Karva Chauth Look ft. Strawberry Fashion & BK Saraf Jewellers

While we’re preparing for all the festivities and weddings that are lined up, there’s one very important occasion that all married women are excited for. The celebrations have begun and it’s time to get your outfits aligned. Today’s post is dedicated to all the ladies who are set to deck up like brides once again this Karva Chauth, and will be celebrating it with their husbands in the most traditional manner.

I bring to you one of the most beautiful Indian styles - the classic white chikankari suit in fine net with gota patti, applique and resham work, along with a heavy, hand embroidered dupatta in orange with pink zardozi & pitta border. This floor length chikan suit with orange details looks like the perfect pick for the occasion. The net sleeves fall full on your arms and the orange cuffs with zari detailing on the wrist looks mesmerising. You can wear a white camisole inside till your waist and under it comes a pair of frilly, frock style palazzo pants that gives the suit a different look altogether. You know, it’s a brilliant idea to ditch the contemporary churidar and go out of the box & don something so elegant!

Also, let’s throw some light on these exquisite Polki & Kundan earrings from BK SARAF JEWELLERS (located at Gol Market, Mahanagar). These are one of the most stylish traditional earrings that go perfect with my look. Precious jewellery always looks gorgeous and brings out the best in every Indian woman. Honestly, these look astonishing! Don’t they?

The last minute fashion selection can only be entertained by STRAWBERRY FASHION STUDIO (located at Shahnazaf Road - opposite Sahara Ganj Mall), and hence it’s one of my favourite spots to drop when I personally need something! Highly recommended to all Lucknow ladies to visit this one-stop-shop for your fashion fix. Aditi Jaggi Rastogi - the very versatile designer knows exactly what her clients want, and she designs every piece with the best quality fabric and so much love. So, this Karva Chauth, flaunt your style and create magic before your husbands!

PS : I am 26. Unmarried, and have no intentions of tying the knot anytime soon, but I really hope you liked this quick Karva Chauth look. I may not look like a bride in real but my HMUA made sure to deck me up like one already. Kudos to SIDDHI CHAUBEY for giving me a very bold makeup look, teamed with subtle curls in my hair. So graceful!

Photographed by : Zeeshan Khan (one of the best wedding / event photographers)


~xoxo~

Ethnicity & Pride with AuthIndia

Indian culture is known for its diversity the all over the globe, with ethnic clothing being just one of the things that distinguishes one part of India from the other. The traditional Indian attire has earned admirers from people from all over, with highlights of the craftsmanship with which artisans create traditional dresses, which of course is incredible! Coming to my love for Indian wear, its new. I usually opted to carry kurtas on occasions previously, but with my recent admiration to the ethnic embroidery and its various versions had me fall deep in love with it! Well, not just the clothing but Indian jewelry is another thing that has managed to make a place for itself in my ethnic collection.

With tons and tons of online shopping brands mushrooming in India, its hard to find your kinda ethnic styles both in clothes and jewelry under one website, but stumbling upon AUTHINDIA recently, I knew there's something for everyone! Be it young girls, middle age women or your beloved grannies having lived half of their life already, AuthIndia caters to each and every female with hundreds of apparel and jewelry designs with latest ethnic trends! 

"Striving to explore the authentic handmade products, cutting across the length and breadth of India and fishing out the most splendid and exquisite handicrafts to the reach of your houses" is their foremost motive. In my favorite jewelry section, they have minakari jhumkas, to pachi and kundan earrings (starting from 250/- onwards), and not forgetting the amazing handcrafted terracotta necklace set (starting from 300/- onwards) that suits all age women aptly. 

Pink Pachi Jhumka (325/-)

Pachi Drop Earrings (300/-)

Terracotta Gold-Black Necklace Set (450/-)

The best part about terracotta jewelry is, that you can match them with any of your favorite kurti or a saree, or any traditional outfit. It stays for long, and are quite light weighted. Available in traditional & trendy designs with a glossy finish to them.

