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Your gorgeous wedding outfit worth many thousands - what do you do with that afterwords? Is there any way to reuse your wedding dress in a different way?
Your gorgeous wedding outfit worth many thousands – what do you do with that afterwords? Is there any way to reuse your wedding saree or lehenga in a different way?
Indian weddings typically have a heavy focus on outfits, jewellery and makeup.
There are numerous rituals and functions that make up a wedding, and the entire wedding can span 2 to 5 days. With so many occasions available to dress up and put your best food forward, it’s no surprise that women give so much importance to their bridal outfits and looks. The bridal fashion industry is booming in India, with new names and labels cropping up each year. Out of the crores of rupees spent on weddings, about one fourth of it goes towards designer lehengas, indo-western gowns and striking stone studded jewellery.
A lot of women end up splurging on their ‘once in a lifetime wedding outfit’. Instead of letting it collect dust at the back of your wardrobe, you can re-use it in many ways.
Wedding lehengas are typically very heavy in weight and the work done on them. You can team your heavy lehenga with a much lighter plain colored blouse for a more understated look. It’s also a good way to make one aspect of your outfit stand out without going over the top.
Source: Pinterest
Give your lehenga a slight twist by adding a similar shaded net fabric on top. This will give it a slightly different take, while still keeping the grand original look intact.
A white shirt can work with absolutely anything. For a quirky and original style statement, pair your grand heavy lehenga with a plain white button down shirt. Add your favourite pair of statement earrings or necklace and you are rocking a brand new trend!
Another way to make your heavy lehenga a little understated, is to hide most of it. You can do this by pairing it with a long plain kurta or even a long choli of a neutral colour if you have one.
Lehenga cholis are usually heavy with embroidery work and mirror work. You can work with the top part of your lehenga too, by using it with a plain chiffon skirt, just to add a bit of drama.
Alternatively, your choli can substitute as a blouse for a saree. A contrast coloured saree will look great when paired with your work-heavy choli. It’s a great way to mix and match and get full use out of it.
If you feel that you’ve outgrown the design, you can just use it as a yoke for an anarkali, by just attaching it to the top part of the dress. Your local tailor should be more than enough for the job!
One of the main reasons that women don’t end up using their wedding lehengas again and again is that they weigh a ton! One solution for this is to reduce the volume by removing a few of those gorgeous kalis that we all love to twirl in. You can choose another matching light weight fabric, add those as a longer/shorter layer to the existing one.
That expensive and heavy kanjeevaram silk saree too can be put to good use. If wearing it once was a done deal for you, you can easily use that saree, and a couple more to turn into a beautiful lehenga skirt with layers, ruffles and pleats. It would be a one of a kind piece that no one would have spotted in any designer store!
Another way to use your silk sarees is to turn it into a salwar. The pretty borders will make for a good and grand design overall. You can design it yourself and get it done through your local tailor
This has to be the easiest DIY you can ever do. If you want to change the look of your saree, all you need to do is add a hip length jacket on top. You can go for something longer as well, as long as you are comfortable with it. This gives a really contemporary look to your otherwise regular saree look.
One of the easiest ways to change a look of a saree is to mix and match and wear it with different kinds of blouses. If you want to go a bit bold and experiment, you can try off-shoulder blouses or ruffled blouses. They look different but great when paired with silk sarees.
Buying a new saree or a new outfit for every function and festival might be tempting. But it’s important to embrace slow fashion and start right at home.
Use the border of your heavy saree for another churidar, add a different thin border for yours.
Silk sarees come with big and heavy borders. But those borders can always be cut and removed, and used for another salwar or saree or literally any DIY that you can think of. Meanwhile you can add a much simpler border to your silk saree making it more convenient for daiy wear.
Wear. Make a statement. Repeat your clothes. That’s the new trend!
Artist. Writer. Travel buff. Style enthusiast. Finance graduate. Aspiring entrepreneur. Reads too many books for her own good. Laughs at inappropriate times. Hoards too many shoes and dreams about beaches constantly. Fashion and lifestyle blogger read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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