Ritu Kumar

Headed to a destination wedding? If yes, you’re bound to be confused with what and how much to carry. I know, because I’m headed to one next week. I’ve travelled outside Mumbai and India a number of times to attend weddings (perks of a big family!), but packing for them can be quite a task. How do I decide what to carry, given the weight and space limit? The past couple times I attended a wedding out of Mumbai, I made some smart choices when selecting my outfits and what to pack.

My fashion choices for destination weddings are now quite different from weddings I attend in Mumbai. Here is a handy guide based on my experience. Hope it helps you select the right clothes for the destination wedding you’re attending! Happy packing and bon voyage!

Indian outfits for destination weddings

What to pack

Saris (preferably pre-stitched or draped saris): For the wedding, reception or sangeet. (Below: Gaurav Gupta Tribe collection available at Jabong.com)

Anarkalis or kurtas: These are easy substitutes for saris at weddings. If your family norms aren’t too traditional, anarkalis are the perfect option. BTW, they are my top outfit of choice for destination weddings! (Below: BIBA by Rohit Bal, Look from Shyamal & Bhumika)

Kurtis and tunics: You need these for smaller occasions (like poojas or family gatherings). These can be worn without dupattas and with trousers. (Below: Tunic by Rena Love)

Selecting your outfits

Look for easy-to-wear, light fabrics that are weather-appropriate and won’t wrinkle easily in your suitcase.

Sequins and stones tend to fall off, especially when crammed in a suitcase (I know, it’s happened to me!). Embellishments like appliqué, gota patti and thread work are great alternatives.

You will need to carry Indian outfits for each occasion at the wedding, but you can save space by carrying clothes that can work with more than one outfit, such as dupattas and churidars.

Choose outfits with minimal embellishments and fuss. They shouldn’t add too much weight to your luggage and be easy to drape.

Avoid packing lehengas since they are usually cumbersome to carry and occupy too much space!

Casual wear for destination weddings

What to pack

Dresses and tops: Maxi dresses are great for travel and can be worn for a family lunch or out shopping. Look at wrinkle-free tops and tees that you can pair with shorts or pants. It’s good to carry some fuss-free tops and dresses that don’t require special lingerie or camisoles. (Below: Maxi dress by Label by Ritu Kumar, dress by Being Human)

Shorts and pants: Carry at least two trousers of which one could be cropped. Make sure they match your tops! (Below: Top from Forever New)

Selecting your outfits

Places with warm climes are usually the preferred destinations for Indian weddings. Keep the location in mind when packing your casual wear- it’s also a mini-holiday though you still need to look stylish.

Depending on the duration of your entire trip (and not just the wedding), you will need to carry multi-tasking clothes that you can mix and match, such as shorts and trousers in neutrals like black and beige.

If you’re carrying something that is a bit tough to match, either leave it behind at home or make sure you have at least two options to wear it with, which can also be worn with other garments. For example, carry at least two matching tops with your printed pants (they are usually tough to pair).

Avoid jeans. They are not meant for warm weather and add too much bulk to your luggage. Opt for cotton trousers or jeggings instead.

Beach wear for destination weddings

What to pack

Swim wear: One piece or bikini, it’s your choice! Of course, do keep in mind the culture of the place you are visiting. (Below: Swimsuit available at TheBeachCompany.in)

Beach cover-up or sarong: Can be worn over your swim suit or as a dress. Make sure you carry one if there is going to be a poolside party or beach gig. (Below: Bikini and cover-up available at TheBeachCompany.in)

Selecting your clothes

There is almost certain to be a swimming pool or fun water sports at the location of the destination wedding. There might even be a pool party!

You ideally would need just one set of swim wear, but if you’re keen, you can carry two sets.

Don’t carry your “sporty” swimwear that you wear for your daily pool workout. It’s too boring for a holiday.

Have fun with fun prints, bold colours and sexy cuts- you’re on holiday!

