East Meets West

The next time you want to dress up those pair of pants or even that little black dress, put on some Indian jewelry.  Set off your outfit with coordinated stone studded bangles and earrings or even something more traditional like a Kundan design.

To really ‘bling up’ an outfit, go for the whole shebang – bangles, earrings and necklaces. For a more classic and sophisticated style, a pair of sparkling white American diamond earrings and a matching pendant or choker will give you that perfect dressy look. A piece of jewelry that is totally unique and sure to get you all the attention is an armlet or arm bracelet.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your jewelry. East meets west is the latest trend!

Clutch It!

Handbags come in all shapes and sizes. While the big, oversized tote bag remains a steady favorite, the latest trend and absolute must-have accessory for this festive season is the sleek clutch bag. Chic and sophisticated, it exudes style and dresses up any outfit.

The clutch bag comes in many styles and textures – from seductive satin to woven crotchet; from jeweled encrusted to subtly embroidered. Keeping with the ‘eco-friendly’ fashion fad, famous design houses are churning out clutch bags in natural materials like bamboo and shell.

Don’t forget the most important fashion tip! When carrying a clutch bag, make sure it matches your shoes. You don’t want to be walking in to a party and have everyone staring at you for the wrong reasons!

Luxurious Lehengas

A bride’s trousseau and a bridesmaid’s ensemble is incomplete without the luxurious Lehenga!This is why there aremultitudes of options available in Lehenga to be worn at the big day, or for any special occasion.And, it’s a faux pas to stick to the Traditional Lehenga Choli in regular reds and maroons. So, here’s a list of options that you can opt for in the Lehenga:

- Want to dress up unconventional on your d-day? Try on a long key-hole jacket, coupled with a straight cut Lehenga in classic hues.

-  Follow fashion trends? Try on the Fish-tail or Mermaid Lehenga, which will put emphasis on your curves! Wear it with a bustier in bright contrasts, and you’ll have people talking about your outfit for months!

-  Not sure of what to wear? A fitted Lehenga with a short choli is your best bet then. Try on interesting color combinations like blue and pink, or green and mauve and you’re ready to dazzle!

So, this festive season, get your Lehenga styled in whimsical motifs, extraordinary colors, and never-seen-before styles, and you’re ready for the party!

Fall Color Trends

Imagine life without colors; everywhere that your eyes move, you see objects, things, people, and most importantly clothes washed-off color, covered in a dull grey hue, like a bleak rainy day. Without colors, doesn’t life suddenly appear dull, lifeless, and totally boring? That’s the role colors play in our lives – making us tell apart a clear blue sky from an overcast one, or the lively, green grass from the dull, muddy ground!

So when it comes to readying our wardrobe for the new season, colors are the primary factor that makes us walk into a new time of the year, in true style! Let’s take a look at the hottest colors of Fall, and revamp our look with the shades of the moment:

A Golden Shower: Honey Gold and French Roast are the colors of Fall, for all trimmings and embellishments! While chestnut brown adds tinges of expression to embroidered patterns, the golden hue enhances Sarees and Salwar Kameez in true richness and brilliance with brocades, zari, and sequins, the spot-on colors for the approaching festive and wedding season!

Tickled Pink or Tangerine: Pink in all its hues – from Pink Flambé to fuchsia, continues to dominate the color spectrum this season too! Coupled with vibrant orange or Tangerine, it will be the combination of the season, inscribed on all color blocking stories – for Salwar Kameez and Tunics!

The Green Belt: Right from the dark, Ultramarine Green to the lighter tint of Lime Green, Fall will be all about different hues of green, reminiscent of the bright green flora!

A Bolt from the Blue: The strong Olympian blue, combined with all shades – light and bright will perk up the sunlit Fall days and evenings! Pairing a golden saree with a bright blue clutch and jewelry will make the perfect evening dress!

Fall season colors trends offer something for every taste and sensibility. Mixing and wearing them your way will convey your individuality – be it blending bold brights with functional neutrals, or fiery hues with brash neons. Fall is the time to explore, experiment, and let your clothes do all the talking!

Unveiling The New Spirit Of Utsav Fashion

Today holds a lot of significance in the history of Utsav Fashion. We’ve re-fashioned our spirit beginning with our new logo. Crafted from three components–the sun, the paisley, and the bird, the logo is the embodiment of all the change that you would see at Utsav Fashion in the months and years to come!Each component embodies what Utsav Fashion stands for. The sun holds the promise of a new dawn, the paisley symbolizes Indian ethnic fashion, and the bird connotes freedom. As a whole, they reveal the face of the Indian woman–confident, proud, and uninhibited. Capturing the optimism of Utsav Fashion, the essence of India, and the free-spirit, we are all set to fly high and explore newer bounds!

This is just the beginning of newer things to come. We hope you enjoy the change as it unfolds, as much as you have enjoyed shopping with us in the past.

Celebrate Unconditional Love This Karwa Chauth

This festival marks the celebration of love in a much more loving, traditional fashion than Valentine’s Day ever would. Falling ten days after Vijay Dashmi and ten days before Diwali, the festival of Karwa Chauth celebrates the unique spirit of the woman’s unconditional love for her spouse. Observing a fast for her man and praying for his long life and prosperity, for all married women, Karwa Chauth is synonymous with marital bliss and longevity of their relationship.On this day, women pray together with the traditional thali and diya, and eagerly wait for the moon to appear in the sky. Dressing up during the day forms an essential theme of celebrating the festival, and it’s a common sight to view women clad in luxurious Karwa Chauth dresses and festive sarees, with henna-decked hands, bindis, bangles, and jewelry.

