Dressing Down

We often talk about dressing up jeans or a favorite t-shirt. Everyone has items they consider dressier: pearls, sequins, silk, stilettos, party dresses. So you take your jeans, tuck in your tshirt, add stilettos and a sequin blazer for a modern party look.

The same principle can work in reverse. If you have an item you love, say a pair of silk pants or a tulle party skirt, and want to get more mileage out of them than the occasional party or office appearance, dress them down. For me, these are a few items that  rarely cross out of casual:
thick cable knits
fair isle patterns
ditzy florals
kitschy prints
burnout tees 
 work/hiking boots
cargo anything

Mix and match with messy hair and laid back makeup. Yea! You just expanded the possibilities of your wardrobe.

Dressing Down a Party Dress

Silk Pants

Military and Bows

Tweed at Work and Play


Rachel said…
The bird sweater is sold out :( Waaaaa....
Jael Paris said…
I went looking for it a few months ago, and don't believe Target that they ever stocked it. How about an owl in a bowtie? http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=647258092&
Unknown said…
Does anyone else feel that "normal," clothing gets less and less dressy as time goes by? Will sweatpants become "business casual," one day?

I hope not.
Jael Paris said…
I'm hoping that trend will fade out. It's particularly annoying that if you're not into sweats and sneakers, people act like you're high maintenance and fussy. Funny, I just thought I wasn't at the gym.

Popular posts from this blog

"You Can Wear It Again"

Etsy Shop of the Week: Sandee Royalty

New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2011