When it comes to styling your blouse (choli) for the lehenga you will have variety of designs to choose from. One thing that you must keep in mind is your body type. While bikini styles or halters may look very appealing in pictures, they might not look so good in real life. For more guidance on blouse styling according to body types,see the section on The Style.
Here are some front and back designs for your choli.

Designs in Short Choli


Kurta Styles


Back Designs

Styles With Two Dupattas: Here are some styles using two dupattas. One dupatta can be draped around the waist and the other one can be left flowing to cover the head.


Image Courtesy: Bridal Asia, Kolkatta Fashion Week, santabanta.com

Styles with a single dupatta: Here are some styles with a single dupatta.



Image Courtesy: Bridal Asia, pinkvilla.com


Image Courtesy: CTC Plaza via fashionandyou.com


Image Courtesy: Bridal Asia

Coming Up: Choli/Blouse Designs

While selecting your outfit be sure to choose the style that compliments your body type. You will find many beautiful pieces out there but be sure to try them on and see what works best for your body. Here are some hints.

Petite: Go for a style that adds height to your structure. Vertical embroidery as compare to overall jaal or embroidery along the kalis of the lehenga tends to add length to small frames. Go in for sleeveless or short sleeves. For cholis, you can easily go in for shorter cholis, showing your midriff. Leave the dupatta flowing at the back or folded and draped over the shoulder work to give some height illusion. Also, a light dupatta with heavy border all across will works best in creating a flowing look. Square or U-shaped necklines can also help to draw the eye upwards making smaller ladies appear taller.

Sleeveless/short sleeves blouse showing midriff


Lehenga Styles for Petite



Thin and Tall: You can experiment with a wide variety of styles. Opt for styles that are flowing in the bottom. A classic 15-20 kali lehenga would look great. If you don’t want to appear too tall, then go for dupattas that have full embroidery with a light or no border. Quarter or full sleeves will add elegance and sophistication to your look. Your choli design should be long extending to your midriff or slightly lower till the hips. But, don’t make them too long. Opt for deep necklines in front and the back.
Sleeves Designs for long hands:

Lehenga Styles for Tall


Pear shaped : This is the most common body type of Indians. A lines with some flowing at the bottom works best for women in this category. Avoid styles like fish cut or those which are too fitted around the hip area. You don’t want unwanted attention towards your bottom area. If you are busty then avoid heavy embroidery on the choli. Instead have a broad neckline with a well defined border around the neck. Also avoid high necks and, halters or collared necks. Make sure to ask you tailor to give a soft padding in the choli. A very heavy padding will make you look more heavy on the top.
Here are some designs:


Thick Waisted : Opt for cholis that end where the belt of your lehenga starts. Very long cholis will add more volume in your mid riff section. Shorter sleeves with deeper U shaped or sweetheart neck style works best with this choli type. Also, go in for deeper hues rather than soft shades, especially for the top. Make sure that there is some space between the end of your necklace and the starting of your choli. A slight showing of skin here will compensate for covering up of the midriff section. Don’t add an extra dupatta with the lehenga. It will make the whole look much more baggy.

I think the most important factor while deciding your outfit is the color. Trust me on this, sometimes color makes all the difference. You may want to stick with the traditional colors such as red, maroon, pink or golden . But you can experiment a little and try on different colors and see what works best for you. If you are anything like me and don’t want to wear red or maroon on your day, then go for some unique colors such as blue, wine, green or a combination of red and blue, red and green or pink and blue.

The important thing is that the color should compliment your skin tone and it should enhance the beauty of the design you have chosen. And, the best way to see what looks best on you is to go and try out lehengas with different colors. Sometimes we tend to stuck on a particular color and don’t try out other options. For instance you might have always visualized yourself in a soft pink lehenga, but may be a red and golden compliments you more. So, my advice here would be try on as many options as you can( until and unless you are rock sure of what is best for you) and then take your pick.

(On the aside – When trying on different outfits, the salesmen would assure you that along with the make up, lighting and proper draping of the dupatta, the lehenga would look absolutely fantastic – even though it is not looking so right now. Don’t buy into this. The lehenga should look good in your most natural self. The make up, lights etc would of course enhance the look. But, first the color SHOULD look good when you are sans any special effects (read foundation, blush and ultra bright lights).

Feast your eyes on some of gorgeous color palettes.




Image Courtesy: desirebysimran.com,santabanta.com


Image Courtesy:lovepaki.com




Image courtesy: Bridal Asia and Ctc Plaza



Coming Up: Different Styles of Lehenga

The workmanship on the outfit is another important area. Well for starters, you should know that there are lot of options to choose from. You can have heavy zardozi work, beads, multicolored stones, emerald, pearls, silver and gold threads. The decision would depend on the overall look, your budget and of course what you want for yourself.

Feast your eyes on few samples of different works below:

1) Pearl and Dabka Work : Pearls add elegance to the lehenga and give a very nice definition to the border. In Katrina's lehenga below, the dupatta is simple overall with just a heavy border around it. This lehenga is a departure from the usually heavily embellished lehengas and is perfect for the modern day bride. This is personally my favorite style of dupattas.

