Confashions From Kuwait

So let's see who the winners are for our 2nd " Laki " challenge where readers were asked to answer this question: What discount do Laki members get on safe deposit boxes? And the winners are: Nathalie C. T. Esra'a Al S. Noura A. Al-A. Dalal M. Al- O. Zeina M. Fatma A. H. Nouf A. Alaa S. Al-A. Haya T. A. Fatmah H. Al-Q. Hunaid M. Congratulations to our winners. All winners will be contacted by NBK to receive their prizes, so check your e-mails and mobiles. Winners must present their Civil ID at that time.

D Boutique is hosting its Summer exhibition of fashionable wear and limited edition dresses, tops, vests, and more.  The event will be held on Wednesday and Thursday March 31st and April 1st in Beit Cedra located  opposite to Amiri Hospital.   Opening hours are from  10.30am-12pm and from 5 pm -9.30pm.

Fashionation.me is the first online by-invitation shopping club in the Middle East, making luxury and lifestyle brands available to its members at prices up to 70% off their original retail price. Fashionation.me has sales events every day, organised in relation to specific brands or themes. All sales events take place exclusively on the site, last for a few days only. The site operates on a first come, first served basis, so logging on early is essential for shoppers who don’t want to miss the best offers. The sales events are only available to the members of the site.

I've found the most adorable accessories at TopShop the other day, and even though I won't be walking around wearing the ginger bread earrings or the mini burger and fries earrings, I just couldn't resist not taking these photos just for the fun of it.

This Chanel bag is love at first sight just because of its cute heart-shaped charms and the bubble-gum pink color of the leather. It looks so fresh and young. LOVE IT! Note to self: do not wear it to any shopping mall in Kuwait as it will lose it’s beauty after seeing the brand being abused by our people.

Of all the looks to emerge around this season, clogs are inarguably the most difficult to pull off. And just in case you're just about to bite the bullet and you're trying to absorb the idea of clogging it, Louis Vuitton comes and adds a scary little furry thing hanging off the clogs. But will that stop the most daring of women from trying? I don't think so. If you want to grab a pair, head to LV boutique in Salhiya Complex now.

Check out this amazing and exclusive short film about Christian Louboutin celebrating his jazz shoes which is currently being featured on FashionAir.com . I want his jazz shoes!

Now that I don’t get to see a lot of girls wearing feathered headbands or “designing” them as much as last season, I started to grow fonder for that look again. Found some nice headbands at River Island the other day, decorated with studs, covered with mini sequins, and one had a huge flower printed bow. All priced around KD 3 or KD 4 each. I like their prices; at least I won’t feel guilty if I wore it once only.

Whenever I go to Salhiya Complex I always make sure to check out the window display of Louis Vuitton boutique. Always a pleasant surprise when there is a new display and rarely does it disappoint. And this time I'm loving the flying LV balloons with the bag tied at the end. Adorable!

Lingerie is one of the most popular gifts you can give in a bridal shower. Of course it helps if you know her preferences and color choices, but you can't go wrong with a lovely silk gown or tasteful lace negligee. Recently launched Kuwait's online luxury lingerie retailer Hush Intimates has a great selection of affordable lingerie, luxe nightwear, and haute couture intimate wear. Every merchandise is nylon wrapped and they have no exchange policy which is great, that means hygiene is their number one priority. Currently delivery is for Kuwait only. Oh! And here's a piece of advice for you, unless you are buying it for yourself or know the person you are giving the gift to really really well, like a sister of a BFF, avoid giving lingerie items that are extremely risqué. You want her to like the gift not cringe! Anyways, check it out, their selection

I get so inspired when i read success stories about ambitious Kuwaiti women.  This is another inspirational un-fashion related post that I just could not resist featuring. I got an e-mail  from NSA about a Kuwaiti female AUK student who won first prize in UN-HABITAT writing competition. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme Office for Arab Cities announced the winners for the 2010 writing competition entitled " Cities, Climate Change and Youth ".  The competition was open to  undergraduate and post graduate students below the age of 30, enrolled in any university in an Arab city.  First place went to a Kuwaiti student, Miss. Shaha Bader Al-Munaifi of the American University of Kuwait. The winner attended the United Nations World Urban Assembly in Rio de Janeiro from March 19-20, 2010 as a guest of the UNITED NATIONS. The runner ups Ms. Samah Muhammad Khalid and Mr. Nasser Sharaf Al-Ajmi will receive a certificate of achievement from the United Nations Habitat Offi

Laila Harmony is participating at the Beauty and Perfumes Exhibition held at Mishref International Fairs Ground from 24th March until 3rd April.

Since looks from Balmain's and Wang’s S/S shows are still one step ahead on the street chic scene, it’s only natural for Zara to be inspired by their designs. Take for example these picks from their new casual wear collection, the military green t-shirt with embellished shoulders, the drawstring pants, and the loose red & white stripped top. Great buys for casual outings.

And here's our 2nd edition of Confashion Laki Challenge . All you have to do to join the challenge is to answer the question stated in the image shown here: What discount do Laki members get on safe deposit boxes? You will find the answer to our question here (how easy is that!). Simply e-mail your answer to  laki@nbk.com  with your full name, civil ID number, and phone & mobile numbers.  The deadline for submitting your answer is Tuesday, March 30th 2010 . The winner could be YOU.

