Glam up in Gorgeous Ethnic Women’s Apparel This Wedding Season

A wardrobe without ethnic wear can never quite be considered complete. Infinitely rich and innately feminine, ethnic outfits accentuate the beauty of a woman like no other. While ethnic Indian apparel might not be suitable for every event or occasion, weddings are definitely occasions that call for their unbridled grace and elegance. Like any other clothing type, ethnic Indian wear over the years has been shaped by a variety of influences to evolve into something better and greater. Today, there is much more to contemporary ethnic women’s apparel than just the fancy sari and salwar kameez set. If you are looking to partly or wholly refresh your ethnic-wear wardrobe this wedding season, here are six gorgeous must-haves that you shouldn’t be without:

Flaunt During the Wedding Season & Checkout the Ethnic Wear Ideas

1. Sharara Set

Consisting of a short kurti and a pair of flared pants, a sharara set is infused with a charm that is at once mesmerizingly regal. Once worn by royalty, shararas can be lace-adorned, block-printed, zari-embellished, embroidered, or can simply feature a bit of understated mirror-work. Though available in varied colours, it’s best to go for vibrant reds, yellows, and pinks for weddings and special occasions. The outfit can be donned with or without a dupatta.

2. Embellished Skirt

A staple item of clothing for women everywhere, the maxi skirt, with its inimitable swish and swirl, is delightfully, unmistakably feminine. While there are several types of traditional Indian skirts – lehenga, ghaghra, langa, paavadai – contemporary iterations are subtle, often only featuring a bit of gota-kinari work, zari embroidery, or artisanal prints like ikkat, bandhani, batik, and kalamkari among others. Choose your style and select your pattern but make sure you have that one special skirt for extra-special occasions.

3. Velvet Kurta

Invest in a sleek velvet kurta this wedding season. While the warmth of velvet makes it the perfect thing to wear in mellow Indian winters, its luminous sheen renders it ideal for sporting at weddings and formal events. With its distinctly rich and royal aura, a solid velvet kurta in vivacious maroon or silver can itself be a statement-making attire. Yet, you could choose to be a little more fanciful and go for velvet kurtas with sequin-work and tilla embroidery.

4. Scalloped Dupatta

Unlike a regular drape, a scalloped dupatta has an edge featuring scallops or curves. Though necessarily part of a larger ensemble, this dupatta – with its remarkably delicate appearance – is in itself a striking sartorial object. Get a scalloped dupatta in fabrics like net, tulle, organza, chiffon, or even cotton voile. If your suit set is embroidered or printed, go for a solid scalloped dupatta and vice-versa. When pairing, play up the contrast of colours for an extraordinary look.

5. Embroidered Jacket

A tastefully embroidered quilted jacket can take the art of layering to the next level. Wear it over a skirt and blouse, a sari, or even suit set, and it completes your look, lending an air of absolute sophistication. A silk or velvet jacket – bomber or kimono-style – is perfect for formal events like weddings. Zari, kantha, and Kashmiri ari embroidery are all fine choices. Those with a taste for the understated could go for block-printed jackets featuring ajrakh, dabu, and batik work.

6. Brocade Pants

Shatter ethnic-dressing convention by redirecting attention to your lower-half. And is there a more artful way to do this than with a pair of visually stunning Benarasi brocade pants? Imbued with boundless glamour and opulence, Benarasi brocade cigarette pants, palazzos, or straight trousers need very little additional embellishment. A plain-vanilla black, white, or silver shirt should do the trick. Embrace full-blown bling with colours, unashamedly bold and bright – peacock blue, fuchsia pink, lime green, neon purple, the works.

Take Away

There is truly an infinite range of possibilities when it comes to styling ethnic women’s apparel. The idea is to always push the limits, and think up something that no-one thought of before. The greatest beauty of fashion may well lie in its fluidity, its endless capacity to imbibe and acquire influences and result in something truly phenomenal! Browse through the Ancestry site to check what we offer for the wedding guest clothing collection.