Coming up next: Accessories to pack for destination weddings

In Fashion, Shopping, trends

CHIC RIGHT NOW: 16 super trendy wedding fashion looks to covet

Speaking ChicDecember 4, 2014December 1, 2014Leave a comment

It’s the wedding season, ladies! With so many options out there, I’ve handpicked my favourite pieces for this wedding season by theme- colours, styling, silhouettes etc. Take a look and let these gorgeous outfits inspire you for the sangeets, mehendis, weddings or receptions you attend this festive season!

Which theme is your fave and which outfit makes it to your must-have list?

Minimal embellishment and simple silhouette with a heavy dupatta (Shyamal & Bhumika)

Print and embellishment worn two ways: on separate garments (Monisha Jaising) and on the same (Krishna Mehta)

Kurtas with pants: 3 ways! Worn with dhoti pants (Sva), with straight-cut pants (Anita Dongre), and with loose pants (Vikram Phadnis)

And now for the colours…

Unusual colour combos: Red, beige and blue (Ritu Kumar), yellow and dark blue (Vikram Phadnis)

Reds and pinks (Anju Modi, Anita Dongre, Anushree Reddy)

Turquoise (Shehlaa Khan and Sva)

White and off-white, looks great with gold! (Ritu Kumar and Vikram Phadnis)

Black… yes, it’s now a legit festive colour! (Arpita Mehta)

Happy wedding shopping and dressing! 🙂

In Fashion, trends

5 top tips to trendy Diwali dressing

Speaking ChicOctober 22, 2014Leave a comment

While we don’t usually put much though into our festive dressing, ethnic Indian wear is moving rapidly when it comes to designs and styles, with new trends coming every season. Here are some tips to help you wear these trends and look super-stylish this Diwali.

Tip 1: Experiment with embellishments

Embellishment sprayed all over your anarkali or sari are passé. The trend is toward embellishments on specific garments or sections of garments. This means pairing a heavy embellished dupatta from a lehenga with a simple kurta-churidar set, or heavily-sequined blouses with light saris. Embroidered borders on light saris and anarkali kurtas look great too. If you’re wearing calf-length anarkalis, opt for styles that have embellishments limited to the bodice. Also, look beyond stones or sequins—gold thread work, latkans (danglers) and shimmery thread can be great embellishments for Indian wear.

(Below: Look from Peppermint Diva and Anushree Reddy AW 14)

Tip 2: Try prints for a change

We usually associate festive dressing only with embellishments, but why not explore the wonderful variety of traditional Indian prints? Block prints give a rich feel on luxurious fabrics, while leheriya saris with gota work are sureshot winners. Or try out any bandhini pieces lying in your closet, such as dupattas or saris. Of course, if you miss bling, look for pieces that have a dash of sequins or metallic embellishments.

(Below: Turi sari with gota border from Amazon, Block-printed suit set from Biba at Jabong.com)

Tip 3: Mix and match

I know, mix and match as a fashion trend may be done to death recently, but it’s cool to create new looks from existing outfits. Mixing colours is easy, especially when you don’t need to match them. So pair the kurta of one outfit with the dupatta and churidar of another one. Or the gold blouse of your traditional sari with a new printed sari. Or throw a long or short jacket over your kurta. And who says you need to wear only traditional jewellery with Indian wear? Try diamond (or diamante) earrings with your ethnic outfits- you will be surprised how the fusion look works!

Below: Look from Ritu Kumar AW 2014 and Long jacket from Wrap Studio.

Tip 4: Update your accessories

You use your go-to metallic clutch all year round. This Diwali, try the batua instead (also known as a potli). They’re spacious, embellished and look great with ethnic Indian outfits, like saris and kurtas. When it comes to jewellery, you don’t need to follow the earrings-necklace-bangles routine. Instead, try on hair accessories like a maang tikka or clip, and ditch the bangles for a cuff and a simple gold-finish watch.

Below: Batua from Toniq, Jadau kada from Falguni Mehta

Tip 5: Groom, groom, groom!

A gorgeous festive look is incomplete without the perfect makeup and hair, right? Go for fuss-free hair styles like a blow dry or iron for natural bounce and texture. As for makeup, make lip colours the focus—copper, champagne and burgundy are ideal for ethnic wear. And hey, red lip colours always work!

