Saree blouse styling ideas

One of my favourite things in the spring/summer is to wear all my cropped saree blouses and cholis in fun ways…

Photos: Vincent Boyer (Say hi on instagram @shape.photos)

These photos feature a Sambhalpuri ikat fabric blouse worn with Kalamkari hand block print palazzo pants plus handcrafted wedge heeled sandals as well as with sneakers and a handloom cotton saree woven in a village called Yeditha in the Mandapeta mandal in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

I posted a photo on my instagram last week when I wore the blouse with the Kalamkari flared pants and got a whole bunch of DMs asking me questions on the hows and whys of wearing saree blouses with anything other than sarees.

I have spoken about mixing fabrics and patterns being great fun when styling saree blouses in eclectic ways with basics other than the six or nine yards, along with some pairing ideas in a previous post here.

I totally believe that traditional saree blouses make the best crop tops and have said as much in an old blog post from four years ago here. In this post I want to talk about the little tips and tricks up my sleeve that make it easy to wear saree blouses in multiple ways:

1. Going one (or more) size/s up: Oversize saree blouses are my jam, eschewing the norm when it comes to fits is something I love and I feel that non-tight tops are more fun to style with myriad separates.
2. Adding fun details: I love adding tiny extras to my blouses, interesting details like buttons, ties, ruffles etcetera, which give me a reason to wear them with a bunch of other items in my wardrobe and get more bang for my buck.
3. Keeping the back high: I detest deep backs on saree blouses because I like to be able to keep my fits a little looser than most and also because I like using my blouses as little shrugs or tie up tops.
4. Traditional patterned fabrics: I believe traditional fabrics like khadis, brocades or handblock prints or ikats or bandhanis or hand embroidered cholis lend themselves wonderfully to outfits that can take one from a brunch or a work day to the night out in town.
5. Eschewing ideas of the perfect body: I think one of the more important reasons I am able to wear saree blouses in fun ways is that I don’t care about how fit or unfit I look. The same goes for swimwear, I don’t have the flattest stomach or toned arms or a super cute butt and that doesn’t stop me from wearing whatever I feel like in ways that makes me happy.
6. Playing with flair and proportions: Playing with fit, flair, proportions and patterns keep things interesting when styling one’s outfits and the same applies to saree blouses.
7. Relaxed denims: I find flared and relaxed pants/ shorts lend themselves easier to styling with cropped blouses than skinnier fit bottoms and in general I find my drop-crotch jeans the most fun to wear. Case in point, bandhani choli with boyfriend jeans here.
8. Ignoring other people’s opinions: There are way too many of us who think it’s okay to have an opinion on what someone else is wearing and how they have styled it. I ignore other people’s ideas and pair whatever I like together. If I am totally feeling myself, I don’t let anyone else take that away from me.
9. Steering clear of trends: I prefer classic cuts, old world crafts, ethical producers and comfy fits, no trend can make me waver from things that work for my personality, needs and a sustainable lifestyle.

I hope if there is one thing you take away from this post it is that, when it comes to personal style, do whatever makes you happy. I know I do.

Diwali edit: The skirt saree

Brilliant-hued bandhani with playful zari ruffles cinched at the waist, worn over a merino sweater makes for a fun but super comfy festive look, perfect for the chilly evenings during the Diwali season…

Photos: Vincent Boyer (Say hi on instagram @vincetravelbook)

My love for bandhani sarees like this gajji silk beauty is immense and sometimes I buy different motifs in the same colour palette because I love the stories that artisans create on fabric. Case in point here, here, here and here.

The festive season is well and truly upon us, the air is filled with celebration and joy and our inboxes are overflowing with blingy outfits that we’re told are the must-have this year. Its the time nosy aunties and well-meaning relatives descend upon us telling us how we must dress our traditional best.

Have you been accosted by any such family members and friends? Do you not understand why Diwali has become so commercialised? All your want to do this season is be comfortable and have fun?

