Your celebrity guide to wearing embellished blouses this wedding season

By Praachi Raniwala18 February 2020

From high-shine sequins to tonal embroidery, here’s how celebrities are elevating their blouses to make a statement

In 2020, the blouse has really come into its own. It’s no longer playing second fiddle to saris and lehengas, but has quickly climbed charts to become the very highlight of the overall look. If you’re looking for proof, just take a closer look at how the best dressed names in Bollywood are styling their Indian staples. Whether you’re looking to accentuate a sheer sari or dress up a lehenga, the celebrity stylebook is heavy with inspiration this season. Here’s your ultimate cheat sheet.

The no-fuss classic sari has made a decided comeback, and the easiest way to spruce it is with an embellished blouse. Janhvi Kapoor, for instance, prefers a strappy mirror work blouse to match her sari border, or an itsy bitsy blouse that’s almost backless, save for the band of salli hangings on it.

Katrina Kaif has mastered the art of pairing sheer saris with embellished blouses. Borrow from her repertoire by sticking to the same colour palette, and matching your blouse with embroidered elements from the sari to tie the whole look together.

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja is in on this style secret too. The actor recently paired her ivory Masaba X Rhea sari with a daisy print blouse featuring a hint of embellished accents to highlight the pattern. Another noteworthy showcase would have to be Deepika Padukone’s lightly embroidered ivory sari by Sabyasachi, which she wore with a sleeveless sequinned blouse during Chhapaak promotions.

Heavily embellished blouses with matching lehengas are your ticket to wedding season-ready. Take Kiara Advani in Manish Malhotra for instance—she wore her embroidered pastel lehenga with a matching blouse adorned with 3D appliqué flowers. Athiya Shetty and Ananya Panday went a similar route in their head-to-toe monotone embellished lehenga sets by Krésha Bajaj and Masaba respectively. Do like the stars and casually pin the dupatta loosely on one shoulder to let your blouse stand out. Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt attended Armaan Jain’s wedding in a colour blocked mint lehenga, which she paired with a lightly sequinned pastel pink blouse, and Kareena Kapoor Khan made a case for blouses with beaded scallop hangings with her outfit for the same celebrations—a pastel lehenga by Manish Malhotra.

However, if your aesthetic is more pared-down than amped up, you should know that high shine is not the only way to go. Opt for embroidery in solid colours and skip the bling altogether. Turn to Panday and Padukone’s black blouses with a multi-hued handiwork for a master class. Scroll ahead for all the celebrity-approved embellished blouses you can take inspiration from.