What to wear on Eid? It’s a question that often instigates frenzy, excitement and mad trips to the shops till the early hours of the night. For Eid wardrobes, of course, have to be special. These are clothes that need to be traditional enough for the customary family gatherings, funky enough for the evening soiree with friends and trendy enough to be worn again when Eid is long over. And as the weather yo-yos between excruciatingly hot and pleasantly rainy, Eid clothes certainly — definitely — need to be comfortable enough to be worn throughout the day. The same goes for hair and make-up. There’s no point in slathering yourself with layers of make-up when it’s all going to melt off distastefully should the weather on Eid day chance to be hot and humid!

Eid, for the fashion-forward, is about mixing in the trendy with the traditional without going over the top, without foregoing comfort. Know what works for you before you begin planning out your look for this Eid and take a leaf out of the following trend guidelines:

Breathe! Choose fabric that is cool, airy and allows you to breathe! The most obvious choice, of course, is lawn. As Safinaz Munir, one-half of the designer duo behind Sana Safinaz lawn, explains, “Lawn is no longer a simple three-piece suit. Luxury lawn suits come with chiffon, velvet, silk and embroidered add-ons. These are clothes that easily look beautiful at formal Eid parties and later on in the year, can be downplayed and worn at more casual occasions.”

As seen on the myriad billboards placed all over the country, there are quite a few Eid lawn options available in the market. Choose a classy jora, an elegant suit with thread embroidery perhaps rather than the run-of-the-mill blingy concoctions that somehow never seem to go out of demand.

For women who’d much rather forego the exhaustive trips to the tailor, local designers have plenty of ready-to-wear Eid options up their sleeves. Sanam Chaudhri, for instance, has designed a gorgeous collection predominantly in white with lightweight chikans and voiles as her fabric of choice. Her tunics are embellished with bright embroideries in coral, orange-lemon and blues with the cuts being the focal point — especially the rounded hems and loose kaftan-like sleeves that drape down to the hip before tapering at the end. Nida Azwer, on the other hand, has created an extensive Eid collection, dabbling with traditional kalami embroidery, combining appliqués with screen-printing, using paisleys, floral designs and an array of marine life as inspiration. Varying from the deliciously quirky to the elegantly feminine, the clothes are primarily in cotton, cotton net, chiffon, crepe silk and viscous soft linen. Sania Maskatiya’s cotton-based designs with digital prints in gold also work well as Eid apparel. Lightweight cloth, styled just the right way, can make a very classy, formal Eid statement without having you break out into a heat rash halfway through the day!

Shake up the hemline Sadly, the hemline’s playing it safe this Eid. Latest designer collections have the shirt dangling demurely at the knee — not too long, not too short and just the right length for the ankle-length cigarette pants that have come back in a big way this season. Designer Shehla Chatoor, who has devised an Eid collection of knee-length shirts with minimal embroidery, explains, “This is just a length that looks great formally, especially with chooridars and cigarette pants.”

Nevertheless, for women who’d rather set their own trends, short shirts with baggy lowers are funky and unique. A loose Patiala shalwar or ajar over an embellished, fitted shirt works well and FnkAsia, for one, is a brand that has stocked up on a wide variety of lowers for Eid — flappers, gharara pants and loose, screen-printed shalwars in every possible shape!

Boys and girls get gorgeous How can the little ones be possibly left out when it comes to Eid? Brands like Minnie Minors and QnH have been coming up with Eid collections for a long time now and of late, local designers have also been entering the fray. Lahore-based Karma Pink always has a variety of gorgeous girls’ dresses on offer and this season, designer Nomi Ansari has launched ‘Bubbles’, his label for little girls, featuring miniaturised versions of his extremely popular, typically colourful luxury pret for women. Nida Azwer also regularly comes up with children’s collections; in her girls’ line-up she replicates many of her designs for older women while her collection for boys consists of kurtas with funky screen-prints of cars, robots, et al.

Bolden that look Moving on from sartorial choices to the equally important matter of hair and make-up, it’s finally time to set aside the neutral browns and beiges that have long been the shades du jour for eye make-up and hair colour. According to stylist Nabila, eye make-up is getting bold the world over and what better time to sharpen your look than on Eid? One option is to thicken the eyeliner and turn it out at the end to create cat eyes a la Hema Malini in the ‘70s. It’s a smoky, sultry look that oozes glamour. For the colourfully inclined, Nabila suggest a palette of pinks, blues and reds. “Bold eyes looks great with nude lips or a dark lip colour can be tried on while eye make-up is kept minimal,” she advises. “Neutral, sedate browns are finally no longer in fashion. Eye make-up is now glossier and very colourful.”

Ditto for hair. Out go the soft, natural hair colours of yore; in come more definite seamless colours like copper, hazel and gold. And refrain from letting your hair hang loose and straight — it may have been a great look a few years ago but now it’s just boring. As dictated by Nabila, classy up-dos and effortless braids are the hairstyles to follow this season.