Dress Week Challenge Day Three

As hinted at in my post yesterday, I decided to haul out my lone cocktail dress and see if I could make it work in a more casual setting. Its “dressiness” is mainly due to the styling (low neckline) and the fact that it is made of a silk satin material, and has some sheen to it. I bought it last winter to wear to a fundraiser for a dog rescue group I volunteered for, and as far as I can remember, haven’t worn it since. I just love the pattern and bright colors, and it seems such a waist to leave it languishing in my closet. To dress it down, I layered a black cami under it (for modesty) and paired it with a denim jacket and ballet flats. If it had been cooler outside, I might have worn textured hose and my Doc Martens or some other flat knee high boots with it. Yet another option would have been a scarf and cascading cardigan belted over the whole thing. Now that I’ve worn it once, I’m starting to get all sorts of ideas….you will probably seeing this dress more in the future, hee.

If you are planning on doing something similar with a cocktail dress of your own, my advice would be to first evaluate the inherent “dressiness” of the item. If it is heavily embellished, has lots of glitz and shine, or huge bows and/or ruffles, it may be very difficult to make it work in a more casual setting (although maybe not impossible). Next, it will probably need something layered over the top–a cardigan or denim jacket is a no brainer. If it’s very low cut, try putting a cami under it for modesty. Lastly, pair it with flats. Just as heels make casual items more dressy, flats can make dressy items less so. If anyone does try this, please let me know! I’d love to hear about it.

Dress is Nanette Lepore, denim jacket is BCBG, cuff bracelet is CC Skye, cami is Banana Republic, and shoes are Me Too.

I managed to snap a few shots of my fellow “Dress Weekers” during tea time in the math building at school. Left to right is Shannon, Christy, and Brandy. Shannon is working on two Bachelor Degrees in Pure Math and Anthropology. Christy is almost finished with her Bachelor of Science in Pure Math. She’s off to a highly regarded math program abroad for the Spring semester. Brandy is a PhD graduate student studying Topology. She’s the lovely and talented brains behind the Dress Week Challenge. I’m lucky to attend school with three super smart, confident and fabulously stylish women.