If you’re looking for light lehengas that are also light on the pocket, I have an idea for you. I’m sure I’m not the first person in the world to have had this inspired thought, but last weekend I saw this picture of a maxi skirt & crop top –

and thought to myself, “This is so pretty, can’t it double up as a lehenga?”

Waittaminute *quickly scrolls down to check price*

Yes, it can!

The crop top and skirt were priced at ₹26,000 – the average these days to buy a light lehenga by an even slightly known designer. Was I onto something?

Were there other maxi skirts out there that could double up as light lehengas?

I had to find out. After all, lehengas are essentially long skirts, and with maxis having made such a comeback recently – had we just added a whole new Filter to explore on our favourite e-commerce websites?

I spent a whole afternoon browsing my beloved fashion e-tailers, and picked out all the pretty maxi skirts that could pass as light lehengas. You can buy these embellished maxi skirts for ₹20-25,000, and just add a light blouse and dupatta. You’ll end up with an outfit that’s so unique, you can be sure no one else will be in it! Perfect for brides who want a light Mehendi outfit that’s simpler and doesn’t make you shell out ₹50,000 for yet another item on the bride’s list. I’ve also picked out a few budget skirts (under 10k) for wedding guests or the bride with a limited budget.

Fit For A Bride

Pair with a nude blouse & blush pink dupatta with a few bootis // Buy at Ogaan

Buy just the skirt separately. The crop top costs ₹8,500, so just the skirt should cost you around ₹17,500.

Again, purchase just the skirt (that should chop off a couple of thousands from your total), and pair it with a bright blouse & dupatta. Or, you can go for a gold-sequinned blouse with a solid bright pink dupatta // Buy at Ogaan

Pair with a silver sequinned blouse & pale blue dupatta (or any pastel shade that complements grey, really) // Buy at Pernia’s Pop Up Shop

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Under 10K Buys

Love this blush pink skirt in taffeta for a princess-bride look! If you’re wearing it for your Mehendi, you’ll want to pair it with a not so plain looking blouse and dupatta – to add some embellishments to the look. Wedding guests, this one is suitable for a close friend of the bride or groom for a day wedding – just accessorise heavily! // Buy at Pernia’s Pop Up Shop

For Wedding Guests: Just imagine this with a pale pink dupatta & ivory blouse – the colours together should look similar to this Kareena Kapoor Khan sari (see picture below). Make sure the blouse is long enough to cover the elastic band on top – that will definitely look unflattering if it shows! // Buy at Pernia’s Pop Up Shop

Wedding guests – if you want to stick to the basics, a gold or silver/grey lehenga goes with pretty much everything.

Pair this solid gold skirt in matte with a heavier blouse and dupatta in literally, any colour you fancy! Find some visual inspiration here // Buy at Ogaan

How about you go a little off the beaten path here and get a neon blouse and dupatta for this one? // Buy at Jabong

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Notes on using a maxi skirt as a lehenga

• Remember that most maxi skirts tend to be high-waisted. If you don’t have a flat stomach, you’ll love this option because it accentuates the slimmest part of your waist and covers the rest! But if you want a mid-riff baring lehenga, you might want to try the skirt out in person first to see where it sits on the waist.
• Most of these will fall relatively flat, as they don’t have kalis like a voluminous lehenga. If you want to add volume, get a full-length can-can skirt made separately (costs very little) from your local tailor and wear it under the lehenga.

• If you’re planning on wearing heels, make sure you tell the designer/tailor to add extra inches to the length of your skirt. Since these are actually maxi skirts, they may NOT remember to ask you about your heel height.
• You have to make sure your blouse and dupatta are cheap buys, otherwise this won’t remain as low-budget an option as you had hoped for.
• BONUS: All the 3 pieces can be re-used over and over again later!

What do you think of wearing skirts as lehengas? Have you ever tried it?