The essential guide to what to wear to an Asian wedding

The essential guide to what to wear to an Asian wedding

Indian wedding dress code can be a minefield especially if it is your first invitation to an Asian wedding.  Buying Indian clothes online is also not easy, and we worked really hard to simplify the process on our site. However there are few unwritten laws of the Asian wedding fashion that are good to know and take into consideration when you decide on your next wedding guest outfit. So here are top tips:

1. Avoid red as a colour Indian clothes for the wedding day as the bride could quite likely be in this colour!
2. Also black is not acceptable for the wedding day Seikh and Hindu weddings, but it is fine for Muslim weddings.
3. For Muslim weddings, more modest evening wear is preferable. So avoid sleeveless evening gowns with deep decollete or mini cocktail dresses if you are invited to a Muslim wedding.

 Styles of Indian Clothes 

What is your host’s religious background they would appreciate their guest effort to wear traditional Asian styles as opposed to a mainstream fashion. Our collection of fusion styles are perfect for any Indian wedding, but can also be styled as a mainstream fashion dresses and worn over and over again for any occasion. Among our huge range of outfits your can select between 4 basic style: churidar suits, trouser suits, sarees and lehenga.

Churidar suits

A churidar suit is a very popular style to wear to Indian weddings. The churidar is the lower part of the asian suit; the leggings which are gather at the ankle. They can be worn with an anarkali dress which is a long dress which fit and flare at the waist and have lots of flare at the hemline and are often heavily panelled. They can also be worn with shorter shift style dresses/kameezes which are like women’s tunics but with side slits up to the hip line.

As a style the churidar suit is very comfortable and practical to wear, often with the  churidar pyjama being made in lycra woven fabrics which is the current trend. You can then wear the dresses/tunics with skinny jeans or on their own for extra versatility.

All the Asian suits come with stoles which are called duputtas. The current look is that they are only 20 inches wide which makes them much easier to wear. They can be worn on over one shoulder or across the neck, or across the back and over the arms for a more elegant look.

Here are a few examples of churidar suits.

This full Asian suit consists of a churidar, flare dress which resembles the traditional anarkali and a stole. As you can see our contemporary churidar suits are easy to wear and can be repurposed after the event as dresses that you can wear in everyday life. The rich floral embroidery on the front combined with the trendy mint colour base is perfect for summer weddings.

Shop the look here - Mint and floral churidar suit 

See below another example of a churidar suit. In this case the churidar is paired with a beaded fitted dress and of course, a net stole. With an outfit such as this one you will achieve a more formal, glam Indian evening look. Heavy beading is a signature feature of Indian suits, so don’t think you are overdoing it if you slip into a similar Asian suit. 

Shop the look here - Navy and antique beaded churidar suit

Trouser suits

Trouser suits follow the same pattern as churidar suits. The former consists of slim trousers or capri pants paired with a kameez, tunic or even a mini dress, with a dupatta.

The trouser suit can be seen as an ensemble what embraces together Easter and Western culture in a modern elegant attire. Recently, trouser suits have become increasignle popular in mainstream British fashion culture.

 So, if you go with a trouser suit, you will definitely score double! Firstly, you will abide by the traditional Indian look; secondly, you can be right on trend for this season’s couture style.

Here are a few examples from our SS14 collection of how to wear the trend

This royal blue and gold trouser suit will give you a superbly elegant Asian wedding guest look. It is modest in that the tunic features a mandarin collar and sheer long sleeves. Hence, it is perfect for a Muslim wedding. The Asian influence is translated through delicate ethnic embroidery at the hemline of the tunic.

Shop the look here - High collar blue trouser suit

This yellow and grey Asian trouser suit is an absolute fashion here this season. Here and fusion of East and West creates a dynamic piece with an asymmetric top in a trendy canary yellow with ethnic grey embroidery, slim trousers and a dupatta.

Shop the look here - Yellow and grey trouser suit 

Sarees 

Sarees are the landmark of Indian attire and are preferred choice among our causasian clients as the saree embodies the richness of the culture. The saree is simply a long piece of fabric that you pleat around your waist and then drape across your shoulder. The cropped top that you wear with it is called a choli. As you can imagine sarees come in all colours, featuring rich embroideries, ethnic patterns and stonework, alongside the variety of fabcrics that can be used to make it. Most often, you will find sarees in silk, georgette and satin.

The art of wearing a saree is related to the many different styles of draping and pleating. If you look into the topic, you’ll find out that there are plenty online sources and books written on how to drape a saree in different ways. A high fashion couture look is to pair your saree with a belt. Check out our article on different ways to drape your saree with a belt here.

If you are conscious about your body and how you’d look in a cropped top and 9 yards of fabric, DON’T BE! The saree is a traditional Indian wear, symbol of the culture, that is worn by every Indian woman regardless of height or body shape.

Here is a fantastic illustration showing the different ways of draping in South Asia.

The saree is a popular wear in Pakistan as well. It is worn to formal occasions, such as weddings. Most commonly, elderly Muslim women who wore the garnment pre-partition, wear sarees in their daily life.

Here are a few suggestions on what type of saree to wear to an Asian wedding.

Our orange saree is perfect for the summer. The richness of the colour is associated with summer events and holidays like Eid and Holi and it is also perfect for summer weddings.

Shop the look here - Orange and multi colour saree

This red and black saree has a distinct high fashion feel, radiating by the velvet choli, cutout at the back and antique gold applique work. If this is your style, then don’t hesitate to get a saree like this.

Shop the look here - Black and red saree 

Lehenga

The lehenga or lehnga is simply a long pleated skirt with embroidery. It comes in different styles – mermaid, straight cit, A-line. It is the embroidery that makes it uniquely Asian. On top you can wear a matching choli or blouse, depending on your preferences.

Let me just make a note here, lehnga style saree is a new trend in India. Unlike the saree, here you wouldn’t pleat and drape the fabric simply just wrap and tuck.

Here is an example of a traditional Indian lehnga in ivory and navy with neon pink detailing. You can easily wear this outfit with minimal jewellry.

Shop the look here - Navy and ivory lehenga suit

We hope this will give you enough insight into the variety of options of styles what you can wear to an Asian wedding as a wedding guest.

Just remember not to outdo the bride!

Raishma  x