20 Bollywood Retro Look Style Outfit Ideas For You

Bollywood retro style dresses Are very much in trend these days. Perfect must read the article to get some inspiration for Bollywood retro look.

Bollywood fashion never goes out of style!!

Yes, it is indeed true, whenever we think of partying the first theme that pops in our minds are the bollywood retro look.

Let’s check out some wardrobe available and show stopper bollywood retro look style dresses for the same-

Anarkali –

The elegant and beautiful ankle-length, umbrella cut Anarkalis are always an easy option in bollywood retro style dresses. The Anarkalis are available in various fabrics of net, cotton, satin, silk etc. They are very intricately embellished with sequins, beads, pearls, studs, etc. which make them more attractive.

Also, you can throw a sleeveless velvet jacket over the full sleeves Anarkali and put on a qawwali cap (OrAnarkali cap) with a feather in it and resemble yourself with the dazzling beauty Madhubaala in Mughal-E- Azam movie and Rekha in Umraojaan movie.

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Polka Dots –

Of course, whenever we think of bollywood retro look, the image of hot Dimple Kapadia flashes in our mind. Polka dotted white shirt with a bust knot crop top and the stylish black mini skirt with a white ribbon in your hair completes the look.

Other than this you can always opt for polka-dotted tops, shirts, skirts and knee-length frocks to get a retro feel. Just polka-dotted scarfs can also make one of the perfect bollywood retro style dresses

Beehive Hairstyle –

Bouncy bumpy hairdo from the 60s and 70s is a great way to get a bollywood retro look. Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore, Saira Banu all these heroines carried this look very well and made it as a trend of the era.

It is also known as Khosla hairstyle as it looks similar to a nest of a sparrow. Along with this hairstyle side curl, flicks will do the work. Put a nice round bindi on the forehead to brand this retro theme dresses look.

Chaniyacholi –

“In kutton ke saamne mat naachna Basanti”, this famous dialogue of iconic film Sholay reminds us of a little frightened but determined Basanti aka Hema Malini.

Her colourful tee length chaniya choli (Lehenga choli), with front, draped the dupatta in Gujarati style, the pretty zumka earrings, the one-sided ponytail with gajara on it , matching bangles and anklets, a nice bindi, necklace and nose ring put up a great combination together for bollywood retro outfit ideas.

All this material is easily available in the market and maybe in your home also.

Large goggles –

Do you remember that our legend heroines always wore big and large frame goggles when it came to stylish looks at that time? Mostly white frame googles can take your look back to that era very quickly.

Pair these goggles with collar shirts with two pockets and pants or skirts and there you go, you are ready for the retro theme party with minimal efforts. Zeenat Aman in the very famous song ‘dum maro dum’ of the movie ‘Hare Krishna hare ram’ has explicitly owned the look with such goggles, printed collar shirt and a garland in her neck. You can try that too!

Winged eyeliners –

Now, this is like a rule, you want a retro look then winged eyeliners are a must..!

Almost every heroine in almost every bollywood retro look has winged eyeliner put on her eyes. Though it is very simple to put on, you can always go for stencils to swipe your eyeliner gracefully. Also, there are many videos which might help you out.

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Sleek saree draping –

Well, when it comes to sarees, it’s the same sarees draped in a retro style. The bright orange colored tight fitting saree draping of Mumtaaz in the song ‘aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche har zuban par’ has been a hit then and now also.

So a plain or minimal work saree with the embellished border will fit properly according to your body shape, try on a high neck blouse, put bangles and for hairstyle go for the beehive hairstyle and don’t forget to put on winged eyeliners. It is the one of the best bollywood retro style dresses.

Two braids (plaits) –

Rekha in ‘Khoobsurat’ movie tied two plaits of her long hair and wore stud earrings. This is the simplest look to have if your hair is long. Also, Neetu Singh carried this look with front flicks and looked stunning.

A sugary colour lipstick, long plaits, minimal accessories and any dress of your choice is enough to get this look of Rekha or Neetu Singh. If you don’t have long hair you can opt for a hair supplement. A maxi dress with vintage print can help you a lot with this look.

Gathered or Layered dress –

The ruffled layered dress was a great eye-catcher of the golden times. Helen the well-known dancer always preferred layered maxis, skirts, tops, etc. to highlight her moves.

Her famous green shimmery layered belly dance dress of the song ‘Mehbooba o Mehbooba’ has set many hearts on fire. You can pick this outfit (with certain modifications if you need), be the boom of your party and flatter your dance moves. Put on bold makeup, and wear a forehead chain to attain the maximum bollywood retro look.

Round earrings –

Round earrings are always easy to find and are available in all beautiful variety and colours. The big round earrings with a crop top, ankle-length jeans and sports shoes can complete your look. Also, round earrings look great with vintage floral print skirts and maxi dresses as well.

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Ribbons and scarfs–

For western retro looks, beehive hairdo is mostly completed with nice colourful ribbons. There are many heroines wearing these ribbons in versatile ways with various styles of dress patterns. In the song ‘main chali main chali dekho pyaar ki gali’, Saira Banu has a red ribbon tied so artistically to her head, even Hema Malini has it on her head a purple ribbon in the song ‘hawa ke saath saath’, likewise many other heroines use it.

The scarfs can be wrapped loosely around your neck with collar shirts and bell-bottom pants. Tina Ambani in the movie ‘Karz’ had carried this minimal look with scarf very prettily. You can consider this as much like accessories.

