Saturday 2 April 2016

RE-INVENT YOUR WARDROBE #2: Add a Maxi Skirt to the Look

I've been meaning to post more about re-inventing your wardrobe but forgot to, and didn't realise how long I've left it since my last one! So apologies for that, but not to worry, I've been thinking a lot about how to recycle and re-use things from your wardrobe without having to buy a new outfit.

After my last 're-invent' post about jackets, I realised that there are a lot of ways to re-invent your wardrobe. One of the things which have become a lot more fashionable in Pakistani fashion is the lengha - it's not just for the brides anymore! The 'lengha-choli' look has come back in, and you can wear it simply or extravagantly for a lovely girly look which I'm sure everyone likes. I've been ransacking my wardrobes for skirts and different colours that I can put together, so you can see some of my results below.

I'm not the only one who has had this idea either - fashion blogger Nazma at Asian Fashion Blog has also posted about her attempts here and here (I love the idea of adding an underskirt to give volume to the skirt, I need one of these!)

1. Wear a skirt with your kameez
Experiment a little with different kameezes and maxi skirts, you'd be surprised how well a lot of them go together - whether they are long kameezes or shorter ones.

I wore this Karma outfit to a close cousin's wedding last year, and loved the detailing on it, which I thought were in gorgeous colours. Due to the price of the outfit being higher than I wanted, I opted for a plain hot pink trousers with the outfit, but when it came to the wedding I wanted something a little more extravagant so pulled out this nude silky skirt from Zara. The skirt is the perfect colour for outfits like these, and blended in well with the kameez, so that there was more of an A-Line look and it looked like a lengha outfit.



2. Wear a camisole top or fitted short top with a skirt.
It doesn't all have to be kameezes - you can mix crop tops, camisoles and blouses for a more Western but dressy look - it doesn't necessarily have to be for a wedding, it could just be for a night out!

This camisole top below is actually from a 3-piece jacket suit by Sania Maskatiya, which I wore with (another) pink Zara skirt for a smarter look with a blazer. The top was actually a printed inner slip for the Sania Maskatiya jacket but because it looks more casual, I thought it went great with the skirt.


3. Mix with a jacket for a layered look.
Add a maxi jacket or a pretty embroidered gown with the skirt, it gives a fuller look and can really pull the outfit together.

I'm sure you remember this outfit from my last post - this is me wearing the outfit put together for a close friend's wedding, because I loved how well the jacket went with the skirt. I got a lot of compliments while wearing this, and I loved how I could incorporate my jewellery into the look without it feeling too much.


4. Add a sharara or even palazzos
Technically these aren't skirts, but half the times when you wear these they look like skirts so I'll add these in! You can't go wrong with a classic sharara for a flowy look, they feel comfotable on and they work with long and short kameezes. Admittedly, I hardly ever wear shararas because I love my skirts, but I've seen these be worn beautifully and they're always a big pick for mehndis!

This is an outfit I put together from about 3 outfits - the kameez is from one of my Eid outfits, the dupatta is from a Sana Safinaz suit I have and the sharara is an very old one from Pakistan from the Noughties years which I've had hidden away! I was trying to go for more of an 70s and 80s vintage look here, something of the kind my mum used to wear in her early days (although her kameezes were shorter!). I loved how this looked together though, the peach worked well when pulled together and the kameez reminded me a little of some Elan bridals!



I also had a few other ideas such as mixing a maxi dress with a skirt to add volume (although this may feel a little too much), maxi skirts with closed jackets (short and long) and even maxi skirts with a top and a cape, although this might look better in my head!

I also had the idea of re-using my bridal mehndi skirt with a kameez for a pretty pink outfit to wear at wedding events. I'm in the process of finding the right material to make a top to go with my mehndi skirt but I love the shape of the skirt, and it's quite a simple design so it won't look too heavy or bridal. I'll be sure to post pictures once I find something and start putting it together though!

I love the idea of re-inventing something you already have for a beautiful outfit, especially as a lot of us spend quite a bit on our outfits so it's nice to be able to get more wear out of them. I also am a big believer in being creative - it gives our outfits that much more of a unique look and I know I can say that when putting these outfits together, the compliments alone left a big smile on my face!

Let me know what you think of these - do you have any more ideas for dressing up a skirt?

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