REJIG THE WEDDING GIG

The wedding trousseau holds a paramount place in every girl’s heart, but how often do you get the chance to wear it? We give you tips on how to rehash your bridal wear this festive season

What do I do with my bridal outfit? Every married woman ponders over this question after a few years of her wedding. “No doubt, a wedding lehenga or sari or a bridal trousseau holds a paramount place in every girl’s heart, but over the years, the wedding outfit becomes a once in a blue moon ensemble, which you would have worn only once or twice at your cousin’s or friend’s wedding,” says celebrity stylist Ekta Shah.

However, for those who want to rehash and make good use of that bridal lehenga or sari, you put so much time, thought and money into, fashion designers Amit Sachdeva, Natasha J, Karishma Luharuwalla and Mayyur R Girotra suggest some design and style options you could experiment with.

TWIST IT

The idea of giving bridal wear a twist, came after he had an idea to rehash his sister’s bridal lehenga. In spite of his mother’s apprehensions, who believed that it is inauspicious to cut a brides wedding dress, Sachdeva took the challenge upon himself to create an outfit that looks completely different from what it was before. “Firstly, I told her that she was lucky enough to have three different colours in the same outfit as this will give me liberty to create two outfits from one. It was a gold coloured lehenga with a deep burgundy choli and a super heavy odhni (dupatta) in mint green and gold. I used the odhni as the palla of a sari and attached chantelle fabric to suffice the skirt area of it. I created a border with hand embroidery matching the palla and appliqué it on the full length. Since the palla was really heavy, going for a plain blouse with a deep sexy back did the magic,” he says, adding, “For the second outfit, I used the lehenga and altered the kalis to match the waist measurement and attached a plain silk Banarasi bodice in gold coloured that matched perfectly with the gold of kalis. A simple net dupatta in crimson red with slight handwork border, and she was ready for the wedding day.”

Since bridal outfits are heavy, Luharuwalla says one should get rid of the heavy accessories on them. “Bridal lehengas are heavy, hence to be able to reuse them in festive season, one needs to get those can-can removed and even those extra kalis,” she says.

REVAMP THE LOOK

The idea is to revamp in a way that nobody realises that it’s a recycled outfit. Wear your heavy lehenga high on the waist, and tuck in a plain white buttoned down collared shirt with it and you are ready for a cocktail dinner Similarly, a heavy choli from a bridal set can be easily paired with a contrast coloured sari where you can appliqué bits from the dupatta embroidery

Appliqué the embroidery from the lehenga on a completely different fabric and colour Some bridal attires now come with sheer capes and long embellished jackets, you can team them up with your western ensembles such as denims or shorts.

MIX AND MATCH

Natasha feels that you can mix and match your wedding lehenga by ditching your old choli and dupatta, with contrast separates such as a structured silhouette blouse or just a crop top, with a bold coloured dupatta. “Bomber jackets can also help you rehash a wedding lehenga, as they look quite cool, and can help you get rid of your dupatta and choli,” she adds.

If you own Banarsi saris that you no longer wear, you can get it stitched into a ready to wear Anarkali or midi dress. Or according to Girotra, you can wear blouses inspired by crop tops. “Off shoulder and cold shoulder blouses can be reused with palazzos,” says Girotra.

Wear your heavy lehenga high on the waist and tuck in buttoned down collared shirt with it and you are ready for a cocktail dinner

Say goodbye to your heavy dupatta and team your bridal outfit with a bomber jacket Blouses inspired from crop tops can be teamed with light weight skirts in contrasting colours