Mother of the Bride - Indian Aunty Sarees

A wedding affair is mostly all about the bride. However, the mother of the bride ensures that her daughter does not stress out for her big day and irons out all the creases cropping up at the event. So this lady needs an outfit befitting a queen when she is bidding adieu to her princess.

The famous Indian designers like Neeta Lulla, Manish Malhotra, Ashima- Leena, etc. offer an amazing collection of Indian aunty sarees that the mother of bride can pick from. She can follow these guidelines in choosing one of the Indian aunty sarees:

Go Pastel

When her daughter is going for bold colours she can opt for paler hues. Very light tints of blues, greens, beiges, peaches and pinks are great choices for the mother of the bride.

The fabric can be sheer or opaque with crystal embroidery or applique work. The light tones of Indian aunty sarees do justice to the age of the wearer and glorify class and grace at the same time.

Hema Malini in pastels

Easy on Embroidery

Indian aunty sarees with lighter embroidery work on just the borders and the pallu is a nice choice for the mother of the bride. On these lines, the website Strand of Silk offers an amazing collection of sarees from the Indian designers, for the mother of the bride.

 

Neon Pink Saree by Anita Dongre

Gold and Off-white Saree

Like Mother, Like Daughter

The mother can match her saree with her daughter, by choosing a common colour theme. She can go few shades lighter in the colour choice. When the bride is going for lehengas with bare midriff, the mother can go for sarees in similar colour and same type of lighter embroidery.

Hema Malini with Esha Deol

Aishwarya and Jaya Bachchan

Tread the Tradition

The mother of the bride can go for the traditional Indian aunty Sarees like Kanjeevaram, Banarasi, Chanderi, Sambhalpuri, Bandhani, etc. Each of these sarees, uses traditional Indian weaves, prints or fabrics. The traditional Indian sarees always look amazing on elderly women and brings culture to the traditional wedding affair.

 

Paithani saree

Kanjeevaram Sarees

Blouse it Up

The Blouse for Indian aunty sarees should be one that gives coverage to the arms and adds drama to the saree. For leaner arms the mothers can go for sheer fabrics with borders and shorter sleeves.

For heavier arms a more covered look with opaques and embroidery depending upon the saree is a way to go. The veteran actress Shabana Azmi is seen a lot in full sleeves or three-quarter sleeves and she looks very classy wearing sarees with longer sleeved blouses.

Shabana Azmi at Lakme Fashion Week

Pull an Additional Pallu

An additional stole added to the other shoulder without pallu (saree pleats on the shoulder), with matching embroidery and colours gives a regal and commanding look. It adds dimension to the saree and takes it to a different level.

 

Waheeda Rehman with the extra Pallu Saree

The Indian aunty sarees are definitely a more popular and suitable choice for the mother of the bride over lehengas and anarkalis. The mother of the bride’s saree does not intend to take the limelight away but it subtly speaks for the woman behind the girl, who has begun a new journey in womanhood.



Image source: www.bollywoodvogue.com, www.designerblouses.co.in, www.indianweddingsite.com, www.metromela.com, bawree.com, bollyspice.com

A Sneak Peek into Lakme Fashion Week 2015

Excitement and anticipation are the innate feelings of every fashion enthusiast especially at the time of unveiling of a new fashion week. The trends, silhouettes, fabrics, colour palette of the season, accessories and make-up are indeed the major areas of interest for true fashionistas at heart. So, if you are also craving to know what’s in store for you in this year’s Lakme Fashion Week 2015, let’s gather the details without any further delay-

Hair and Make-up
Last year, we observed the no-make-up look ruled the ramp. This year too, it marked its presence with a twist. The subtle no-make-up look got a new definition with the hint of illuminator for the much required glow and radiance. Models sported matte textured make-up with just the little highlight. And the feature which grabbed the entire attention was the lips. Yes, it was the lips which did all the talking in Lakme Fashion Week 2015.The sculpted and well-defined lips with eye-popping shades of deep red, plums and dark burgundy were very evident. It made the perfect contrast with the understated make-up look. Eye make-up was minimalistic with the focus on natural skin tone by using the shades of basic browns along with lots of mascara. How can we forget the elaborate hair-dos to beat the heat? The structured up-dos, top knots, pony tails, slick glossy centre-parted hair were a treat to eyes.

Trends to look out for
Lakme Fashion Week 2015 laid down some of the most extravagant and ravishing trends which are perfect for the summers. These were wearable and have the power to revolutionise your wardrobe for good.

