Who isn’t a fan of Indian dresses? Like us, we know that most of you are. And we can never really make up our mind when it comes to discard them because they are our favourites. But on the other hand, you also cannot keep them all in your closet.
It’s quite troublesome and time-consuming to organise your wardrobe, every now and then, and you find that half of the wardrobe space is taken over by your old, worn-out clothes. And you can never decide whether to keep them or toss them over.
How Do You Like the Idea of Reusing Them?
Reusing old Indian dresses into designing another Indian outfit, is a smart approach, as designing an Indian dress requires around a minimum of 3 meters of fabric, which can go up to 9 meters or more, and gives you a number of options to recreate or upcycle something new out of it. A few economical ways to redesign Indian clothes into another outfit is listed below. Now, Let’s check those out.
Dresses Out of a Saree
An Anarkali Dress is the most favourable choice when people decide to reuse a saree. A flared Anarkali needs a very long piece of fabric, and thus, nothing can be better than a saree. There are a number of Anarkali cuts, that can be made using a simple saree. An Angrakha-style kurta too would come out nice from a regular saree.
You know what’s that major advantage of upcycling a saree? It is already an unstitched clothing and you need not go through any extra work of undoing the stitches. There’s nothing better than rich, and colourful Benarasi Sarees that could be redesigned into Empire-line Anarkali suit/dress with box pleats.
Or, if you have net sarees that are unused, make an Anarkali in a gathered-style flare. For some added design, sew a decorative lace.
Designer lehengas are another option to be redesigned from designer sarees. A lehenga skirt would be stitched just like an Anarkali without a bodice. For fluid sarees, like net or georgette, go for gather or wrinkled-style lehenga skirt. For decorative, stiff fabrics like Benarasi or tussar, go for box pleats or inverted box pleats. For satin or rayon fabrics, which are lustrous in nature, go for accordion or knife pleats.
Re-Styling an Anarkali Suit
An Anarkali dress can be best converted into a designer lehenga. If it’s an Anarkali that is fastened or tapered around the midsection, all you need to undo the stitches in that area. But if there are no stitches, and it’s a one-piece kurta, ask your tailor to measure and part it for you. Fasten the seams, and you are good to go. Pair it with a matching crop top or stylish blouse and dupatta.
If you are bored the way your regular Anarkali looks, convert them into something not so regular in terms of cuts and silhouettes. As present, high-low cuts, umbrella cuts, handkerchief cuts, front slits are trending. You may also choose to replace the sleeves made with net or Benarasi in contemporary cuts too.
Designer Outfits of a Lehenga Choli
Mix and match is the key to create new statement outfits, that will be exclusive to you, with a distinct style and balanced fashion. How can you mix and match? You can pair your lehenga with a plain, solid coloured shirt, where your lehenga would act as a skirt. Or you can wear your designer choli with a plain saree. But what to do with the dupatta? Pair it with a plain, solid coloured salwar suit, palazzo suit, churidar suit or straight pant suit. Just imagine, with one outfit, you just re-created three outfits.
You can also create the quintessential lehenga-saree that is sure to grab all the attention if you attend a party in that. Wear a plain/light lehenga and choli, but instead of the dupatta, take a silk saree in a contrast colour. Now drape this atop the lehenga in such a way, that one side of the skirt is visible, creating a bi-coloured/multi-coloured smart look. You can fasten a designer belt with this combination.
Now that we have given you a few tips, go and start sorting your wardrobe today.
Punit