When picking out bridesmaid dresses, think further ahead than the wedding. Think about other events you can wear the bridesmaid dress to. Then the trick becomes, obviously to pick out dresses that don’t look like typical bridesmaid dresses. But then again, even if you plan to wear it just for the wedding, you still shouldn’t have a dresses that look like typical bridesmaid dresses. Actually, “typical” is probably a concept that all fashionistas want to avoid.
As you may have noticed while reading my blog, a have a tendency to make a pet project of planning out how much wear you can get out of one outfit. I regard each fashion purchase as an investment – an investment that you need to get the very most you can out of. The bride may want to make the decision on the dresses herself, but if your one of the maids,do your own research and try to suggest or stear her towards stores or websites that have dresses that don’t scream bridesmaid.
Four looks for the bridesmaid dress for after the wedding:
1. The formal look – Get an accessory set with a fancy black stole (shawl) and sparkly little black clutch, and wear the dress to parties.
2. The warm winter look – Don’t let the weather discourage you from wearing a sexy dress. Make a warm winter outfit by wearing the dress with a pair of tall killer stiletto boots and a somewhat fancy black cashmere cardigan over it. The boots help keep your legs warm, but keep the cardigan open so you can see the dress.
3. The edgy leather jacket look – Create a completely different look by getting a pair of black stockings with a pattern (as opposed to solid) and wear it with a short leather jacket. Edgy make-up and a high pony tail. Don’t try to match it too much for this particular look, the purpose is edgy.
4. The black tuxedo jacket look – Wear a fancy blazer (not a suit blazer) made of black satin or black velvet, over the dress. Maybe a double breasted one. Keep it buttoned so that the jacket itself is the main feature of the outfit, but the dress becomes a skirt that makes the jacket more special. A choker necklace would go well with that.
(Never, ever regard a braidsmaids dress as a one night stand. It deserves a loving relationship like the rest of your dresses.)
For casual work clothes, wear a skirt. But what kind of a skirt? Here are two completely different styles – talk about dichotomy. Both skirt styles are casual, but nice. One style is pretty trendy, the other is quite conservative and shall we say… mature. When you put together a casual work outfit with a skirt, think about what personality you want to come across. Wearing a business casual outfit with a skirt is still more dressy than jeans.
Black pants is a standard ingredient in most womens work wardrobe. Of course, we have to have at least two pairs of well fitting black pants for work clothes. But let’s not get stuck in a pattern though. Take a work outfit that you normally wear with blank pants and try it with another pair of pants – like white pants for example. A turqoise suit jacket can be worn with both black and white pants. It creates a different mood. Try switching some of your different suit pants and suit jackets around to create different moods for your work outfits. But check yourself out in the mirror well before you decide to go with it, to make sure you are comfortable. You cold be the first one at your office srtart a trend.
