Vishnu and Veronica Manchu at Soundarya Rajnikanth's wedding

Vishnu looked totally out of place in his not to be fit for a wedding outfit. The jeans, the shoes and the black socks with them, the vest, nothing seemed to work together. Jeans is not an acceptable outfit for an event like wedding, even if it looks perfect on you. This would have looked decent if it were some social event that is not very traditional.
Veronica looked good but the white pattu saree with diamonds is a complete washout. Just a little color in her jewellery would have made it better. Love the mogra in her hair.

Trisha and Rana at Fimfare south awards

Trisha and Rana looked great at the Filmfare south awards. Rana was looking especially handsome with trimmed beard and nice stripped suit. Hope to see a full length picture of him at the event sometime soon.

Anushka in a black floral kurti

Anushka was wearing a very casual black floral kurti at Vanaam (tamil remake of Vedam) movie press meet. The colors looked good but I don't think I like the kurti. What do you think?

Shriya Saran's Necklace

Shriya seems to like this traditional necklace that elevates her beauty and makes a big impact on the overall look. She wore it on two different occasions and looked gorgeous at both the events.

At Filmfare south awards..                                           At the Toronto festival an year ago...

Tusshe - Hyderabadi traditional Jewellery

Today I am going to blog about jewellery since jewellery is an intrinsic part of the overall fashion sense. Specifically, I will talk about traditional old Hyderabadi Jewellery and I think traditional jewellery never really goes out of fashion. I am going to be showing you some pieces that my aunt ( a lady with a very refined taste and of course, lots of money ;-)  was kind enough to share and allow me to photograph. The first item that I really adore is a variation of the choker and is called a Tusshe or Laccha. I am showing two variations and I have seen some that are much more grander than the ones below, but I personally like these, because they are simple, classy and elegant…..very Hyderabadi!

Tusshe originated some hundreds of years ago from the Nizam's choker called Laccha. It is put together by tightly tying several similar pieces of Jewellery, usually zigzag in shape, with a thread in between. Tusshe is usually made with gold and can go very well when worn on sarees with zaree on them.

Lacchas.....

Antique Tusshe - More than hundred years old

Note : This is one of the many posts that I will write about jewellery from and around the Hyderabad area. Also, if you happen to have any traditional Hyderabad jewellery, PLEASE send me a pic along with any history about the piece so that I can put it on the blog for the world to appreciate... because every piece of  jewellery has an interesting story to tell !! .

Half Saree - Now gone national

Half saree has been in fashion in Hyderabad for the last few years now. With the recent Lakme fashion show, it seems like the fashion has now gone national. Most of the designers at the Lakme fashion week festival displayed their half saree creations. Neeta Lulla, Satya Paul, Vikram Phadnis are a few to name. Hyderabadi's still stick to the benaras or kanchi silk half saree creations but the new trend might change the designs of these and we might get to see a lot more varieties of these in the coming months.

Here you can see some of the designer creations including Neeta lulla in a half saree at the far right

Here is Bindu Madhavi in a traditional Hyderabadi style half saree

BIBA - for fusion and ethnic wear

BIBA in Banjara Hills City Center mall carries some western, fusion and ethnic wear that are priced higher than sultan bazaar shops but far less than the other designer shops in the area. The designs are nice and you can mix and match the variety of dupattas, churidars and kurtas available to make a salwar of your own. The prices usually range from Rs300 for dupattas and churidars to Rs10000 for some nice ethnic salwars. The store is not big making it easier to shop and find what you want ....for the time conscious.

More fashion at South Scope Cinema Awards 2010

Apart from Shriya, the other star who looked fab is Mamatha Mohandas. She wore a black mini cocktail dress that goes well with her new short hair do. Sridevi looked beautiful in a pink saree and Anushka came in her usual awards outfit, a white salwar with sheer sleeves (check out her dress at MAA TV awards).

Rana Daggubati vs Ram Charan Teja

Rana disappoints big time at the South Scope Awards function wearing a drab outfit. Rana and Charan showed some decent fashion sense through out the year so far but Charan seems to maintain it consistently by showing up well-groomed at these award functions. Charan looks fit and handsome at the South Scope Awards.

Shriya at South Scope Cinema Awards 2010

Shriya scored big again by wearing a unique designer half saree to the awards. It wasn't so much that the half saree was great but it was different from the usual designer sarees and salwars at the function.

Shruti Hassan in Satya Paul

Shruti Hassan walked the ramp showcasing Satya Paul's designer saree at the Lakme Fashion Week festival. It was not the best of his sarees displayed that evening. There were more bright colors and designs and some rather did look good but there wasn't much novelty in the designs.

Sheer sleeves are in - latest trend

Whether it is a saree blouse or a salwar or a kurti, the sheer sleeves are in now. They can be long or short or mid length based on the saree design or the salwar but sheer sleeves are the latest fashion in Hyderabad and every where else in India.

Madhurima in a pink net saree

Madhurima showed up in a pink net saree at the Hyderabad miss fresh face. I loved the saree and the blouse style except for few things that needed to be taken care of like the black bra strap in the rare view picture and the hair (looks messy).

