This is an example of how to wear a mid-thigh length dress with a skirt, pair of pants and a romper for Spring, Summer and Fall.
The way my brain works when it comes to outfit creation is like this: I come up with the end result and then work backwards. So, by the time I start digging around in my closet, I already have a clear vision of what I want to create. So, it's just a matter of finding the right pieces and putting them together. ^_^
For this post, I want to focus on dresses. I've worn them in unconventional ways many times and with some success. I say "some" only because I always leave room for improvement. I don't think that everything I throw together is golden. Haha. If you can still see the belt loops on my dress or the empire waist is visible, then I haven't really done the best job at fooling you, even if I did pull off the look. ;)
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{ A Little More About My Process }
If I want to see two patterns together and one of those patterns is on a dress and the other happens to be on a skirt or on a pair of shorts, I try like hell to make the pairing work because, in my head, it's all about the pattern mixing at that point. That's my focus. Now, sometimes, the materials of each garment don't allow for a happy union. One of them might be too long, too bulky, too thick or too thin. >_<
A common issue is that my skirt or shorts may not have a high enough rise to hide the waist of the dress (I ignored this with the yellow dress/green shorts combo up there hehe). So, I try to come as close to my vision as I can without sacrificing the overall look. If the end result is bulky or just looks ill fitting then it doesn't matter that I have the color scheme I was lusting after. The disheveled look of it all dilutes the strength of the original style I was going for. If the final product just doesn't look good, drop it!
So, if you're trying to match different colors and/or patterns in your outfit and you want to make use of a dress, my advice is to ask yourself if the pairing truly works and to be honest about it. For me, the most difficult part of outfit creation is the editing process. So, I know it's easier said than done, but just try!
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{ Pay Attention To Your Fabric Choices }
OK. You have the dress that you want to wear and you think you have the perfect pair of pants, shorts or a skirt to match with it. Sooooo, how do you stuff a dress into a pair of shorts? o_O O_o Haha
Well, here's what I like to do. If the dress is a bit too long, I just fold up the ends a bit and tuck that into tights before putting on my skirt/shorts. Typically, I'll use the pantyhose that I already planned to wear with the outfit, so everything looks seamless. You see the dress as a top, then the skirt/shorts and then the pantyhose plus shoes, boots, etc. If you fold the fabric of the dress well enough, you won't feel like you're wearing a bunch of clothes and you won't look like it, either. ;D Of course, the more material there is (thick cotton/wool, for example), the bulkier you *will* look, so this strategy only goes so far.
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{ Use Spanx Or Pantyhose To Reduce Volume }
Here, I'm wearing a dress and two skirts. Can you tell? ;P~ I'm going to go out on a limb and say, 'probably not.' I did a better job of concealing the belt loops of the dress here in comparison to the style above with the green shorts. This is what the dress actually looks like, length and all. I have as of yet to actually wear it like a dress, though. I've only ever worn it as a layering tool, since it's so short on me.
I have a pair of Spanx shorts that are very high waisted and they're mid-thigh length. I put on the dress and then tucked and folded it into the Spanx shorts. I rolled down the waist of the shorts, then I layered the two skirts over it. Hence, my waist line doesn't look bunchy. It's as if I'm wearing only a top. ^_^
The fabric of the dress and two skirts are very thin, though! All of the pieces are lightweight and unlined. I find that you just have to play around with different materials until you find the ones that work best. Not all of my dresses could be worn with that particular skirt, because the waist is high and quite small.
I'm still very proud of this combination. I love trying new pattern pairings and the dress allowed me to do that cheaply. Why buy a top when I essentially already have one? ;D I just had to get a bit creative.
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I've showed you a dress with shorts and a dress with a skirt, but you can do pants, too! Yes! Haha. I've done it before and no one knew I had a dress on underneath. :DDD The best pants (for me) are high waisted because there's a better chance that they'll rise high enough to conceal a waistline or belt loops if the dress has any. Though you have to be extra cautious here because a form fitting pair of jeans leaves very little room for the folding technique I mentioned earlier. You don't want your mid-section to look like you have a pooch and you don't want the hem of the dress to be visible through the fabric.
In the photo above, I took this dress, tucked it into a pair of high waisted jeans and then layered a navy vest and mustard cardigan over it. I wanted it to look like I was wearing a multi-color plaid shirt. I loved the colors of the dress and I wanted to incorporate them in the outfit, so I found a way to make it work.
I wore a full length pair of Spanx tights, this time. They're super high waisted and they come down to my ankles. I put on the dress, then I tucked and folded it into the high waisted tights. Then I just put everything else on like I normally would. The jeans are very tight, but you can't see where the end of the dress is and there aren't any panty lines, either. I'm completely smoothed out. I'm also wearing a lot of clothes, but I don't think I *look* like I am. I just paid attention to which fabrics I was using and how I put them together. Plus, it was early March, so I wanted to feel warm without looking like a burrito. :P
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By the way, if you just have a pair of pantyhose, you could still do the same thing. You don't need Spanx! I just like to use Spanx when I'm wearing close fitting pants because the spandex is very tight.
With this outfit, I did the same thing. I wore high waisted Spanx tights and tucked the dress into the tights before putting my pants on. You can still make out the high waist of the dress, but it's an empire waist. Hehe. If I wore a maxi skirt, I probably could have concealed it, but I wanted to wear these pants. I was obsessed with this mix of prints and I just really wanted to wear them together. So, I had the pants altered to make them more high waisted and I achieved the look I wanted, though it wasn't perfect.
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Finally, remember that plaid dress from earlier? Here is how it looks tucked into a rather tight fitting romper. :D I didn't wear Spanx, this time, though. I just used the pantyhose that I already planned to wear with the outfit. I simply tucked and folded the dress into it. ^_^ The dress really completed the outfit. I love this color scheme and I really needed the print on the dress to bring it all together.
Once, you've become accustomed to figuring out which dresses will go with which pants/skirts/rompers/overalls/etc and how to wear those pieces together, you will see that you can do the same trick with other pieces! For example, I've worn rompers with jeans using the same methods mentioned earlier.
I'm a thrifter at heart. So, I like to get quality items for the least amount of money and then find exciting ways to wear and re-wear those same items. It's a wonderful way to show appreciation for what you already have, rather than constantly buying and replacing. Also, it's just a lot of fun to be creative!
Once, you've become accustomed to figuring out which dresses will go with which pants/skirts/rompers/overalls/etc and how to wear those pieces together, you will see that you can do the same trick with other pieces! For example, I've worn rompers with jeans using the same methods mentioned earlier.
I'm a thrifter at heart. So, I like to get quality items for the least amount of money and then find exciting ways to wear and re-wear those same items. It's a wonderful way to show appreciation for what you already have, rather than constantly buying and replacing. Also, it's just a lot of fun to be creative!
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I hope that, after reading this, you're able to understand a bit more about me and my thought process when it comes to getting dressed. For most people, wearing a dress as anything other than a dress is bizarre. For such people, the most they can bring themselves to do is wear a sweater or a skirt over it and that's totally fine! Do what feels best for you, man. It's just a different way of looking at the dress.
For me, I tend to see colors or patterns first before I see a dress or a skirt. The latter is secondary. So, everything in my closet can be put to unconventional use, especially when I have a particular aesthetic vision that I want to bring to life. Also, I tend to ignore most fashion rules, which helps. Hehe. :P
Anyway, I'm happy to answer specific questions about this topic! It isn't easy to break down something that is intuitive for me, so I realize I may have left out some information or maybe I didn't explain certain things clearly enough. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you find this post useful! <3 ^_^ <3
