Bargainista Fashionista

Lengha: Oxfam, 14-15 The Toll, Clarkston, Glasgow // Jewellery: Singhaar // Photography: Afzal of Impressions // Hair & Make-up: Kanval of Impressions // Venue: Pollok House, Glasgow

Fashion nowadays is all about vintage.  Vintage jewellery, vintage bags, vintage clothes...and for those who want something unique and beautiful, a vintage sari and Lengha are the new crazes hitting town.  Gone are the days when charity shops were seen as stuffy emporiums, nowadays you’re likely to bump into Alexa Chung or Kate Moss perusing the rails as the line between vintage boutiques and charity shops has become blurred with charity shops becoming part of mainstream fashion.

You only have to walk down Byres Road in Glasgow where you will see a vintage boutique next door to Oxfam. So why don’t charity shops seem to be as appealing to Asian fashionistas?  Charity shops have yet to trickle down into mainstream Asian fashion.  Why is this ladies?  Flick back up and have a look at the pictures, do they scream charity shop at you?  I think not!  A major appeal of the charity shop is that you will find unusual and rare finds filling the rails so you are guaranteed to have your individual style shine through and remain unique as no one else can happen to turn up in the same outfit.  What better way to strut your stuff or even to walk down that aisle than in a piece from Oxfam which you have customised yourself to reflect your own individuality and tastes? 

Salwar Kameez: Oxfam, 14-15 The Toll, Clarkston, Glasgow // Photography: Afzal of Impressions // Hair & Make-up: Kanval of Impressions // Venue: Pollok House, Glasgow

It is easy to take your unique dress to a dressmaker and have them alter the dress to the perfect size and fitting for you.  Or why not be creative and use the dress – or even just the fabric – and make your very own occasion wear to your own standards and taste.  Making the dress can be a unique and fun part of your wedding preparations, so why not get your friends round to help, and make it a fun girly night in?


Oxfam actually has one of the best collections of vintage clothes in the country, making it the perfect place to shop for something truly individual.  As well as being unique, these items have another hidden quality up their sleeve. The proceeds made from the sale of every item bought at Oxfam go towards funding programmes the organisation has in over 70 countries around the world to help people living in poverty.


So, while you are enjoying your special day, you can be safe in the knowledge that what you are wearing could be doing anything from protecting people from flooding in Bangladesh to helping girls get an education in India.  So your good tastes help a good cause!


If these pictures have whetted your appetite, or at least got you thinking outside the box, you can see the full range of occasion wear at the Oxfam shop in Clarkston at 14-15 The Toll, Clarkston, Glasgow.  For further details please telephone 0141 639 4931 and check out the website at www.oxfam.org.uk.


If you’re still not convinced to take at least just one look at their outfits, then cast your eye over the brief case studies below from Oxfam.  If they don’t convince you, nothing will!

Oxfam in Asia

Children washing their plates at an Oxfam water point in the Swat Valley, Pakistan.

Following fighting in the Swat valley of Pakistan in 2009, Oxfam launched an emergency response to provide support to around 360,000 displaced women, men and children in Mardan, Swabi, Haripur and Abbotabad district. We prioritised the provision of clean water, sanitation and shelter, especially in the host communities, small camps and schools. Our response involved distributing household items such as cooking pots to 40,000 families and we installed hand pumps to provide safe drinking water. We also provided construction material and technical support so that families can build their own latrines. Our ability to stockpile equipment and respond rapidly to emergencies, due in part to the income we raise through our shops alongside the generosity of our other donors.

Mrs N Rasidha aged 24, with her sewing machine given through an Oxfam livelihood grant at Sooriyeapuram IDP camp to the south of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

‘I was a seamstress for seven or eight years before the tsunami but my sewing machine was badly damaged by the tsunami waters. I heard that it was possible to get a grant through Sarvodaya (Oxfam local partner) to help start businesses again after the tsunami so I applied and was given a grant of 5000 rupees ($50) although Oxfam actually bought the machines in bulk so as to get a good discount. I have a lot of work now and initially there was a great need to make school uniforms for the children when they returned to school – most of these have been lost in the tsunami. UNICEF donated the material and Oxfam paid us about $1 for each uniform we made under a cash for work programme. Now I make mainly dresses – women bring me the material and I make it for them – it brings in money which we will be able to put toward rebuilding our house.’