Mamatha Mohandas at south scope - Good or bad?

Mamatha Mohandas looked good in a short hairdo and great figure at south scope yet her overall look is not working well for me. I guess its the missing belt or the shirt color but something a miss. What do you think?

Samantha and single shoulder dresses

Somehow Samantha is stuck on the single shoulder mini dresses. They do suit her and looks good on her but interesting to see the style she selected for public appearances after getting popular for her look in sarees.

Blouse Design - Kajal Agarwal

Kajal Agarwal looked good in a pink saree at the Brindavanam audio launch. The blouse design was different, well fitted but it was just a little too tacky for my taste.The neck border is little bigger than what you want it to be.

Suhani Pittie for unique accessories

If you are looking for unique accessories to go with your outfit and want to make a statement with your jewellery, you can go to Suhani Pittie's store in Banjara Hills Road No.1. Suhani Pittie is a well known jewellery designer, who believes in big, bold and chic fashion. She creates the accessories like chains, cuffs, earrings etc with silver as the background material and by adding various unique materials. The prices start at Rs.1000 to I believe probably in low lakhs for some of these unique sets.

Here are some of her jewellery creations...

source:www.suhanipittie.com

Net Sarees - Still a trend

Despite all the problems with wearing a net saree, it is still a popular choice for parties especially among the youngsters. The saree needs a very well fitted blouse with a preferable back opening and of course a well fitted, shiny petticoat to wear under the saree. And as you can see in the pictures here, if you are wearing a very glittery saree, the trend is to skip the necklace and wear some nice earrings for jewellery.

Here is how you wear it..

And here is how not to wear it. Anjana sukhani wore it with very ill fitting front open blouse.

Going western at southscope award announcement

Deeksha Seth and Charmee were present at the southscope award announcement wearing western outfits. Deeksha looked great in a well fitted grey mini dress. I like red but somehow the dress was not working for Charmee.

Parvati Melton at Blenders Pride fashion show

Tollywood needs more people with fashion sense and the willingness to promote fashion to make Hyderabad a fashion capital someday. Hyderabad is so lagging behind the Mumbai, Delhi and Banglore in terms of fashion. Parvati Melton looked good in the white designer dress at the Blenders Pride fashion show. She has shown some good fashion sense so far and we will be waiting to see more from her.

Sangeet Ceremony - Wedding style

In the past couple of years, sangeet ceremony has become a norm in Hyderabad. In fact, it is one of the important and fun parts of the wedding. There is now a mini industry formed around this event in Hyderabad. There are choreographers who plan the choreography, train the bride, groom and the relatives to dance to the planned string of songs, event planners, staging people who build the beautiful stages and sets for the guests to sit and enjoy,sing and dance and the most important of all the boom box people who sets up the audio equipment for the event.

The sangeet ceremony will be more fun if you have young people in the family to bring in some fun and energy to the event. It is also enjoyable because most often it is limited to the close friends and family.

Here are some sangeet venue decorations..

Saree style - Genelia in Tarun Tahlani creation

Genelia was spotted promoting Tarun Tahlani saree collection. The saree is cute but I don't like the belt on the saree. A more feminine belt would have added some style to the saree.

FabIndia - Nice kurta collection for men

FabIndia in Banjara Hills carries nice cotton kurta collection for men. If you are looking for kurta's to wear for small events or poojas, here is the place to buy. You may not get them cheap but they are reasonably priced. Dupattas for women are also something to look for at FabIndia.

Frock style kurtis - latest trend

Frock style kurtis have taken over the latest kurti trend. They are very elegant and comfortable and will suit almost all kinds of figures (when the right ones are chosen). They are not for the ones who want to show off their curves but they do look trendy when worn on these tight jeans or leggings.

Here you can see them on Kareena kapoor and Deepika Padukone

Anushka - Repeats drab

We spotted this dress on her before and did not like the color on her. She repeats the same dress in only five weeks for Thakita Thakita premier. She better hire a new designer with some glamorous ideas to make her stand out better at these events.

In July

At Thakita Thakita Premier

Fashion at a traditional jewellery show

Samantha, Bindu Madhavi and Deeksha seth were the celebs at a traditional jewellery show. At a first look, it looks more like a designer saree show rather than a jewellery show since we can not really see much of the jewellery on these ladies. The saree colors and the style take total dominance. Bindu Madhavi has reduced lot of weight and looks great. I personally don't like any of the saree styles.

Baraat - The new telugu wedding style

It has been a tradition in North and among the people from north India but the increase in affordability and wanting to make the wedding a special event has made us the telugu people start a new tradition in our weddings - Baraat. The horse does add some pizzaz to the wedding style and if you can afford it then why not?

Kajal Agarwal and Deeksha seth at a gold store opening

Kajal's saree looks so outdated and crumpled that it takes away the glamour quotient from her. The color is bad and the blouse is bad. Deeksha Seth's dress is better fitting and well made but is not appropriate for a gold store opening. The jewellery can be displayed better on plain rather than a busy white salwar.