best dress

Your 20s can be a confusing financial time when you feel caught somewhere between trying to save for the future and enjoying being young. It’s a time when many are getting their first “real” job, while simultaneously calculating how many weeks they can survive on ramen alone in order to treat themselves to what they want to buy. It’s also a time when you might consider investing in your first luxury fashion item.

For some of us, our first experience with luxury goods comes from gifts and special occasions. As we start to make our own money, saving up to purchase a high-end item on your own dime becomes more rewarding.

We exist in a world repeatedly telling us to “treat yo’ self” and live in the moment while simultaneously instructing us to invest, plan for the future and save. When you’re just starting out, it’s important to know what’s worth the splurge and what isn’t to maximize your budget.

Famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent once said, “Fashion’s fade, style is forever.” When considering investing in a luxury item, consider if you’re buying a trendy piece that will be out of style next season or next year. Are you someone who changes their mind frequently, or do you tend to enjoy the same classic styles season after season?

If you’re looking for an investment piece, opt for a classic — something that you can wear for years without looking dated. Think neutral colors like black, tan, blush pink or white that stay consistently in vogue and pair with almost anything you have in your wardrobe year after year. If you’re someone who loves a color that’s trendy right now, that’s OK. You’ll enjoy a piece in your signature color for years to come.

Whether you’re a die-hard gym fanatic or less than inclined to break a sweat, the moment you become engaged is likely a time in which you decide to kick your fitness routine into high gear. You want to look extraordinary in that wedding gown after all, right? Before you go booking every workout available on ClassPass, the first step toward your pre-wedding fitness goals is ensuring you have a robust assortment of active to get you through those upcoming sweat sessions.

Before you start working on your fitness, decide what pieces you need for your favorite workouts. If your workout attire consists only of ratty T-shirts and sweats, we highly suggest a total overhaul. For yoga, Pilates, or barre class, stock up on bras, tops, and bottoms suited to light impact activity. Love to weightlift or spin? Fitted leggings and tops with moisture wicking properties will guarantee a top-rated performance. Into high impact workouts like running or boxing? Go for breathable pieces with technical fibers when you’re breaking a major sweat. For outdoor activities, make sure you own extra layers like a long-sleeves or water-resistant fabrics if inclement weather strikes.

If you’re not exactly a workout fiend, you probably need a little extra motivation to get yourself through. In this case we suggest bright colors and fun prints to distract from the fact that you’re overexerting yourself. A hot pink sports bra or coral legging will totally elevate your mood, we swear.

Wherever you fall on the workout spectrum, tons of brands have stylish workout clothes on offer from affordable options at Target, H&M, Express, GapFit, and Forever 21 to performance favorites like Nike, Lululemon, Adidas, and Under Armor to celebrity-loved labels like Alo (literally every It girl has a pair of their leggings). There’s a host of fashion-forward brands with a cult following if you’re willing to spend more money, including Outdoor Voices, Monreal London, P.E. Nation, Tory Sport, The Upside, and Olympia Activewear.

Ready to spruce up your fitness attire? Shop our stylish edit, ahead for every style, budget, and workout preference. Race you to the aisle!Read more at:blue bridesmaid dresses | purple bridesmaid dresses

Meghan Markle’s wedding dress is once again being linked to Victoria Beckham after she was spotted wearing a cream jumper designed by the Spice Girls members.

Following the Markle’s sighting in Belfast, Labrokes revealed that its 16/1 odds became 4/1 within minutes. The new odds have placed Beckham on the top three spot alongside Erdem with 3/1 and Ralph & Russo with 1/3.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes told The Sun, “It looked as though Ralph & Russo were a shoo-in to design Meghan’s dress, but the bride-to-be is clearly a fan of Victoria Beckham and we reckon there’s every chance she’ll get the nod.”

This is not the first time that Beckham has been linked to Markle or her wedding dress. Last year, multiple publications reported that Markle and Beckham have a developed a close friendship ever since the future royal arrived in the United Kingdom.

One of Beckham’s friends told Vanity Fair last month that the two women have also been bonding over fashion, food, and their workouts.

Western styling is one of the trends that teeter on the edge of fancy dress. Take the outfit I am wearing here. In my head it was going to be Sissy Spacek in Badlands, but I fear I may have ended up as Woody from Toy Story.

I’m not giving up on it, though. There is something about the western aesthetic that is very appealing. It makes a very utilitarian way of dressing romantic. A shirt with pointed collars and press-stud front pockets; dark denim layered over rib polo necks; high-waisted jeans with chunky heeled boots: these are clothes you could wear to take the car for an MOT while feeling a little like you were on a different kind of road trip.

