Quick Tips to Recycle Your Bridal Outfits

Your big day is over! Gosh, so many mixed feelings. The drama, the fun, the hullabaloo associated with it is what you’re going to miss for a long time now. But now the big question arises. Wait, have you completely forgotten about it? Your bridal outfit! What do you do with your bridal outfit, you ask? Well, ever thought of recycling it? Or are you one of those who think bridal outfit and recycling don’t go together?

No matter how much you convince yourself that you will wear that saree or lehenga again, your wedding outfit just doesn’t see the light of the day. Either there’s never a right occasion to wear it, or the outfit is just too loud for your taste now. So, one of the best ways to cherish the memories and feelings attached to the outfit is by recycling it.

Here are a few tips on how you can recycle your bridal outfit with a little bit of innovation, creativity and wear it with confidence.

Recycling Lehengas

Convert the dupatta into a saree

Photo by: Dot Dusk

Dupatta is a distinctive part of a lehenga. You can always re-use it by turning it into a saree that can be worn for various functions. A plain saree with a heavy pallu is the trend this season. Add extra fabric to form the base of the saree and flaunt the beautiful dupatta-turned-saree to the world. Wearing it with a plain blouse highlights the most attractive end of the saree. You’re now ready to attend any ceremony and do the job that you’re best at— look gorgeous.

Opt for a long jacket instead of a choli

Sheer long jackets are in fashion and would perfectly match any lehenga. You can wear a long plain jacket to cover the heavily-embellished outfit. It provides an Indo-western look and helps establish a perfect balance of style and traditions.

Anarkali suit

Stitch the lehenga to the choli and make it an anarkali suit. This way, the beautiful work done on the lehenga will be visible and give the whole outfit a touch of royalty. You could opt for some fabric that has zari work done on it to cover the waistline. You could use the dupatta if you wish to make your anarkali look complete!

Try and experiment

Since you’ve invested so much time and money to get that perfect lehenga for your wedding day, not using it completely would do injustice to it. So, since the lehenga is heavily embellished with fabrics, designs and a lot of detailing, matching it with a simple, plain crop top or a short blouse to get the right look. Go for something that is not flashy and complements the lehenga.

Recycling Sarees

Use it as a dupatta

Photo by: Dot Dusk

Converting an old saree into a dupatta is a nice way of recycling without having to throw it away. Beautiful kanjeevaram sarees can be turned into dupattas. The saree-turned-dupatta would look simple yet classy and make even the simplest of churidars stand out.

Half Saree

Photo By: Navdeep Soni

This style has been prevalent for long now, and a lot of girls down South wear the same thing, which is called ‘davani’. You can convert a saree into a lehenga, and the leftover fabric of the saree can be stitched into a dupatta.

Convert the saree into a kurta

Your wedding saree can be turned into a beautiful kurta you can wear anytime, anywhere. Just adding some fabric on the sleeves or in a belt style at the waist can make the kurta look stunning.

Sarees can be made into skirts

When you go into the interiors of Tamil Nadu, you’ll find a lot of young girls wearing something called ‘pavadai’, which is a skirt made out of pure silk. So, if you have a kanjeevaram style saree that you don’t know how to recycle, make a skirt from it to look gorgeous.

Don’t just let something beautiful rot in that cupboard of yours. There are a million ways in which you can convert your bridal outfit into something stunning and more importantly something adaptable.