Queen Noor/Lisa Halaby

Once, a woman who saw Queen Noor and King Hussein in Moscow in the Bol'shoy Ballet Theater, told me that she never laid her eyes on someone so breathtakingly regal and beautiful.   My own husband, who is Jordanian and remembers Queen Noor from his childhood, still believes that she is one of the most stunning women on the planet.  

Barre me, of course.

Lisa Halaby was born into a prominent American family - her dad was a CEO of PanAm and head of FAA.

He hobnobbed with Prez Truman, JFK, LBJ and Saudi King Ibn Saud so Lisa was not a stranger to a world of politics from the very young age.

  

Interestingly enough, her granddad moved to Dallas (Go Mavs!) from Syria in 19 century and knew fabulous Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus (my fave store in the universe!).  Lisa's farther was actually born in Dallas.

Future Queen Noor went to schools in Washington, D.C. and in NYC.  Her university of choice was Ivy League's Princeton, where she majored in architecture.  

Lisa Halaby worked in Jordan, helping to establish Royal Jordanian Airlines, when King Hussein met her and they both fell in love.

She converted to Islam, chose the name of Noor (Ray of Light) and became King Hussein's last wife.  In addition to 3 step kids from King's previous marriage - future wife of Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai, Princess Haya among them - the couple also had 4 children of their own.

Widowed Queen Noor lives mostly in London now, i think and runs a gamut of various charities.  

She came to Dubai a few years back and looked gorgeous.

Queen Noor dresses beautifully and appropriately for her status and keeps her hair big! Her Texan grandma would be proud!

Lisa Halaby, future Queen Noor is in the middle

Lisa Halaby opening LA Airport with President LBJ

Princeton Cheerleader

Lisa Halaby catches the eye of King Hussein...

...and the courtship begins

Queen Noor wearing understaded, gorgeous white crepe dress by Christian Dior 

Queen Noor at Dubai IFF

Who Wore It Better?

C'est Moi

C'est Moi is a local brand that makes pretty, flow-ey, embroidered, Swarovski-ed kaftans.  Fun to look at and i imagine fun to wear for about $1, 000 a pop.

C'est Moi is a brain child of two "fabulous Dubai socialites" (that what the local store that carries C'est Moi says on it's blog).

So, help a sistah out - is "socialite" a profession now?  Everyone with the PR agent is a "socialite" nowadays...

Well, to give C'est Moi "socialites" their due, i have to mention that at least one of them has a working experience with large UK and US brands and actually studied fashion in New York.

Anyway, here are the purdy-purdy dresses:

Pix via www.cestmoime.com

Mauzan

Her Excellency Rafia Helal Bid Drai is a woman behind design house Mauzan that specializes in abayas.

I'm not quite sure what "Excellency" title represents in this part of the world, but she's neither an ambassador, nor a general or an admiral.

Anyway, she seems to be a strong, independent woman, who was raised in a family of a local aristocracy and "didn't have a mother", whatever that means.

Design house that she owns sells very expensive abayas and dresses with all kinds of bells and whistles for those who are into sort of things.

Back in December 2011 when Robin Thicke's wife Paula Patton was doing promo tour for Mission Impossible: Zzzz, Harper Bazar Arabia styled her for the local audience (heavy make up + abaya).  Abayas they chose was Mauzan's:

Pix via www.mauzan.com

Who Wore It Better?

who

Things I Covet

I think Things I Covet/Wish List/Object of Desire is by far the most interesting aspect of personal blogging,  because is allows the blogger exercise their voyeristic tendencies without being too personal.  On the other hand, it lets the readers to gain some insight into bloggers life.
So here's my wish list for now:



Claret Colored Boyfriend Watch by Brera Orologi:

www.breraorologi.com

Anything With Ikat Print:

Ikat Print Dress JCrew

Ikat Scarf juliecollection.com

Pretty Silk Ikat Pillows

German Chocolate Cake from Kroger:

Pic of the cake is from fabulous David Lebovitz food blog.  You can find the recipe here: German Chocolate Cake

Reem Acra

First time I heard of Reem Acra was when Eva Longoria showed up on the red carpet few years back in That Dress!

It was hard not to take notice.

Reem Acra is a true representative of classical Lebanese school of OTT design, much like Zuhair Murad and Ellie Saab. She piles it all on - silks, taffeta, lace, Swarovski crystals.  I find her partiality to fishtails, sweetheart necklines, tight bodices and voluminous skirts a bit too much.  Hollywood eats it up though:

This is rather unexpected for Reem Acra.  JLo owns it!

Here is her Resort 2013 line. I read on Style.com that this is her attempt to appeal to younger customers.  Can you imagine yourself wearing these dresses on a resort? If yes, then which resort?