Bonus Tip: Always remember the basics of festive dressing (colours, fabrics, silhouettes)

Rich colours: Deep blues and greens, reds, pinks, corals, orange family. BTW, black is okay too.

Luxurious fabrics: Opt for silk and georgette over cotton and linen.

Flattering silhouettes: Anarkalis or salwar-kurtas to suit your body type, well-draped saris to create the illusion of height and curves, with thin borders for petite women.

Happy Diwali to all!

In Fashion, News

Chic News: Padma Shri Ritu Kumar, Hidesign sunglasses, Reiss coming soon…

Speaking ChicApril 23, 2013April 22, 2013Leave a comment

Veteran designer Ritu Kumar is now Padma Shri Ritu Kumar after she received her honour from President Pranab Mukherjee couple days ago. It’s an honour long due for the lady who revived Indian textiles and crafts decades ago, making it “fashionable” to wear the work of Indian artisans. Hats off to her!

Hidesign is not just a bags brand anymore, they’ve got sunglasses too. They’ve recently introduced sunglasses for men and women, with staples like aviators and wayfarers, along with leather inlayed styles which promise to become a Hidesign classic. I especially like the use of deep pink, and the absence of plastic!
Prices range from Rs. 3000 to Rs. 4500.

Remember Kate Middleton’s elegant engagement dress? The good news is that the brand that made that dress Reiss is coming soon to India, in partnership with Reliance Brands. The bad news? You will have to wait till summer 2014 before you can get hold of Reiss’s elegant dresses. The prices may be premium but worthwhile, given the high quality in design and tailoring. BTW, Reiss does menswear too.

And lastly, If you haven’t seen this Dove video yet, you’re not living in 2013. Okay, kidding. Watch it now, and maybe the video will change how you perceive yourself. Of course, most women featured in the video are of a certain skin colour and meet but let’s forgive Dove for that oversight and focus on the bigger picture.

In 2013, News

Chic Updates from Ritu Kumar, Namrata Joshipura & Tarun Tahiliani

Speaking ChicJanuary 30, 2013February 10, 2013Leave a comment

Veteran Indian designer Ritu Kumar will soon be honoured with the Padma Shri. She is the first mainstream designer to be conferred this well-deserved honour, with more than four decades in the fashion industry, preserving and promoting Indian textiles. Ritu Kumar’s body of work has paved the way for contemporary Indian designers and was once synonymous with Indian bridal wear before the current breed of designers gained popularity. After all, some of the new bridal designers were probably infants while Ritu Kumar was revolutionising the textiles scene in India. Hats off, Ms Kumar!

Meanwhile, Namrata Joshipura has been announced as the grand finale designer at the upcoming season of Lakme Fashion Week. This will be Namrata Joshipura’s first show at LFW, which will be her interpretation of Lakme’s cutting edge makeup range.

With the week’s renewed focus on upcoming talent, this is not a surprise. Last season, Kallol Dutta and Pankaj-Nidhi presented at LFW’s grand finale. The show was well-appreciated but not without controversy.

Everyone it seems, is cashing in on the Pantone colour of 2013- emerald green. Timex has introduced timepieces studded with emerald green China CZ stones and sparkling Swarovski crystals designed by Tarun Tahiliani.

These India-inspired watches for women are available for Rs. 23,995 and Rs. 12,945. (Available at The Time Factory, Dadar, Mumbai). So if you can’t afford a TT lehenga, here’s your chance to own a piece designed by him. So what if it’s not your wedding joda?

In 2012, Fashion, News

Chic News: Junglee is here, brings limited fashion choices

Speaking ChicFebruary 7, 2012February 7, 2012Leave a comment

Amazon.com’s Junglee is here! I was quite excited to know Amazon.com had finally made a foray into India so I’ve spent good amount of time over the past few days on the website.

Junglee.com’s got over 1.2 crore products to choose from with over 14,000 brands selling books to electronics to clothes to garden furniture. But of course, I’m more interested in the fashion. 🙂

Brands, brands, brands

On the fashion front at Junglee, there’s not-so-good news- the fashion choices on the website are still limited.

