Looking good without burning big holes in your pocket
When I found out that I will be covering PLBW 2016 for the
magazine I write for, the first thing I was worried about was my wardrobe. The
fact that I will have to leave my daughter behind in Karachi for 4 days was the
first runner up in the hierarchy of worries, and the fact that my husband will
be the babysitter was the second. Anyway, I was quick to switch off
in the runner up departments and move to the real issue at hand – how to produce
myself a three-day wardrobe fit to attend Pakistan’s biggest annual bridal week
in the capacity of a decent-looking reporter.
The masla in life
was that my wardrobe is packed with innumerable lawn kurtas only. Reasons are many; number one being that I have
converted from being a pakki lahori to
fully Karachiite - so I kinda dress up less now. Second, my main line of work has
been teaching since I graduated eight years ago so my outfits involve simple kurtas and nothing more. Third, all my
friends are also very naukri paysha types
and happy in their Daamans and Generations, so yeah, fortunately or
unfortunately I’ve never needed anything more than lawn. Plus, if I had
designer friends or one million followers on Instagram maybe I could play the
borrowing game and look all – kya kahoon….designered(?). But I don’t have either, so had to do some samjhotas with the haqeeqats
of life. (This is where you help btw by following me on Instagram.)
Anyway, after being a little tensed up about this major
wardrobe issue and visiting a few designers for some understated but stylish
evening wear, wisdom hit me. I decided not to run down on my savings because
spending money makes me the happiest only when it’s spent on a big fat annual
vacation and on my yearly all-purpose handbag. So, I shook hands with the faisla that fashion is all about your
personal style, and of course raiding your mom’s cupboard as and when needed.
I’d rather be under-dressed than look like a complete chammak challo for any particular occasion
and with that motto, I proceeded with confidence. So here’s what I cooked up
for PLBW 2016 and I THINK I did pretty okay. After reading, you may leave a
comment if you have nice things to say. If you don’t, make ghubaaras of your bubblegum and let your silence be my support.
Day 1
A few weeks back I made this random and purposeless (at that
time) purchase of a jacket from Generation for 4K. Since I had nowhere to wear
it I was all drowned in guilt at that time. Still bought it, what a creep I am.
Anyway, this purchase made me really proud finally when I was figuring out the sawaal das crore ka. I dug out this pair
of formal pants I got from River Island some time back for my brother’s
graduation (okay, a long time back) but they were as good as new so there! I had
my day 1 clothes sorted. Teamed up with soft waves, dark purplish lipstick and
New Look black heels, this is what I looked like. Not such a disaster, kya khyaal hai?
Style Summary:
Jacket:
Generation
Pants: River
Island
Shoes: New Look
Bag: DKNY
Lipstick: KIKO
Amaranth, shade 914 (P.S. if you don’t know of this brand, get to know it. It’s
Italian and amazing. They have a shop in London too now on Oxford Street and
are coming to India soon, and, hopefully, to Pakistan as well)
Nail Polish: A
random purple one I picked up in Bangkok 3 years ago. It still works very
nicely so quality pretty good eh?
Bracelet: Platinum
Mall, Bangkok (spilling all my dress for less deets just for you here)
Earrings: nothing
exceptional so let’s skip
Hair: My own
Day 2
Since dusty pink is trending big time (and I was proven right
over the 3 day show) I decided to buy this layered piece from Daaman, which is one
of my favorite shops for kurtas. It
was around Rs.3500 in crepe-type material so I was beyond excited to find it. I
got matching pants made from my darzi who
was new but did a pretty good job (Thanks mom for the intervention). Since the
color I was wearing wasn’t too flashy, I decided to get my hair done to add
some excitement to my look. Btw, if you are a Cavalry-Ground dweller in Lahore,
try out ‘Cutting Edge by Amna’ there. It’s a big but non-busy place with great
service. Thanks sister in law for the discovery because going all the way to
DHA for this would’ve killed me before my LONG evening even began.
Style Summary:
Shirt: Daaman
Pants: Master
saab
Shoes: VINCCI
Bag: Fashion
ComPassion, you can check out their website here.
Lipstick: REVLON
Colourburst, shade Unapologetic, 210
Nail polish:
Barry M Hi Shine Nail Paint, shade Grapefruit
Cuff bracelet:
Sapphire, for a 1000 bucks, it's pretty great
Earrings: Saphigo, check out more from this amazing brand here.
Hair: Again, my
own, done by Cutting Edge by Amna’s, Cavalry Ground Branch
Day 3
I tried to find day 3 clothes from another brand for some
variety in life, but what the heck, I just got this one from Daaman too because i) navy blue is very in, ii) I loved
the cut and the flowey material, and iii) it was for Rs.3800 and kinda easy on
my pocket. Again, master saab made my
pants with organza strip detailing and voila, clothes all tayyar. I couldn’t have done my hair third day in a row so just
kept it simple and straight. This look is my favorite and I also have other
nice memories from day 3. My boss was the happiest with my coverage on day 3 and my story for the night also turned out pretty good, if I may add that myself ;) You can read it
here if you like. If you don’t, still read it bhai.
Style Summary
Shirt: Daaman
Pants: Master
saab
Shoes: VINCCI,
thanks for this Malaysia
Bag: Good ol’ ALDO
Lipstick: Rimmel
Apocalips, shade Eclipse
Nail polish: KIKO
Nail Lacquer, shade 239
Bracelet: Juicy
Couture
Earrings: Random
ones I got from Istanbul while my husband played mini golf, but I love the subtle silver shine
