The very concept of a saree made to look and drape like a lehenga was a complete hit not many years back. Experiments in draping styles of sarees have only helped improve the outreach of this beautiful timeless wear, as it has certainly got far more fans now who thought its boring and aging. It is in its flexibility of wearing styles which give the saree its firm place of superiority. It also needs to be accepted that lehenga for the snobbish crowd has slowly risen to the status of a garment that is as traditional and as loved. In fact lehengas have an unmatchable  popularity among younger generations thanks to Bollywood, it’s glamour and innovative crossover designs are most loved.

So what should one do who doesn't have many lehengas in stock (read me😕😞) and want to wear one on any special occasion? Can tweaking be possible? Of course!  Not only is it possible, but it has variations that you would love to try, giving your saree a look and drape of lehenga. We had shown a variation of lehenga saree drape in a previous post (click here to read). Here comes a completely new version of Lehenga saree for you.

Drape Story

The whole six yards of a bright fuschia cotton chanderi saree has been pleated on an underskirt. Each pleats are about 4 inches wide. Sanchita wore this same saree a couple of years back for Diwali(read it here). A mint green benarasi kurta makes the perfect contrast with the fuschia skirt. To brighten up the look even more a neon orange silk shawl has been placed on the shoulders. 

The Look

The whole outfit is very bright and is perfect for your Diwali celebrations or as a bridesmaid dress at any upcoming wedding. So to match the brightness of the outfit, its paired with a beautiful kundan peacock jhumka, a kundan coin necklace and a statement ring. The makeup is kept on the dewy side with bright lips.

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

Kurta material bought from Geeta's, Hogg's Market, Kolkata, India

Silk shawl: Bought from local store in Chennai, India
Earring: Etsy

Ring: Amazon link here

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India is known for its marvelous legacy of a variety of heritages and cultures that have resulted in countless traditional crafts and art forms in each and every nook and corner of this massive country. It has put forward the finest collection of silk, handloom saris that are accessible in an extensive assortment of colors and prints, appropriate for festivals and any special occasions. Among many arts that have put Bengal (including East and West) in the world map of excellence, predominant is Muslin Saree. The beautiful handwoven sarees are known for the unique and intricate design and craftsmanship. The palette of colors and broad range that these Saris employ are the ultimate testaments to their mesmerizing allure and power.  These sarees are absolutely perfect to flaunt on any festive, wedding ceremony or even traditional celebratory occasion. 

The Saree of the Day

This particular Muslin saree is very special weave. It is out of the box and doesn't have the usual floral weave. Rather its based on a famous Sukumar Ray poem starting as "Bidye Bojhai Babumoshai". The words of the poem are literally woven in Bengali script in the pallu and the whole story is pictorially told throughout the body. Thus it has motifs of trees, river, boat, sailor and passenger, birds etc.The intricate weave and the storytelling through the six yards is jaw-dropping. I can't imagine how strenuous the process has been to weave those minute details in the saree. It was a last minute buy and was shipped to me couple of days before the Durga Puja from a well known Kolkata based boutique named Anchal. I was obsessed the minute i saw a show of theirs on TV and called them right away to ship it to me. 

The day I got the saree I was confused on how to style it as the saree itself has got a lot of personality and I didn't want to distract the limelight it deserves. Thus opted for a tone on tone green blouse instead of the contrast yellow. The blouse which perfectly matched was an old one with the widest back and uplifted the style quotient of the traditional saree. 

Now for accessories, wanted to intensify the earthy look with dual silver and gold tones. So I paired it up with my most favorite mango necklace and giant ear stud and stacked a lot of bangles of silver and matte gold tones. Sanchita suggested a flower for te special occasion and thus it was added to the hair. Had my go to kohl eyes with maroon lipstick and big green bindi or tip to complete the whole look. 

Tips on Buying and Wearing Handwoven Muslin

• The fineness of the fabric and the intricacies of the woven patterns determine the final price of a muslin saree, which can vary from six thousand rupees to over a lakh (about USD 100 to over 1500). Beware of powerloom or semi-muslins being sold as genuine handwoven one.
• Don't forget to properly put fall and pico in your saree. The fabric is delicate and should be used with care
• Keep draping it often or at least re-fold it often so that they don't tear along the folds.
• Avoid home cleaning and always dry clean your muslins if at all necessary. 

