If you’re looking for new ways to put dress outfits together and maximize your wardrobe, I thought I’d share some photos of a recent outfit styling session I had with a client last week. I’ve talked about this client before on this blog. To protect her identity, I call her Mrs. Hottie. Mrs. Hottie and I recently went shopping for some spring/summer dresses last week which, like all our shopping sessions, was followed up with an outfit session. I always photograph the outfits for a client’s reference when I do these sessions. Generously, Mrs. Hottie allowed the photos taken during her appointment to be used publicly (thanks, Mrs. Hottie!). Keep in mind, however, these photos are working images, typically used for reference; not pretty studio pics that are perfectly lit and fabulous. Normally, these photos don’t get shared.
However, as rudimentary as these photos are, I am happy when a client allows me to share their photos publicly because it proves that the style, dressing and wardrobe advice I spew out on this blog aren’t just theories. Everything I share with you is exactly the same as what I share with clients. The advice I give here is road-tested, not just thoughts in my head of what could work.
Below are some standout photos from her session along with some advice. My hope is that by checking these photos out you’ll get some new ideas for your own wardrobe.
Tips on How to Put Dress Outfits Together
Look #1
This is one of my favorite dresses that we bought! As you can see, this dress is styled two ways in this photo. In the first, with Mrs. Hottie being bold enough, we colorblocked her pink dress with aqua shoes. The look is pulled together with a pair of earrings that bring the colors together.
In the second look, I chose to go in a neutral direction with the navy shoes and changed out the earrings with a statement navy pair. Lastly, the look was partnered with a white drapey cardigan that Mrs. Hottie can throw on if needed.
When choosing accessories, it is important to keep the main color palette of your wardrobe in mind. The more cohesive your clothing and accessories are the more mileage you will get.
Look #2
In case it isn’t clear, this dress is navy. The nice thing about this dress, while it does have some texture, it can be treated like a solid navy dress. Remember, navy can be treated like black, any pop color goes with it.
Here, I styled the dress two ways. In the top photos, I went with bold shoes (Mrs. Hottie can choose any of the shoes laid out in front of her and, yes, Mrs. Hottie is a bit of a shoe whore) and then chose a neutral necklace in navy. In the bottom two photos, I flipped it around and chose neutral shoes and popped the outfit with the orange necklace. Of course, Mrs. Hottie can go all neutral with the navy necklace and the neutral shoes, too.
Look #3
Okay, there are a bunch of things going on here, so let’s break it down one-by-one. In the top left photo, I noticed that two pairs of shoes that Mrs. Hottie owns (the navy sandals and the turquoise pumps) matched the pop colors of the print perfectly, while not being too matchy-matchy. Lastly, the look was finished off with a green necklace (another color found in the print.) Trust me, if you want a versatile jewelry color that goes with everything, green is your color!
The bottom left photo shows the shoes and the print close up and the bottom right photo shoes a look that isn’t so bold. By choosing the navy shoes, I swapped in two options for some softer green accessories.
Look #4
This last look shows that a colorblocked dress does not have limited accessorizing options. The photo on the left and top right show a funky pair of shoes that have been in Mrs. Hottie’s closet for some time. While it’s a bit funkier, we were thrilled to notice how well they worked with the dress in an unexpected way. To finish the look, we chose those orange earrings again.
The look on the bottom right pulls the navy sandals and chunky navy necklace back into the mix.
When it comes to dress, never think you are stuck with one look. Challenge yourself to create at least two to three different outfits using one dress and you may find that you not only utilize your wardrobe more efficiently, but you also start shopping more mindfully.
