Its a evident that the festival season is still hovering over us as you can spot endless shopping , plethora of online deals, gift exchanges, meeting friends, and planning in advance on ”what to wear”. After Durga Puja/ Navratri, it’s time for Diwali/Kali Puja now. If you have forgotten, a quick reminder of Halloween next couple of weeks, and then Christmas is just a few more weeks away! Phew!

Kali Puja has been the most special festival for our family as we celebrate it with much grandeur in our house. During childhood days, as others used to suffer from post Durga Puja depression, we would be overly excited for the Kali Puja to come over. We would look forward meeting all our cousins, burning fire crackers, gun-caps, devouring on bhoger khicuri-labra and enjoying all the আদর (love) of the family members we used to seldom meet otherwise. The whole neighborhood and our school friends would be invited and we would show off our best outfits that were reserved from the puja shopping for this evening (quite early fashion addicts you see!!😁😁😁). But the only rule Ma imposed on us was to wear cotton, to be safe running around diyas and fire crackers. This year would be the 35th year of our family puja. Both of us unable to attend the celebrations of-course adds into our homesickness and nostalgia which we can only dilute with some good saree pics😒😒😒 

Thus for this Diwali look Sanchita wearing cotton hot pink Chanderi benarasi saree. Chanderi saree is a traditional saree made in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, India from as early as 2nd century. These sarees are produced in pure silk, chanderi cotton and silk cotton, one featured here is a cotton one. Traditional coin, Flora art, Peacocks and geometrics are woven into different chanderi patterns. The sarees are among the finest sarees in India and are known for their gold and silver zari and opulent embroidery.(Source )

The intense color of the saree stands out in the evening fanfare, brightens the ambience and is also perfect "সুতির " (cotton) saree as Ma would prefer. Paired it up with a black benarasi sleeveless blouse to add contrast and glamour. 

You can ace the look at a Diwali party or Kali Puja outings and also to any ethnic evening parties you want to attend. As if the brightness of the saree wasn't enough, we styled it with over-the-top Kundan necklace and earrings to make it all the more festive. Kept accessories on my hand minimal as to draw all the focus to the neckline. This gorgeous Kundan set was added to the jewellery box during the recent India haul.

So can you tweak this look...yes totally!! There are too many options to make this look your own. You can wear any contrast full sleeve benarasi blouse, big chandelier or chandbali earrings or bun up your hair with some fresh gajra....this outfit gives you room to experiment with your style. So drape your bright cotton sarees and amp it up with a gorgeous blouse and stunning accessories.

Happy Diwali and Kali Puja to everyone celebrating!

Outfit details:

Saree was a gift from cousin on his wedding, bought from Adi Mohini Mohan Kanjilal, Kolkata, India

Blouse material bought from Geeta's, Hogg's Market, Kolkata, India and designed by Sanchita

Necklace set from Gahana, Triangular Park, Kolkata, India

SUBHO BIJOYA greetings for all our readers, friends and family. Hope you all had a wonderful Durga Puja/Navratri celebration. With this starts another year of waiting for Ma Durga to arrive on this mortal earth. But fear not, we have several grand festivals lined up for the next few months. We express our gratitude for the overwhelming response to our blogposts on Durga Puja lookbook. We have also been recieving requests on our Facebook and Instagram pages to share how we actually dressed up for Durga Puja. As both the sisters living in US, the celebrations were restricted to mainly weekends. So we thought of publishing some of our looks from the weekend in this post. Hope you enjoy them.

Look 1

Moumita wearing Madhubani printed pure silk saree with some statement junk jewelries. Kept the hair simple and straight, added dark burgundy lip color to match with the fall season in this part of the world.

Saree from Adi Dhakeswari Bastralaya, Gariahat, Kolkata, India

Neckpiece from hawkers stalls, Gariahat, Kolkata, India

Earrings handmade by a dear friend, Titli Maitra

Leather purse from Karukrit, Bolpur, West Bengal, India

Watch fro Fossils

Look 2:

Sanchita, wearing Nakshikantha on peacock blue Bangalore Silk saree. It has intricate bird motifs hand embroidered all over the saree. Paired with a matching blouse, long dangler pearl jhumkas, golden batua purse and simple light makeup.

Saree from Karukrit, Bolpur, West Bengal, India

Gold Batua purse gifted by a friend, source unknown.

Earrings from Gariahat, Kolkata, India

Look 3

Hot pink Chanderi benarasi draped in sidha pallu style by Moumita, over a contrast aubergine benarasi blouse. Accessorized the look with oversized chandelier earrings, a statement palm ring, Gujarati sling bag and a contrast green bindi. The look gives a very typical Navratri feel.

Saree from Adi Mohini Mohan Kanjilal, College Street, Kolkata, India

Earrings from Vijatha COllections, Virgina, US

Palm Ring from Bilu da's Boutique, Kolkata, India

Bag from hawkers market, Gariahat, Kolkata, India 

Look  4 

The final look for the pujo is by Sanchita. Wearing a gorgeous ivory colored Kanjeevaram saree with gold and red border,  teamed with a contrast  rich ikkat weave blouse. Paired up with gold jewelleries and red bindi for a quintessential bengali look on Dashami.

Saree from Sundari Silks, Chennai, India
Bloused material from Geeta's, New Market, Kolkata, India. Designed by Sanchita
Gold jewelry from N.P Jewelers, Gariahat, Kolkata, India 

I hope you enjoyed all the looks and found some inspirations through them.

If you have liked these 4 looks and feel inspired, then please share this post right now with your friends on Instagram and  Facebook. Leave us a comment or two below so that we know our effort was worth it.

Makeup and styling credits: Moumita and Sanchita on their respective looks

Photography credits: Kapildeb Ambal and Debasish Barik