Bridesmaid Dupatta Draping: Six Styles That Keep Your Hands Free

A bridesmaid's day is busy: helping the bride, greeting guests, dancing, carrying the bride's bag. A dupatta that keeps slipping gets in the way of all of it. These styles look good in photographs and stay where you put them.

Six draping styles

1. One shoulder, pinned

Pleat the dupatta, pin it at the left shoulder, and let it fall at the back. Both hands free, and the front of the lehenga shows fully. The easiest style for dancing.

2. Saree style

Tuck one end into the lehenga waist, wrap it across the front and pin the pleated end at the shoulder. Very secure and very graceful.

3. Cape style

Drape it over both shoulders like a cape and pin at each shoulder. Elegant from the back and warm on a winter evening.

4. Across the front

Pinned at one shoulder and the opposite side of the waist, crossing the body. Shows the blouse and keeps the dupatta in place.

5. Khada dupatta

The traditional long dupatta worn over the head or shoulders. A beautiful look for the wedding ceremony, best when you won't be dancing.

6. Double dupatta

One on the shoulder, one on the head or across the arms. More formal; mostly for the wedding day.

Tips that make any drape stay

• Use safety pins on the inside of the blouse at the shoulder, two crossed.

• Choose a lighter dupatta for the sangeet and mehndi. Net and organza hold pleats well.

• Practise once with the outfit before the day.

A matching dupatta for the group

Different lehengas with the same dupatta is one of the simplest ways to make bridesmaids look like one group. A matching border or colour on every dupatta reads clearly in photographs. See matching outfits for bridesmaids. For a personal touch, the bride's own dupatta can carry names or a date: read bridal dupattas with names.

Getting dupattas made for the group

Start a bridesmaid and family order and tell us how you'd like the dupattas to match. Start about four weeks before the first function. Each person sends her own measurements, and there's no minimum group size.