There are lots of days when practical dressing is the only option. When you need to wear shoes you can walk in, sturdy fabrics that won’t snag, colours that won’t show every speck of dust. Days when you need to be able to wolf down your lunch and brush the crumbs off your lap rather than have to gingerly watch each forkful for hazards. These can be weekend days or dressed-down work days. But just because you can’t dress up doesn’t mean your look can’t have a bit of ambition, something to make the point that you have the phone clamped to your ear while you are dropping off a bag at the charity shop because you are on hold to book in your sofa delivery, but you are still au fait with fashion and popular culture, thank you very much.

Western-style denim, dark and dressy, has been back on the style radar since it walked down Raf Simons’ first Calvin Klein catwalk, just over a year ago. Touches of western styling were around before that. A white polo neck worn under a denim shirt has been a cool-girl Saturday morning look for a while. When the weather warms up, we’ll all be digging out the prairie-style blouses with drawstring necklines and embroidered sleeves that we’ve been collecting for three summers now. Cowboy boots have been making a comeback since last autumn. Knotting a colourful silk scarf like a bandana with a buttoned-up shirt has bedded in as a go-to front row styling trick. White ankle boots poking out from the bottom of a pair of jeans.

Easy there, cowboy. Not all of those at once, please. You have to keep this look homely, rather than glamorous. No lip gloss, no cut-offs and, whatever you do, absolutely no diamante or rhinestones. Otherwise it will all go pop-country really fast. The appeal of this look should be the grainy, super-8 kind of romance, not Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake in matching denim kind. Nothing too fancy, or it’s too fancy dress.Read more at:bridesmaid dresses brisbane | bridesmaid dresses perth

We talk so much about asking for and receiving gifts throughout your engagement, but getting married comes with just as many opportunities to give gifts to others, too. From “Be my bridesmaid?” presents for your BFFs to the perfect wedding day gift for your parents and your new spouse, knowing how to give a gift is just as important as knowing how to receive one.

So few people are naturally completely selfless gift-givers—it’s human nature to seek the acknowledgment and appreciation that comes with doing something for someone else. But that doesn’t mean it’s a selfish act! You can absolutely get that warm and fuzzy feeling for yourself while still doing something really kind for a person you care about. In a time of life when a lot of things are about you (you’re half of the happy couple, after all!), these tips will help you find the perfect gift for that special someone else—your recipients will thank you!

Remember Who the Gift is For

Yes, the majority of pre-wedding gifting is wedding-related (we’ve all seen those bridesmaids’ gifts of monogrammed pajamas or the groomsmen’s matching ties), but you can still personalize the gift to be something the recipient will really appreciate. For example, bridesmaids’ dresses can be pricey, so if you know a few of your ‘maids might have a hard time paying the $200+ price tag, consider skipping the matching champagne flutes in favor of covering some of the costs.

You could also pay to put up your wedding party in an Airbnb house for the weekend or pay for things like hair and makeup or transportation. When it comes to your in-laws, you might be tempted to go the traditional route with a frame. It’s a great gift, but make sure to consider their decorating style before you take out your credit card. If your parents are coming in from out of town for your wedding, you might want to skip the tchotchke in favor of treating your dad to a round of golf or setting them up with a delicious dinner before the wedding weekend kicks off.

Not many people have an awards ceremony during their wedding.

Then again, not many people have a wedding as glamorous as Sabihah Mamdani and Zain Ali Janmohamed’s.

When their 750-plus guests walked into the reception room jaws dropped at the mirrored runway, the flower arrangements unique to every table, the mirror plates and the cake strung up in a swing.

“She had a very strong vision,” said Sabijah Mamdani, the mother of the bride.

Indeed, Mamdani wanted a wedding, unlike anyone, had seen before. And from the reactions from her guests, that’s exactly what she got.

What’s the biggest cake you’ve ever made?

“I think it was like six tiers. All of our cakes are four layers of cake, but it could be three tiers, it could be four tiers, it could be five tiers. We’re talking about a cake that may weigh 80 to 100 pounds. You have cake, you have filling, you have the buttercream — and we actually use real butter, which weighs a lot. There’s a huge taste difference because we are using real butter. When you go try things and there’s a funky film in your mouth after you’ve had whatever it is, that’s the shortening because it didn’t melt; whereas butter, it melts as you’re eating it. That’s why I always have a lot of older customers that are like, ‘Oh, this tastes just like what my mother or my grandmother (used to make).’ Yeah, because during their era they were using real butter all the time.”

How and when should couples start the ordering process?

“There are only so many Saturdays in the year, so I say the sooner the better.

I had a bride call me last year — her aunt was supposed to make the cake but something happened and they called us three days before. We definitely try our best to accommodate the needs of everybody. If we can do it we’re more than happy to. You just never know.”

The young Bihar engineer who was forced to marry a girl after being allegedly abducted by her family last month in what appeared to be an instance of “pakdua shadi” moved court on Monday seeking criminal proceedings against the girl’s family.

Vinod Kumar filed a petition in the court of the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) in Barh and urged the court to initiate criminal proceedings against the the family member’s of the girl, especially her elder brother Surendra Yadav, for abducting him and then forcing him to marry her on December 3.

