Closet Commando: toning down a tiny dress

This summer I bought a tiny body-con minidress from Urban Outfitters. I loved that it looked like a fitted high waisted skirt with a casual white tank-top. But ultimately, the thing is made from thin knit fabric, and at times can send the wrong message. I decided that with the right styling, I could turn a sexy dress into casual daywear.

The first thing is to avoid high heels. I adore the versatility of my black oxfords, which I wear with the laces loosely knotted at the top holes, so that I can just slip them on without socks. They immediately say daywear, with a certain hipness. I kept on with the homage to menswear by throwing a pinstripe button-up shirt over the dress. Keeping it open, I added a long silver chain necklace to make sense of the space there. The look would be fine just like that, but I added a handpainted blue-green cotton velvet jacket. It is cut to be a boyfriend jacket, but its luxe fabric is decidedly feminine. Jauntily, I rolled up the sleeves, allowing the shirt cuffs to fold over the jacket cuffs. Finally, I always add something to my wrist when I am doing a 3/4 sleeve look, just for balance sake. As on most occasions, I went with a harder edge, using a pyramid stud cuff I found when working in Argentina. Sometimes, when I am feeling a bit softer, I might go for a delicate yet subtly edgy bracelet by Made Her Think.

Et voila: the look is appropriate for a lovely spring day, casual, hot enough to garner attention, but not so slutty as to attract the wrong attention. The main thing is that I feel confident and comfortable, which is the best feeling one can wear.

Body-con dress: Silence and Noise

Velvet Jacket: Antik Batik

Pin stripe shirt: Old Navy

Oxford Shoes: Steve Madden

Necklace: Cobbled together from flea market finds


Disclaimer: Hey, the bandit mask is my thing, as a blogger. You can wear one if you like, but I wouldn't recommend it in public.