Hey luvs, we are Mahe and Raahema. We are two cousins who, despite the geographic distance that divides us, share the same love for fashion. Between living in the Garden state, NJ and the Keystone state, PA, we come across many different people with many unique styles. We are Pakistani-Americans and while we straddle two very different cultures, we find a good balance between the two. Our sense of style is influenced by our religious background as well as our culture. We will fill you in on all the things we are loving this season.xoxo.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Mahe's Ameen!!

Hey Luvs, it's Mahe and Raahema. Welcome to our new series "Fashion in Another World." In this series we'll be sharing fashion from our distinct culture. This series will include ceremonial outfits we wear for different cultural and religious events. Our first edition to our new series is Mahe's Ameen.
   An Ameen is a religious ceremony that concludes the first reading of the Holy Quran. The Quran is Islam's holy book and is written in Arabic. It takes a lot of discipline and practice to read, especially for someone whose mother-tongue is not Arabic. While Muslims are expected to continue reading it all their lives the first complete reading of the Quran by a young Muslim is celebrated with a formal ceremony. The young reader receives gifts and the parents usually host a lunch. It's also a great opportunity to display an ethnic fashion sense!!
  Here are a few pictures of my outfit, hair, and makeup! Hope you all enjoy!

This first picture is of me and Raahema before the ceremony began! Raahema is wearing a beautiful peach and green suit, which is called a salwar kameez. The shalwar is the pant and the kameez is the shirt. This is the traditional type of clothing Pakistanis wear! I am wearing the baby pink and turquoise Shalwar Kameez that was designed by my Nano (grandmother).


As for my hair, it was curled which I got done at the salon. The piece of jewelry on my forehead is called a tika. The tika I had on was gold with white pearls and pink stones. This lovely tika was borrowed from a close friend. My makeup was pretty subtle for the most part. I used some copper shades on the lids, a light pink blush, and a nude lipgloss.


 The picture above is a more detailed picture of the embroidery at the bottom of my shalwar kameez. Which was the same exact embroidery that my aunt had worn on her engagement party. My grandma took it off that "kameez" and put it on mine!


 The shoes above are what I wore on my Ameen as well. I guess you can say they are the Pakistani version of a ballet flat!


Lastly, this is a closer look of my dubatta (scarf) which was also what my aunt wore on her engagement party. This scarf was placed over my head for religous purposes. I hope you all liked today's post! Tell me  what you thought about it in the comments below!
xoxo
          Mahe <3

2 comments:

  1. Mahe, I love the intricate embroidery on your kameez and dubatta! Your make-up, tika and hair-do look just perfect. Raahema's outfit also looks quite interesting. Wish there was a close-up of that suit too.

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  2. Stunning pictures!! I would love to see more posts that depict cross-cultural trends...

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