With a progressive inclination towards slow fashion, making optimum use of the wardrobe and cleverly investing is a practice that sartorially-enlightened women are consciously embracing. The occasion wear ensembles primarily amount to a stouter amount of your wardrobe investment. You might be happy about hauling all your favourite Indian designer wear at marked down prices from a sale once in a while but a skilful styling flair will only add up more value to the savings you’ve gained. Think a lehenga that you splurged on for your wedding reception can be imagined differently for your bridesmaid role. In a nutshell, getting a bang for every buck can be possible if you splash out on versatile designer ethnic wear and stretch your style sensibilities in ways that will make the outfits look fresher every time you don them.
Here are ways to curate an ethnic wear capsule wardrobe with a very simple mantra- buy, love, wear, repeat.
Balancing a curation of both celebrated and emerging designers is the key rule of putting together a smartly planned capsule wardrobe. Consider a Varun Bahl lehenga or an Anita Dongre lehenga as an adroit investment for significant festive occasions. A sizeable collection of go-to kurta sets or basic Indian designer wear can be picked from new and promising names. Also, styling your look with a statement-making piece by a high-end luxury designer paired with basics by any up and coming label is a genius way to make those heavily-invested pieces look like a million bucks too. Case in point- A signature Anamika Khanna cape with any ruffled saree will give you a show-stopper look effortlessly. Quick note: Separate the wardrobe section-wise prioritizing the pieces accordingly to be able to snap the pieces together in a jiffy.
Impeccable tailoring and craftsmanship should be the main focus especially when you’re giving away a steep price. There’s nothing more off-putting than a view of a slouchily tailored piece. Sharp dressing makes your look register the moment you step in. Clean and clever way of dressing speaks more volumes about your style sensibilities rather than any other frivolously embellished piece. Form-flattering pieces like designer anarkalis and indo-western are a necessity. Focus on choosing silhouettes that complement your body type the best while investing in ready to wear ensembles. If the premium designer looks that you usually spot on magazines and celebrities get pricey for you, spending on immaculately-trimmed ensembles by new and talented names can give you a similar resemblance and appeal.
Trend-dictating ensembles not only cost you a fortune but also run out of style and are then left forgotten. It’s always flattering to wear something covetable but not being able to get the worth out of that expensive piece once it goes out of style is a complete blow off. I know investing in classics becomes the numero uno rule here but occasionally spending on trendy Indian designer wear can also be pardoned. These trends do stage a comeback almost a couple of years into fading away. So, you can consider archiving a few pieces of trusty designer ethnic wear. Placing your bet on trendsetter numbers might give you a good return if you’re lucky. As they say, a fate only favours the brave. Moreover, you can always break and reinvent the separates that are hard to say goodbye to.
The basics you need now:
The statement makers on the hautelist:
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