Traditionally, mehndi designs for legs are reserved for Indian brides, but modern culture has made mehndi daring and fashionable for women of all cultures. If you do happen to be an Indian bride, henna designs covering your legs from about mid-calf to halfway down the top of your foot are appropriate. Women that want to decorate their legs for the beach or just for fashion’s sake may use such elaborate designs, but can also choose from simple vine work that wraps only around the ankle. Traditional mehndi includes chevrons, lotus blossoms, and hatch-marks, but purely decorative mehndi may include any shapes you like.
When choosing mehndi designs for legs, you should consider where you’ll be wearing your designs. An Indian bride, for instance, wears her mehndi to her new home. Long-lasting mehndi designs indicate that her new family is treating her gently and not making her perform chores that might wear away the designs. Indian tradition states that the more elaborate and longer-lasting the designs, the better the marriage will be. Mehndi designs for legs, in this instance, should cover most of the leg.
If you intend to decorate your legs for the beach, you may not want an extensive, intricate design. Henna tattoos painted low on your ankles and feet may wear away quickly in the sand. Swimming may also fade mehndi deisgns for legs, making touch-ups necessary if you want to show off your artwork for longer than a day or two. In this case, choose a design that runs vertically along your shinbone or highlights the muscles of your calves. A flowered vine or interlocking whorls generally look elegant and are easy to touch up if they fade.
Creating mehndi designs just for fun requires a few considerations as well. If you want to show off your handiwork over the weekend, but can’t display it at work, plan to localize the tattoo to just your ankle or right below the knee. These areas may be highlighted with strappy sandals and short skirts, but can be hidden easily with tights, socks, and long pants. Simpler mehndi designs for legs, like stylized animals and flowers, are also usually easier to touch up than traditionally intricate Indian designs.
When you’re deciding between simple and elaborate mehndi designs for legs, you should typically think about how much time you have, your artistry skills, and whether you’ll have help. Line drawings with large details work well if you don’t have a lot of time or assistance. If you have an entire day and the help of a friend, you can pick something with plenty of small details. Stencils can also help you cover a lot of skin if you’re low on time or don’t have faith in your drawing ability.