Striped Dress: three ways
David’s biggest fans
dress (I just bought this one at Loft and LOVE IT)
Weekend: lace top, sandals, ring, lipstick
Office: blazer, nail polish, pumps
Date Night: necklace, wedges, lipstick
I found the cutest dress at Gap the other day. It was a maxi dress that was the *perfect* length and the perfect color. I even bought my sister a matching one because I’m nice like that.
I get home, try it on, and to my disgust and horror the thing is completely see through.
“GAP. ARE YOU SERIOUS WITH THIS.” I exclaimed.
I balled the thing up, chucked it back in the bag, and promptly returned both of them later that evening.
If there’s anything that needs to be lined, it’s a maxi dress, am I right ladies?
So I began looking a little bit more for an alternative. I found a couple at Target, but they were so thin and flimsy I knew I wouldn’t wear them much. I pretty much gave up the search and decided that perhaps the clothing manufacturers will consider lining dresses sometime in the future. Am I alone in this? I swear I would love to live in the time of petticoats.
Fast-forward a few weeks, I head over to the mall while David and Justin are having a little father-son bonding at Home Depot. I walk in Loft, because I always walk in Loft when I’m at the mall, and I see this striped dress hanging on a rack.
“Cute. Bet it’s totally see through.”
I walk over, pick it up from the bottom, inappropriately look up the skirt and I discover a thin piece of fabric that causes me to nearly fall over with joy.
“It’s LINED! It’s LINED!” I scream.
Okay, that’s all a lie, but I did discover it was lined and grabbed my size to try on in the fitting room.
As expected, the dress is perfection, and once again Loft nails it.
So now I have this navy striped dress that I’m tempted to just wear with sandals on the daily, so I thought I would brainstorm a few different ways to style it. The dress featured in the above style gallery is from J.Crew because I had trouble finding a plain photo of the Loft dress online, but they are fairly similar.
I picked the Bite bb cream for lips for the lip color on “Date Night”. My sister turned me on to this stuff. Have you tried it? You should. It’s hydrating, softening, and leaves the nicest hint of color behind.
Oh and I just realized that I didn’t feature a single bag with any of these outfits. My apologies. I was writing this while David was “napping”.
I’ll leave it up to you to be creative with accessorizing!
comments
Lined dresses just FEEL so much better on, too! Much better than flimsy-see through dresses. (And I’ve TOTALLY worn a see-through dress to work… not knowing. Oops.)
Lined dresses are definitely preferable, but call me grandma since I do have a couple of slips as well. That way I can wear any dress I want since so many dresses aren’t lined (particularly the more budget friendly ones 😉 ) Another feature that the slip offers is that the dress doesn’t end up going between my legs when I walk and clinging to (read: highlighting) my legs and crotch.
I have the same wedges but mine are Lucky Brand…they come in a couple of other cute colors. Bought mine in Macys.
Love the wedges – where did you buy those?
If you click on the ‘wedges’ link below the picture, it will tell you where you can get them
Great post today!! Ugh, I feel the same about unlined dresses. Once I bought a PENCIL SKIRT that wasn’t lined, are you kidding me?! That went back for sure.
Kate do you happen to know the style name of the Loft dress? Right now Loft has a sale going on where a lot of dresses are only $20! I wanted to see if your dress was one of them.
If you click on the dress link, below the picture, it will tell you all the info you need.
Joan the link takes me to the J. Crew site. I wanted to know what the dress was that she actually purchased from Loft. She stated she couldn’t find a plain link for the Loft one, but I was curious as to how similar they are since Loft has a sale right now on some dresses.
Sorry-I forgot to add the link earlier! Just updated it!
I clicked on the link and it took me to JCrew. Am I in the right spot?
Hey Shannon, if it’s the same dress she was talking about on Instagram the other day it’s this one http://www.loft.com/variegated-stripe-tie-back-sleeveless-dress/343169?colorExplode=false&skuId=16569300&catid=catl000013&productPageType=fullPriceProducts&defaultColor=8680
Thanks For sharing your heart.
