Easy Breezy Lehenga Style Saree Draping

The very concept of a saree made to look and drape like a lehenga was a complete hit on the ramp not many years back. Experiments in draping styles of sarees have only helped improve the outreach of this beautiful traditional wear, as it has certainly got far more fans now. It is in its flexibility of wearing styles which give the saree its firm place of superiority. It also needs to be accepted that lehenga has slowly risen to the status of a garment that is as traditional and as loved in many parts of India, having got a very glamorous look with the crossover it has made to more innovative designs.

The same can be said for the saree as well. But then, what about those, who would like to once in a while make that small switch from wearing sarees to wearing a lehenga look attire for special occasions? Can such tweaking be possible? Of course!  Not only is it possible, but it has variations that you would love to try, giving your lehenga drape a different look next time.

Here is what you need to remember while preparing yourself for the drape:

• Do wear heels as it helps give you better posture and keeps the saree from getting under your feet.
• Make sure to wear the kind of jewelry that complements the look of traditional lehengas-check earrings and lots of glass bangles and kadas.
• Make sure that your blouse is stitched more in the choli style as that is what significantly affects the way your look comes about at the very end.
• When you are not too sure that the saree length will be adequate or not, do take a chunri or another heavier dupatta that coordinates well with the saree.
• The choice of the saree matters-try to use a saree that has heavily embroidered lower half –maybe the kind that has large appliqués or motifs in a variety of colors.
• Using a softer fabric saree will allow the pleats to settle in neatly and not create a bulge at the waist.

Here are the steps for wearing your regular saree in the lehenga style:

 Step1

Make sure that you have worn an underskirt that is made of high-quality satin or shimmer fabric, especially if the fabric of the saree is thin and see-through. It matters a lot that the lehenga drape be given a thicker fabric underskirt to make the pleats appear heavier and substantially like a lehenga.

Take the other end of the saree and tuck it at the back, right at the center and bring it to the right-hand side. Keep tucking in as you bring it to the right side of the waist.

Step2

Begin pleating very neatly. The first pleat can be formed at a width of 4 to 5 inches. The second and the following pleats will have to be of the same width and as you go along to tuck make sure there is no gap between the pleats. Continue pleating till you reach the other end of the waist on the left and tuck the last pleat there.

Step 3

Now continue tucking in the saree neatly as you approach the back and cross the already tucked in the first layer and cover that and continue moving on to the right side of the back waist.

Step 4

Here is the point of creating the long pallu drape. Take the rest of the fabric and make pleats and allow it to drop like one would in a seedha pallu saree. You may take one corner and tuck it at the waist on the left side.Remember to pin up the pleats in a few places to make them more secure and also at the pallu at the shoulder. It is also imperative that you remember to wear some kind of cummerbund or jewelry that could be at the waist thereby beautifying the look of the lehenga. Remember to also ensure that all pleats are equidistant and of the same width and at the same level above the floor.

Variation

Let’s add more fun to this look!

Make pleats all along the waistband of the underskirt and use up the entire saree for creating pleats. Now add an additional dupatta that complements this saree and gives a fresh new look of contrast and overlay that can easily be created. All you have to do is take the dupatta, pleat it like you would a pallu and tucks it simply on the other side at the waist. This is how it would look. Here is another way of draping the dupatta or odhani with your saree. After you have completely used up the saree for making drapes, you could now tuck one corner of the extra drape right in front and then take the rest of the drape to the back and over the right shoulder as shown in the picture below.

In the picture below an old saree has been structured like a lehenga. The same look could be tried out with a raw silk saree that has a heavy border on one side and then a dupatta which contrasts with it could be draped the way it is here. Note the finesse that has gone into the coordination through the interplay of colors of the border with the blouse as well as the shoulder drape.The lehenga style of drape will look particularly lovely with net sarees as they add that frothiness to the pleats, and when worn with a silver or gold shimmer underskirt will lend a richer feel to the look of the lehenga pleats one makes. If one wears that with a heavy choli and coordinated dupatta, the look would be very much in place!

Image Credits:  http://pinterest.com