Just in Time for Halloween

Here is M.I.A. working her abaya for Spike TV Scream Awards. .

It's a scream allright...

In addition to colorfull interpretation i see yellow pedi, shimmering green eyeshadow and pink braided extension
Looks like she hemmed this outfit with her own bare teeth.

Look Who's Wearing Dubai Designer!

I got this couple of days ago in my inbox and it's good news, people!

The most glamorous, most campiest, most bitch-slappiest thespians in the world was recently interviewed by Hello!UK.  For the photo shoot she wore some beautiful dresses by Dubai's own Mrs. Aiisha Ramadan!

Look at Joan freakin' Collins lounging around on sofa, radiating fantabulousness from these pictures!

That dude with big feet is so lucky to luxuriate in awesome presence of Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan herself!  I'm all shades of jealous!

I hope he knows it.

I leave you with this amazing tribute to Alexis' fashion extravaganza.  Fur turbans for everyone, dahlin'!

Princess Kasia Al Thani of Qatar

Kasia Al Thani is the third wife to a brother of a Qatari Emir and mother of his 3 daughters.

She is not an Arab - Kasia is a polish girl, who was born in Krakow, Poland. When she was a child, her family moved to sunny Los Angeles.  Kasia attended some state university and later worked for American financial giant Morgan Stanley.

In 2004 Kasia met her Prince Charming in the most obvious cities to meet a Prince - Paris.  She converted to Islam and became wife #3.

In 2007 she founded her own online business where you could buy the most expensive, luxurious and exotic gifts - naturally it was geared towards Middle Eastern and Asian clientele. Well, that didn't go anywhere and business filed for bankruptcy 2 years later.

Interestingly enough, Kasia Al Thani resides in Paris, not Qatar.  She only comes to the Middle East once or twice a year and according to the interview in "Hello!Middle East" she doesn't consider herself Qatari.

I think she is pretty, no?

Kandura

Dedicated to inquisitive mind, beautiful soul and killer body of my wonderful friend, Ulja M.

Those of you who follow this blog know that i write quite a bit about abayas and abaya designers.  Abaya fascinates me because firstly - it's such a foreign concept to me, secondly - it hides cumulative effect of donuts on your hips and thirdly  - it looks good on local girls.  So i write about abayas.  A lot.

But you know what?

Local men also have their own traditional dress.   It's called KANDURA [K-A-N-D-OO-R-A] in UAE, but it has many different names in other Arabic countries.  I personally prefer word DISHDASHA - it's just such a happy word and makes me wanna booggie.  But since i'm in Dubai now, i'll call it kandura too.

So, anywho, here is some famous and good looking Emiratis wearing kandura:

Sheikh Hamdan

Sheikh Mohammed (left)

Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan

Sheikh Hamdan

  



Mohammed Al Habtoor

 
Kanduras are mostly white - usefull for after you've burned a whole in the ozon layer. However, there are few more colors allowed as well - for instance His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid wears beautiful blue ones a lot:

But mainly kanduras are white and i've never-ever-ever seen a man with a dirty spot on his kandura.  Perhaps they change during the day - men in kanduras always look impeccable.

But it's not just kandura - there are whole bunch of head wear and accessories that men wear every day.  The most interesting, i imagine, is the one you never see (unless you're married to an Emirati) - called WOOZAR [W-OO-Z-A-R]. 
Woozar is a piece of white cloth that is wrapped and tied around one's hips. It's worn under the kandura.

If you are interested in finding out more about kanduras, woozars, abayas, etc. visit this usefull website and ask Ali.

Ma'a salama!

Amal Murad







Amal Murad is a local Abaya Designer who shows at the Dubai Fashion Weeks. Attended some mythical "high-end fashion seminars" - seriously, that's what her website states.


"High-end fashion seminars"!

I've nevah heard o'such thang!

Young, but already has her own line and lable named REDAA.
Among her inspirations credits Chanel, Christian Dior and Uncle Karl's deseased nemesis, YSL.
I say - good luck to her.

Pix are from www.amalmurad.com

Aiisha Ramadan II

OK, people, something really cool happened to me couple of days back.

I've been sitting around, killing time on the net, when i stumbled upon Aiisha Ramadan's blog.

She wrote about her summer vacay in South France, and i left a comment on that post. See, i'm quite a francophile - sometimes i suspect i was a french pastry in my past life, perhaps a brioche or a petit four - anywho, i felt compelled to leave a comment on the subject near and dear to me. 

Aiisha Ramadan actually replied! She send me a very nice email and answered a couple of questions!


In case you don't comprehend the magnitude of this particular event - Aiisha Ramadan is a sort of Stella McCartney around this parts of the world.

She is Dubai's darling, talented and very much in demand - when Manolo Blahnik came to Dubai to personally open his boutique she was one of two designers to collaborate with him. 
 Yeah, she's famous!

Another thing about Mrs. Ramadan is that she is an avid blogger - her posts are engaging, photos are interesting and she is very gracious to all who help her at the shoots/shows/events, from the caterers to stylists.

So, Aiisha, if you are reading this post - invite me to your next show, pourquoi ne pas vous? (that was GoogleTranslat-ed, i'm hoping it's what i originally meant in english). I'll be your Tavi and you'll be my Anna Wintour :)

Pix are from www.aiisha.com

Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco

Check it:  beautiful redhead AND a real life Princess!

It's like a Disney cartoon coming to life!

But wait, this particular redhead not just beauty, but brain too!

OK, enough with the exclamation points already.
I bet not many of you in the western hemisphere heard of Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco - so, gather round, children,  here is the story of a true princess:

Salma Benanni was a young daughter of a school teacher when she met real life Prince (Prince of Morocco) and agreed to marry him.  She was working at one of the largest local companies as a "qualified IT engineer", but after marring the prince she stopped fixin' computers, me thinks.

She became "Lalla", which in Morocco means "Lady" and gave birth to 2 kids.

Princess Lalla Salma supports a host of charities, does a lot for cancer awareness and also involved in Moroccan Fez Music Festival.

And she has gorgeous hair!  And knows how to wear the dust out of kaftan!

 So, keep on dreaming, sistahs, cause fairy-tale endings do happen and a commoner can become a princess.