A short kurta, once popularised by female leads of Bollywood movies in the early aughts—think Kareena Kapoor Khan as Geet in Jab We Met or Rani Mukerji as Vimmi in Bunty Aur Babli—have made its way back into style this year, just in time for the festive season. Recently, Genelia Deshmukh’s appearance in a red, embroidered short kurta and patiala look for Janmasthami confirmed our suspicion about the silhouette’s redux. Its carefreeness and low maintenance make it just the right look for Indian festive and wedding seasons, where there are already more important things that need your attention, and your outfit cannot be what occupies your mind.
The festive season is also the perfect time to experiment with Indian footwear styles that don’t seem to have a fan following outside of the run-of-the-mill jutti and Kolhapuri designs. Many homegrown brands are venturing outside the realm of the obvious shoe shapes, and offering its contemporary audiences a chance to experiment while still keeping the Indian-ness intact with embroideries and craft techniques.
As the festive season is just around the corner, here are five ways to experiment with the short kurta styles and the perfect shoes to go with them.
Halterneck kurta with flowy sharara
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After dominating our tops and dresses, the ‘90s halterneck style is burgeoning in the festive and occasionwear looks, too. The contrast created by juxtaposing the snug, embroidered kurta with the billowy sharara pants is what makes this look a hit. Pairing heels with flowy bottoms is not recommended unless the pants completely cover them and are floor-grazing. Flat and pointy embroidered juttis or sandals like this one from Needledust is recommended otherwise.
Embellished kurta with bellbottom pants
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