----------------------------

Authindia, as the name suggests, is a brand that contains authentic Indian handicrafts, which also includes a wide range of ethnic apparels like kurtis, saree, dupattas! Since I like to dress simple and casual, a beautiful long kurti in blue with chikankaari was my pick from the website. A pure cotton fabric with hand embroidered in chikan in orange both front and back, the kurti looked fabulous when paired with a plain white pair of leggings and accessorized with the pink pachi jhumkas and heels! Belonging to the city of Lucknow, where the exclusive chikan embroidery was  fashioned, I have a different attachment to it, and its astonishing to find an entire section of chikan kurtis on the AuthIndia site selling so many different lengths, colors and embroideries!

Blue Chikan Kurti with Orange Embroidery (599/-)

Complete Outfit Details

kurti, earrings : AuthIndia | leggings : Lyra | heels : StreetStyleStore | rings : Myntra

Please Note : From chikan embroidered sarees and suits from Lucknow, hand-loom sarees from every state of India, handmade jewellery, Kutch embroidery bags of Gujarat and colorful & unique handicrafts, diversified home decor items made of eco-friendly materials from all over the country, AuthIndia as a brand brings you lots and lots of stuff to make your shopping worth every penny you spend!

I really hope you liked reading this post. I feel, as a fashion and lifestyle influencer, I have been bringing a lot of unnoticed brands to you. It would be a pleasure to know your experiences on the websites I keep sharing about, including this new one as I'm talking of here. And, may you have a great time shopping!

Photographed by : Yash Athwani  |  Location : Cappuccino Blast Mall Avenue

~xoxo~

Holi Party Look (ft. Sareez.com)

Hey everyone! So you're back from the morning holi celebrations? And I hope your faces don't look painted for life! Well, I don't play colors, but definitely enjoy seeing others play from my terrace, while relishing the holi special meals at home. The gujiyas and the traditional lunch are my favorite.

PS : For my Indian readers, you don't need an introduction to the festival of colors but for my overseas visitors, Holi is one of the most fun festivals of India, celebrated globally where its a feast for everyone with gulaal, water balloons, lots of music, traditional Indian food and love! Apparently, holi is also celebrated for the mythological reasons symbolising the victory of good over evil, and the reaping of the first crop while welcoming spring. So yeah, the festival is all about peace and happiness!

Having said that, there are a lot of evening holi parties that I love attending, because they don't allow dry/wet colors and just play with flowers. And, I take dressing up for it very seriously. Fashion after all is distinctive and constant and one should never refrain from looking their best. Festivals are a great time to dress up extravagant and today, I'm here to share with you an ethnic wear look (in association with a brand called SAREEZ), which is both interesting and inspirational and you can don it tonight to celebrate the festival in style!

suit : Sareez.com | ballerinas : Jolaa.in | necklace, earrings : Vamira | handcuff, ring : Silvette.com

As India is a rich platform of numerous cultures, religions and languages; it also showcases diversity in the ethnic wear, and it has always been the most preferred choice of Indian women including myself as it is the reflection of our rich culture, capable enough to enhance the feminine appeal of the wearer, and for a festival like holi, there can be no room for boredom!

So, while scrolling through one of my frequently visited websites for Indian wear clothing - Sareez.com, I stumbled upon a beautiful set of Anarkali Kurti and Churidar with Dupatta! The fluorescent yellow color on the base with multiple other colors patterned stylishly on the chest in the front and back of the kurti makes it look even pretty! Anarkalis are an age old style and look graceful on all women, and accentuate the height of a petite person like myself! I absolutely love how the fabric layers are stitched and finished with the net on the top. The border of the kurti is a zari embroidery and appeared magnificent as well! the set also contains a solid yellow churidar with a net duppatta embroidered with the same pattern as on the kurti to match. To be honest, I don't really wear too may bright clothes but this suit looks quirky and an unapologetic mashup of colours! 

