Banarasi Babes ♥

Insta: @BelleAmour_mua

Happy New year to all my dolls! I hope you have started the New Year with a fresh mindset, clear motives and clean objectives ready to conquer whatever challenges that may come your way!

So excited to be writing this much awaited post, as after months and months of organising and planning a close family wedding, finding the ‘right thing to wear’ for oneself always feels exciting as well as daunting. Exciting because I can dictate what my sister can wear and without a choice she has to agree 😀 Daunting, because typically in an Asian wedding everyone is always looking glamorous and trying to find something ‘unique’ can be a huge challenge. I am also sure some of you can relate!

The theme that I planned for the wedding (uncles wedding): Jhodaa Akbar (movie) taking ideas of fashion from the 15^th century Indian Mughal Empire era. Psst! Watch the movie if you haven’t already 😉

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Right, theme chosen, now the clothes!

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After visiting the Pakistan Fashion show earlier this year, I came across Faika Collection during that time which showcased elegant regal looking attires which I always wanted to own, but didn’t have a reason to own. You know the whole issue with lack of wardrobe space; no upcoming events etc…Then, it all fell into place when a family wedding was happening and Faika was going to be a part of the celebration!

However, Faika Collection is based in Bradford, I am from London. To travel up North with extortionate rail fares wasn’t my cup of tea, but to my advantage when I checked their Instagram post (back in summer) I was lucky to find that they were doing a London pop-up exhibition at the Royal Garden Hotel. As ecstatic as you can imagine I was, grabbed my sister put the gas down and went to visit Faika Collection’s pop-up.

Here is what we chose:

Insta: @BelleAmour_mua

We picked 2 pieces of beautiful Jacquard Banarasi Lenghas: one in emerald green and gold jacquard style (which I wore) and sisters was black on gold jacquard style. The tops were plain black soft velvet with pearl buttons running down both sleeves. The Lenghas also came with chiffon duppattas. However on this photo, we have created and designed our own dupattas to go with our Mughal theme.

Insta: @BelleAmour_mua

Inspiration to drape the dupatta had also come from the Mughal era, where it is tucked at the waist and draped over the shoulders. If you have a theme for an event from a historic period, always do slight research to authenticate your entire look. It also gives you vision on the colours and style of accessories to choose from!

I ought to mention the type of shoes you must wear when wearing any type of Banarasi material – this is crucial! Due to the heavy brocade skirt, the silk weaving on the reverse side of the lengha pulls/tugs at the fancy diamante shoes; please ensure you wear plain/plain glam shoes without the crystals as you can ruin your skirt! Not pictured – I wore glittered heeled shoes.

Insta: @BelleAmour_mua

The Faika Collection Lenghas are elegant in style and a sleek ensemble. The best thing about the skirt is that it has pockets – yes! A very handy feature especially on Asian clothes which is quite different.

For the Asian women, Lengha co-ords is the smart ‘black-tie’ of outfits for every special occasion.

The eye catching Banarasi material was the perfect choice for this beautiful regal skirt as it was soft, very fine and absolutely comfortable. Due to its soft nature, the skirt was flowing beautifully as a lengha should, it was not stiff and the cut of the Lengha was much appreciated.

Insta: @BelleAmour_mua

However, my brother was not following the Moghal theme and opted for a contemporary dinner suit to staple a cold Autumn wedding.

Tip to trousers in Ted Baker and Shoes from ASOS.

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It is all in the details

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Looking for the perfect accessory to go with your outfit and theme can also be a huge challenge. From countless of searches in-store and online, we were on the verge of picking something very random. However luckily, I stumbled across Innaya Couture on Instagram and found a beautiful necklace.

From Innaya Couture, we have purchased their Mughal Kundan 7 tier necklace which complimented our Banarasi outfits.

Insta: @BelleAmour_mua

The “Ball and chain” weapon on my sisters wrist is actually a cute looking handbag :p This is from Southall – almost found in any accessories store.

The ladies at Faika Collection done a tremendous job in delivering what I wanted. Even though they were up north (Bradford) they ensured my requirements were met and truthfully, I was quite a troublesome customer – no joke! The only problem you will face if you order from any clothing stores which are far away is the fitting! Of course, if it is custom made the measurements can typically go wrong therefore Faika recommends to go in-store for fitting. So bear this in mind!

Do check out Faika Collection for their latest Istanbul Collection (very gorgeous…need another event to wear one of those!) and stay tuned for more!

With love,

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