This photo of Alia Bhatt with a traditional Indian headpiece caught my eye the other day.  The last time I ever wore an Indian headpiece was about 25 years ago, when I was a Bharat Natyam student getting ready to participate in the annual Diwali festival.  At the time, I didn’t like dance, and I hated wearing all the flamboyant jewelry that seemed to accompany all these public Indian festivals.

But, after fast-forwarding a few decades, I have to admit, the thought of wearing an Indian headpiece is tempting.  Alia Bhatt isn’t the only person I’ve seen with a headpiece on.  One of my dear law school friends recently wore one at her wedding reception – to an American guy.  She looked stunning.  And I don’t think she’s the only one doing this . . . I see a trend happening now!

So, in light of this new Indian headpiece trend, here are some thoughts about how to make this look work:

1. Do NOT wear a headpiece to work. That goes double if you work at a conservative law firm, investment bank, hospital, or any of those type of traditional places.  Don’t even think about it.

2. Do not wear an Indian headpiece to happy hour or even to a dinner out. This item of Indian jewelry falls into the land of formal wear.  Note that even Indians in India won’t trot this item out for restaurants or parties.

3. Do wear it to an Indian wedding. Happily, Indian weddings are the one place where you get to pile on your bling – all of it – and prance out proudly.  Take lots of photos too!

4. Maybe wear an Indian headpiece to an American wedding. Use your judgement here – I would stick to the major coastal cities.  For example – my friend’s brother recently got married in Wyoming (he’s Indo-American, she is Caucasian-American).  The wedding pictures so far are absolutely gorgeous . . . but I don’t think an Indian headpiece, even on a guest, would really fit in – it’s Wyoming, after all!  And if you are going to a wedding with American royalty (i.e., someone famous), then maybe this isn’t such a good idea.  But I do think you can get away with an Indian headpiece at a Los Angeles or San Francisco wedding.  Just about everyone in the state of California is used to seeing Indian culture anyway, so why not 🙂

5. Do wear an Indian headpiece to an evening engagement party in one of the major cities (NYC, Boston, SF, LA, etc).  I may not go with one as large as Alia’s in the above photo, but I think one of the smaller, more subtle ones would work well.  Just make sure you don’t overdo the rest of your jewelry, especially if you are wearing a Western dress.