Outfit Details

Saree: Anchal Boutique, Kolkata, India

Jewelry: Gariahat Hawkers Market, Kolkata, India

Potli Bag: Gift from dear brother from Hyderabad

Fake Flower: Dollar Tree

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If you are still in awe with our first Durga Puja Look we styled in last post  lets bring on yet again another favorite of ours. For the mornings when you walk down to the pandals for a pushpanjali or the evenings you want to sit and enjoy the arati and sit for hours in adda with friends....the most classic, and stylish version of yourself. Bangali and Bangali's Durga Puja are incomplete without a silk and a dhakai. As we have already styled a traditional silk in our previous post its turn for the Dhakai now.

Draping the most gorgeous and traditional Dhakai Jamdani available in the market. It has the age old saw or korat motif weaved very densely all over the body. The color is most unusual...a wine or a garnet shade with bright orange work and golden zari meenakari on it. On my customary trip to Sriniketan , saw this saree draped on a mannequin in the front door and I JUST HAD TO BUY IT. They didn't have a second piece so I had to rob off the saree from the mannequin.

Now comes the most interesting part of the look, the contrast olive green blouse. Those who have previously read my posts know that  I love experimenting with mismatch blouses but this blouse was a find for me.There are flood of blouses with back embroideries in the market now, but this stroked an odd chord with me. I saw this blouse with back embroidery resembling the poster of the classic Satyajit Ray movie Charulata on a Facebook owners profile and again JUST HAD TO BUY IT. I have been an eternal fan of Ray's Charulata, The intelligent, sensitive and strong character of Charulata fascinates me everytime. Her discovery of herself and her emotional turmoil is ever so relevant. Thus this blouse holds a special place in my wardrobe now. Matched this with this favorite Jamdani of mine.

 

I kept the look very easy-to-go with light makeup, a small bindi and silver jhumkas. Its comfortable and wearable for long hours of addas with friends. If you wish you can glam up a little more with flowers in your hair and a heavy silver neck-piece. 

Its one of our favorite looks this season. If you like the post please do like, comment and share it. Your words of encouragement keeps us going. Please do follow us on  Facebook and Instagram for latest updates on the blog.

Come the first few weeks of September, the heart of a Bong thumps faster, it is nothing but in anticipation of homecoming of goddess Durga – that is Durga Puja. It won’t be entirely an exaggeration to say that Bengalis world over spend a significant amount of their time planning and deciding what to wear during the Durga Pujas. Most of them wear multiple sets of clothes – mind you, there’s a morning outfit and an evening outfit, plus emergency backup outfits😄😄😄. Like every year we have dedicated a special series to the Durga Puja Lookbook that will tell you in great details which avatar you should put on yourself this Navratri.  These three looks that we have conceptualized, styled and donned will inspire you how to style yourself on Shaptami,  Ashtami and finally on the Navami. So make sure you are subscribing to this blog so as not to miss the Durga Puja Lookbook blogposts which will be published one after another all throughout following weeks.

The first look of the series is all traditional in the classic color combination of yellow and red. Its a rich swarnachuri saree that has been a priceless addition to my closet. The border and the anchal has intricately woven motifs of a dancer with meenakari work along with peacock motif buta in the body. Its absolutely mind blowing master piece.

I got hold of this stunning Benarasi fabric last winter from Heritage Shop in City Center II, Kolkata and immediately thought it to be the perfect match with this swarnachuri saree. The saree has its own red plain blouse with the border woven on the sleeves. But I thought a more rich blouse would look more gorgeous given the saree only has lighter work in the body. Thus you can completely mix and match different blouse options with your traditional saree to make it suit the time and ambiance you're wearing it in.  

As for the accessories, the mango yellow color of the saree was screaming for some marigold in the hair. I loosely tied my tresses in a messy bun and styled them with some strings of marigold. Thus it was effortless and yet oozing out glamour. The plan was to have a quintessential traditional look thus there can be no alternative to gold jewelry. Kept it light with a sleek gold bib necklace. Lastly the big red tip or bindi and kohl eyes did the final magic with this whole look.

I hope you found some inspiration on how to drape your timeless traditional weaves and be the starlet of the Puja. Your purchase may provide bread and butter for the extraordinary weavers who create such art with fabric. So this season go traditional and empower our own classic sarees.

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What I wore:
Saree: Adi Mohini Mohan Kanjilal, College Street, Kolkata, India
Blouse: Heritage, City Center II, Kolkata 

Jewelry: Rupashree Jewellers , Kolkata

Styling  and Makeup yours truely Sanchita