"What do I wear?!"
Formal Indianwear Guide
Our wedding consists of 2 Indian events and 1 Western event. We would love it for our guests to wear Indian attire for the Indian events! For those not very familiar with Indianwear, I've included some descriptions below. You can also find great descriptions and pictures online. Indian wedding attire is bright and festive, and there's no such thing as "too much" for an Indian wedding!
If you're looking for somewhere to get Indian wear, we have some suggestions!
If you're near Chicago, there are a number of shops on Devon Avenue and in Naperville to find things in person, although they can be expensive. You can also find shops in the South Bay, Berkeley, Austin, and various parts of New Jersey. Below, we've included a few websites that we or people we know have ordered from successfully before. These sites mainly ship from India, so it might make sense to find a few people to order together, to cut down on shipping costs. You can also find options on sites like Amazon and Etsy - just be sure to check the reviews before ordering. When shopping online, look for items that say "ready made" and not semi-stitched or unstitched - these are unfinished garments that need minor or major tailoring to be finished items.
Lashkaraa (Lashkaraa.com)
Koskii (koskii.com)
Kalki (kalkifashion.com)
Pernia's Pop Up (more upscale; perniaspopupshop.com)
Manyavar (menswear; manyavar.com)
There are a variety of other formalwear options as well. Sharara suits, palazzo sets, dresses, Indo-western fusion - anything in the spirit of Indian-wear is appreciated!
Sandals and slippers are traditional footwear for Indian events. Our venue is not fully paved, so we recommend shoes you're comfortable walking on soft ground in!
See Outfit Ideas for:
Outfits for Women
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Saree
(sahr-ee, or sorry)
This is probably what you picture when you think of Indian attire. It consists of a cropped blouse on top and a long piece of fabric wrapped around the waist, pleated decoratively, then draped over the shoulder. Typically, a saree is purchased as the long piece of fabric with a separate or attached piece of fabric meant to be made into a blouse. You can also purchase readymade blouses separately.
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Lehenga
(luh-heng-uh)
A lehenga is a long, full skirt. It is commonly paired with a crop top called a choli (choh-lee), but it can also be paired with a longer blouse, a tunic, or even a dress. This is usually paired with a dupatta (doo-pot-uh, scarf), which can be worn in a variety of ways - over one shoulder, over both shoulders, tucked into the lehenga.
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Salwar Kameez
(sahl-wahr kuh-meez)
A combination of a top (kameez) and pants (salwar). The top is a long or short tunic, with any style of sleeves. The pants may be skinny, straight, palazzo-style (sharara, shar-are-uh), flared at the knee like bell bottoms (gharara, gar-are-uh), have lots of "wrinkles" of extra fabric at the ankle (churidar, chur-ih-dar), or like a full-bottom jogger (dhoti, dough-tee). This is also usually paired with a dupatta (doo-pot-uh, scarf).
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Anarkali
(an-are-kuh-lee)
An anarkali is basically an A-line dress, sometimes worn over pants. Anarkalis are mid-calf length or longer, typically with long sleeves. This is also usually paired with a dupatta (scarf).
Outfits for Men
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Sherwani
(shur-wahn-ee)
A sherwani is a long jacket worn over pants. The jacket is typically worn closed. The pants may be skinny, straight, have lots of "wrinkles" of extra fabric at the ankle (churidar), or like a full-bottom jogger (dhoti).
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Kurta
(cour-tah)
A kurta is a long, tunic-style shirt. It's worn over pants.
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Nehru jacket
(nare-ooh)
A Nehru jacket is a vest with a collar worn over a long tunic (kurta) with pants. It's named after an Indian politician who wore this all the time.