Well then, the following are my un-rules that I apply to my festive season dressing and I have never been happier:

1. No waiting for matchy matchy separates: I can’t be bothered to wear the matching blouse to a lehenga or saree, the right under skirt, the matching dupatta, the right underwear or any such rule. I’ll merrily mix whatever I please whether it is pastels with jewel tones or sweaters with my sarees and lehenga, anything goes.
2. No wearing uncomfortable shoes: I don’t care what the trend is, I wear shoes that are comfortable and suit my mood. Whether its pointy stilettos, stable wedges, solid block heels or fun sneakers, I pick whatever my heart and feet fancy without a thought to anything else.
3. No boob constricting tops: I refuse to wear bone crushing saree blouses, corsets or any manner of tops that constrict me in anyway. My girls like to be footloose and fancy free, if you know what I mean.
4. No safety-pins: I have no wish to be on the receiving end of a sudden pokey jab in the midst of all my merry-making, which is why I rarely ever use safety-pins and completely avoid them over the festive season. Knots, tucks and pleats suffice to keep my sarees in place, these photos are proof of that.
5. Wearing what I truly desire in ways that makes me happy: I genuinely wear what I feel like in ways that appeal to me without a thought to ‘log kya kahenge’. I believe that truly being comfortable in my own skin and styling myself in ways that appeal to me are the secret to feeling great and that is all that matters!
6. No letting anyone decide how much or how little zari or embellishment I’ll wear: There is the popular opinion that says festive fashion means opulent silks, lots of zari, a plethora or sequins, a tonne of zardosi, oodles or gotapatti etc. I ignore all dictates wear khadi or a katan banarasi and go as less or as more as my heart desires, that’s why it’s all such fun.
7. Deviating from the traditionally approved colour palettes: I wear black if I want to, I colour block if I feel like, I mix warm and cool tones when I am so inclined, I mix prints and generally refuse to limit my colour palette to some one else’s taste.
8. Celebrating in ways that make sense to me: The festive season, in all its glory, is also notoriously exhausting and can be a tall order for some of us. I pick and choose what I celebrate and how. Sometimes its the big party, at other times its relaxing on the beach or just reading a good book.
9. Not buying a new outfit unless I really feel I will wear it heaps: To me it is very important to buy versatile good quality, handcrafted, pieces made with natural fabrics that will last for ages because I don’t believe in a new wardrobe every season.
   In a world of constant personalised advertising, mass consumption, social inequities, needless consumerism and environmental challenges, while we’re distracted chasing deadlines, each of us has a responsibility to be conscious of how our purchase decisions carry an impact.
10. Being comfortable: I don’t believe in wearing things that I can’t run, dance and jump in. Comfort is key when dressing regardless of the time of the year or the occasion, as long as I am comfy, I have fun. So I have no qualms about switching the seasonal staples to match my need to wear things that feel like pyjamas.
11. Stop worrying over the do’s and don’ts: Wear a bindi with desi wear, don’t mix gold and silver, don’t let your bra strap show, don’t show too much skin, don’t be too plain or too provocative, there are just too many stupid rules that I choose to ignore. I want to unpack the beliefs and attitudes that are expressed and reinforced through the rigid rules women must follow when clothing themselves. I believe in reclaiming my power and agency. I reject any rule that reinforces disempowering and objectifying conceptions of women’s bodies and women’s sexuality.
12. Finding ways to reuse, restyle and recycle: I like making the most of what I have, adding unique pieces to my wardrobe and turning over old clothes into new ones. Its fun to use separates in ways that are innovative and give already existing apparel a new lease on life by changing its look and sometimes purpose entirely.    Like the saree in this photo here, I can literally wear it again and again by switching up the drape and combining it with already existing separates in my wardrobe to create new looks every single time.

Dressing up for the festive season should be fun and different people enjoy different things. Its okay to be different and its also okay to blend into the crowd as long as one is happy.

I have made a previous post on the twelve kinds of handcrafted sarees that are my favourites for the festive season, you can check it out here. I hope the light of independent thought sans any social conditioning shines on all of us this Diwali.