We know all you eager brides have been there- spent a bomb on that lehenga you really loved, over the one you could’ve easily worn in its stead. Remember the gorgeous silk in a pastel pink, with handwoven zari on every border? Yep. We bet the star of your trousseau is lying, heaped somewhere it doesn’t even see light of the day on a daily basis. And there’s no worse sin than to have something as beautiful as that perish in despair!
Which is why we bring to you these sureshot, tried and tested ways of recycling your wedding lehenga. Although lehengas are often thought to be heavy traditional wear, there’s no way you can’t upscale and rework it to make it wear lighter on a separate occasion. Be it a friend’s engagement, or a colleague's wedding, we show you how to don that lehenga again- with no regrets. So go ahead, splurge a little!
1. Upscale that Dupatta!
Oftentimes, the dupatta is what gives a lehenga that bridal look. We know how it goes- get a simple tissue blouse that complements the skirt of the lehenga, which by the way is heavily embellished, and throw in a dupatta made of net with a heavy border and you’re good to go! Easily enough, ditching the dupatta, or wearing a lighter one in its place, is what could make all the difference.
Coolbluez Photography
2. Transform It
If you are willing to experiment a little, try transforming your lehenga into an anarkali. This simple quick fix works even better if the dupatta is reworked! If you wish, you could have the skirt transfixed to a separate blouse, and you could use your original blouse with sarees, or other lehengas!
3. Cross All Borders!
This is for the more adventurous brides. If you are willing to let go of the details of your bridal lehenga, consider having the border removed. The new look will be so much lighter and easier to don! If you wish, however, you could throw in a simpler border instead to create a lighter looking piece.
4. Remake the Blouse
We all love going traditional on our weddings, so here’s how you can make sure your recycled lehenga choli is modern and trendy. Simply add a different style of blouse- be it a jacket blouse or one with a flared peplum, there’s no dearth of how you can don a different kind of blouse. If the skirt is too heavy, consider getting a simple blouse- tissue or silk works just fine.
5. Wear it Like a Saree
If your problem with your bridal lehenga is not how it looks, or that it's too heavily embroidered to don on any other occasion, you could simply drape it differently. Use the dupatta like the pallu of a saree and you have a dramatic new look to sport! If you wish, you could throw in a different kind of dupatta as per your choice. Lesser borders, more borders with smaller embellishments, big borders with no embellishments- we’ve seen it all!
Dipak Studios
6. Modernise!
Deconstruct your lehenga into separate elements and use it as you’d like to. For example, if you’re in love with the blouse, wear it with a chic pair of dhoti pants. Likewise, if the skirt is what makes you swoon, get a different kind of blouse of kurta to go with it. The dupatta, according to us, is the most versatile of them all. Wear it with a suit set, with a lehenga, or as a lehenga saree- the dupatta can be moulded as per your whims endless times!
