Category Archives: fashion

April 4, 2012

Fashion Diary 011 – Dubai World Cup 2012

By Laurel

Back from another quiet spell. I just haven’t had anything to say lately. But then, I couldn’t pass up the chance to post up a worthy outfit from the Dubai World Cup horse races this year.

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dress { Balenciaga }

hat { Bundle MacLaren }

shoes { Kurt Geiger }

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Added bonus! My sister & I made it into OK! mag!

click to embiggen

Really, though, I am forever intending to start writing in this asinine thing more often again, but I…just can’t, although things have been busy with work, visitors and moving house over the past couple months.

However I can quickly rant about my impending travels to India (in 4 weeks!) being possibly utterly fucked.

AGAIN, my passport is out getting a new visa and AGAIN there are huge delays. I turned in my passport 2 months ago to get my new residency/work visa yet there has been almost no progress to speak of (for reasons out of my control). Understandably this does not make me confident that I’ll have my passport and new visa back by mid-April (although I have been assured otherwise). Why do I need it by then if I don’t travel until early May? Because I need to sort out my Indian visit visa before I travel (it can not be issued upon arrival - at least not to the place where I am going) and my understanding is that you should give the Indian embassy 10 working days to sort this out. This means I should really have my passport/new work visa back by April 15 to feel properly comfortable.  This is like the goddamned Kenya trip all over again (2 months before going to Kenya I turned in my passport to get my new work visa, which should have only taken about 10 working days, however I did not get my passport & visa back until about 2 days prior to travel – nerve-wracking)! I’m so fucking unhappy right now and ready to go ballistic. I turned my passport in at the very end of January, right after we returned from Switzerland, so I wouldn’t have to worry about having my passport back in time for India and yet HERE WE FUCKING GO AGAIN. It absolutely infuriates me literally to the point of tears.

Incompetence. Laziness. General and overall lack of giving a shit.

That all said, I am pretty confident I’ll have my visa and passport back before my holiday begins, in early May. Worst-case scenario, we’ll just go somewhere else where we can simply get a visit visa upon arrival (toying with the idea of doing another trek in Nepal, or maybe even Thailand although the latter doesn’t really thrill due to the massive amount of twatty tourists that Thailand seems to attract). But…I mean I was really looking forward to a relaxed, tropical, hut-residing, curry-nomming, un-sober holiday in the subcontinent. Annoying.

/rant

2 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in fashion

September 25, 2011

Fashion Diary: 010 – Emirati Wedding Celebrations

By Laurel

I recently attended a henna night and wedding for an Emirati couple for which I gleefully had to purchase some nice kaftans or jalabiyas to wear to.  I’d been wanting to buy some of these ever since I moved to Dubai, so it was a good excuse to finally do so.

The henna night, or Laylat al Henna, (and definitely not to be confused with a hen night) is a traditional ladies-only celebration a few days before the wedding.  Normally henna decoration would be applied to the bride-to-be and the females in attendance, but things in Dubai are not quite so traditional any more, so there was no henna (which I was kind of bummed about).  In this case, the celebration is sometimes called instead Laylat al Arabiya, the “Arabian night”.  Lack ‘o henna aside, it was a beautiful evening of Arabian decor and fashion, food, music and celebration. For this event I chose something a bit more casual and bohemian…

{ kaftan by Hemant & Nandita }

…and for the wedding I went for something that had a bit of a fancier or more evening-wear look to it.  Although, not evening-wearish enough.  I felt (and looked, I guess) pretty under-dressed for the wedding, where people dressed like they were about to accept an Academy Award. Oh well.  I pulled my dual-toned hair back into a simple, sleek ponytail to make up for the omgaccessoriesandprintoverload! going on with the rest of the outfit.

{ kaftan by Mimosa | clutch by Aila | necklace by Assad Mounser }

3 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in fashion

August 25, 2011

Fashion Diary: 009

By Laurel

class defined

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these.  But it’s just too damn hot and boring up in this bitch to care about what I’m wearing.  My fashion sense for summer in Dubai is: “what will I not sweat in?“, basically.  However, yesterday I had to film a promo spot for the art gallery I work for.  I don’t like being recorded, be that my voice or image, so I can’t say I’m looking forward to this.  It has however, given me the chance to wear a fun dress.

The dress is by Gerard Darel, a designer whose silken maxi-dresses I’ve been eyeing for quite some time.  When I saw this one, I knew it was the one I had been waiting for.  Why?  Well, I went for cheetah print because nothing quite says that I’m a fine lady of class and distinction like wrapping myself in animal-print cloth.

I also had to wear a jacket with it though, which kind of bummed me out…but it’s Ramadan (for 5 more days only!) which means spaghetti-strap dresses are a no-no.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in fashion

August 16, 2011

On a Jalabiya & Kaftan Expedition

By Laurel

I will be attending a henna night (Laylat Al Henna) in the nearish future, which is a sort of pre-wedding event/ceremony in Emirati culture that takes place a few days before the wedding.  The bride-to-be is decorated with henna and the night is, all-in-all, quite a traditional (and ladies-only) affair.  It should be an interesting experience.  And one that I should wear traditional clothing to.  And so, my expedition for an apropos jalabiya or kaftan to wear for the evening.

I’ve been wanting to buy one of these since I moved here, so it’s a nice excuse to finally purchase one.

It was indeed a tough expedition of trying on lovely, flow-y, colorful and fun things all day, but I took it like a fucking champ and prevailed in the end. After hours of posing and staring at myself in mirrors, I finally found piece that was just right; traditional, but still my style.  Very excited to wear it out!

Here are some of my faves from the rigorous ordeal:

The one on the right was amazing, but made my hips look HUGE.  Thankfully, because it was almost USD $3,000 (not that I would have bought it even if it made me look like a supermodel).

I really like the way the placement of the patterns on this one bring out the shape of the body underneath

this one was super fun, but the dressing area was really dark so couldn’t get a decent photo of it myself. the belt is fantastically bejeweled.

felt rather goddess-y in this one, but I think too formal in the end and wouldn’t get much wear out of it.  Also, the belt was bigger than my waist even tied as tightly as was possible.

And a few more…

      

On a P.S. note, I am in looooove with this one, which was listed on a local boutique’s blog, but couldn’t find it in stock.  Sadface.

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Which did I choose?  You’ll have to come back, because I think I’ll keep the chosen one under wraps until it’s time to wear it next month!

3 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in fashion, life, UAE

June 24, 2011

Fashion Diary: 008 – Time Out Dubai / Street Style

By Laurel

Shortly before heading over to the states I took part in the ‘Street Style’ section of Time Out Dubai magazine.  It was fun, minus the 100+ degree heat and obscene humidity.  Which killed the time I spent on curling my hair that morning in about 2 minutes flat and left hair and feathers alike plastered to my neck and face.  Stunning beauty.
Anyfucks, upon my return to Dubai yesterday, I was delighted to see me and my sub-par hair in the current issue; I was worried it might run while I was away and I’d miss it.

CLICK TO ENLARGE & READ MY DRIVEL!

In other fashion-related news, I happily discovered a boutique called Allsaints Spitalfields whilst in NYC (SoHo).  Got some fun stuff there (particularly fond of their ‘festival’ and ‘party’ boutiques), such as heavily embellished shorts that are way too short to be wearing around the Middle East , but hey – let’s test those boundaries anyway.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in fashion

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