Monochrome Mania
Monochrome is one trend that never lets you down. Lakme Fashion week 2015 was high on monochromes with the striking balance between the fifty shades of black and white. The stunning embroideries and floral patterns in the monochromes were all over the place.

Pave the way for Pastels
Pep up your style with the hues of pale pinks, mint green, blush blue, pristine peaches as Lakme Fashion Week 2015 endorsed the nature inspired candy colour palette for the upcoming season. Gorgeous motifs and floral prints with the touch of sequins brought the whiff of fresh air to the runway. Lehangas, crop tops, box tops and skirts in pastel colours made the onlookers go wow!

Peculiar Prints
Prints were another highlight of Lakme Fashion Week 2015. The out-of-the-box quirky prints added the much-required zing to the event. Apart from the usual prints, the bold and colourful designs portraying animals like owl, fish made a statement.

Bring the Bling
Lakme Fashion Week 2015 gave big thumbs up to the bling. Sequin dresses, metallic hues and shimmering fabrics are definitely the flavor of the season. So, fashionistas bring on the bling and set the party mood.

Block that Colour
Colour blocking is one trend which has emerged and evolved over the years. The bold and bright colour blocking trend made its mark in this year’s Lakme Fashion Week 2015 too. Whether it is ombre dyed tunics or dresses, colour blocking trend made a striking comeback. Play with colours and be a head turner!

Boho chic
What could be better than wearing a Bohemian inspired silhouette this year? Yes the boho look took the centre stage as we witnessed a lot of flowy garments like kaftans, capes and fusion outfits embellished with rich embroideries and mirror work. Throw yourself in an easy breezy boho silhouette and be the fashion connoisseur that you are.

Flower Power
What really mesmerised us to the core was the sight of full bloom floral inspired outfits. Big, bold, beautiful, blue floral motifs and embroideries added a new dimension to the event. Designer Manish Malhotra presented the ‘Blue Runway’ collection that included floral bloom in hues of blue and yellow. Everything from flowy gowns to jacket saris was adorned in the variations of blue colour.

Designers and their Show-stoppers
Fashion world and Bollywood go hand in hand. Many Bollywood actors walk the ramp for their favourite designers. This year too, many celebrities dazzled the runway sporting the designer wear with oomph and grace. While Nargis Fakri walked for renowned designer Masaba, Aditi Rao Hydri looked stunning in Archana Rao’s creation. Newbie Shraddha Kapoor wore Miss Bennett London and emerged as the reigning ramp queen.

The actress par excellence, Vidya Balan carried her signature sari style by walking for Gaurang Shah. Raghavendra Rathore pitched in Ritesh Deshmukh to present his iconic traditional collection. Also veteran actress Karishma Kapoor, gorgeous Tamanna Bhatia and sizzling Chitrangada Singh graced the ramp. For the grand finale, the queen of drapes designer Anamika Khanna, showcased her impeccable collection and Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha and Jacqueline Fernandez were the showstoppers.

Lakme Fashion Week 2015 was high on design and creativity. It truly deserved the appreciation and applause!

See also The Top Lakme Fashion Week Designers for Summer-Resort 2015!

London Fashion Trends of 2015

It's always difficult for a woman to keep up with all the new trends, colours and styles, and it’s especially tricky to dress when living in London. Nowadays, the city of London encourages people to be creative and unique, and not follow other peoples styles. However, when you’re out for the entire day in London, you have not only look stylish but also be dressed practical for every occasion. Whilst in London you have to think about the perfect all day outfit because in an average day in London it could be seen in many different periods of the day: work, lunch, shopping and even clubbing. Wearing a flouncy dress with high heels can seem like a good idea for a summers day in London, but after one hour’s walking it will be a disaster, which is a daily challenge when you don’t have time to get home and change clothes after work. Fortunately for all of us, London is a capital where you can be edgy-cool, that’s why it is an ideal city to experiment with new and unique looks.

It’s also the perfect time to think about new and fresh fashion trends that are currently taking place in London for spring/summer 2015.

London is a huge city, meaning there is many different trends depending on the places you are going. For example Camden is a place where you will witness extremely alternative and quirky styles worn by both 'hipsters' and 'goths'. You will also witness people wearing copious amounts black eye-liner (even the boys) and an influx of body piercings and tattoos. It’s all about burlesque style in this area of London, one of the most popular pin-up ladies Dita Von Teese influences many styles and outfit decisions in Camden. The result of this will be bold colours, frilly skirts, fish net tights and bright lipstick. And to complete this intriguing look, add a tight corset. Let’s be realistic, this strange look is not for everyone!