In terms of the color of the Karwa Chauth dresses like sarees and lehengas, the new brides prefer the red and its hues, like auburn, orange, crimson, or pink, while the brides-to-be and those who’ve been married for longer, choose from unusual ones in Karwa Chauth Lehengas, right from turquoise and plum to fuchsia and yellow. Karwa Chauth dresses are created in the choices of fabrics, which range from crepes to georgettes and rich silks, with lush embellishments of zari, patch work, dabka and sequins.

Besides traditional Karwa Chauth sarees, brides-to-be also experiment with different silhouettes in sarees and Lehengas, like Mermaid or Fish Tail Lehengas, Lehenga Sarees, or pre-stitched sarees, the later being prefect for those who find saree draping a tedious affair!

What are you going to wear this Karwa Chauth, to recreate your wedding memories?

Weaving Religion and Tradition with Kanchipuram Sarees

Seventy six kilometers from Tamil Nadu thrives a town, abounding in natural beauty, and famous for many things you’ll not find en masse. Famous for its one thousand temples, idlis spiked with ginger, and silk sarees, the last one deriving their name from their place of origin, the town of Kanchipuram displays the energy of Southern India fused with classic European appeal.Also known as the ‘Silk City’, Kanchipuram, with its silk sarees, relate the story of the various empires that ruled on the region, through its various stages of development. Right from a flourishing Pallava dynasty, with their simple and elegant styles, to the Chola, Vijaynagar, and Chaulakya dynasties which reigned on the region, the sarees display influences from each realm. A must-have-must-wear for each newlywed bride, Kanchipuram sarees are a legacy from the 5,000 silk weaving families, who have been in the business for over 400 years, offering a wide collection of intricately crafted saris.

The history of handlooms also weaves together folklore and religious influences. It is believed that Lord Vishnu would always be seen wearing clothes in silk, and hence, several silk looms can be found around Vishnu temples. The rich hand-woven silk fabric was initially created to dress up all the deities that would reside in the city’s temples, and for the ruling class, which we can now own and wear.

Today, the legend of the luxurious Kanchipuram saree lives on, differentiated by its wide, contrasting borders, pure zari embroidery, and diverse cultural motifs of deer, horses, elephants, parrots, peacocks, swans and other birds in stylized construction.

A Surge of Sequins in Sarees

This piece of garment has transformed, adapted, and undergone makeovers over and over again. And yet, there still are multitudes of ways in which the saree is still being interpreted. In the ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, which commenced on October 6, 2012, the saree saw the perfect blend of art and glamor–and the comeback of sequin sarees in their entirety.Right from the creations of ace designer Manish Malhotra to others like Atsu, sequin sarees in varying designs were all over the place this fashion week! Showcased in sheer fabrics like organza, net and chiffon, and in mellowed colors of beige, black, brown, and white, latest sequin sarees saw a sizzling transformation in their different variations in prêt, diffusion and couture. Blending Indian kitsch and modern classic, latest sequin sarees were meant for the woman who is elegant and graceful, but have an exemplary style, the perfect fusion of strong and bold—who would is daring but not outlandish.

The predominant colors for the usage of sequins in sequin saree designs were burnt copper and gold, which looked beautiful on earthy colors, and can be worn for the night or the day—at formal Indian dos, and even when you’re ready to party and let your hair down—literally!

So, this fall, be the first to jump the style bandwagon, with stylish sequin sarees, in their ultra glam avatars, and add sizzle in each outfit, that’s a sweltering hit on the runway! Stay tuned for more updates!

Lehenga Saree—Modernizing the Classic Saree

There’s no piece of attire more versatile than the saree. This sartorial piece of splendor has received many a transformations over the years—right from being interpreted as a cocktail dress, to a modern and sleeker silhouette, or being worn as trousers, and other such variations. However, one challenge that first-timers and occasional saree wearers come across is that of tying the saree, which is truly a tedious, time-taking affair!Such saree enthusiasts can now drape the saree at ease—with the introduction of the concept of Lehenga Saris. A cross between the stylish Lehenga and the classic Saree, Lehenga Sarees are much more drapeable and easy-to-handle. The key differentiation between a traditional saree and a Lehenga Style Saree is that in the former, the wearer is required to form the pleats in the front, while a Lehenga Saree is pre-pleated, can be used in a tuck and drape form. A few Lehenga Style Sarees also come with side hooks, which fit snugly around the waist, and can be worn with the ease of a skirt!

These hybrid sarees are not only easy to wear, but also very easy to carry. Since they are designed like a Lehenga, you can easily walk around in them, without any discomfort. If you have to dress up for a party in a short span, Lehenga Sarees are answers to all your dressing woes!

So if you are a saree fan, and love wearing and collecting different styles of sarees, the Lehenga Sari, this modern twist to the classic Saree, which is more a tuck and drape form, is a must-have in your occasion wear wardrobe!

Jacquard Weaves

Which element defines the base of a garment you wear? For many of us, the overall look and feel of any piece of clothing is all about the embellishments and enhancements. But in truth, it all begins with the fabric! The very selection of the fabric defines whether the garment is going to be for everyday or occasion wear. One such exclusive fabric, which shaped the beginning of the automated looms, to create complex patterns is the Jacquard.

Having an intricately woven pattern, the Jacquard loom simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with complex patterns such as brocade. This unique fabric can produce multitudes of different weaves from a single warp. Jacquard is popular for its raised and complex surface designs with beautiful sheen, offering the perfect setting for festive Salwar Kameez or a Saree.

So, this festive season, try on stylish Sarees shaped from Jacquard in vivid colors of fuchsia, scarlet, tangerine, coral, turquoise, orchid, and purple, and enhanced with exquisite embroideries of mirror work, zari, patches, finished with delicate hand embroidery. Whatever be the occasion, your festive attire can’t get any chicer than this!