While there are quite a few big fashion and accessories brands on their seller list, Junglee still has a long way to go to make a mark. Especially if you compare it with amazon.com and amazon.co.uk’s brands- they’ve got some really cool brands like Mango, Desigual, Diesel, Gas and Esprit, among others.

Currently, the fashion (clothes and accessories) brands on Junglee.com include Label by Ritu Kumar, Satya Paul, Fab India, Hidesign, Gitanjali, Bata, Puma and a handful of others.

Facing the fashion competition

Junglee will have to face competition from the fashion and flash sales websites that have been around for a while (Fashion and You, 99 Labels, Myntra) along with the more recent launches (Freecultr, BeStylish.com).

I would love to see Junglee’s fashion section acquire a strong local flavour with focus on Indian brands and designers like Latin Quarters, Wills Lifestyle, Metro, AND, Seven East… you get the drift. Junglee could even seek to carve out a niche in this area as a supporter and an online store for several Indian brands.

Some cool international brands would be fun too! It would be good to see top brands on Amazon during the season throughout the year, instead of just seeing old maal on flash sales sites.

In terms of user experience, the website is easy to navigate, clutter-free and has a good range of filters—like price, colours, sellers and brand.

Waiting to grow

Of course, it’s still the early stages for the site and for Amazon in India (someone told me Amazon has big plans for India and Junglee is only a beachhead for them). I assume the folks at Junglee will be working hard to expand their fashion brand base… fingers crossed!

What do you think of Junglee.com?

In Fashion, sari, trends

Chic transformation: Story of a brocade sari

Speaking ChicMarch 28, 20113 Comments

Few months ago, I wrote about Priyanka Chopra wearing a sari-inspired Louis Vuitton outfit on the Vogue India cover. In the post, I shared my sari-transformation wishlist. I’m happy I can now say I transformed a gorgeous sari into a wearable and equally gorgeous jacket. Here’s the story of the incredible brocade transformation:

In my mom’s cupboard lay an unworn green-and-purple brocade sari. Despite being at least couple decades old, the fabrics had lost none of its sheen and lustre.

The wedding season was coming up, and the invitations were flowing in. Ergo I needed a few new outfits, and this time I wanted to wear something special yet different. That’s when the idea of transforming the old sari struck me. With Mom’s nod, I was ready to give the brocade a new avatar. Mom and I teamed up to make this happen (neither of us have any design-related education or training).

Step 1: What do we do with the brocade sari?

During a visit to designer Ritu Kumar’s store at Phoenix Mills, we saw a couple of long jackets that were absolutely lovely and were perfect to wear during a sangeet, but they were heavy on my pocket. The jacket I tried on was fab, and inspired us to make a knee-length jacket from the fabric.

Step 2: Embellishment

We wanted an elegant look, hence we decided not to add any sequins or crystals to the jacket. But we wanted to give it a contemporary touch and a sophisticated finish, so we went hunting for sari borders (and trouser fabric). The border we selected was sheer and embellished, and its colours complimented the brocade wonderfully. We chose a spun silk purple fabric for my trousers.

Step 3: Tailoring

My expert tailor sketched for me his vision of the jacket, explaining the silhouette, fit and how he would use the border. I left the rest in his expert hands. 🙂

Step 4: Ta-da!

Transformed!

Final outfit: Long brocade jacket with embellished border and contrasting straight-fit ankle-length trousers.

I wore this outfit at a sangeet I attended recently, and I felt like a true fashionista. 😉

Have you done something fun with an old sari?

In Fashion, WIFW AW 2011

WIFW: 141 fashion designers? We explain!

Speaking ChicMarch 26, 2011Leave a comment

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/ Winter 2011 kicks off on April 6, and the designer list has been announced. A whopping 141 designers will showcase their collections at the Delhi event.

Now 141 designers is an amazing number, right? So we poked around a bit and discovered some interesting nuggets, that explain the numbers better:

Out of a total of 141 designers, 77 will have ramp shows. Fifteen of them are Hi 5 designers (upcoming designers making their runway debut).

