Style 911: How Can I Wear A Fancy Dress Casually?
Posted by: Erin Flaherty
Filed in:
style
4:00PM, Sunday August 16th 2009
I have a pewter Sean John dress that’s rather dressy. The problem is I rarely go anywhere that calls for cocktail attire. I was wondering if there’s any way to dress it down without looking as if I’m trying too hard. Please help me—I’ve had it for more than a year already.—GlamNiki
A pic of the dress in question and what could possibly be done to salvage this relationship, after the jump!
Sadly, this is the fate of many a schmancy party dress. You snag it for an event, find the perfect little number, feel all princess-y for a night, and then the poor frock gets pushed to the back of your closet, ne’er to see the light of day again. But it doesn’t have to be doomed to a life amongst your mothballs. The first step in shopping your closet for the kinds of goods that are normally relegated to weddings and graduations is to let go of the idea that there’s any such thing as boundaries, uh, in this situation anyway.
At some point in the ‘90s it became fashionable for stylists to start pairing cotton tank tops with long, formal tulle skirts, and, since then, there’ve been plenty of cool ways to play on fancy-casual. This dress is tricky because it’s so sparkly, but metallics are huge right now and look great with everything. Still, you kind of have to go a bit funky to pull this look off. It’s hot out right now, so I’d recommend wearing a soft, cap-sleeved t-shirt beneath it and pairing with casual but punchy sandals. But I can really see this working even better going into fall, when you can layer it. Try it with a cotton tank underneath, throw on a chunky knit cardigan, and rough it up with charcoal tights and some motorcycle boots. I think it’ll look cool.
Sheer Jersey Short Sleeve Tee, $21, American Apparel and Castaner Doris Espadrille Wedges, $62, Outnet
Silence & Noise Striped Cardigan, $39, Urban Outfitters and MIA Liv Boots, $42, Overstock
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Lexie
wrote on August 16 2009 @ 03:27 pm: [report]
Try a cardigan with a pair of gladiator flats
belongsomewhere
wrote on August 16 2009 @ 03:40 pm: [report]
My goodness, the shade of yellow on the wedges would look atrocious with that dress! A cool (by which I mean the opposite of warm) color, maybe bright blue, would look better.
HereComestheSunQ
wrote on August 16 2009 @ 05:31 pm: [report]
Is that a man holding the dress…?
Isabela Laval
wrote on August 16 2009 @ 07:02 pm: [report]
@ HereComestheSunQ: That was my exact same thought!
LostInStars
wrote on August 16 2009 @ 09:56 pm: [report]
@HereComesTheSunQ and Isabela Laval: Obviously she made her boyfriend/husband hold it so she could take the picture.
Or, you know, someone likes to wear dresses. As long as he tucks his junk back, nothing worse than a man in a dress with a big ol’ bulge in the front.
Laurel
wrote on August 17 2009 @ 09:46 am: [report]
How about with cigarette-thin black skinny jeans and black flats? Maybe with a cropped cream colored cardigan? Oh! Or with a black longsleeve (t) shirt underneath. I know a lot of people hate pants under dresses, but in my opinion if the pants aren’t bulky, they kind of work like leggings, just classier (and more camel-toe proof).
Erin Flaherty
wrote on August 17 2009 @ 09:52 am: [report]
oooh laurel, i like your ideas. and belongsomewhere is totally right—i’m fully rethinking the yellow espadrilles, maybe too “funky.” but definitely some sandals to make the dress seem less precious. it’s all about the layering though, chunky knits and boots and tops underneath. maybe wearing a fancy dress works best in fall when you can mess with it more.
Coral
wrote on August 17 2009 @ 01:44 pm: [report]
I honestly don’t view that dress as being too fancy. I would wear that out on a regular day, but maybe that’s just me. My suggestions for wearing it down are to wear flats or low sandals instead of heels. I personally don’t like the whole dress over t-shirt thing. I think it looks too messy and strange. But wearing a crop or cardigan over the dress can easily dress it down. Another suggestion is to play around with different tights: opaque, patterned, colored. They can help not only pull the outfit together, but also dress it down, in my opinion.