Confashions From Kuwait

I was walking around Burj Jassim the other day and decided to check out La Pausa Gifts Shop , which sells the quirkiest and coolest knick-knacks and chic home accessories, to see their latest collection in-store. I came across these oriental inspired hand painted baskets and was instantly hooked! They're hand painted by this fairly new local concept called Red Sofa , which I strongly recommend you check out their instagram for the coolest gift ideas. The baskets can be used for anything, bread basket, jewelry basket, or in my case, just an empty basket to decorate one of my side tables. They truly are one of a kind.  Check them out at  La Pausa , they make a great home welcoming/birdthday gifts. 

I came to know about this really uber-chic Istanbul-based brand via the ever-so-chic  The Luxury Shoppers . The brand is called Tohum , and naturally I did some google searching to find out more about it.  Tohum  was founded by jewelry designer Verda Alaton in 2008. She has lived between Istanbul, Switzerland and New York and her jewellery is strongly inspired by other cultures and mostly the African culture.  I'm specifically in love with the brand's bespoke handcrafted  Terra line which offers a mix of simple yet dramatic necklaces and bracelets made out of raw and natural materials, think wood, cinnamon, shells, and almonds, and complemented with tribal influence. Here are some of my favorite pieces. You can view more by clicking here .

So my little visits to Souk Al Mubarakiya came with some BIG surprises! Like this store I came across which sold designer-knock-offs. I was completely baffled by the amount of top-notch designer accessories on display, from the fake Chanel-ized window display to cramped shelves stocked with fake goods. The Dior sneakers??? I myself couldn't tell if they were original or fake!! According to the sales guy, they get a lot of people shopping at his store for mostly Chanel shoes & bags, Dior sneakers, and Prada bags. "They can get them at a fraction of the price of the real thing", he explained to me, stating the obvious of course. As I scanned the goods in disbelief, I noticed that they were still relatively expensive! Dior fake sneakers for KD 95?! No thank you, I prefer my good ol' budget-friendly converse sneakers anyways. How do you feel about designer knock-offs? Would you or wouldn't you give in?  I guess Olivia Palermo forgot her customize...

Now that the weather is really nice in Kuwait city, it's a must to visit Souk Al Mubarakiya, Kuwait's oldest traditional souk, simply for its bustling atmosphere, the eclectic variety of goods (old and new) and the traditional way of doing business. For those who are unfamiliar with it, you can find all sorts of things there like gold, spices, the freshest fruits and vegetable, eateries, gift Items, traditional perfumes and clothes etc. Its a place where you can easily spend hours without noticing.  For the first time, I managed to closely see Koshk Mubarak (shown in the photos above and below), an old kiosk where the 7th ruler of Kuwait used to sit and meet people and businessmen of Kuwait. I loved the fact that the small building has been preserved. It felt amazing walking through this small space and admiring all the old photos that were hung in there of old Kuwait.  If you're interested in taking a proper tour around Souk Al Mubarakiya , you want want to ...

One of the thing that I enjoy doing is scouting for new designers and new talents throughout the world, and recently I came across this fairly new Japanese brand called Coohem .  Established in 2010, the brand offers a selection of casual chic and hip ready-to-wear using an innovative textile knitting technique. Their knit-tweeds are anti-granny and are mixed with fancy patterns and bright colors to give them a young and modern feel. All the process from selection of strings to combination of patterns and production of clothes are carried out by Japanese artisans, which translates to significantly high quality standards of garments.  I'm sharing with you here photos of their AW 2014, published on their website . Check out their previous collection too, it's a sight for quirky cool eyes. 

