Navratri special: Going glam for garba

With tomorrow being the sixth day of Navratri celebrations, the nine-day fiesta will be gaining steam in Pune. The guide doles out handy advice by designers on how to dress for the occasion

From decorating your house to decking up for dandiya, the nine-day festival means all this and more. Yet it is often challenging to choose attire that fits the part but is trendy and stands apart from the crowd at the same time. Purvi Doshi, fashion designer, says, "People want a fusion of sorts and are looking to try out different things. A flare at the bottom is very popular and is in fashion."

Woman celebrating garba. Pic/Rane Ashish

A wide variety of chaniya cholis with gota or zari (brocade) or kodi (conch shells) and aabhla (an embroidery style), are good options can be found nowadays. Markets are getting fashionable with designs of plain gota border skirts, which you can club with a vest or tee that can be matched with a variety of accessories.

"If you're very thin, you should go for the typical traditional look for ghagras and cholis. While if you're tall, you might want to wear long dresses with pocket ghagras,” says the young designer.

Doshi points out that ghaghra borders with LED lights happen to be very popular this Navratri season. Doshi mentions, "Avoid wearing heels and wear flats while playing garba in order to not hurt yourself. Also, it is always better to wear another layer of clothing under the ghagra."

To complete the chic look, accessories are a must as well. While ivory bangles have been traditionally a favourite, jewellery designer Sumit Sawhney, advises, "South Indian jewellery with its engravings of temples is in vogue.”

Sawhney further adds, "The Lotus flower being a symbol of purity is very much in style, especially the lotus nath (nose ring). 

The Lakshmi amantran necklace too is popular. Tonnes of gold, silver and rubies can be seen gaining popularity. If unsure of what to wear, colours like orange and maroon can act as safe bets.”

Nickel-plated jewellery or artificial jewellery is a big no-no as per Sawhney. Referring to how they can irritate the skin during garba, he stresses on gold and silver to glam up your Navratri look.

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