Designer Bride: Sonam Kapoor for Firdous Cloth Mills 2012

Last week, on my Facebook, I posted an album of Sonam Kapoor modelling a designer collection and it was very popular.  I think this collaboration she did with Firdous Cloth Mills is even better, only because it's more wearable, if you get my meaning.  I see a lot of styling cues that are easy to copy, such as the different hairstyles, the suit cuts and the accessorizing.  If you notice, some the dresses are cut very very long and quite loose.  I suspect that pakistani textile mills are now catering to a growing and affluent clientele in the Emirates and in East Africa, where women tend to wear long loose housedresses indoors. 

To see more samples from the Firdous Cloth Mills Catalogue, or to shop their collection, you can visit their Facebook page or their website. For those in Pakistan, they have retail outlets in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Karachi.  They do exhibitions in other cities, you can check out their website for locations and dates.

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via Exclusively.in

Isn't that suit lovely, you guys? It's sooooo summery, and seriously, who can resist yellow?  The beautiful sunny weather we are having is reminding me summer dresses and strappy sandals, and this suit is the perfect asian wear version of that.  Unsurprisingly, it's sold out, but Exclusively.in is having a sale of suits by Dia for five more days!  Check it out, maybe you'll find something for yourselves.

p.s.  Did you enjoy yesterday's Old Bollywood Glamour inspiration Shoot from Amna Hakim Photography and Radha Subramani Makeup?  Then you need to see the vintage movie style trailer for the shoot by First Kiss Films for more romantic dreaminess!

The Picture-Perfect Bride: Old Bollywood Glamour Shoot by Amna Hakim Photography

So, generally speaking, I think bloggers, and blog fans alike, have a tendency to think of inspiration shoots as eye candy than in any practical terms of how they can make you look better on your wedding day or any of the pre-post events.  I think that's where it takes a little bit of thought on style.  Although you might not want to be posed like a model on your wedding day or in any of your engagement photos, looking at these shoots gives you an idea of how creative you can be with your look, the kinds of vendors who are out there in the wedding industry, and something to compare to in terms of good quality.
For example, the photographer of this shoot, Amna Hakim, will have told the models how to pose, chosen her position and perspective, and the lens and camera she uses.  Now, on your wedding day, she can't pose your moves at every moment, but looking at her work through an inspiration shoot gives you some suggestion that she has a good grasp on angles and perspective, so she'll be looking for those "Kodak" moments in a more candid setting as well. 

Same applies to makeup artists, who are able to showcase their flexibility, confidence, and talent at mastering a variety of styles. It's not likely that you will ever want your eyeliner the way it's been done on these models, who are echoing a very vintage age of Bollywood glamour, but you will probably want someone who can look at pictures of a certain style and look and be able to recreate it successfully, as Radha Subramani has done here.  All vendor credits at the end of this post.
p.s.  I am going nuts over the lace saree tops and the fur stole.  Who says desi brides can't do winter style?

Old Bollywood Glamour - Credits

Concept and Styling: Radha Subramani

Photography: Amna Hakim Photography (www.amnahakim.com)

Film: { First Kiss Films } (www.firstkissfilms.com)

Makeup and Hair: Radha Subramani Makeup (www.radhasubramani.com)

Saree blouses: American Apparel (www.americanapparel.com)

Sarees/Accessories: AKR Designs (alykhanrajani@hotmail.com)

Jewelery: Uma’s Jewellery (http://www.umasjewellery.com/index.htm)

Models: Samia, Nina and Kiran

Location: private residence and the Electrical and Plumbing Store, Ottawa

Trendspotting: Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort - Review

I've been running behind on my posting line-up, because the weather here has improved dramatically over the last week, and I'm trying as hard as possible to take full advantage of it just in case the Crazy Canadian Temperature decides to take a quick dip before spring comes along in April.  I think of every excuse possible to be out of doors.  It feels so good to breathe some fresh, cool air, and feel the SUN, you guys.  I can't wait for summer!  My shopping list is already building itself!

In any case, I promised a review of Lakme Fashion Week, and I just can't bring myself to flake out.  Lucky for me, there was generally little to cover this year, LFW was preceded by Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week, and most designers chose to show their bridal collections there.

Vikram Phadnis and Sashikant Naidu at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2012

Standouts for me this year, were Vikram Phadnis, Sashikant Naidu, and Komal Sood.  Vikram Phadnis showed a collection of highly formal pieces in black and cream contrast tones, tempered by floral prints and ombre tones.  I really enjoyed the mix of textures, with the addition of linen, raw silk, crochet lace, and other elements more custom to western wear being added for refinement and couture style.  It felt to me a little like a combination of Shyamal and Bhumika in 2009, combined with Sabyasachee in 2011.  Sashikant Naidu showed a collection of printed sarees and dresses in ultra-earthy colours, rich in tones of yellow, red, green and brown from the natural dyes used in the manufacturing of all the textiles for this collection.  Naidu drew inspiration from rural India, depicting scenes of everything from village life to tended gardens to the wildlife.  To keep the collection fresh for the contemporary fashionista, the addition of ruffled tops with sarees and asymmetric dresses will not be amiss.