The T-shirt is a reliable source for all occasions. But don’t go too fast, it’s not just the simple and comfy t-shirt in cotton. As we are moving into summer, there will be a flood of shiny colours, shapes and textures. We are even seeing an influx of some t-shirts that have been shredded or ripped, paired with blazers, chunky jewellery and practical high heels to create a versatile and stylist great.

In Notting Hill, there are a lot of vintage stores with endless designer wear from the likes of Bottega, Christian Louboutin, Prada or Helmut Lang. This area is a great place for all fashionistas who love both vintage and luxury brands. A good thing to know when you are wearing vintage clothing is style one main vintage piece at a time so not to over do the look.

And if you don’t really like to wear second-hand clothes or shoes, go for a military style jacket with retro t-shirts that have a vintage look.

The perfect accessory to have this season is John Lennon glasses, super-trendy and versatile for the summer months.

For all girls, a fedora hat is a must have accessory for this year. We are witnessing more and more styles every season, but black and grey are the easiest to wear for most occasions. It really is an accessory not to be missed!

It’s the return of the midi! In nearly every shop on Oxford street from Topshop to Zara, we are witnessing a lot of midi dresses and skirts. Brands are calling these skirts the “tea length” skirt. The midi is quite difficult to wear and it’s not for anyone, however, if you wear it with the right accessories and for the right occasion, you will look as glamorous as ever!

Are you interested in Indian Fashion?

Amazon India Fashion Week AW 2015 Grand Finale Highlights

Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015 has come to an end. Famous Indian designers were present at this big event. In total, this year, there were 25 designers like Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Raghavendra Rathore and many others. But the favourite part of this India Fashion Week edition was the 25th Grand Finale, where all the designers from the event were there to celebrate Indian heritage.

For the Grand Finale, all designers shared their collections with a specific theme “Crafts of India”. They gave us a fantastic show by offering us their inspirations from Indian history and Indian culture.

Big names of Indian Fashion like Manish Arora, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rina Dhaka, Abraham & Thakore, Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi and Wendell Rodricks came together at the end of the finale show. We saw the Indian designer Bal starting the party mode. All others designers, and even models joined this fun side at the ramp, during the final show. 

About the collections showcased at the Grand Finale, we saw a lot of creativity, originality, innovation, and style mixing Indian and Western fashion. The main clothes were dresses, sarees, gowns, lehengas, suits, sherwanis and jumpsuits. Different styles were embellished beginning with a western collection, deep colours of daylight, ethnic beauty and lots of rich Indian bridal wear. 

We also caught a stunning view on the stage, of the silhouette of a dome with little dolls and mirrors held up by white dresses. It was a real gift for Indian fashion lovers to see how Indian heritage was reflected in the show.

Amazon India Fashion Week’s Grand Finale began with Wendell Rodricks’s collections - a beautiful orange dress with bold and edgy garments. While Varma’s models on the ramp, wore turbans and outfits with a shimmery effect.

Pankaj & Nidhi's collection offered to us, a completely different style with geometric inspirations and florals in all their dresses. For the first time, these two Indian designers were very happy to showcase their collections during a finale show.

Gaurav Gupta wanted to bring the idea and statement of “unity and diversity” in his collection. It was important for him to send this message to everyone and added “We are one big family”. 

This year, Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015 was once again a real success. Having as the main sponsor, the most well known online portal, Amazon, certainly boosted the importance and publicity of the five-day fashion gala.

Different Techniques Used to Create Unique Indian Textiles

Just found this infographic and think that it is really interesting! 

A brief explanation:

This infographic gives you an idea of all the different techniques, used to create Indian textiles employed for Indian fashion clothing, and the places they come from. It takes you through India to discover the indigenous Indian textile crafts and the specific region where they are employed. Did you know that these age-old crafts and their techniques continue to be used by fashion designers to create beautiful Indian fashion? Discover a lot more that will awe-inspire you by taking you on a journey across India and Indianfashion. Hop on board the Strand of Silk Journey Map at strandofsilk.com > strandofsilk.com/journey-map.

Latest Indian Fashion Trend Predictions for 2015

We’re now in 2015 and are soon to be entering the crazy fashion season which includes hundreds of shows across a number of cities, showcasing an influx of new fashion ideas and trends. This can be slightly overwhelming in the fast pace of the fashion world, especially within the ever-evolving Indian fashion sector. But don’t panic, we’re here to help!

