From Morning to Evening in One Outfit: Easy Tricks for a Puja Fusion Look
A Puja day is often not the same kind of day throughout. A festival with family in the morning, a hangout with friends in the afternoon, and again an invitation or party in the evening — many kinds of arrangements can be there in a single day. It is not always possible either to carry separate outfits for each arrangement or to change again and again. Yet if a few easy tricks are known, the same outfit can give the day's ordinary look a glamorous evening form, without buying anything new.
The main key to this is not the outfit, but the accessories. Suitable jewellery, shoes, makeup, hairstyling, and slight changes in the manner of wearing a dupatta or the anchal of a saree — bringing changes in these few places changes the whole look. This very idea of a new use of an old outfit is the soul of the fusion look.
If you want to wear the same outfit from morning to evening, it is good to choose at the outset something that suits all arrangements. A lightly embellished silk-blend kurta set, a saree with a fine design, or an anarkali can be a good choice. In the daytime, a restrained feel can be maintained in the look; in the evening, the same outfit can be made more glamorous by adding jewellery and accessories.
There is no need to use all the jewellery and accessories together at the start of the look. Rather, give precedence to one thing — it could be a patterned dupatta, a sequinned blouse, an embellished border or eye-catching earrings. In the daytime, keep the rest of the look plain; in the evening, add more accessories as needed. This maintains balance, and the same outfit will also feel new. A new-design skirt made from an old saree, with shoes and jewellery changed, can also create a wonderful fusion.
The question of comfort is equally important. On a Puja day, much time has to be spent walking around, travelling, sitting or standing. So the outfit must be comfortable as well as beautiful to look at. Choosing a kurta set in breathable fabric or a saree that is easy to wear will bring comfort throughout the day.
If you wear an excessively heavy outfit right at the start, the scope for bringing novelty in the evening decreases. If some restraint is kept in the daytime look, later a new look can easily be created by changing the jewellery, shoes or the style of the dupatta — this is the most effective rule of planning the whole day's look.
The easiest way to change a look is jewellery. Gold-toned jewellery, jhumkas, chandbalis or an eye-catching necklace increases the festive feel even of a plain outfit. In the daytime, wear light jewellery so that the look appears tidy and natural; in the evening, adding somewhat bigger or more glamorous jewellery with the same outfit will bring a clear change to the look.
In the daytime, small studs or plain earrings carry a restrained feel. In the evening, they can be swapped for big jhumkas or embellished earrings; even gold-plated jhumkas make the look of a plain kurta or saree attractive. But necklace, earrings and bangles — it is not as if everything must be worn together; sometimes a single striking bracelet or a large-design ring is enough. Especially if the outfit already has heavy work near the neckline, wearing jewellery on the hands is a good alternative, so that the upper part does not look excessively heavy.
Shoes also play a big role. In the daytime, comfortable flats, juttis or low heels are convenient for visiting pandals or going from one place to another. Gold, beige or metallic-coloured shoes easily match outfits of many colours. In the evening, for dinner or a party, strappy heels, embellished sandals or metallic heels bring a formal and glamorous feel. But it is not right to choose uncomfortable shoes just because they look beautiful; if you have to stand for a long time, thick and stable heels are comparatively comfortable.
Without buying anything new, change can also be brought in the manner of wearing the dupatta or anchal. In the morning or afternoon, keeping the dupatta on one shoulder or at the front in a natural way makes movement easy, and the design also shows clearly. For the evening, the dupatta can be pinned beautifully on one shoulder, or the patterned end can be left hanging at the front. In the case of a saree, novelty can also be brought by fixing the pleats, changing the position of the anchal, or using a belt at the waist.
There is no need to redo the makeup entirely either. In the daytime it is better to keep the makeup light; in the evening, making the eye makeup a bit darker or using a dark-coloured lipstick on the lips brings a change to the look. The hairstyle and bag can also be changed, but rather than changing everything at once, choosing two or three things maintains balance.
All in all, the formula is simple: light jewellery, comfortable shoes and natural makeup in the day; in the evening, changed earrings, one attractive bracelet or ring, changed shoes, a new style of dupatta or anchal and dark lipstick. In this way, without a separate outfit, the same look gets a festive evening form from the day's ordinary look — time and hassle decrease, and the old outfit too gets a new use.