Kumar, 29, who works as a junior engineer at Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) in Jharkhand’s Bokaro, said in the petition that his wedding with Kundan Kumari was conducted at gunpoint at her house in Gopekita village under Pandarak police station.

A video clip showing Kumar being forced to marry the girl went viral on social media on January 2 and drew national and international attention on what many described as the return of Bihar’s old tradition of “pakdua shadi” (forced weddings after abduction).

In the video clip, the engineer was seen protesting and crying during his forced wedding. When he refuses to put vermillion on the girl’s forehead, her relatives are heard saying: “Are you being hanged? We are solemnising your wedding only” and “Why are you worried? Which mountain is being placed on your head?”

AS the first runner-up in the Miss Global pageant this year, Bahamian beauty queen Tenielle Adderley is about to travel around the world to engage in charitable fundraisers while promoting the beauty, intelligence and charm of women everywhere.

#Tenielle, who won second place in Miss Global last month in Cambodia, will join reigning queen Barbara Vitorelli from Brazil on those trips.

#The Miss Global Organisation, which is only in its first year, seeks to set a new standard for what a 21st century beauty pageant is. The Miss Global pageant seeks to attract a wider age range (18 - 35) and a more diverse selection of qualified participants.

#Tenielle, a designer who resides in Georgia, US, stumbled across the pageant while doing research for her fashion design course in the Fall of 2016.

#"Completing my studies in fashion design really opened my world and thinking on the industry. I have always admired pageants and modelling," she told Tribune Woman.

Nearly two years ago, when his then 26-year-old daughter told him about her plans to marry her Muslim friend, a Ghaziabad-based businessman was against the match. “Considering the present environment in the country, my concern was about the children’s safety. The same concerns were shared by his family members,” he said.

On Friday afternoon, the marriage took place under the Special Marriage Act in Ghaziabad — with the consent of both the families.

Suspecting problems, the businessman had informed the district administration about the event — a reception and lunch in Kavi Nagar. A series of precautions — not hosting the wedding reception in a commercial space, not doing a nikaah or a wedding as per Hindu rituals, a limited guest list which had around 50 people, ensuring that no one at the wedding reception wears any religious symbol and making sure the newly-weds left Ghaziabad for their ‘honeymoon’ soon after — were taken, the family said.

But despite all the security measures, a mob — comprising local BJP leaders and members of other right-wing groups — gathered outside shouting slogans against what they believed to be a case of “love jihad”. The mob maintained that they “will not let any topi wala enter”.

The protests, however, did not come as a surprise for the bride’s father who had started receiving “threatening” phone calls a few days before the wedding.

Erin and Cooper Davis attended the University of West Georgia, where they met and fell in love. They became engaged early last year and we asked Erin to keep a diary of how her wedding evolved from month to month, and to share those excited days of planning with our readers. This is a diary of one couple’s wedding, but we think it could be the story of any couple, whether they married years ago, or if they marry years from now.

January 8, 2017 - Engagement

So, it happened, and I am now one of those girls whose Facebook status reads: “newly engaged.” The love of my life, Cooper Davis, proposed to me at one of my favorite spots on campus.

We met in school in 2013. Neither of us were from Carrollton, so we had that in common - yet we seemed connected in other ways I cannot describe. He would walk with me after class; he said he wanted to make sure I got to my dorm safely, but I think he just wanted to talk to me and get to know me a little better.

When that semester ended, and the holidays arrived, I missed our conversations and knew I wanted to see him again. When classes resumed, he asked me out to dinner and our relationship bloomed. I was going to graduate in December 2016; he was a year and half away from graduation. During my last semester, we would often meet in the garden next to Melson Hall before my classes.

Ninoshka Alvares-Delaney

The first thought that newly engaged brides-to-be have is starting their search for their perfect wedding dress. Most women have dreamed of their big day all their lives, and the pressure to find the wedding dress that matches those dreams is unreal. Although planning the wedding and finalising the design of the dress is a fun process, for many it can be extremely stressful and confusing. Relax! De-stress and enjoy the experience.

The trick is to start planning very early so that you don’t have to run around at the very last minute. Decide on your budget for the dress and whether it will be a readymade one or customised to your taste. Your dress should suit the activities and style of your wedding. Ask yourself questions like, “Do I feel beautiful in this dress?”, “Can I dance and move around all night?”, or “Can I sit down?”

Dresses with beautiful trains, and detailing across the hem are great, but don’t forget about the top of your dress as well as, as that part of your dress will be seen in most of your wedding photos. Don’t let trends bog you down. Instead, go in for what you love and what looks good on you. Your first decision is to find out which dress silhouette will highlight your best-loved assets and conceal your less-favourable traits. We are here to help you decide which style flatters you the most.

To start, find out which of the following five body types best defines your figure – Petite, Hourglass, Plus size, Busty or Lean and straight. Remember, you may not fit squarely into one particular category; most people don’t. Use this as a guideline to figure out what works best for you.