Accessorising Indian wear for a minimalist like me becomes a task, but when you have a jewelry collection so fanciable, as from Vamira and Silvette, you cannot help but choose only the best to add on! I picked up an aesthetic gold choker with pink & green triangular colored stones studded on it, with a matching pair of sea green earrings, a handcuff for my left wrist and a bold stone ring to match the whole attire! For my footwear, I chose a pair of comfortable, multi colored ballerinas from Jolaa that looked perfectly stunning with the suit, matching the print on the kurti and dupatta! Lastly, I opted for an elegant party makeup with pink eye shadow, winged eyeliner, dense contouring and blush on the cheeks, with dark coral pink lips. And, I loved the dazzling hairstyle that my stylist gave me with a stretched braid, covering my head like a floral band!

So yes, that was the whole Holi party look for you pretty women. Go bright and loud this time. Choose color blocks and pick some head turning Anarkalis to rock the festival. Until next time, lots of love and best wishes. May you and your family have a mind blasting and an eco-friendly holi!

Photographed by : Saumya Kumar  |  Makeup by : Divya Vishnani

~xoxo~

Indian Wedding Fashion : Part 3 - Marriage

Hey stunners, hope you all are enjoying attending all the weddings and its pre and post ceremonies! Many of you who follow me on social media, already know that I recently attended my brothers wedding and enjoyed being a part of all the related functions as well. It won't be wrong if I say, Indian weddings are gala affairs replete with pomp, show and colour, and to prove that I posted two different outfits for two different pre-wedding ceremonies on this blog recently. You can check out the Engagement look HERE and the Tilak/Sangeet look HERE.

To close this year's wedding collaboration series with Jyotika Mirpuri Aroura, today I'm here to share with you the last part of the series being the ultimate Marriage ceremony look! We all dream of looking our best at a family or friend's wedding and the season of glitz and glamour demands you to look your best and bring out the best outfits from your wardrobe. 

Scroll down below to take a look at my outfit pick for a family wedding and how beautiful the team at JMA MAKEUP & FASHION STUDIO in Lucknow made me look with their makeup skills!

outfit : JMA Fashion Studio | heels : Steve Madden | maang tika : Aetee Designs

 makeup : JMA Makeup Studio 

Wedding season in India is no less than a festival with so many events to attend, but the marriage ceremony being the most important, we all want to don some red-carpet worthy styles. Whether you are the blushing sister, doting sister-in-law or a happy bridesmaid, you are allowed to dress up extravagantly but without overshadowing the bride! Many of us tend to wear heavy lehengas and lavish anarkalis at weddings because they form a regular style. But as wedding fashion keeps on changing every now and then, one shouldn't fear experimenting!

For a recent wedding I attended, I opted for a straight fit, body hugging Indian suit comprising of a long brocade kurta in creamish-gold color with yellow silk-lycra churidaar bottoms. The spoof buttoned kurta comprised of long sleeves that helped accentuate my arms under the cut sleeve black velvet jacket with prepossessing zardozi embroidery on its high neck collar and front. The jacket looked quite artistic with its design and ankle length cut that helped me look taller than usual, though along with the smashing glittery heels I wore in my feet! Also, if you notice in the pictures above, at the back neck of the jacket there are tassels (latkan) hanging which make it more decorative. And, similar tassles were added to the yellow net dupatta that came along with the suit with the same embroidery as on the jacket as well. The whole designer suit set looks magnificent and helped me look graceful!

Since this was a wedding look, I wanted something spunky and exquisite, and Jyotika just gave me the most magical makeup and hair do with heavy foundation, smokey black eyes with dark lining and false lashes, along with pink blush on the cheeks and rosewood pink lips. For my hair, she separated my hair on the front and rolled them up on either sides while creating a bun on the side and a queen's pouf on the rear part of my head, attaching hair pins to avoid fall off. We also opted for a statement maang tika and a bindi on the forehead to complete the look and I must mention, I could've never imagined myself look so pretty if I were not dressed my best by Jyotika!

With this, we come to the end of the wedding fashion series for year 2016. I would like to thank Jyotika and her entire team at JMA Makeup & Fashion Studio for making me look stunning as ever in her creative, designer outfits and the amazing makeup on my face and different hairstyles every single time! I would also like to extend my gratitude to the very kind hospitality team at Renaissance Lucknow Hotel for allowing me to shoot at their venue and help me with everything that was needed. Last but not the least, a big thanks my friend Zeeshan Khan for the super gorgeous pictures he clicked for me and made this series attention worthy!