The remaining (that means 64 designers) will only display their collections in the stalls. That’s an area like an exhibition hall where you can check out the clothes and accessories, and even meet the designers. You can usually find buyers and journalists and other general visitors in this area during fashion week.

What we find most interesting is the list of designers who only have stalls. These include big names by Rohit Bal, Malini Ramani, Gauri & Nainika, Amit GT, Nachiket Barve, Prashant Verma, Ranna Gill, Rina Dhaka, Vineet Bahl and Wendell Rodricks.

We wondered what such big names are doing off the ramp. It’s possible these well-established designers feel they don’t need ramp shows to get attention. Perhaps they’d rather focus on getting their clothes right, rather than dealing with the chaos and costs of a ramp show. Or maybe they feel ramp shows are just not worth the expense?

What do you think?

PS: Some of the recognisable names showcasing their collections on the ramp: Abraham & Thakore, am:pm by Ankur & Priyanka Modi, Gaurav Gupta, Geisha Designs by Paras & Shalini, James Ferreira, Label – Ritu Kumar, My Village by Rimzim Dadu, Namrata Joshipura, Neeru Kumar, Niki Mahajan, Pero by Aneeth Arora, Rahul Mishra, Rahul Reddy, Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

In Fashion, WIFW AW 2011

WIFW: 141 fashion designers? We explain!

Speaking ChicMarch 26, 2011Leave a comment

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Autumn/ Winter 2011 kicks off on April 6, and the designer list has been announced. A whopping 141 designers will showcase their collections at the Delhi event.

Now 141 designers is an amazing number, right? So we poked around a bit and discovered some interesting nuggets, that explain the numbers better:

Out of a total of 141 designers, 77 will have ramp shows. Fifteen of them are Hi 5 designers (upcoming designers making their runway debut).

What do you think?

In Fashion, LFW W/F 2010

LFW: Ritu Kumar’s got stars in her eyes

Speaking ChicSeptember 24, 2010Leave a comment

Veteran Indian designer Ritu Kumar began her post-show press conference with a sweet smile and the words, “I know this collection has come as a surprise, but it’s not a transformation. Rather, it’s a reflection of India moving to a fairly different silhouette from when I started a few decades ago.”

Indeed! I half-expected to see kurtis, cotton blouses and churidar kurtas at LABEL by Ritu Kumar. What I did not expect was a collection of predominantly evening wear.

Called Summer Constellations, Ritu’s son Amrish Kumar (Creative Director) gave a modern twist to the highly-favoured Indian textiles, using them with modern silhouettes and drapes.

The dresses and gowns alluded to the night sky, with a hint of shimmer and twinkle. Using easy-to-wear fabrics like slinky knits and georgettes, even as the makeup and hair styles reminded me of the 1930s. The colour palette was mostly navy blues and blacks, though there were warm reds and oranges in her prints.

Some of the surprises in her collection: short jackets, asymmetric tunics, and experimenting with a jumpsuit and head gear! Even though the collection was not spectacular, it spoke about the Indian fashion consumer—young, demanding, seeking something wearable, fun, trendy and affordable. That’s LABEL in a nutshell.

A new aesthetic has emerged, not for the Indian fashion follower, but for Ritu Kumar’s LABEL. I’d like to know what the girl next door thinks of it.

Would you buy these clothes? Tell us!

Showing all posts tagged Ritu Kumar

Destination Wedding Guide: What clothes should I pack?

CHIC RIGHT NOW: 16 super trendy wedding fashion looks to covet

5 top tips to trendy Diwali dressing

Chic News: Padma Shri Ritu Kumar, Hidesign sunglasses, Reiss coming soon…

Chic Updates from Ritu Kumar, Namrata Joshipura & Tarun Tahiliani

Chic News: Junglee is here, brings limited fashion choices

Chic transformation: Story of a brocade sari

WIFW: 141 fashion designers? We explain!

WIFW: 141 fashion designers? We explain!

LFW: Ritu Kumar’s got stars in her eyes