A Streetwear Enthusiast's Guide on How to Wear a Dress

Teens and young adults these days absolutely love trendy streetwear. Be it affordable brands like Nike, Adidas and Champion or the higher-end brands like Off-White, Balenciaga and Supreme, streetwear is here to stay and it’ll continue to influence younger generations for years to come, regardless of how deep their pockets are!

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But there will come a time and place where you need to ditch the sweatpants, hang up the crop-tops and pick out something a little more elegant. Perhaps you’re attending a family dinner and want to make a good impression, or maybe you’ve landed yourself a job at a really upscale company. There are going to be situations in life where you’ll actually want to put a dress on instead of your typical street outfit, and it can be difficult making such a drastic change.

If all you’ve known is streetwear, then here’s a brief guide on how to transform your look and switch to a dress.

Stay Warm!
Let’s face it, wearing a dress exposes some of your body and it’s usually just a thin layer of clothing. You’re going to be cold when there’s a breeze and you might want to stay away from wearing a dress when the weather is cold. However, you’ll find some great tips at gurl.com on how to stay warm when you’re wearing a dress.

Layer a Jacket
If you want to wear a dress but you’re still a bit concerned about how you'd look, then don’t be afraid to layer on a jacket. You could even wear a black leather jacket over a white dress and it’d still look fine.

Pick a Simple Pattern
The idea for wearing a dress is to not overcomplicate things. Don’t layer too many crazy floral patterns and keep it simple! Take a look at sites such as fillyflair.com to get yourself elegant but simple dresses that don’t stick out too much and are easy to just slip on. The more colours and crazy patterns you add, the weirder it will look.

Neutral Colours Are Your Friend
Streetwear commonly uses very neutral colours like black, beige and white. You can apply the same logic to your dresses and accessories too. A simple navy dress with a white pattern goes brilliantly with a white scarf, black tights, black boots and perhaps a white or grey overcoat. You don’t need to go for bright and eccentric colours–keeping it simple can help you retain your street style but still add a touch of elegance.

Add Accessories
Accessories are important when it comes to wearing a dress. Be it rings, bracelets, earrings or necklaces, layer them together to add a nice touch of class to your outfit. You don’t need to have them stand out, they can be rather muted and still add some unique style to your outfit. Belts are also a fantastic way to add some street style to your dress if you like. Sunglasses, watches and bags will also help compliment your dress.

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By Iconic Chica Mag Contributors