For up-to-the-minute reports on the situation in Asia, please visit Ofamx's website www.oxfam.org.uk or contact Annie Lewis on 0141 285 8873 or send her an email.

Real life wedding: Waheed and Ouzma

The hitches of getting hitched.

Waheed and Ouzma

IT HAS taken me five months and nineteen days to get this stage: with my venue booked, my dress fittings over, and the last tier of my cake just about iced I think its time to take a deep breath…and finally admit to the world that I may be one of the biggest Bridezillas that has ever stomped the streets of Glasgow.

With my wedding less than a fortnight away, my stress levels are on the up and my normal happy-go-lucky self is now a bit more ‘happy-go-loopy’ with a slight obsession for organza. Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not the type of Bride who would refuse to walk into her evening reception because the wrong colour of napkins were on the table or cry over the slightest wisp of grey cloud, but I think that this may be due to the fact that I have planned - with military style precision - for any mishaps and downright disasters (like drizzly weather and mismatching table linen). One thing that I didn’t plan for however was having to deal with the wrath of a natural disaster.

Yes, as we speak, a certain Icelandic volcano is still spewing its ash into Scotland’s flight paths and disrupting travel arrangements across Europe. This is a slight inconvenience considering half of my wedding party are travelling from Spain! As I said, I think it me be time for some deep breathing, some positive thinking (and that’s just on the part of my future husband) and sparing a thought for all my fellow brides-to-be who are having their full wedding abroad. My forty guests are nothing in comparison to Anssa Naveed’s troop of five hundred people in Pakistan who will be anticipating the arrival of the bride in September this year.

While I feel slightly frazzled with all the preparations for my impending nuptials, Anssa, in stark contrast, is positively glowing.

 “I’m so excited!” she gushes. “I’m not nervous at all. I can’t wait to be a bride!” Happily buzzing around chasing up florists, caterers, banqueting halls and dress shopping for not just one but four wedding outfits, Anssa doesn’t really have time to be worrying over little things like volcanoes. She is more concerned with her upcoming Nikkah ceremony, taking place on the 12th July in her parents’ house in North Lanarkshire before travelling to Lahore with her new husband for her Valima reception. To organise such a spectacular wedding I thought you would have needed to hire an expensive multinational wedding coordinator (or be superwoman). As it turns out, you need a little of both and Anssa has been lucky enough to have an experienced wedding planner at her disposal: her sister!

Twenty four year old Ouzma married her husband Waheed in a lavish celebration spanning two continents in July 2006. The pair were introduced while separately visiting their families in Lahore and it took only a matter of months for Waheed to propose.

“ I was so happy.” Ouzma enthuses. “I went out and bought as many wedding magazines as I could get my hands on, just like Anssa!”

As a student at Edinburgh’s prestigious school of art, it was no surprise that Ouzma immediately sought out the latest fashions for her wedding. She trawled through the best designer boutiques from Glasgow to London in a quest to find her perfect wedding dress and when the search proved fruitless she did what any great artist would do; she designed her own!

“Colour was very important to me,” she explains. “I knew I didn’t want the traditional pinks or maroons. I decided on a vibrant green dress for my Nikkah, laced with ornate gold embellishments. I commissioned a seamstress in Lahore to make the dress to my specification. It was exactly what I wanted; contemporary and original with a traditional twist.”

