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How To Wear A Dress Multiple Ways

5/26/2015

15 Comments

 
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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!

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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

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15 Comments
J.
5/26/2015 07:00:37 am

Wow, these are some great outfits and you are right that one certainly would not guess that you have a whole dress hiding in most of them. I must admit that I feel the post begs the question, however: as you say about the vast majority of these dresses that you do not wear them as a dress, why not shorten them into tops? Depending on the original length of the dress you might have enough fabric left for a skirt or a scarf, and you would be much freer to wear them in all weathers without extra fabric. Regardless, your outfit combinations above are fab.

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Anna
5/26/2015 07:34:12 am

You're absolutely right about breaking up the dress into multiple, wearable pieces. I've thought about it for some of my dresses, but I guess the main thing that keeps me from doing such alterations is the fact that I like the garments as dresses, too. The thought of cutting into some of them sometimes makes me feel ill. Hehe.

When I say that I rarely wear a dress as a dress, I really mean that I often find myself thinking of other ways to highlight parts of a dress that I really like (such as the collar, print or some other design detail). So, in that sense, the dresses are perfectly fine just as they are. No need for changes.

Plus, I like the idea of saving space in my closet. I know that a dress I have hanging in there could be worn as a top or a skirt. So, it's three garments in one. If I cut up the dress, then I'm adding pieces to my closet. Right now, my closets are bursting. Also, that reminds me. I should put more stuff up in my Storenvy shop! >_<

Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment, by the way! I appreciate it!

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J.
5/27/2015 05:53:17 pm

Makes sense! And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who attributes feelings to clothes. Thanks for your answer.

Denise link
5/26/2015 09:14:08 am

I think I do like you too, first I see patterns and then the piece, like a dress or a skirt. Also,, many times I have to add some lace to make the skirt or dress longer, because I don't wear short items - but because the pattern was so cool, I bought the piece anyway :) I agree with you that being creative is much better, not only buying/replacing! Well, I liked your post and your way to wear things - it's so cool to be able to wear a dress as a shirt, and even with pants and shorts, not only skirts (That would be the easy way :) I loved in particular one skirt here, blue floral one! But you look gorgeous all the time! I don't have Spanx, but I will try with other tights (I have just bought some, I tend to go bare-legged!) So nice explanations!
DenisesPlanet.com

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Anna
5/27/2015 09:23:00 am

Hehe. Yeah, actually you bring up a good point, which is that I don't know many people who would want to wear pantyhose in the summer. So, the pantyhose trick might not be the most comfortable or practical for skirts, shorts, etc. in the summertime. That being said, if you have an above-the-knee length pair of spandex tights or even some mid-thigh length spandex bike shorts, you might be able to get away with it! I know that, long before I discovered Spanx, I was using my shorter leggings and spandex shorts. Basically, I just used whatever I had on hand and made it work. :P

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Keit link
5/27/2015 01:29:56 am

This is probably my most favorite post from you after the life posts! It's awesome to see the thought process behind the genius, and I really mean that, I think you are hella of creative and inspiring ^_^
If I had to explain what is the thought process behind my styling, I'd rather eat sawdust. It's ridiculously hard, as you said, to explain something that comes from within.
Btw, if the waist of a dress is showing, you can hide it with one of those big belts, the ones that look more like corsets, I think it would look kewl :D
And didn't realize you were wearing two skirts there, brilliant juuust brilliant darn it! I should take notes :D

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Anna
5/27/2015 09:29:01 am

Hehe. See, you get me. :D Not many people do, man. Yeah, it's something that I do that I barely think about. I'm just like, I want to wear this dress with these pants. Oh, I know. I'll just tuck them into some tights. Done. Heh. It makes perfect sense to me, but then I'll run into someone who is like o_O O_o. Then, they ask me what I did and how I did it. That's when I realize that maybe I'm actually doing something unusual/strange, even though it feels normal to me. Then, it becomes hard to explain how to put something so simple (to me, mind you) into words. I tried my best, though! <3

Ahhh, I never thought about hiding the waist with a belt! The thing is, though, I don't really wear wide/chunky belts. I have an affinity for thin ones, so I don't know how well that would work for me. I'll definitely think about it, though. It's a good option!

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Olivia link
5/27/2015 04:43:04 pm

I loved reading this post! I think that it is interesting that you already have a clear vision of what you want your outfit to look like before anything! Usually, I pick a piece that I want to wear and then go from there. Although, sometimes I do it backward too! That's usually when I'm in bed and have to get up for school-i'll plan my outfit in my head before getting out of bed HAHA! :P
Anyway, I think that it is so fun that you layer your dresses to the degree that some of them is just the collar showing. You are literally the queen of layering :) I feel like I could get way too hot wearing all the layers but good for you!
Thank you for sharing your process. I really enjoyed reading this post :)
Olivia | <a href="http://hernamewascelebration..com">Her Name Was Celebration</a>

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Anna
6/3/2015 04:03:33 am

Rad! Thanks! ^_^ <3

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Lauren Blair link
6/1/2015 02:21:56 pm

Wow...this was a mega interesting post!!! I can't believe all of the ways you found to wear dresses without looking like you're wearing dresses. I've done the dress under a skirt thing, but never with shorts or pants! I honestly don't know which of your looks here are my favorites, but I liked the spanx trick for eliminating tuck in lines. AWESOME POST!
XO
-Lauren Blair
www.prefertobedemure.com

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Anna
6/3/2015 04:03:55 am

Thank you! <333

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Silvia link
6/4/2015 05:07:59 am

Amazing!!!! :-)

www.kikabibi.blogspot.com

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Anna
6/8/2015 05:36:13 am

Hehe :D

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Kristian link
6/7/2015 04:05:25 am

I have always wondered how you layered dresses with some of your outfits. I always end up feeling uncomfortable because things bulk in odd ways, but your tips might inspire some more unconventional layering.

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Anna
6/8/2015 05:36:36 am

Rad! I can't wait to see what you come up with! :D

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    Hi! I'm Anna <3

    I'm fond of artistic fashion, esoteric music, retro games (the older the platform, the better), delectable noms, good libations, my Maine Coon, Bonaparte, and my Tabby, Winsome.

    Also, I attended university in Hyogo Prefecture and I am proficient in Japanese.


    もし、あなたは日本語が話せる、あたしに日本語で話て下さい!練習が必要だ!*^_^*
    



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