Tightly fitted chudidaar –

This satin, tight-fitting no side cut kameez and skin-tight chudi pant with a chunri were worn by Leena Chandvarkar in the song ‘Dhal Gaya Din ho Gayi shaam’. You can also refer to this same look which was taken by Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om.

Winged eyeliner, round earrings, beehive hairstyle with a satin ribbon as well and tight-fitting churidar, for the chudi pant you can go for leggings.

Bright colours for such looks bring out the retro feel in you. Get along a badminton racket!

Bell Bottoms –

Mentioning of bellbottoms in the above point, without any much of stress you can easily opt to palazzo pants to get this bollywood retro look. Those were also called as elephant pants back then. Some also referred to as bottle look as it had a big bottom.

Pairing these high waist pants with front tie crops tops, vertical lining shirts, turtle neck skin fitting tops and two plaits or 2 low ponytails and ribbons can make your work for the party. In ‘satte pe satta’ movie you can see many of those naughty heroines flaunting this look.

Naagin look –

If you want to be the hit of your retro party or win the best bollywood retro style dresses award or even steal the focus then the Naagin look of Shridevi will be a winner. The heavily worked and elaborated dressing is needed for this look. This look can be attained in two ways.

1. A profoundly embellished circular lehenga, same style blouse, chunri pinned up at the back of your hair (Dulhan style), a lot of matching bangles, simple yet nice hairstyle, the three-way mang tikka, earrings, a choker and a long necklace.
2. Another look is with a heavily worked spaghetti crop blouse, a sort of embellished dhoti pant with pleated fan style in front of it (Sort of like Bharatnatyam costume), for hair accessories go for heavy maangtikkas. Don’t forget to use grey lenses to complete your look.

Choker, Jumpsuits and maxis–

Choker might be in trend right now but they trace back in the fashion world from the 70s. Black simple choker with solid color bell bottom jumpsuits look great and are an easy option to for your retro parties.

Zeenat Aman in the song ‘chura liya hai tumne’ rocked this outfit. Naazneen in the song ‘pyar mein kabhi kabhi aisa ho jaata hai’ of the movie ‘Chalte Chalte’ looked alluring in her yellow maxi and matching choker.

Phiran –

Well, the famous pahadi girl look of Sharmila Tagore in the movie ‘Kashmir Ki kali’ is just mesmerizing. The outfit is known as phiran. It is a long Kashmiri kaftan and salwar.

A headdress known as Taranga is also a part of this outfit. It is embellished in front near the forehead which gives a tinkling look. A rosy red or rosy pink make up would actually make you a Kashmir Ki kali.

Hats or Flower–

A big rose stuck or pinned properly above your ear will do the retro trick quick. Rakhee Gulzar in her song ‘Pal Pal dil ke paas’ looked relishing with a flower and a simple saree. Also, the fascinating Nutan in the song ‘sawan ka mahina’ has tied a loose braid and pinned a rose to it, looks cute and simple.

Even Simi Garewal flaunts this look with a gerbera flower and beehive hairstyle. Other than flowers big round hats are a great way to look retro.

Shridevi has given an outstanding look to pick in the movie Mr India where she wore a ruffled multi-coloured dress and a very unique hat with all the artificial fruits on it.

You can DIY your hat and rob this Hawa Hawai look.

Shimmer gowns –

In the 70s these were worn by many heroines for the party look. You too can look retro with shimmer gowns just by pairing it up with retro accessories or overcoats.

Like in the song ‘pyaar karnewle kabhi darte nahi’, Parveen babi wore a sparkling fringy silver gown and coupled it with a shiny slinging stole. Also, she wore a ravishing red gown in the song ‘bach ke rehna re baba’. Even completely frilled dresses give a retro look.

Japanese Kimonos –

If you want to get a quick noticeable dress style, go for the sayonara look. A floral kimono, a large width waistband (can use corsets or solid coloured chunris), some straws and flowers tucked in your hairstyle in the back and ohh la la the Japanese fan.

Ta-Da! Asha Parekh of ‘Love in Tokyo’ or Helen of ‘Howrah Bride’ is ready to go ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu!!’

Simple Saree –

Oh! The simple but dimple Nargis who ruled our hearts in the movie Shree 420 with her nominal dress up and hairstyle will always be remembered.

Yes, a slightly floral white saree(to get the black and white feel), a high neck full pack black blouse with sleeves running till elbow, a loose braid , a round bindi and yeah no jewelry or very negligible jewelry. Don’t forget to get that black umbrella with you!!

Retro theme is like a bunch of colorful flowers. You can always mix and match the above combinations and roam around stunning in your partyyyy!!!!

Also Read: Retro Western Dresses

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How can I look retro Bollywood?

1. Cat Eyeliner is back
2. Wear Anarkali.
3. Use fluorescent colours.
4. Bellies are good for shoes.

How can I make my retro look?

You can put a black eyeliner, wear polka dots and sunglasses. Ready to look retro theme type.

What is Bollywood retro theme?

The theme of Bollywood can be more narrowed down to a special movie or a more generalized one like Bollywood retro. Here the retro time refers to the fashion trends of the 1960s and 1970s. These were the decades where movies had typical silhouettes, boasted by the trend-setting glam goddesses of the silver screen.

What is retro theme?

Retro style is a style that is reflecting or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the ancient past, including in music, modes, fashions, or beliefs. It may also be known as “vintage-inspired”.