Komal Sood at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2012

Komal Sood, by contrast, showed a series of ultra-modern mini dresses and flowing gowns in electric colours.  The handpainted chiffons, tulles and silks moved beautifully along the ramp.  Her palette was vibrant and sexy, the cuts were versatile, and I could see a piece that would work on almost every body type.  A stand-out piece for me was the electric blue evening gown with the double sequin straps across the collar bone.  I have a thing about that shade of blue, and I am thrilled to see it everywhere this year.  There's a story with me and that colour, but I'll save that for another day, another post.

Other notables, which intitially didn't make it to my list, but then did, after seeing them elsewhere, or reconsidering them based on where the designer was in terms of creative process are Debarun Mukherjee, Payal Singhal, and Bhairavi Jaikishan.  So when I first saw Debarun's collection, the pictures were photographed with the wrong filter and the colours came out harsh.  Not something important you, but what it mean to me, was that the all white collection looked washed out and unflattering.  I then saw the collection again elsewhere, and decided I was wrong, that in a softer light, the white cottons looked romantic and positively ethereal when combined with the pastel tones of the contrast fabrics used in each outfit.  I could see it working beautifully for bridesmaids.  More on that later. 

Payal Singhal was the darling of this year's fashion week.  and initially, after adoring last year's show, I felt let down by this one.  But it occured to me that I was being unfair, a designer is not obligated to show the same style every year just because her fans love it, and although the clear experimentation in cut and design may not be to my taste, at least it's a change.  I enjoyed the palette of midnight blue, silver, and grey, as a bit of a change from the otherwise colours shown traditionally at summer fashion weeks.

Bhairavi Jaikishan, opted for a collection heavy on sarees this season.  I wasn't particularly fond of the collection she showed at last years WLIFW, so this show was a pleasure to watch. While she's stuck to her favoured textures and materials in chiffon and satin, the toned down watercolour shades keep it from looking over the top.  I've also liking the styling, with several different drape styles and the addition of belts and waist cinchers for added interest and possible trendsetting appeal.

And though I very rarely feature non-bridal wear on this blog, I decided to feature Pia Pauro, because her resort wear collection was too sexy and fun to resist, and let's face it, everyone should go on a honeymoon.  Also, Rocky S.' rocker chic mini-dresses were styled amazingly and the second I saw the girl walk out in that tiara, I knew I was posting.

Worth Noting: A Tumblr, an Inspiration Shoot, and a Contest

So, just a little note to let you in on some of the things I've been enjoying lately:
Choli Ke Peeche
I've been reading this tumblr blog for a while, and loving it, but the blogger who curates is engaged now, and it's become a bit of a corkboard for her ideas and thoughts as she brainstorms the whole process of choosing her outfits and other elements of her wedding day.  It's made it so much fun to read, and her enthusiasm is so infectious.  It's a really great example of how blogging is so great for brides to plan.  Also, I love that whenever she posts designer images, if someone asks her where it's from she can usually tell you who the designer is!

Also, it's hard to come by inspiration shoots for desi brides, so I'm sure you're gonna see this blogged about everywhere, but that doesn't make it any less pretty.  Photographer Amna Hakim, along with several Ottawa vendors, got together recently to collaborate on an Old Bollywood Glamour shoot.  Check it out via her blog.  And when you love it, come back here to see the other inspiration shoot she did last year!

p.s.  also, a bloggiversary giveaway from Shaza's Scrapbook.

My Weekend: The Mac and Cheese That Wasn't and Pinterest

Stefano Faita's Macaroni and Cheese via CBC

Hi Lovelies, did you have a good weekend?  Well, I had what started out as a downhill weekend, and actually ended on a really nice note, so yay for me, and I hope you had very nice weekend yourselves.  For those of you who don't know, I'm on a mission to get in shape, along with my mom, and I spend most of my time eating ultra-clean, but on Fridays, it's my cheat day, and I usually end the day with a super fattening comfort food. Some days, I order out, some days, I cook something I like.  This week my plan was too cook this macaroni and cheese recipe from Stefano Faita.  But then, the weather was so awful and my son was having an off day to put it mildly, so I just got put off of grocery shopping and cooking and ended up getting Popeye's instead.  Which was not bad actually.

I'll make a go at the recipe next week.  Now the recipe is saved in my new Pinterest *ahem* shameless self-plug *ahem* so I won't lose it.  Other than weekend projects, I'm gonna make an attempt at posting regularly on pinterest.  One of the things I love is the fact that it links back to the source, so it's way more useful for brides looking for resources than tumblr.  We'll see how it works out.  You can follow me here.

Sunday Afternoon Pretty: Front and Back

my Pinterest via This is Glamorous and A Glamorous Little Side Project.

...makeup and hair.  How I would style them for a romantic spring reception. 

Trendspotting: Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort - Day 5 - Rohit Bal

Rohit Bal for Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort Days 3 and 4. All images via Lakme Fashion Week's Official Site. Review to come.

Trendspotting: Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort - Day 5 - Rocky S

Rocky S for Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort Days 3 and 4. All images via Lakme Fashion Week's Official Site. Review to come.

Trendspotting: Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort 2012 - Days 3 and 4 - Krishna Mehta

Krishna Mehta for Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort Days 1 and 2. All images via Lakme Fashion Week's Official Site. Review to come.

Trendspotting: Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort - Days 3 and 4 - Payal Singhal

Payal Singhal for Lakme Fashion Week 2012 Summer/Resort Days 3 and 4. All images via Lakme Fashion Week's Official Site. Review to come.