The lehenga has been in its box for months, wrapped in muslin, smelling faintly of the wedding day. Pulling it out for Karva Chauth feels right, it is the most bridal thing you own, and this is the most bridal evening of the married year. But a wedding lehenga is engineered for a single day of choreographed movement: sitting for the pheras, standing for photographs, being helped in and out of a car. Karva Chauth asks you to fast through the afternoon, carry a thali, stand through the puja, and then crane your neck at the moon. The lehenga that survived your wedding may not survive the evening without a few honest adjustments.