PS : Like I mentioned last year too, I might or might not come up with a new series next year but will keep posting different outfit looks at different occasions, so keep following me here and on social media! Until next time, lots of love and best wishes.

~xoxo~

Wedding Vibes : Part 3 - Marriage

Hello, my most gorgeous ladies! Hope y'all are having a great time!

Let me just start this post by thanking all of you for the amazing response you guys have given to my last two posts featuring outfits for the Engagement & Tilak/Sangeet ceremonies with my co-bloggers Shishta and Sumbul. I didn't know you all liked seeing us in Indian wear so much! Thanks a ton for showering so much of love. I truly feel blessed to have all of you in my life as my readers, viewers and friends! And for all those who don't know what I'm talking about, check out post 1 HERE & post 2 HERE!

Now, since you all must have got the hint of today's post by the title, its about two outfits that me and my co-blogger are going to share with you for the grand wedding party! And for the grand post, I had to collaborate with someone as grand as none other than Sonakshi Agarwal from SonaCloset. Let me tell you, Sonakshi is not just a blogger but a fabulous designer too. Well, the interesting part is that she herself has designed both the outfits for this post and I feel so honoured to have worked with such a creative person that she is! She has worked as an assistant designer at Lakme Fashion Week and many more such events to be named while she was pursuing her design course in Mumbai. So, since you're all pumped up to checkout the creations and our looks, why don't you scroll down to read all of it? Let's scroll....

She's wearing - dress : Sonakshi Agarwal | footwear : Catwalk | bangles : Romoch Fashions

maang tika, ring : Amrapali Jewels 

I'm wearing - dress : Sonakshi Agarwal | footwear : Steve Madden | bangles : Shopnineteen

maang tika, rings : Amrapali Jewels | earcuffs : Romoch Fashions

Makeup by : Kratika Raj

As rightly said, girls always have a dilemma while planning on their outfits for any occasion for that matter, and if we talk about the wedding function, we mostly think of traditional Indian wears comprising of lehengas, sarees or salwar kameez. But girls, today I've got you some really pretty indo-western outfits to rock this year's wedding parties in high-style! While searching for a perfect outfit for my cousin's wedding, I Googled ideas and came across a one-piece style that most models flaunted at the Bridal Fashion Week this year. I went ahead and told my designer friend Sonakshi what I wanted exactly like and she being as super creative as she is, made this pink gown for me (that you can see in the pictures above). Its an exemplary design of hers and absolutely exclusive, with 4 layers from the top to core made of net, zari-chiffon, satin and cotton fabrics. Leaving the inner linings aside, the most unique design of the gown can be seen in the 2nd and the top most layers that are sheer! The 2nd one is designed to give the fish-cut look to the gown that fits appropriate on my body, and the top most layer made of net is the one to give the much need flare and shape to the outfit! The embroidery work on the chest is so sexy that I couldn't resist looking at it for days! Though I had an option of attaching net sleeves to the gown, I preferred keeping it sleeveless and adding the pink net dupatta instead to give it a more Indian feel, just like Sonakshi being my co-blogger for this post has carried with her outfit! After designing my dress, she designed one for herself too following the same style but giving it a different zing! She made a bright red gown for herself with more flare and bounce using fabrics like satin, silk, net, chiffon and cotton. She kept the embroidery restricted to only mirrors on the front neck, waist band, the deep back corners, and the sleeve cuffs, to make the outfit appear artistry! The front part of her dress is divided into two portions where the upper part (the chest) is made of net and the grey bottom part of a satin-silk material on which she gave a pretty floral print and the sleeves a quarter length. I must say I really like how graceful both the outfits turned out to be!

