Dressing up to the occasion

Wearing a grand lehenga, an extravagant neckpiece and arm full of bangles — a bride definitely stands out on her D-day with all the exquisite jewellery and makeup. But when your guest list includes the entire Bollywood, it’s hard to compete with the glitz and glamour of the celebrities, let alone sharing the spotlight. Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal’s wedding was a sight to behold, and this 100 million dollar wedding hosted some of the most glamorous celebrities from the film industry. So it was imminent that someone would overshadow the bride.

But, even though it was Asia’s richest man’s daughter’s wedding, did it give the guests the licence to upstage the bride? Celebrity stylist Aastha Sharma believes so, she says, “Everybody out there was overdressed because of the kind of wedding it was. It was a very elaborate and exaggerated wedding so everybody went over the top for that. And for a wedding like that you have to get a little overdressed, because that’s the kind of guests who are coming in and you have to match up to the elaborate clothes and jewellery worn by the bride and her family. So that’s why the guests have to balance it out, otherwise it will be a huge mismatch.”

Among the A-listers, the Bachchan’s were dressed in finery, replete with heavy jewellery; ask celebrity stylist Eshaa Amiin if that would qualify as overdressing and she disagrees saying, “I would not really say they were overdressed. In no way what Mrs. Bachchan was wearing would clash with the bride, because you know how heavy the bride’s outfit and jewellery was. So Mrs. Bachchan wearing an elaborate necklace doesn’t make her overdressed.”  Although Jaya Bachchan and Shweta Nanda bedazzled themselves with heavy neckpieces, their subtle outfit balanced out the look.

Deepika Padukone

With the Twitter army ready to drop the troll bomb at any moment, image consultant Zohra Chitalwala feels it’s important for the celebrities to dress their part, she says, “I think it’s a big pressure on them and now with the social media. It’s quite inhumane sometimes because they also need to be normal and human.” She adds, “I don’t think they were overdressed or overpowered here at all because she looked like a bride. I think they dressed up like they were supposed to be. If they underdressed they would not get noticed and they would be talked about for not dressing appropriately. So they dressed accordingly to the role, goal and occasion.”

Throwing light on wedding dressing and offering tips, Esha says, “Everyone tends to get ready for a wedding like it’s their own wedding. It does tend to happen often these days. You know your outfit could be elaborate but there’s a way of balancing it. If your skirt is elaborate make sure that your blouse is more neutral, if your outfit has some amount of extravagance, you make sure that in terms of jewellery you don’t go all out.” Aastha feels that knowing the bride’s style and inclinations are also important, she says, “If the bride is going to have a very heavy outfit then they can go for something which is a little heavier, but if the bride’s personal style is very easy and relaxed then automatically everybody around her will be light, easy and fresh.”