Six ways you can reuse your old lehenga-choli for the upcoming wedding season

At any Indian wedding, all eyes are on the bride's attire. Whether your wedding is big or small, traditional or modern, the bridal lehenga is always a highlight. While wedding celebrations may come and go, the lehenga remains a cherished memory of your special day.

In the world of Indian fashion, traditional styles endure over time. Embellishments, sequins, embroidery, always make a comeback, making Indian ethnic couture timeless. Lehengas are often restyled, worn again, or passed down through generations due to their emotional value. To keep these pieces alive, they are often revived in different ways.

With the grand amount of thought, planning and manifestation that goes into the choosing and making of a lehenga, it seems unfair for it to find its abode in a trunk at the back of your storage. We, for one, would not settle on putting an end to this timelessness of attire. To save you from the lining rampage of embellished outfits and growing hole in your pocket, here are six ways you can repurpose your wedding lehenga!

Switch up your accessories

Turn around your hairdo and opt for subdued jewellery. Drawing inspiration from numerous celebrities who are seen repeating their wedding outfits, we believe that the gossip of a few distant relatives should not deter you from upcycling and making the most of your wedding attire. The easiest way to do so is by mixing up how you accessorise your lehenga. Changing your hairdo and wedding jewellery can significantly tone down your extravagant attire, depending on the amount of bling you prefer to carry. Following this conscious approach is not only the talk of the hour but also your guiding saviour for the wedding season.

Alia Bhatt rewore her wedding saree while receiving her National Award.

Repurpose that fancy dupatta
Redoing outfits is not just about rewearing them but also about using individual pieces of your exorbitant attire. Pairing up a fancy, heavy dupattas with suits and kurtas can become your go-to trend this season as they can be used as the statement piece in a monochromatic ensemble. The grandeur that each piece of a wedding lehenga emanates, can be borrowed on by the more simplistic pieces in our wardrobes. A trend frequently seen on our Instagram scrolls is draping the dupatta in unique ways, particularly to give the impression of a modern twist on sarees. 

Restyle your lehenga skirts with a staple shirt
A trend that we can never thank millennials enough for! Take out your best shirt and switch it up with your blouse—this wardrobe essential has definitely proven its versatility. Not only does it serve as a staple casual item to rely on, but it also adds an element of fusion with Indian traditional wear. Whether it's a plain silk blouse or a white button-down tucked in, it will definitely tone down the extravagance of your ensemble while retaining elegance, easily making you the talk of the show! 

Make you own design 
A saving grace of ethnic attires is their eclectic nature. Traditional attires offer room to incorporate the most avant-garde ideas of fusion and creation. From shararas to gowns, there is always space to hone your imagination and create your own unique pieces that embody all that is you. You can play around with your attire by experimenting with different hues or utilising the never-ending market of fabrics. You can cut up your lehenga into a sharara or shorten it into a skirt, sew up your blouse and lehenga to convert it into an Anarkali, or elevate your blouse with some sheer fabric and a trail. You can even add layers with jackets.

Whether you're repurposing your old lehenga or mixing it with another piece from your wardrobe, unleash your inner fashionista for the spring weddings—the only key is to have fun!

Feature Image Credits: @chhavviaggarwalofficial, @bhumikagrover, @taruntahiliani, @papadontpreachbyshubhika / Instagram 

@Hyperallergic / Pinterest

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