My casual wardrobe gets a pretty regular workout, given I spend most of my time looking after Sophia and Grace and need to be comfortable at all times. However this leaves me with an entire section of my wardrobe that doesn’t get nearly enough use: my dresses. More specifically those that are on the slightly dressier side and are more appropriate for a work event or classy lunch than preschool drop- offs and playground outings. I’ve always been about having clothes that are easily dressed up or down so I’ve now taken to dipping into that particular section of my cupboard a lot more and have set myself the challenge to have them feature more frequently in my everyday looks.
Take the below dress by Karen Millen; I’m a huge fan of crisp white dresses as they’re generally a lot easier to transform into either a daytime or nighttime look given their blank colour palette. In this instance to help bring the dress into casual wear territory, I found my choice of accessories was key. By pairing it with a candy pink hued bag it added a fun, playful element to my overall look and gave it a slightly more relaxed feel. Flats are often the secret to changing the overall vibe of a dressy piece and by pairing the dress with white sneakers helped to ground the outfit and make it appropriate for a day of running around. The right accoutrements can often steer an outfit into an entirely new direction, and is one of my favourite styling tricks to employ when I need to change up an existing item in my closet.
I’m always experimenting with what’s in my wardrobe so this has been a useful discovery of a great way to double the use of what I already own. This weekend why not set yourself the challenge to turn your dressier pieces into casual wear—you may be pleasantly surprised at the new looks you’ll uncover.
Credits: Dress, Karen Millen, Shoes, Gucci, Bag, Bvlgari,
This post was created in collaboration with Karen Millen