Ouzma continued this fusion of contemporary and traditional elements throughout her wedding. Just like Anssa’s imminent Nikkah, Ouzma and Waheed’s ceremony was an intimate affair, held in her mother’s house in front of their family and friends. Their ceremony emanated elegance. Ouzma’s flowers were a simple yet stunning bouquet of pure white roses which contrasted beautifully against her vibrant green dress. Fragrant white lilies and daises also decorated the house and the garden. Ouzma used her artistic flare to add another personal touch to the day by making the white bouquets and hairpieces for her attendants herself.

Not forgetting the groom of course, Waheed looked sharp in a modern charcoal suit by Zara. He jokes that one of his main jobs was to look good in his suit.

“You did a great job!” Ouzma laughs. “And I did a great job helping you choose your suit!”

After their Nikkah, Ouzma and Waheed had decided to live apart for a short while so Waheed could stay in London to further his career in accountancy and Ouzma could finish her degree. But the pair could not be apart and so decided to go to Pakistan and organise their Valima a little sooner than expected. With only three weeks to organise their Valima, a host of family and friends were enlisted to help arrange a reception for over three hundred people. At the height of Lahore’s wedding season this may seem like a tall order, but Ouzma pulled it off with the same originality and style displayed throughout her wedding.

“I was a bit of a Bridezilla,” she admits. “I dragged my sister-in-law around all the boutiques in Lahore to help me wade through rails of wedding dresses and yet again found nothing. I looked for someone to make a dress to my design but no one would do it because of the short notice so I was frantic.”

It was her sister-in-law who came to the rescue by finding a local designer willing to put together the dress within a week who, as fate would have it, was the very same seamstress who finished her green dress!

“I almost landed a job as a dress designer! My seamstress was adamant we should join forces and set up a business as she loved my designs. I am still thinking about it,” Ouzma admits.

The shortage of time was certainly not reflected in the intricate details of the celebration. Ouzma chose a contemporary Mughal theme for her Valima which was continued in her dress and jewellery (also her own design). In her dress she used shades of lilac infused with maroon and gold which complemented her stunning garnet and gold Mughal inspired jewellery.

The Taj Mahal banqueting hall in Lahore proved to be the ideal venue. With the beautiful brass detailing in its décor, reflecting the Mughal style, and rooms large enough to cater for over five hundred people, it was perfect for Ouzma and Waheed’s contemporary reception where their guests were treated to a Punjabi style feast.

After their exhilarating but exhausting celebrations, the couple chose to wind down during a relaxing honeymoon in Murree and Islamabad.

It seems that pre-wedding stress is all part of the package no matter when or where you are getting married, it is how you handle it that counts. Can Ouzma give any post-wedding advice to Anssa and I and all the nervous future brides who are in the midst of their wedding preparations?

“Yes. On the day, just let it happen. The little mishaps and imperfections are what will make your wedding memorable,” Ouzma tells us. “ When all is said and done, this will be the only day that will be just about you and your husband. Enjoy it!”

Even with these excellent words of advice, I tell Ouzma and Anssa that I still can’t let go of the volcano issue even though I know I can’t control it.

“Well, try dealing with not knowing whether your dress and jewellery will be delivered to you until one hour before your wedding!” Ouzma says, speaking from experience. Well, putting that in perspective, I’ll take the volcano any day!

By Lynne McGarry

Foxy femininity

21st century catwalks reviving 16th century fashion

FASHION through the ages has always taken inspiration and borrowed iconic designs and trends from different decades; the mods and rockers fashion of the 60’s, the flares of 70’s, and the shoulders pads and leggings from the 80’s, have all been revamped in the Noughties and reside on the rails of the closets in the twenty-tens.

Bubbling up from way back in the 16th century the style that is once again back in the good graces of the trend setters of 21st century is the corset; remodelled and revived the corset is, literately, sculpting the 2010 catwalks. 

The corset has undergone many revivals over the years. From Haute Couture designers such as Christian Dior introducing “the waspie” waist cincher into his label and to the fashion elite in the 1940’s; to Madonna’s infamous Jean Paul Gaultier gold cone corset showcased in her 1980’s Blond Ambition tour. In 2001 the silver screen lit up with Moulin Rogue and the corset once again began to make an appearance in mainstream fashion. 2010 and the London, Paris, New York and Milan catwalks have all showcased the Underwear as Outerwear trend, which has subsequently filtered down to the High Street with stores such as Miss Selfridge, H&M and Topshop endorsing corset style dresses and tops.

