ADDING VERSATILITY TO YOUR OUTFITS!
Happy Diwali! This holiday signifies the festival of lights and starts a fresh new year. The joyous occasion also brings about tons of wedding event, dinner party and religious gathering invites. This means more opportunities to celebrate and dress up for! A great new way to make your outfits more versatile is to use them more than once. This is so difficult for us ladies, I know, but, if worn just a little differently, you can make the outfit ‘new’ again. We do it with Western clothing all the time, mixing one skirt with one blouse, then using that same skirt with a tee, and that same blouse with jeans, etc. Indian clothing provokes more thought, but with minor adjustments, it’s not so hard!
LENGHA to SARI. If you bought this season’s latest chaniya cholis, perfect! There’s still time, go and get a trendy new chaniya choli; they can be used doubly! The work involves patta (border/patch work), sequin/stone work and lots of metal/thread embroidery. Gone are the flashy mirror, seashell and plastic shiners look. Wear the outfit as a lengha for garba or even a wedding reception if heavily worked. To change to a sari look, wrap the dupatta around you like a sari pallu for a lengha sari look. You can sport the sari for a pooja or if fancy, a wedding.
CHURIDAAR to LENGHA. This exciting new look is indeed inspiring. The updated lengha look involves a long choli vested look. The vest itself is see-through, allowing the band of the skirt to show through (as well as some tummy skin for some!). Some choli vests are past knee-length. This is where designers began adding a churidaar to the outfit. If worn as a lengha to a sangeet, next time the look can be worn as a churidaar by switching the lengha with pajami. Easily convertible to a dinner party outfit!
CASUAL SUIT to PARTY SUIT. Who knew one piece of fabric can transform an entire outfit? Have a fancy, sequined multi-color dupatta? Take your solid cotton salwar kameez and use your rich dupatta to elegantly elevate your style. Have a ‘wow’ kameez with plain churidaar and dupatta? Wear tailored pencil pants in a contrasting color and add a printed scarf. A small dose of creativity can run you a very long way!
Send us your fashion questions and concerns. Follow the trend! E-mail us at [email protected], and we’ll answer any and all your fashion dilemmas! Here’s this month’s Fashion Drama Question of the month:
Q: Can my chunky Indian necklaces be worn with my everyday Western outfits? - Rani, Tampa
A: Hi Rani. Yes, they can! In fact, the bohemian look never really dies down, particularly in tropical places (lucky we live here in Florida right?). So, a winter look can involve skinny jeans, a fitted tank top, chunky necklace and pencil heeled boots. A summer outfit could include long flowy skirt, sheer chiffon top, chunky necklace and belt for shape.
Happy Diwali to everybody. We wish you all happiness, success, and peace. Party much, but party safe. Enjoy each other’s presence, and always invite more positive company into your lives. And as you do all this and live life to the fullest, always remember to gro with style!
Kiran Bahl of Gro Styles, “An Indian Boutique,” at 2035 E. Fowler Ave., in Tampa, FL 33612 can be reached at (813) 903-8334, and 9456 S. Orange Blossom Trail, in Orlando, FL 32837, at (407) 255-7274 and soon-to-open in Fort Lauderdale at (813) 843-9040.