Pearl Work in bright and soft colors



2) The Gold thread and Zardozi : This is the most traditional and opulent kind of work. You will find in ample of designs. The below lehenga is all covered by golden thread and zardosi, giving it a very rich, heavy and traditional look. It also has a long choli as compared to short ones that are common today. Also notice the well played contrast with green emerald drop necklace and the maangtika. I think a green dupatta (in the color of the border) would have looked equally fabulous.



Zardozi and Gota Patti work




3) Silver Thread - Silver thread accentuates pastel colors. If you are going in for soft colors this is probably the most common type of work you will see. Notice how the silver gota border enhances the beauty of the outfit.
This work looks best if you pair it with diamond (or similar white colored stones or pearls) accessories. If you are planning to wear something in gold or kundan then options 1 & 2 above are the best.


Image Courtesy: Bridal Asia and santabanta.com

4) Sequins and Stones: These two designs are heavily embellished with sequins, stones, butis and zardozi. Lot of similar type of work is seen in bridal sarees and suits also.

White Stones & sequins


Image Courtesy: Bridal Asia

Colored Stones & sequins


Image Courtesy: Zeenat Boutique

5) Intricate designs: If you want a rich traditional look without giving into all the bling and ostentation, then these intricate designs with bold colors and festive folds may be your cup of tea.


Image Courtesy: pinkvilla.com

6) Frills Work: Frills seem to be dominating this season. From casual tops to oscar gowns to traditional Indian attire – frills are everywhere. A frill lehenga is the perfect culmination of historical opulence and chic style for modern day brides.


Image courtesy: Birdal Asia and santabanta.com

7) Flower Power : If there is any style that has gain immense popularity and commercialization across all types of Indian wear, it is the flower style. When used with heavy embellishments and in deeper hues, this style gives a soft romantic and youthful look, while looking rich and classy at the same time.


Image courtesy: Bridal Asia

Coming up: The color of the Lehenga

When it comes to bridal dresses in India, there is a huge variety of fabrics to choose from. From pure crepes, silks and brocades to net, georgette and satin – the shops have them all. You will find lot of designs in silks, raw silks and pure crepes. Net fabric is back with a bang these days and is found everywhere in sarees, suits and in lehengas. But there are few things that you might like to keep in mind before zeroing in on the fabric.

1) The weather – You don't want to be standing and sweating in brocade if your wedding is in our scorching summers. Save heavy fabrics like raw silks and brocades for winters. In summers, slightly lighter variety of silk, crepes or net works best.

2) The color and the design – Well, we all know that certain colors look best when worn in certain fabric. For instance, if you are going for soft pastel shades a pure crepe fabric would accentuate the color more than a brocade or silk. However, if you want to go in for deeper richer hues than nothing beats silk.

3) The whole look – Ultimately it's how the whole piece is put together that makes all the difference. The fabric, color, design and the work on the lehenga should all compliment each other.

Take a peak at some of the fabrics:

Crepe Lehenga with Raw Silk Choli


Photo Courtesy: Lakme India Fashion Week

Brocade Lehengas


Photo Courtesy: Bridal Asia & santabanta.com

Lehnega Styles in Net


Photo Courtesy: santabanta.com

Velvet Lehenga Styles


Photo Courtesy: Lakme India Fashion week, vdiexports.com & highheelconfidential.com

Coming Up:

Workmanship on Lehengas

All the cultures in the world share at least one common thing when it comes to weddings – the attention, hype and anticipation that surround the outfit of the bride.

Zillions of styles, fabrics and designer wear along with tons of (solicited &unsolicited) advice from friends and family make the task even more difficult. The minute you get engaged (and I can say this from personal experience) your mind would be flooded with suggestions on what will look best on you - Rita Aunty (from Amreeka) thinks you would look lovely in pink. Your best friend thinks that a green coored zardosi fish cut lehenga is just perfect for you. There may be a dress in which you have always imagined yourself but are not so sure about. So, with these myriad options available, from where to begin hunting for the perfect outfit for your most special day?

Well, lets start by making ourselves familiar with some of things that work together to create that perfect look for the most important day in your life.

But, before that…..

1) Have a rough approximation of the money you want to spend on your bridal dress. Trust me, this is one area where all of us tend to go over budget. Having an approximation of the money will help you in being selective and will give you some peace of mind. So tighten your purse strings (at least for now) and start hunting.

2) Take a trip to the market and see what’s around. It will give you an idea of what’s available in the market, what are the latest trends, what appeals you and what can you get in your budget. A Designer tag is absolutely not necessary for a great outfit, but yes, a designer feel is. And, there are lot of things that work together in creating this exquisite feeling for the outfit of your dreams.

In the next few posts of this blog I am going to ride you through some and more of these things and hopefully you will get some ideas and inspiration to help you along the way.

Hi

Welcome to my blog. This space is dedicated to celebrate the grandeur, extravagance, festivities and above all the true spirit of Indian weddings. From the splendid bridal outfits and exquisite jewelry to lavish decors and intricate planning required in every aspect of wedding – this blog will have it all.

So if your wedding is “on the cards” or you too, like me, are fascinated by all things “weddings”, then join me for a fantastic ride.