When most people think of wedding season, they think of June. However, autumn, particularly September and October, is a very popular time for weddings. In fact, I got married in October. At least here in the northeast the weather can be pretty perfect. Although, for some strange reason on the day I got married in 2007 it was nearly 95 degrees outside. We were not expecting this.
With the likelihood that you may have just accepted an invitation to an autumn wedding, I wanted to do a post on this topic, and wanted to focus on style versatility. Let's face it, unless you are playing some critical role in the event, your attendance will be about as important as that sprig of parsley garnishing the chicken or fish you ordered when you sent your RSVP back. It's not that the bride and groom won't care if you show up or not, but, trust me, unless you are dressed inappropriately, your outfit really doesn't matter to anyone else other than you. You can pull out a before-worn dress that you have ear marked in your closet for special events, you can buy a new dress, or you can try something even better, you can choose a dress that you can wear again in your very real day to day life, like to work.
Should you plan on buying a whole new versatile dress or if you want to take a daytime dress out of your closet and gussy it up a bit to make it appropriate for a wedding, I am going to show you how you can wear one dress from work to a wedding just by swapping out some accessories. Below you will find three dresses styled two different ways to illustrate how easy this can be.
Dresses You Can Wear to Work and to a Wedding
Dress #1
Let's start with this bright aqua blue dress from Reiss. On the left, it can go to the office with this pink blazer from J. Crew, a pair of nude pumps from Corso Como, a navy tote from Brahmin, hoops from Nordstrom and a navy and gold necklace from Stella & Dot. Of course, if the pink and blue is just too much of a combination, you can change it for a black or navy blazer instead.
On the right, all it took was some accessory changes to give this dress a cocktail feel. I used these jeweled Pink Paradox London pumps in navy, a clutch from Nina, colorful brooch necklace from Banana Republic and studs from Lafonn.
Dress #2
This next dress from Elie Tahari is a blue/black tweed that can look either very daytime or very evening, depending on how it is styled. For work, I added this navy cardigan from L.K. Bennett, absolutely perfect blue/black Mary Jane pumps from Coach, blue stone earrings from Ralph Lauren and a burgundy tote, also from Coach.
For the wedding outfit, instead of playing up the navy, I played up the black. I added these more ornate macrame pumps from Vince Camuto, a lucite minaudière from Halston Heritage and drusy drop earrings from Kendra Scott.
Dress #3
It's doesn't have to be just about the sheath dress when taking a look from work to a wedding. Here, I used this fit-and-flare dress from Lafayette 148 and styled it for both occasions. On the left it looks daytime using these block heel pumps in grey from Cole Haan, an antique rose convertible tote from MICHAEL Michael Kors and lapis necklace from Nordstrom.
For the wedding, I made some small changes to this dress to make it appropriate. I used these satin bow heeled sandals from Kate Spade in blue, a crystal box clutch from Menbur, crystal bracelet from Nadri and drop earrings from Swarovski.
If you're tired of even dresses piling up in your closet that get worn once and never again, try thinking beyond the event itself and what you can buy and wear multiple ways to guarantee maximum value and versatility. And you don't just have to think about weddings. This strategy an also work well with any desk to dinner event you may have coming up and is a fantastic solution for travel.
Shop for dresses you can wear from work to a wedding
Still shopping? Check out these styles you can tweak and wear from day to evening.