Celebs from Hollywood to Bollywood have embraced the figure enhancing style with Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway and even Sarah Jessica Parker walking down the red carpet with their waists cinched; on the other side of the globe Katrina Kaif and Shilpa Shetty have dared to don. Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightly, Halle Berry and Salma Hayek are also fans of the figure sculpting corset.

The music industry has also championed the corset with not only Magde rocking the boned bodice but Fergie of Black Eyed Peas, the Pussy Cat Dolls, JLo, Kylie Minogue, Rihanna, and the Queen of the Corset, Lady Gaga.

A little lady that is corset crazy is Tehmeena Latif founder of Boutique in the Attic. Tehmeena’s passion for the corset could perhaps even rival Gaga’s, which is some feat to say the least. Ms Latif’s love affair with the waist cinched style snowballed from the desire to find her perfect corset right the way through to launching her own bespoke Corset Company. Tehmeena explains, “My love of corsets started a couple of years ago.  The first time I tried on my own corset I couldn’t believe how my body changed. If you have a boxy torso, like me, it can cinch your waist for that much wanted waistline. If you are curvier it can reduce your waistline by inches. If you are lacking in curves the garment can help you create a more feminine shape. Previously, I had bought High Street corsets, you know the ones, flimsy, inexpensive, some too low and some too short, needless to say none were my perfect fit. This frustration led me to enrol into a corset-making workshop and learn how to make an authentic corset; boned, lined, the works, tailored to suit my body.”

Here in lies the crucial difference between the High Street corset fashion style and those from specialist retailers, “High Street corsets are not corsets per se, they mimic the look of a corset but do not fulfil the function of a corset” explains Tehmeena. “The mass produced corset-esque styles have the boned effect but are not actually ribbed with steels to help pull your waistline into shape. They often lack in other authentic features such as the lace-up at the back and busks at the front and these are often replaced with zips. You’re probably thinking that this makes it easier for me to get in and out of. Well, yes, that it may be, but the benefit of the authentic lace-up corset is that if you happen to put on a few pounds or loose some, chances are you will still be able to wear your corset again. Lace-up corsets do not meet at the back, therefore if you gain weight the gap is increased and if you loose weight the gap is met. Either way the garment still looks amazing.”

The beauty of the corset is that it can be worn regardless of your figure as it accentuates your assets, in addition to nipping in the waist and boosting the boobs the corset is versatile when it comes to changes in your dress size with up to two dress sizes of wiggle room – banishing those pesky ‘fat days’ in favour of spellbinding confidence and a ravishing silhouette.

A corset is a unique investment piece for your wardrobe unrivalled by other attire. “Often people ask, why corsets? Why not dresses, t-shirts, or a range of clothing garments? The answer is simple, the feeling one gets from being tied into a lace-up corset does not come from any other piece of clothing in my opinion” explains Tehmeena.

“Recently I got the girls together to have a peek at my most recent designs, any excuse for a girls night in! The fun of it was none of these girls had ever tried on a boned corset (corset virgins as I like to call them) so to see their reaction when being lace-up tight and tighter into one of my designs was exciting. They felt so feminine, admiring a waist which they thought they never had; they didn’t want to take them off! That’s when I know I have touched on something special.

"Corsets may be a 16th century garment however they are adaptable to any style; a pair with jeans on a night out, customise with a skirt for a formal party or your school prom, and even build a corset into your wedding dress design to enhance your figure and exude elegance on your big day. This is most definitely an item of clothing that will stay in your wardrobe forever.”

Written by Angie Bennett



Corsets: Boutique in the Attic // Photography: Afzal of Impressions // Hair & Make-up: Kanval of Impressions // Venue:Pollock House