Keep Calm and Summer On – What's on the Bottoms Menu

I have always been big on (desi) fashion – I like following the latest trends and trying on the newest silhouettes. I find spring/summer 2016 particularly interesting because EVERYTHING IS IN! And the best part is, there is so much to experiment with in the lowers/bottoms department. There are cigarette pants, culottes, bootleg pants and the good ol’ shalwars in various cuts. Since the last few days have been a little less taxing at work, I had the chance to go shopping and stocking my wardrobe with new stuff. While shopping for kurtas has been a little boring (same digital and floral lawn prints everywhere mostly), pairing them up with fun bottoms has given my life tons of excitement. So I am going to share with you what all I have done to gear up for the summers and, I tell you, the process has been very cathartic. I will also mention my future plans to look up-to-date with fashion throughout the season.

Cigarette Pants

The most essential item in your summer wardrobe needs to be a well fitting pair of cigarette pants – preferably one in white, one in black and one in off white. With these three neutral colours I feel my life is sorted. One of them always goes with my usual shirt-only purchases. It is also economical not having to match the exact colour with your kurtas. Since my last year’s pants were over used and looked ancient, I replaced them with three new ones. I got the black and the white ones stitched myself; the black ones cost me Rs.1150 and the white ones Rs.1300. I got the beige ones from Daaman for Rs.1100 on sale. Getting pants stitched yourself has a cost advantage of course – you can save about Rs.500-700 this way. For cost/fabric details about the black and the white cigarette pants, plz see the footnote below.[1]

The fitting of the cigarette pants available at Daaman is great BTW if you don’t have the time to get your pants stitched and prefer to pick up ready-made clothing. You can check out more Daaman stuff here. Just as an example of what Daaman has to offer, take a look at these wonderful white cigarette pants!

Bell Bottoms/ Bootleg Pants

So glad that the boot cut is back in the fashion scene around the world and in Pakistan too. I love how our national dress can be made to work with fusion. Though I am not yet tired of the cigarette pants, they look great with any kind of a kurta of any length, it’s nice to have some variety in your wardrobe. I got this two-piece suit from Sapphire’s second volume of lawn for Rs.1650 (plz don’t judge me, I went after the aunty-tornado rocked Sapphire outlets on April 18^th) and got it stitched just like in the picture – a short shirt, about 33 inches in length and a pair of bell bottoms. I am loving the silhouette and the change.

I also got this pair of bell bottoms from Generation for Rs.1198. I love the print, the unusual jade green base colour and the price. I plan to pair it with a short, plain-ish jade green shirt with same-colour lace applique on the sleeves . What do you think? Generation, by the way, has a lovely collection of bottoms of all sorts priced very very reasonably. All of them can easily be paired with plain shirts.

I am also loving these bootleg pants from Rema and Shehrbano for REMA. The organza strip detailing at the bottom give the pants a chic look and these can be paired with more formal shirts. I think I will go for one of these this Eid! If you want to see more of REMA, you can click here.

Cropped Culottes

When it's hot, we all need some air. I love the fact that the culottes, reminiscent of the azaars, are back in action. So hop on the bandwagon and add this must-have trend to your closets! This time around, I am getting them stitched with a shorter length, so that they finish a little above my ankles. I got white fabric and got this organza lace appliquéd – again for Rs.150 only (the embroidery guy is an old acquaintance so is super nice to me). The fabric cost me Rs.350, the lace Rs.300 and I paid the tailor Rs.400 for stitching. Hence in a total of Rs.1200, I got these really comfortable and pretty culottes in my life. I am keeping the paaincha 12 inches big, pairing them with shorter length shirts. Wider legged Culottes are in too (not just in Pakistan but on the Western side of the world as well) but I don’t think I will be investing in those as I buy/make whatever I can also use at work. And I don’t want to be sporting the gharara look at work…so I think these normal looking culottes will do. If you want to indulge in wide-legged culottes, you might want to take a look at what Generation has to offer.

I think a printed pair of culottes or two would add great variety to your new lawn jorhas too! I got this pair of culottes stitched for my Zara Shahjahan print and I love them! By the way, I got this stitched about a month back and now I am ready to shed off another 2 inches from the length of my shirts. The shorter, the better!

Loving my super matching truck art khussas!

