Nine Days, Nine Looks: The Pressure Of An Insta-Worthy Festive Wardrobe Is Real

On the first night of Navratri, I found myself in front of my cupboard, staring at a sea of clothes that suddenly felt all wrong. My Instagram feed was already overflowing with women in flawless, colour-coded chaniya cholis, every twirl caught in slow motion, every detail sparkling under ring lights. I had an outfit too, but it didn’t feel enough. Nine nights stretched ahead like a fashion marathon, and somewhere between the fun of celebrating and the pressure of “keeping up,” I wondered if I was dancing for myself or for the camera.

When Celebration Meets Social Media

Navratri is meant to be about devotion, dance, and community. But these days, it feels like it has also become about wardrobes. Each day brings a new “must-wear” colour, and social media only raises the stakes.

The festival calendar is no longer only marked by prayers and garba timings, but by reels, hashtags, and curated outfit posts. What was once about showing up to dance has become about showing up to perform, both offline and online.

For women, this pressure is doubled. Navratri has always celebrated feminine power through Goddess worship, but now it feels like that power is measured by how well we present ourselves visually.

It’s not only about having fun with fashion anymore; it’s about having nine distinct looks ready to go and making sure they are “Instagrammable.” If you miss a day, repeat an outfit, or don’t look “festive enough,” it feels like falling behind in a competition you never signed up for.

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A post shared by ShivShakti Sachdev (@iamshivshakti)

Finding happiness on Your Own Terms

The real power of Navratri lies not in nine perfectly styled outfits, but in the freedom to celebrate on our own terms. To wear the same dress twice. To dance without worrying if our eyeliner is smudged.

To enjoy the colours, lights, and community without turning every moment into content. Because at the end of the day, the goddess we worship during Navratri doesn’t care about hashtags; she cares about strength, devotion, and joy.

Views expressed by the author are their own.