It’s been a while since I have last shopped at American Retro mainly because the last two collections did not appeal to me that much. But this season the collection rooocked. I think the brand is getting its groove back. I felt that the pieces were inspired by the sartorialist photos and laid back street style images, and a whooole lot of studs or all shapes and sizes. My favorite piece is this pale grey silk jacket covered with soft studs. It has such a sophisticated edginess to it. It comes in black too and a matching pants. I wouldn’t go for the matchy matchy look. I’d pair the pants with men’s style white button-down shirt and peep-toe platforms. I also loved the leather jacket with small ruffled details. But since it’s summer already, I went for the beautiful leather belt with the same concept. Check out their latest S/S 2010 collection being displayed now at the brand’s boutique in Salhiya Complex.

My lovely sister treated me to a mani-pedi the other day at Nail Polish . It was my first time there, so I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of service. What I did know though, is not to miss out on their signature cookies. So I was there on time, and even though the place itself is kind of small, the interior is adorable, with its turquoise and warm brown leather comfortable couches and every girly magazine you could ever wish for stacked near the entrance to take your pick from. As soon as I got there I was offered tea or coffee. So I immediately asked for tea and got my first sweet treat: the amazing oatmeal cookie. And I must say there the staff was very friendly (esp the receptionist). And it was fun getting my mani done while watching “friends” the sitcom. And being a germaphobic, my manicurist assured me that all tools are sterilized and cleaned after every customer, and that they are working on personalized manicure and pedicure sets to sell for each customer to use.

If you ever want to add a pop of color to your preppy borderline boring pencil skirt or wide pants, try this edgy neo-pink long sleeves silk organza top by Boudicca . I love the layered detail on the side of the top. Price tag? KD 410. Available at Boutique 4 .

Kuwaiti Artist Khalid Alhamad will be showcasing a variety of work, experimenting with the limits of subtle and extreme ranges of impacts an image could have; mainly playing with the boundaries of the senses and feelings depicting normality and abnormality. The event is being held at Boutique 4 is located at Street 55 "Airport Street", Mahdi Habeeb Building, Opposite BMW Showroom, Next to Union Air. Tel. (+965) 2493-5444. Opening of the exhibition was yesterday but it will be on on until Friday, Mar 26th.

  The Manhattan Team has a special offer to all " Confashions From Kuwait " readers.  Get 10% off any Lauren Merkin bag. Just make sure they mention the word " Confashions " in the "Contact Us" form or via telephone.

Studded shoes were hot last season and that trend is carrying on well into Summer. Give a rock edge to your floral dresses or silk shorts with these studded + embellished + animal print covered gladiator sandals by Jimmy Choo in Salhiya Complex. Loves it!

Designers' Entourage is more than an exclusive boutique. Serving as a regional hub of rare finds, select specialized fashion, design and exhibitions, Designers' Entourage is the hippest destination in Beirut to have access to bespoke designers from around the globe such as Azza Fahmy , Nikos Koulis , Marijoli, and more. I love how spacious the boutique looks. The setting is a mix of east meets west with its high arched ceilings and minimal modern layout using old crafted wood and raw materials. Here’s a sneak peak of Designers' Entourage . Make sure to visit this place next time you’re in Beirut. Visit Designers' Entourage blog and Facebook group to view photos of currently displayed products and for more information. Designers' Entourage is located in Beirut at Saifi Khan, Lot 725, Shop #9. Opening Hours are from 10AM to 6PM.

Villa Moda Shuwaikh has received new SS10 by Australian brand  Hussy . The collection includes a pretty range of draped dresses, elegant jumpsuits (like the grey one featured here), harem pants and luxuriously soft separates accentuated with the finest detail. Check it out if you're looking for nice pieces that are not insanely overpriced for casual chic outings.

The other day I went to “ Proud To Be Kuwaiti ” ( P2BK ) event and I must say that even though the parking lot was a chaos, the event was a success and inside it was very well organized. I’m sure a lot of you have been there, so I’m not going to talk about the event’s program. Instead, I’ll keep my post short and sweet by highlighting the things that I liked about the participants in the fashion field only. So here it goes.. Putting a face to the email. It was exiting to finally get to see in person the people behind the businesses: Paisley , Nuwany.com , Trendy Fanatics , Virtue , NohaNoor … and more. All the lovely e-mails I have received when they first introduced their businesses or sent me updates, you were all sweet and friendly The best 100% Kuwaiti fashion business award goes to Whimsy , their handmade etsy-isique necklaces are unbelievably cute and dreamy. Whimsy Girls if you’re reading, please send me photos of your work, I’d love to feature it on my blog The most innova

H&M's store in the Avenues unveiled its flower-filled spring line of clothes, shoes, and accessories called The Garden Collection by H&M . The line is made with environmentally adapted materials like recycled polyester, organic cotton, and organic linen. The one and only item that I really liked and wanted badly from the collection was the Jason-wu-isque red petaled trophy jacket , but of course it was not in sight. I'm pretty sure that was the first item that got sold out. Or could it be that there might be another " Garden " batch released soon and this lovely jacket is part of it? Sigh... A girl can dream. Anyways, here are some cute pieces of the collection.