Going to an Indian wedding...clothes advice

August 5, 2006 8:18 AM

I'm Indian, and am going to an Indian wedding for my cousin. I'm not sure I want to go the sari/salwar kameez route. Something different?(more inside)

I'm going to my cousin's wedding in October, and I'm wondering if there is something I can wear that's more form-fitting than the usual Indian clothes. I won't wear a sari, but have worn a salwar kameez or lacha numerous times and always feel like I am drowning in the fabric and look chubby in the pictures. I'm pretty normal for an Indian girl--short, size 4, etc, but I am just not comfortable in the clothes. Are there any suggestions for dresses that might fit the theme, but are more form-fitting? I don't usually dress like a hoochie, but the floor length clothes make me feel stumpy. It's not the type of community where people would gasp if I wore something different or revealing, but I'd still like to know if I have some more options, something above-the-knee, that still helps me blend with other Indians.

posted by sweetkid to clothing, beauty, & fashion (13 comments total)

This dress from Nordstrom has a fairly ornate fabric, which should blend in well with saris, yet is modern and fitted.
posted by essexjan at 8:37 AM on August 5, 2006

If you're handy with a sewing machine, maybe you could alter a kameez to be more form-fitting, and wear it without the salwar.

Or make one from scratch: you can get a pattern from Folkwear, whom I can recommend. You can alter it to fit the way you want (test first in a cheap cloth like muslin before cutting your lovely expensive fabric). Googling for "kameez pattern" yielded a few other possibilities, but I have no experience with them.
posted by Quietgal at 9:58 AM on August 5, 2006

I realize I am attempting to answer my own question, but I just found this. More suggestions are certainly welcome, but this is the idea, for sure.
posted by sweetkid at 10:51 AM on August 5, 2006

sweetkid, I love that dress. I think you should totally go for that or something like it.
posted by tastybrains at 11:21 AM on August 5, 2006

Yes, sweetkid, that dress is beautiful. Perhaps with a chiffon shawl in the same colour with gold trim if there's any part of the wedding where you would need to cover your head or shoulders, or if the aunties are giving you too many disapproving looks!
posted by essexjan at 11:34 AM on August 5, 2006

I am such a poor excuse for an Indian. I avoid weddings like the plague.

But that link you found looks mighty interesting. You could also try a nice lehenga, I suppose.
posted by madman at 11:51 AM on August 5, 2006

A lot of modern salwhar khamez(es) nowadays are form-fitting. I just wore one such outfit yesterday.

How about a nice fatwa? It's like a salwhar khameez top that you can wear with pretty much anything - jeans, slacks, skirts, whatever. Those have all sorts of patterns and styles. I have a couple of blue & white ones that ALWAYS get me compliments whenever I wear them.
posted by divabat at 4:02 PM on August 5, 2006

It seems like, as long as a person doesn't show leg, there isn't necessarily excess fabric in modern Indian formal wear!

But your dress is way prettier.
posted by Methylviolet at 5:27 PM on August 5, 2006

Most of the new indian fashions are pretty tight -- the tight tops and slim skirts, for example, or bootleg pants and short tops (I have a couple of those from last year that I got tailored to fit me and they're super cute and very comfortable). The dress from Nordstrom is gorgeous, and I don't know if you're concerned about other people or not, but in my family, there would a little talk behind my back about wearing a low cut or super short dress to a wedding...yours might be less conservative though!
posted by echo0720 at 6:45 PM on August 5, 2006

You'll be very popular if you go in the nordstrom dress. ;)
But like echo, in my family too they would be small gasps behind your back (and my family ISNT conservative by indian standards). If the wedding is in India, they will chalk it up to "american looseness" (never mind that indian gals in india are out-loosening american gals every day). ;)
On the other hand, I think the dress is gorgeous and why not give them something to talk about? (especially the men).
posted by jak68 at 8:24 PM on August 5, 2006

What about this dress by Nicole Miller? It's really elegant, and with a pair of heels you won't feel stumpy at all. Plus it has a hint of sari-style fabric around the waist. (It's findable in other sizes elsewhere on the web.)
posted by anjamu at 8:59 PM on August 5, 2006

Even though you've already picked a beautiful dress there's always the ghagra choli. I think I totally spelt that wrong. But anyway, it's a short tight top with a long flowy skirt and if you're worried about drowning in material just get it fitted and it'll look fine.

Clicky.

On further inspection they seem to be the same as lehenga.

And on a total side note, I do detest Indian weddings and always stick to westernised clothing if I can, so good choice!
posted by liquorice at 11:57 PM on August 5, 2006

I think a bunch of the above options are great, but just to add something that worked for me:

I wore a satin ballgown-type skirt with a slinky spaghetti strap top, both bought from department stores. I took a piece of embroidered fabric with colors that complemented the skirt, tucked one corner in at the skirt's waistband, and wound it around me and over my shoulder like the last yard or two of a sari. It looked perfectly formal and modest for the ceremony. Family members and westerners alike were asking me where I had found my dress. And later I was able to take off the fabric bit to hit the dance floor.
posted by synapse at 12:19 AM on August 6, 2006