Sugarbox

"Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."  Rudyard Kipling.

Well, dude was wrong.

East and West meet all the time here, in crazamazing UAE.  Granted, sometimes the results of their meetings are deplorable and/or disastrous, but most of the time it goes fabulously. 

I imagine that after their particularly awesome meetings, East and West go for some delicious cupcakes.  And what better place than Sharjah's own Sugarbox (delivers to Dubai) - place that serves gorgeous looking cupcakes (West) and is "Proud to Be an Emarati Enterprise" (East).

If i were East, or West, for that matter, i would def demand Ramadan themed (East) cookies or cupcakes (West) no matter the occasion.

Just look at them!

But hey, they also have wonderful cakes

and truffles

and did i mentioned cupcakes?

Now, i've not tasted them yet, but next time i'm in Sharjah i'm gonna go for the Nutella Cupcake - in addition to all the regular flavours they also have exotic ones, like Lavender, Saffron, Rose, etc.  And if they taste even half as good as they look - i'm gonna be hooked!

Pix via www.sugarboxonline.com with generous permission from Faisal :)

Rami Al Ali

Rami Al Ali is a relatively young Syrian designer who works in Dubai now.
He's a graduate of College of Fine Arts ( i guess somewhere in Syria?) who worked in Beirut and Syria prior to moving to Dubai in 2001.

Mr. Al Ali established his business in 2001, opened his own fashion house in local version of Beverly Hills and started showing in local fashion shows first.

Next came shows in Milan and Rome and now he's a celebrated - and rightly so - high-profile designer.

Here is his collection for 2009, which i like quite a lot. It's called Damascus Rose and influenced by Syrian traditional designs. I think it's very-very pretty and original.

His 2010 collection doesn't really float my boat, but hey, diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, right?

He also does ever popular and rather inventive wedding dresses:

Pix are from www.ramialali.com

Queen Rania of Jordan

Recently Queen Rania underwent some medical procedures to correct her heart condition and i decided to do a little post to cheer her up.

So, Queen Rania, if you are reading my blog - this post is for you.

If you google "Queen Rania" you'll get about 614,000 results - she is an icon. People love her, people want to know more about her and many of them inspire to be like her.

She is an immense presence not only in the Middle East, but world wide. Her humanitarian efforts are well documented, her humility is admired and her wonderful sense of humor is applauded - she famously spoofed David Letteman's Top 10 in a funny acceptance speech on her YouTube Channel.

Did you know she has a YouTube Channel? Now you know.

But let's be honest - this blog is no HuffPo, so i'll concentrate on her impeccable fashion sense.

By the way, if you google "Queen Rania Fashion" you'll get 109, 000 results.

Falak Fashion

Just look at this sweet collection of dreamy bracelets from Falak Fashion!

I think they are very charming, just like the designer who creates them.

Some bracelets are also available in playful "mommy-and-me" version, and local yummy mummies are snapping them up by the handfuls.

Collections are a constant work in progress and new designs are added often.
Ask for Falak Fashion in Boom and Mellow or check them out on Facebook.












Pix are from www.falakfashion.com

Jasbir Jamani

Jasbir Jamani was born in Mumbai, India, grew up in Dubai.

She graduated in fashion from local American University (oxymoron, i know, but it's a chain of middle eastern commercial universities that teach american curriculum) and launched eponymous brand in 2006 in marvelous megalopolis of Dubai.

OK, now i have a bone to pick with fashion photographers.

Ever since Marc Jacobs did his ad campaign few years back in muted colors, Prada followed suit with it's ads for eyewear and know everybody is doing it.

For the record - i don't like it.

Looks like Jasbir Jamani likes it though, because here is her ads for 2010 collection and it looks PALE!

Check it out - our fav is the white dress.






Pix are from wwww.jazbir.com