Festive Styling

IAnD Exclusive

Pre-Diwali Special

By Udita Chaturvedi

Photography: Courtesy Ashley Rebello & World Wide Web 

Celebrity Fashion Designer Ashley Rebello

What you wear on special occasions, such as festivals or family celebrations, is just as integral as the rituals and customs associated with the occasion itself… This festive season, Style Guru Ashley Rebello recommends…

We are all always looking for a new and better look. Maybe we even spend more time in deciding what to wear than we spend in actually participating in the occasion.

Bollywood fashion designer and stylist, Ashley Rebello gives us some easy tips on how to get that perfect look by revisiting our wardrobe.

Stoles & Dupattas - handy add-ons

Tip No. 1: Stoles and dupattas add to one's look and festive costume. Your wardrobe should have some stoles and dupattas that can go with everything. Come festivity, and you can temporarily augment the required stole or dupatta by adding sequence, ghungroos or beads, which may easily be removed later, for regular use.

Long kurtas are 'in'

A pretty teal & green-hued gharara                           Pl. note this is not an Ashley design

Tip No. 2: It's also been a while since long kurtas came back in fashion. So, Ashley suggests you wear long kurtas, about six to seven inches below the knee, with tight straight pants. Talking about traditional costumes making a comeback, "Traditional gharara is very in," he says. It can be worn with a long or short kurta.

Herald the zing with colour blocking !

Tip No. 3: How you wear it is perhaps more important than what you wear. And colours make a lot of difference. Colour blocking is very much in fashion. "A bright pink kurta with neon green churidar and black or ink-blue dupatta" would make a great combination. So, a mix and match of bright colours with a tinge of neon is sure to get you a colour-filled festive look.

Plain kurta with zardosi churidar

Plain kurta with resham work on churidar/salwar

Tip No. 4: Ashley recommends “Simple is more 'in' than elaborate". To keep it simple, a heavy kurta should be worn with a simple churidar and dupatta. On the other hand, if the kurta is simple, compliment it with a brocade or heavy work churidar or salwar with a simple chiffon dupatta.

The joy of donning a pure fabric

Tip No. 5: And most important is to be wise. No blind copying; work with what suits you best. And it’s always advisable to stay away from synthetics and go for the ‘pure’.