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That dress is so comfortable and functional to look at! paired with that blazer it’ll look really chic! great choices! 🙂
TheConscienceFund
Just clicked the link for the dress below the picture (always looking for something cute and work appropriate!) but the link brings you to the JCrew Factory website 🙁
Great post Kate! I agree with you about Loft – they get it right every. single. time. 🙂
Also, just wanted to let you know that when you click on the first “dress” hyperlink, it takes you to J.Crew Factory, not the Loft one you bought!
I swear by slips – I have several of these half ones: http://www.target.com/p/vassarette-women-s-16-half-slip-assorted-colors/-/A-12908069
Admittedly, I haven’t spent a lot of time looking… But I’m finding it hard to find a maxi dress that isn’t jersey. I bought a jersey one, it was super cute, but a little clingy around the curves. Husband didn’t feel comfortable with me walking around in something so clingy, so I returned it. I never thought a maxi dress could be immodest!
I’ve been looking at the Old Navy site, and I think I might have some luck there this weekend.
Sweet outfits. Love the variations of different looks with one dress! I am a fan of bite lip products too. I just bought the lipstick cin cin and love it!
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I totally agree with you about being lined! Its helps so much especially in the sumer. who wants to wear a slip! And Loft clothes are always made for classy women!
I agree about slips in the summer! I pretty much don’t touch them the whole summer! Loft is awesome! I bought like 3 dresses there at the beginning of the summer and they are all so fun to wear!
Adorable! I LOVE every single look! I’m rarely disappointed with LOFT 🙂
I love the casual weekend look! That lace top is perfect.
xo Always, Abby
Striped dresses are so easy to dress multiple ways! I just bought a blazer from Target that is very similar to the one you linked to (not cropped though), but it’s a lot less expensive! I love the orangey coral color! http://www.target.com/p/mossimo-women-s-ponte-blazer-assorted-colors-solids/-/A-15032973#prodSlot=medium_1_3&term=Women+blazer
I actually prefer the one pictured from JCrew, but of course when I zoomed in at the site it was see through. It would definitely need a slip.
THANK YOU! I love that you love things lined! I recently bought a maxi skirt online and it wasn’t lined. You’d think I’d be happy with the fact that it had a slip attached. Except that it was MINI and on my 5’10” frame it was really inappropriate. So I took it to a seamstress friend and she ‘You’re just old. (I’m 34) If you were nineteen, you would wear this in a heartbeat.”. No dear friend, a mini skirt with a piece of gauze draped over it has never been my thing. Ever. Especially now as a mom to four kids. My daughters are watching.
Ugh. I feel your pain. I once wore a maxi for on Christmas Day with ALL the family around. I was there for hours when my boyfriend said, “Crystal, I can see your underwear”. I…was…mortified. Couldn’t even return the stupid thing because I had already taken the tags off. Grrr.
what is the dress pictured here! it’s not the same as the one you have linked…i love the one pictured!
Never met a stripe I didn’t like and that dress is no exception – so cute! I love pairing it with the minty polish. Mint has been my go to this summer, so can’t wait to try it with navy. Thanks for sharing!
Hi! I love The Loft, especially when they have their great sales! 🙂 I absolutely agree with you on the lined dress thing, when I buy a dress, my first thought is, “Can I wear it to church?” If it’s too short or not lined, I won’t get it. I have had great luck with Old Navy dresses and to my surprise, Walmart has some really nice maxi dresses right now and they are under $20! I live in Florida so maxi dresses are my best friend right now! 🙂 My mom actually picked out a really cute striped maxi dress for me when we shopped at the Gap last summer and I love it, I did try it on before we bought it, just to make sure! 🙂 Thanks for your post, it’s fun to see new ways to put things together, I really enjoy your blog! 🙂
In Christ,
Cheri
Great collection of fashion accessories . where did you buy those loveable wedges?
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I love this outfit combinations! I bought a lined dress some weeks ago and this is a really useful inspiration. I hope I can find some of these things here in Switzerland 🙂
Hi, Kate…I have a request that I think would help us all. Would you either model the outfits, or use a manequin? I’m trying to figure out the latest trends, but I’m struggling. I’m dying to try a maxi dress, but they tend to draw attention to my midsection, where I’m a little self-conscious about after 3 kids. The lace top might be an idea, but I can’t really picture it. I feel like I’ve tried so many things but can’t seem to make anything work. Thanks!! 🙂