A few weeks ago, while I was skimming through my instagram's timeline, I came across this stunning illustration posted by @theItMag , a saudi-based lifestyle online magazine. The post was hash tagged #WesAnderson. I knew the famous name, but I was kind of confused, how is it possible that a renowned american film director and screenwriter be associated with an illustration??! So I did my google research, and found out that this illustration, illustrated by Max Dalton , is for a recently-published book titled The Wes Anderson Collection . The book gives an in-depth overview of Anderson’s filmography, guiding readers through his life and career.  Now back to the illustrator, I visited his website and found out more about him. He's a graphic artist living in Buenos Aires, He has been drawing since he was two or three, and began to take it seriously around the age of thirteen. In the last twenty years he has been involved in several projects like drawing humor strips for a ...

This is a A long-overdue blog post on one of Bahrain's must-go shopping destination for shabby chic home furnitures, accessories and gifts, introducing Pacha Chic . Founded by two passionate designers and experienced event planners, Nouf Al Pachachi & Fajer Al Pachachi, the store offers high-quality, affordable vintage style home accessories and services to the market, as well as promote and nurture fellow national business woman who share the same drive as them. They also offer event rentals and services – turning people’s idea’s into reality. The  Pacha Chic   founders further explained to me via an online interview that ‘Shabby Chic’ is a style that is widely popular in Europe and the United States and has quickly picked up as a popular furniture style in the Middle East. Many shabby-chic themes centre around the use of shades of white. This is invariably combined with soft dreamy floral-patterns, wonderful pastel blues, greens, creamy peach...

TheOutnet.com's latest party edit has everything you need to wow at your next event. They've got floor-skimming gowns for a black tie ball, classic LBDs for your work party and embellished cocktail dresses for New Years Eve. Plus, don’t forget the finishing touches – glamorous heels and dazzling jewelry will complement any ensemble. Start shopping here . 

Last week, I took my boys to ecru's Holiday event at AlOthman boutique to decorate ginger cookies and keep them busy while I browse through their latest collection of home accessories. The new collection was limited in selection but it beamed with beauty and made great gift ideas. I loved the embroidered charms, designed in collaboration with  Sophia Watanabe , creative director and owner of Sophia 203 . They came in cute shapes of pink flamingos, dusty pink seashells, very kuwaiti palm trees, and cute toucans. They can be hung on christmas trees or in my case to decorate my handbag. There were also cocktail napkins, and the Arabic alphabets re-introduced as mini-sized charms, which I personally prefer over the large ones. I ended up buying my letter in mini-size, and waiting for the remaining of  ecru's  new shipment to arrive in order to buy them as gifts to friends and family members. 

The Net-a-Porter International SALE is set to launch today! Markdowns will be up to 50% off a vast selection of your favorite high-end and contemporary designers.  Don't forget to check out their site frequently, they will be adding new designers and products throughout the sale period. Psst! There'll be more new additions to the sale on boxing day, and you read it her first!! Start shopping and designer duds hunting right here, right now! !

Last week I visited Egyptian artist Evelyn Ashamallah's art exhibition at AlAdwani Gallery. According to Mr. Wikipedia, the renowned artist worked as the Director of the Egyptian museum for contemporary art from 2000 to 2002 and held over 22 art exhibitions throughout her career. I'm not an expert in art, so I haven't heard of her before but I was intrigued to have a closer look at her work  and find out more about the artist, especially when one of my friends snap-chatted one of her paintings.  I kind of like this quirky style of paintings, distorted figures in bright colors, with a touch of magic fictitious legends. All of the paintings that I liked were waaaay over my budget! Around KD 5,800 each or a whopping KD 14,000 for a massive painting consisting of 10 square canvases placed next to each other. Even though I didn't end up buying anything, I very much enjoyed getting to know the artist and her work. 

Beyonce apparel is trending. I was browsing the shops at Al Tilal Complex with my sister-in-law the other day when we spotted this cool tee with a "don't worry be yoncé" slogan written on it at The Valley L.A. Multi-brand boutique. Would look so cool paired with leather pants and sneakers!

I spotted this  Native American-inspired knitted skirt at Zara the other day and instantly remembered Chanel's  Metiers d'Art Dallas collection. All you need now to get the look for less is a pair of cowboy boots and a budget-friendly poncho. Yeeha! Runway images: Style.com