Ever attended an Asian wedding, especially Pakistani or Indian wedding? If you have, you would be very fond of the get up of young girls and the bride. The beautiful themes and amazing functions such as Mehndi and Barat riving the old tradition of the sub-continent region are delightful.
Off all the ethnic Asian women attires, the most eye-catching is the “lehenga choli”, a traditional brides wear which reflects the cultural and traditional love of the people of the region.
Lehenga
A lehenga is a type of skirt which is ankle-length, luxuriously embroided and plated. It is worn as the bottom part of a lehenga choli. It is secured at the waist and leaves the lower back and midriff bare.
Choli
The choli is a tightly fitted piece of clothing similar to a blouse, it could be short, or long, or extended below the waist. It can also be in the kurti style with mirror work and a backless tie-up string trend.
Materials and embroidery
The lehenga cholis are made of several different fabrics such as Silk, Cotton, Khadi, Georgette, Crape, Net, Satin, Brocade and Chiffon etc. Although stylists have successfully used the various types of fabrics for making the lehenga, silk is the most preferred fabric.
Apart from the fabric, ornate stitching patterns also play an important role. Lehengas come with a wide variety of decoration and embroidery work like Gota, Phulkari, Shisha, Chikankari, Zari, Zardozi, Nakshi, Kundan, etc. For formal wear and weddings, the embroidery is heavier in pearls, silk, sequins and zari.
Types of lehenga cholis
Originally traditional lehenga is now available in diffrent types. A few of them being Circular, Flared Lehenga, Mermaid/ Fishtail Lehenga, Paneled Lehenga, A-Line Lehenga, Sharara cut Lehenga, Straight Cut Lehenga, Lehengas with a Jacket and etc.
- Circular flared lehenga are considered the oldest and most traditional styles in lehengas, broad flare completes circle at hem, hence named the circular flared lehenga. This Lehenga has a dense volume and starts with pleats at the hem that finally merge as one goes down the flare. If you are planning to design your lehenga, choose a fabrics that can support a number of pleats easily and go for huge borders at the hem. Too much embroidery on the fabric would not be the smartest choice for this specific lehenga.
- The mermaid lehenga gets it make by mimicking the mermaids. These lehengas are tight at the knees and flare till the calves in the form of a fishtail, hence the name mermaid lehenga. These lehengas are a bit tighter at the hips and the waists and hence must be worn with a proper bodysuit underneath.
- The paneled lehenga structure consist of horizontal panels of fabrics attached along the flare of the lehenga. Often because of the sheer volume of the fabrics attached to the panel, density of the flare is increased. Also, a contrasting set of fabrics is used to give unique exquisite designs. This lehenga is the choice for you if you’re going to be attending traditional functions and will not recommend it for the bride.
- A-line lehenga has the usual A-line edge that forms a perfect A. The lehenga is tighter at the waist and flares out to the bottom. The number of creases in this lehenga are quite less.
- Sharara cut lehenga have also evolved into the categories of lehengas with the trends changing in the market. These are lehengas that are stitched from the middle of the border like a trouser or a huge palazzo but looks like a lehenga as a whole. These are usually worn with long Kurtis.
- Straight cut lehengas, as the name indicates, has a straight skirt that flows along the body curves and doesn’t flare out like the usual lehengas. This one is the most versatile option and goes well with almost all the body types. One needs to be careful with the right inners when going for this one.
- Lehengas with a jacket style is very fresh in the world of weddings and is getting into the top hits these days. The lehengas are kept simple with a long jacket covered in zardozi embroidery or delicate weaving on velvet. Since only the hem of the lehenga is visible through the jacket, these often have broad laces or heavy work on them. With the type of jacket that you chose, you can have a variety of looks from rich and elegant ones to subtle and decent ones as well.
- Half saree lehenga is inspired from the traditional half saree, this lehenga gives a virtual saree look without the need to go through the trouble of tying one. The look is basically due to the way one drapes the dupatta with the lehenga. It usually is a low flare A-line lehenga.
So if you have any upcoming occasions and events, get your lehenga choli made in the perfect style and design of your choice and steal all the attention. And don’t forget to take pictures;)
