the newly weds, now bring on the reception/valimah ceremony!

 

 

Images from Hello Magazine, via Facebook

Bollywood Moments...

That awkward moment that you give the love of your life a watermelon. Whether to symbolise your love, or just to be original, it's certainly memorable. And also awkward.

Image from Dil to Pagal Hai

IN MY WARDROBE: My Peach, Apple and Maroon Outfit

I posted recently about an order I made online with clothing company Enchanted Clothings, so though I'd do a quick post of the full outfit, as a few people have asked me what the full outfit looks like. The outfit is peach with gold, maroon and apple green accents, and has pretty embroidery all over, with elegant gota work which is also all over as motifs. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, as I think the colours look lovely together and I can't wait to wear it!

Elmo & Moustache Birthday Cupcakes!

A quick post about the lovely cakes made by my sister, who made these scrumptious lovelies for my birthday over the weekend (including some cupcakes with my face printed on some of them!). I was absolutely delighted with them (couldn't finish them all though!), probably the highlight of my weekend!

DESIGNER MODE: Sonali Bendre in Siddartha Tytler

I saw this a few months ago and thought it was pretty, Sonali Bendre modelling a Siddartha Tytler creation at Lakme Fashion Week last year. Although I love the jacket she was wearing, I think I'd probably not wear it with a short dress the way she did, but would opt for something like a plain silk black maxi dress underneath to to add a bit more flow to it.

I think this is quite a different look for the catwalk (particularly after seeing a lot of sparkly, long heavy wedding dresses and heavily embellished outfits), so it's nice to see something light and colourful, which would look very pretty in the summer too!

 

 

  Images from bharatstudent.com and indianfashionpolice.com

HIGH STREET DESIGNS: A Yellow and Pink Mehndi outfit

I saw this recently and thought it made a pretty alternative to a mehndi outfit, or even a wedding dress. I'm less keen on the fish-tail shape  of the lengha, because I prefer skirts to be a bit more flowy and less structured, but I love do the design on the kameez/top part.

I can really imagine this being a pretty mehndi outfit, particularly for a bride who wants something bright and colourful. I'm really liking flowery embroidery on kameezes at the moment, and have been keeping an eye out for outfits with pretty flower designs - so it's nice to see it on this outfit as I think it gives a nice pretty, feminine look.

What do you think of this - do you like the colour combination?

Outfit is from RDC London

Curly Fry's Shopping Therapy! A Glamorous Gold & White Kundan Ring

I've been eyeing this up for a while, since I love the shape of it, and I've been looking for a white and gold ring that is I can wear with various outfits/party wear, and well as not being too blingy. So I decided to treat myself to this pretty piece, especially since rings are mainly the only jewellery I tend to wear (apart from bangles every now and then).

I bought this from Shingaar, a jewellery store in Green Street, East London (although I've seen the same ring in a couple of shops on the same road, and in various other colours too) and managed to (sort of) haggle the price down by a few pounds, which  I was also quite please with. It's  not too big, it's stylish and it feels quite versatile, I can imagine wearing it with an Asian wardrobe as well as my every Western day ones. I really like the stones and the colour of this ring, it's simple yet striking, and the stones look quite well made - overall, very happy!

Bollywood Stars at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, 2013: Aishwariya Rai Bachan

Aishwariya Rai Bachchan has landed at Cannes a few days ago to a flutter of (online) excitement which has led to plenty of critiquing of  her outfits, which I won't cover extensively, but you you can look here and here for more pictures.

I will post one outfit which seems to be an outfit of some debate online, a heavily beaded and floral maxi dress by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.  Personally I love it, I like the soft, blush colours and I like the more subdued look on her - the dress is heavy and intricate, but it works for me. I've seen Aishwariya Rai Bachchan in a lot of black, gold and deep colours recently, and while white isn't everyone's most flattering colour, I think Ash looks very elegant and classy, and it's nice that she's wearing something different and elegant. I love the cut of this dress, the full sleeves work wonderfully on the dress (I also love the buttons on the front) - it doesn't look like a typical South Asian designer at all, but more something like Versace or even, as one blogger pointed out, like Valentino.

What do you think of this?

 Images from Pinkvilla