Your Handy Go-to Guide for Your Bridal Trousseau

If you ask me, I am of the opinion that getting together all that you need putting together your bridal trousseau can be quite an arduous task! You have to ensure you are keeping a tab on all the things you need, being aware of fashion trends and moreover, shopping for everything. The key to a perfect bridal trousseau is start by listing out all your requirements and then working on things, one by one. The only way you can stop yourself from going crazzzzzzzy, is by trying to be as organized as possible.

Yes, you will feel lost, confused and frustrated. But, you need not worry, I have the perfect solution for you all. I have carefully curated a checklist, which I believe will be super-handy for all the brides-to-be who are all set to start their trousseau packing. This can ensure you don’t end up buying oodles of unnecessary items or you end up forgetting the essentials.

Here’s a list of items you should bookmark for your trousseau and you can thank me later:

1. Essential outfits

Sarees

Image source: Stories by Joseph Radhik (centre image)

For starters, make sure you have a couple of OTT sarees with heavy work, owing to the fact that you will be a new bride. But again, don’t fill your trousseau with only the ‘dressy’ ones, ensure you have more wearable options as well. If you are a gal who can effortlessly pull of a saree, you could pick 6-7 out of the lot, if not, its best to keep the number under 5. Here’s a variety of saree types you could pick and choose from:

-Chiffon sarees

-Silk or Kanjeevaram sarees

–Banarasi sarees

-Net sarees

-Cotton sarees

–Gota patti sarees

-Chanderi sarees

-Printed satin sarees

Salwar Kameez/Anarkali/Shararas

Images sources: Recall pictures (left) Zain Ali Photography (centre) Cam catches (right)

Having 3-4 of these are a MUST! Post your wedding ceremony, you are likely to have to attend a couple of poojas and other rituals. Beside these, pack some light and comfortable ones for everyday wear and usability.

Casual Wear

A common mistakes brides often make is carrying everything too jazzy, while forgetting that they might need simple clothes as well. You will require a whole lot of casuals, more than any other outfits. Ideally you could pack the following:

-Tees

-Sweatshirts

-Crop tops

-Tank tops

-Jeans

-Shorts

-Tracksuits

-Tank tops

-Dresses

-Jump suits

Formal wear

Another very important component that brides forget is outfits for work/office. Not a cartload of them, but it’s best you pack at least a few.:

-Coats

-Jackets

-Blazers

-Trousers

-Blouses

Lingerie and beachwear

I know you must be thinking I am stating the obvious, but hey, This is important! Don’t miss out on your bras, and underpants. If you are someone who spends a good amount of time on the beach, you could also carry kimonos and bikinis.

P.S- You can spice up things with sexy options 😉

Nightwear and gymwear

Essentially it’s always great to have a well-packed trousseau. Throw in about 3 sets of nightwear and at least 2 sets of gym wear. These tend to get worn out easily and it best to not buy too many all at once.

2. Accessories and Jewellery

First and foremost, although you might be attending a host of post-wedding functions, make sure to cut-down on your jewellery and accessory list, reducing the extra load and keeping you away from unnecessary hoarding! You could consider packing not more than one or two of the following:

-Traditional necklace

-Choker

-Maangtikaa

-Mathapatti

-Traditional earrings (jhumkas, chandbalis, waterfall earrings, etc)

-Kadas

-Bangles

-Anklets

-Rings

Apart from this you could pack more of the following jewellery pieces which can be adorned for everyday use:

-Bracelets

-Chains

-Studs

Other miscellaneous accessories you could carry along:

-A pack of rubber bands

-Hair bands

-Hair clips

3. Beauty and makeup products

The next important thing is your beauty and skin products. There is a host of items you could choose from, but the following basic items are must-have:

-Eye liner

-Mascara

-Foundation

-Eye shadow palette

-Blush

-Brushes/combs

-Nail polish

-Lipsticks/Lipgloss

-Foot cream, hand cream, moisturizers,

-Sun block

-Tweezers

-Deodorants

-Perfumes

4. Footwear

Footwear which you shouldn’t miss out on including in your bridal trousseau:

-Heels

-Flats

-Gladiators

-Boots

-Wedges

-Canvas shoes

-Ballerinas

-Traditional juttis

5. Labels you should look out for:

Sabyasachi Mukherjee

Abhinav Mishra

Anita Dongre

Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla

Masaba Gupta

Manish Malhotra

Bibhu Mohapatra

Ritu Kumar

Payal Singhal

Kanika Goyal

Tarun Tahiliani

6. Do’s and Don’t when you start packing your trousseau:

Make a checklist and be on it!

Your first step towards your trousseau packing should be making a checklist of all the essentials you need to shop for and collect. Stay on it! Make short term targets and try to accomplish them little by little. Don’t try to cram up your shopping, it will only cause chaos and bad decisions.

Don’t panic and shop impulsively

Always shop with a cool and calm mind, don’t get influenced by anything. This way you will make the right choices and not end up buying the wrong stuff

Don’t overshop

Pack only as much as you need. Trends come and go and you don’t want to be stuck with oodles of stuff you don’t require.

Be aware of trends

This is a must! Don’t go shopping without doing your share of research.

Be organized

Lasly, be organized and ensure you pack everything in a rather systematic manner.

Get. Set. Pack!

Images sources: Pinterest (unless specified)