Now, wedding day is the right time when girls do some elaborate make-up, put on hi-fi accessories, just like both me and Sonakshi did. I put on a huge, traditional maang tika, a pair of peppy ear cuffs, 2 stone rings and a few bangles in my hand and gold heels to match my dress! Where as Sonakshi just added the maang tika from Amrapali Jewels inspired by Deepika's look in Raam Leela on her forehead, a few rings in her fingers, some colorful bangles in her hand and her heels to complete her look. Also, our make-up artist for this post who actually does my make-up for most functions is Kratika Raj. She is a freelancer and is an expert in whatever she does! So, as you may see, we look like princesses in in our outfits already and thanks to Kratika for making us appear so beautiful, by putting on the primer, the base, foundation and for doing our eye make-up, lips and even hair. I really like to dress up lavishly for wedding functions and I hope all you girls reading this too like doing so!

So guys, this was the last post of the Wedding Collaboration series this year. Do tell me in the comments below, which out of the three posts you like the most - the Engagement outfits, the Tilak/Sangeet outfits or today's Wedding outfits! Also, I really want to thank my co-bloggers and photographers for taking out time from their busy schedules and teaming up with me for this special line of posts. I had an absolute great time working with all my team members! BTW, I might or might not come up with the series next year, but you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and ask questions or clear doubts if you have any! And yes, some food posts are coming up super soon, so stay tuned for that. Until then, much love and warm hugs!

Photographed by : Saumya Kumar

~xoxo~

Wedding Vibes : Part 2 - Tilak/Sangeet

Hey pretty girls, all good ya?

Firstly, thanks a ton for appreciating the first post of the wedding collaboration that I posted 4 days back with Shishta Maurya for engagement party outfits! If you've missed out on reading, check it out HERE. Secondly, thanks again for being so patient with this post. I know I've delayed it by 2 days but how do I tell you, my internet became super sucky & I felt like I couldn't do anything! But yeah, back on the roll...finally uploading the second post of the wedding collaboration now. Like I told you all, this one's with a blogger I've already collaborated with earlier, so I guess you didn't have to think too much; she is none other than my dear friend Sumbul Siddiqui from Stylebon.

Well, I had already mentioned in the previous post that Indian wedding ceremonies are absolutely fun to attend! And for people like me, we are always ready to rock & roll at family weddings which are super light and crazy! The celebrations start days before the Big Day. Various ceremonies such as engagement, mehendi, tilak-sangeet, baarat, wedding and reception are again followed by post-wedding functions keeping the near and dear ones extremely busy with the enjoyment. But let me tell you, Indian weddings are no longer the conventional ceremonies dating back to time immemorial, they have moreover drastically changed and have become stylish affairs like never before. These days, all ceremonies are followed by high oomph and with a must-have glamour quotient. Talking of the Tilak ceremony, where family members of the bride and groom apply tika on the groom's forhead, showering blessings on him and giving him and his family lots of gifts! This ritual is often followed by Sangeet ceremony, which is infact the most enjoyable funtions out of all the rest! To be specific, it's the major entertainment factor at the Indian weddings where all the family members of both sides dance on various songs, play special numbers and crack jokes on each other (ofcourse in all sporting manner). 

But not only dancing, the most important thing that actually is and should be taken care of is what to wear to the Sangeet ceremony. Now, we girls always love to dress up fashionably for such occasions, so today, Sumbul and I have got you 2 beautiful outfits for this occasion which we both think you'd love! Scroll down to know more...

She's wearing - lehenga skirt : Big Bazaar | kurta : Self-Designed | footwear : Inc.5
necklace, earrings, rings : Globus | clutch : FabAlley.com

