Welcome to part two of my new Vintage Hacks Series. If you missed the first post, I shared 4 Ways To Style A Vintage Scarf. This post is much over due but worth the wait! One of the most common vintage items you'll come across in thrift world or in my shop is the basic vintage dress. Whether its a basic shirt dress or a more fitted dress, these kinds of dresses are fun to wear as well as very unique. The best part of wearing vintage fashion in my opinion is being different! Not only will you stand out, there's a 99.9% chance that NO ONE will be wearing what you are wearing. And that's always a plus in a girl's (or guy's) day. :-)




Here are a few simple ways that you can style and make a vintage dress work for you! A general rule is to always have things altered to fit your body correctly. Dresses that are baggy in the chest or waist will not flatter you. Dresses that are too long will drag you down and make you appear shorter and make your legs stumpy. I'm on the short size and have the problem of dresses always being too long for me and making me look shorter than I already am. I might as well have sausages for legs. Having them hemmed makes a world of difference.

It's worth it to spend the little extra money to have an item let out or taken in. I have a local lady that I always recommend to my customers.  A hem should always fall just above or below the knee or above the ankle. Another way to remember is that the hem should always fall at the narrowest part of your legs or torso.




The Shirt Dress:

Shirt dresses, named so because they usually button up the front and have a collar and breast pocket(s) like a typical button down shirt. These dresses are fairly common in thrift stores and flea markets and super comfortable.These are also my favorite, and pretty much what I live in. ha!

The easiest and cheapest way to style a shirt dress is to pair it with a fun belt or scarf. Belt the dress at your waist to give you the most flattering look. Choose a chunky or woven belt for a casual look or a snug fitting gold or metal belt for a dressier look.  Wearing a scarf around your neck will instantly dress you up and will achieve a more feminine/girly look to an otherwise every day look.

Pair a shirt dress with flats or wedges for a day to day style or heels or boots for a special event or work/office look. My favorite way to wear a vintage shirt dress is with a pair of tights in any and every color of the rainbow. If you'll be outdoors or out on the town, try adding a bowler hat or flat brimmed hat. This instantly gives you that boho gypsy vibe and modernizes the dress. I try to modernize the simple dresses with chunky bracelets and long hanging necklaces.


Fitted & Designer Dresses

If you find a great fitted dress in your size, chances are there's probably not much you need to do with it because you already look so fabulous. Pairing it with a great pair of heels and one statement pair of earrings or necklace will most likely do the trick. The great thing about fitted and designer dresses is that the shapes are almost always timeless and flattering. A simple skinny belt like this gold one and a pair of killer heels or boots will complete the look.

Wearing your hair up in a bun or cute chic up-do will allow for the dress to speak for themselves. Less is almost always more. (Unless your talking about cat memes.)

With more elegant or formal dresses the same applies.  A simple statement necklace or nice pair of earrings and a nice pair of heels will do. Add a simple clutch will finish the look. We don't carry very many formal dresses so I don't have as much experience with those, but they're usually so stunning that you really don't want to take away from them by adding on layers of jewelry, belts or scarves. In some cases you may want to dress a formal dress down. It's easy to do by simply adding a cute cardigan or sweater.


That's it for this post! If you have any questions send them my way! If you found this helpful share the love and pin or Tweet this post.