Guddi Kaat Shalwaar

So. The shalwar is back. Is that good news or what? During the strict tights/cigarette-pants-only days, I would come back home from work and get into my old shalwaars. Confessions of a shalwaar-o-holic. So to get a little easy with wearing shalwars in public when the season began, I got this guddi-kaat shalwaar made, which is kind of a pseudo shalwar, a little sleeker. Again, I am pairing these with shorter length shirts. The fabric for this shalwar cost me Rs.600 (I love the minimalistic chikan at the bottom) and the standard stitching charges were Rs.400. White goes with everything so this one's my staple – I miss them when they go for a wash terribly.

Kali Wali Shalwaar

If you feel more adventurous and are truly passionate about shalwaars, go for the true Pakistani kali wali shalwaar. You can choose how much gheyr you want. I am liking this kind, with a decent sized gher, not like the patiala ones that we used in 2005 but I have chosen to keep the paaincha quite big. Short shirt, chuna hua dupatta, this shalwar and a pair of khussas – nice traditional look that would be and I am planning on sporting this look during the summer vacations fo shizzles.

Tulip Shalwaar

The dhoti shalwaar renamed and relaunched as tulip shalwaar. I have hated it, I have found it super weird, I have questioned its existence, I have had my coming-to-terms-with-it phase and now I absolutely love them. You have two options if you want to wear these – there is the sleek one and then there is the gheyr one which has more cowls. I think I will be going for the sleek one as dinner wear and will be pairing it with heels. The gheyr one sounds good for day-excursions and would look so cute with khussas or kohlapuris. What say? If you want ready-made ones, a few shops are stocking them but they are relatively pricier than other bottoms. I have done some research to find where they are available. You can get them at Ayesha Khurram (Lahore) for Rs.4,000, at Gulabo for Rs.7,000 and for Rs.8,500 at Misha Lakhani. The silver lining in my life is that they will soon be available at Beech Tree for Rs.1,450. Better deal, yahoo! My tailor on the other hand has promised to stitch them for Rs.1,000. I shall be making a decision about this sooner than soon because I have never worn a tulip shalwar before and really want to experiment with the look. Looking at pictures, the style available at Ayesha Khurram is my most favorite and probably investing in a ready-made pair is safer as who knows what the tailor may perform like! You can check out more of Ayesha Khurram here. 

Cowl Shalwaar

Another new kid on the block which is pulling me towards it with great force is the cowl shalwaar. I am loving these printed ones at Gulabo which are available for Rs.5,500. Priced a bit steeply, yes, but the modern prints combined with a traditional cut will make you drool! Perfect for a casual coffee date with a friend! Or maybe a juice date in this heat. You can have a look at the options available at Gulabo here and also get ideas of how to rock the look! 

Tights – the old friend

I shall be honest. I am holding on to my black pair of tights. I was worried that it will be a fashion suicide to still use them but most of the shops are still selling them – they are still available at Khaadi, Gul Ahmed, Beech Tree and Sapphire. Tights are super economical and very, very comfortable. You can do any sort of movement in them and they will maintain their shape. So with some of my very western looking kurtas, I will be using my black tights. I love them quite a lot.

Khaddi has tights with a little embroidery at the bottom as well if you find plain ones too boring. Have a look!

Nice trip down the Pakistani fashion road? Hope so! Let's just say that there are few issues in life that retail therapy and a plate of biryani cannot cure –Your own hard-earned money, nice silhouettes to flatter your body type  and a hot plate of biryani will keep you feeling empowered for life. So go for each of these elements relentlessly and be happy!

Until next time, ciao!

*This article was published in FUSHCIA Magazine

[1] For the black one, I got the lace for Rs.200/yard from The Plaza (the pathaan market at do talwaar in Karachi) and had it appliquéd for Rs.150. The fabric is stretch cotton (available at The Plaza and Aashiyana market) which gives my legs the room to move without fearing that my fitted cigarette pants will rip if I bend to pick something up. The fabric cost me Rs.400 (be nice to the pathaan at the time of purchase) and the tailor charges me RS.400 for stitching a pair of pants. Total cost: Rs.1150. I got the fabric for the white one from Lahore Centre in Lahore for Rs.900 – the lace at the bottom was part of the fabric. Hence total cost: Rs.1300.