This year will bring a huge variety of new and exciting Indian trends that can be worked into almost everyone's wardrobe, whether you are looking for a casual day outfit or stand-out evening attire. Here are our top 4 trend predictions for this year,

Colour Blocking

2014 saw an influx of neutral tones and toned down hues swarm the runways and high streets, but colour seems to slowly creeping back into the limelight. The colour-blocking trend is one that has come and gone many times, but this year we’re seeing it come back with a point of different to keep up with the latest Indian trends; layering! By layering up contrasting colours it creates bold and stylish look that can be worn in variety of ways to suit peoples personal styles.

Feminine Sheers

Sheer has also been a popular trend in the past but this year we’re seeing it take a feminine turn. In the past the sheer trend is been somewhat edgy in it’s aesthetic, but this new sheer trend takes on a feminine embodiment in the form of stylish evening dresses and gowns. This trend can be worn as a daring skin bearing look or teamed with other garments such as underskirts as a classy layering technique.

Gold Embellishment

Black is a trend which will never go out of fashion, and what better way to embrace it than with a stylish gold embellishment. 2014 was the year of bold and basic trends with minimum detail, but 2015 is always seeing an influx of pattern and embellishment. Black and gold are definitely the colours of choice within the latest Indian trends for 2015; a match made in heaven!

Fringing

Tassels and fringing is a trend that has been on and off for a while now, but mainly within festival fashion. The 2015 trend is all about dressing up the fringing look; think evening gowns and girly dresses. Bright colours are also a key part of this trend, forget the natural brown and nude tones of 2014, and go for bright and bold hues for a quirky and stylish look!

Want to see other designs from Indian fashion?

The Perks of Custom Made Dresses for the Brides and Bridesmaids

In the world of weddings, when brides deliberate bridesmaid dresses for their big day, a common thing is for them to automatically think of well known and big name designers. Although this is a valid option, it is ultimately an expensive one.

Picking a unified selection of dresses for a number of women can be a daunting task, every woman is going to be a different shape, size and personality. This is where customisation comes in, aswell as customised the sizes of each bridesmaid dress to suit the individual, you can also keep and certain theme running through the dresses.

By choosing lesser known brands when selecting bridesmaid dresses it can not only mean you save precious pennies, but also be exposed to more unique styles and designs than those available on the market.

For example, selecting styles from Indian designers, like those offered by Strand of Silk, ensures that dresses can be customised to suit the needs and wants of both the bride and the bridesmaids, tailored to a unified look, yet do not cost a fortune.

Aswell as bridesmaid dresses, when it comes to the bride, nothing can bring out their best more than customised wedding dresses that not only fits flawlessly, but enhance their assets and replicate their own unique personality.

This style of customised wedding dress from a lesser known brand can still combine the desired high-end luxury of a designer gown but with the practicality a of ready-to-wear bridal dress that is tailored to the individual perfectly.

Strand of Silk's made-to-measure line runs through the heritage based pieces designed by their selection of contemporary designers. Discover Indian fashion!

The Age Old Trends of Baroque and Brocade within Indian Fashion Design

The baroque art movement has persisted for over two centuries and still popular to this day all over the world. The Baroque technique refers back to a significant era when art was portrayed in its most beautiful and theatrical glory.

The enthusiastic and dramatic Baroque style first began in Italy and from them influenced a variety of countries around the world. English fashion designers discovered their new ideas in traditional books about Continental ornaments. A unique sense of drama and a distinctive ornate style characterise the technique that is Baroque. Within the decade in which this trend first became popular Interiors were lavish with rich velvets and highly embellished furnishings teamed with patterned wood.

In relation to this, within Indian techniques and design, the technique of brocade within Indian fashion design is extremely popular and similar in aesthetic. The process begins with a simple pencilled design, it is then transferred onto a larger sheet of paper that shows magnified detail of the weft colours. Tanchoi fabric is used to produce Tanchoi sarees, which was first introduced to Varanasi in the early 20th century.

Indian Designer Rohit Bal has showcased a number of stunning collections, which feature brocade throughout a number of the garment designs. Rohit’s signature stunning needlework and traditional silhouettes are used, created garments such as floor sweeping anarkalis with gorgeous and extremely traditional brocade detailing. Proving that the trend is still very much in tact after all theses years, especially within Indian fashion design. 

Current popular bridal trends were seem to be swarming the runways showcased rich velvet textures, chandleries, and heavily textured brocades, teamed with luxurious silks and delicate embroidery which definitely ruled the ramps.

While a number of designers are innovating their Indian fashion design style, and brides are now prepared to experiment more quirky and vintage styles such as brocade, silhouettes that are ultimately overshadowing bridal trends are a blend of both old trend and charm teamed with contemporary styling.

Sources: Wedding Sutra, Strand of Silk, Modern Urban Living