I'm wearing - lehenga skirt, crop top : Self-Designed | footwear : Jabong

earrings : Aminabad Market (Lucknow) | rings : Flipkart | clutch : FabAlley.com

Nothing new to hear, a lehenga has been one of the most ancient Indian dresses. A two or three piece set of garment that women wore since the early ages! This set basically comprises of a long, flowy skirt, a blouse/top/kurta, and a dupatta. The most commonly worn of all Indian outfits is actually a lehenga, starting from the bride, to the bridesmaid, to the other women of the family, everybody wears it in atleast one of the functions during the wedding! But, today we've got you some modern styles of lehengas that are appropriate for a Sangeet ceremony. Starting with Sumbul, she is wearing a long cotton skirt with pretty authentic prints on it. She got this one from a Big Bazaar store, where she had a lot of color and print options but she chose this fuchsia pink one with gold print. I really like the broad black line at the hem of her skirt that perfectly contrasts the dark colored kurta that she chose to add on the skirt! Its a burgundy colored one made up of velvet fabric. Since Sumbul is a little plumper, she chose to keep the kurta long and high slitted from the sides, buttoned up in front and kept the sleeves full to give that grace to the whole attire. She designed and cut and stitched this kurta all by herself which I think is commendable. Since Sangeet is more of dancing and stuff, she added pink ball latkans to the side of the lehenga too, which bounce along whenever one dances around so that gave an oomph the whole look of hers! She chose to complete her look by adding a gold flower-cut necklace and some gold plated rings and earrings too, to compliment the print of the skirt! I loved the choice of her earrings and footwear that matched perfectly with all the other accessories. And the most attractive part was her golden glitter clutch that she carried to store her essentials. I would also like to mention that its necessary to understand your body type before picking up an attire for yourself, and I like how Sumbul always chooses clothing that goes with her body and not just wear anything to give it a skip! 

As for me, while searching a perfect attire for a Sangeet ceremony this year, I literally couldn't come across anything online and really didn't have time to go out shopping too! Meanwhile, I realized that I have in stock a long skirt that my mom used to wear when she was my age. So basically this cream skirt that you're seeing in the pictures belongs to my mom from 30 years back. It was a plain skirt with 3 linings, one in the core made up of cotton, then the 2nd one made up of satin and the last one that's the top, made up of georgette! There's an elastic too to secure the tightness at the waist. Now, I re-designed this skirt and wore it like a high-waisted lehenga skirt and also added golden sequins all over to give it a party look. To be true, I tucked each sequin with a needle and thread all by myself in 2 days. For my top, I had sketched a crop top about 3 years back and I wanted to get it made in real so I bought a piece of black cotton, got the gold and bronze design made and got the top stitched, attaching the black net sleeves! The best parts about this crop top are the high-neck chinese collar, the front zipper line and the cuffs on the sleeves that I got done with the cotton design too. Wore it over the skirt where it ended at the waist looking almost like a one piece but no! I'm a short heighted girl with a bloated tummy and I wanted to give an illusion of a tall lady, so that was the main reason I went in for this outfit. To complete my look, I picked a pair of white stone dangler earrings, of which I got parts colored in black and golden, a big black stone ring and an american diamond too, and added the black ball latkans on the side of the skirt which as I mentioned above look really cool. Plus, to my skirt it gave the much needed indo-modern look! For my footwear I wore a pair of cream-goldenish heels which is one of the most comfortable pair I own in my heel section and carried a silver glitter clutch to keep my belongings during the function. Finally, adding that red lipstick was a must since we both are addicted to it, and also because it gives the makeup a little dope look! Like I love to, Sumbul and I left our hair lose open and I realized it was a good step taken by both of us because it made the whole appear super flattering! ----- What do you think?

I think both of us chose our outfits for the Sangeet ceremony, keeping in mind the dances, the whole celebration and stuff and apart from this a very important factor, which is comfort. These lehengas are extremely comfortable as they are loose from the bottom and flare it up as we move or dance! Nothing is too tight even if we talk about the tops, unless you really want to make it look body-hugging! Also, you must have noticed that neither Sumbul, nor me carried dupattas with our ensembles. Well, we didn't really feel the need to carry it since our outfits already looked sexy enough and also who likes to take along a burden that keeps falling in the middle of the function and you have to keep settling it now and then. So yeah, the major reason was this! Now to end, I would suggest all you girls to get yourselves some lehenga skirts and kurtas and crop tops designed and flaunt them in your own way in the next Tilak/Sangeet ceremonies you go too!

Photographed by : Nahid Saman

~xoxo~