As I was organizing my closet a few weeks ago, I realized that I own a shit ton of dresses in which half of them I’d completely forgotten about. I’d say in part it was due to the fact that Spring dresses and Winter temperatures aren’t the best combination, so I couldn’t wear most of them from October until now. The other part, however, was due to my closet being in complete shambles. If you follow me on instagram, you’ll know there isn’t the slightest hint of exaggeration when I say shambles. I drunkenly posted a quick “before” video on my stories right before I began the cleanup, and may I say it was quite embarrassing - haha. It’s not too often that I feel that emotion, but the state that my closet was in literally goes against everything I believe in as far as home maintenance and appearance. I felt like a fraud when I looked at my story the next day 😂.

I did undoubtedly exposed myself, but I think that’s what pushed me to stay focused on getting shit done … the next day 🤦🏾‍♀️. Once I got through with organizing my shoes, I moved on to getting all of my dresses grouped together by sleeve length and overall length. Strangely, as tedious as the process was, it’s what inspired this post. I’d just began thinking about how happy I am that it’s finally dress-wearing weather! You know how someone may call themselves a “jeans and t-shirt” kind of person? Well, I’m a definitely a dress kind of girl. On an off day from work, I’m very lazy when it comes to what I wear, and dresses make it entirely too easy to do that. With that being said, it’s also easy to end up looking a little … bleh. That’s why I wanted to share with you guys some of my best styling tips that I use when wearing my favorite dresses. We may still be quarantining, but you better believe we’re going to look good while doing it … PERIOD.

Layer it the F*CK Up!

One of the easiest ways to give a dress its needed wow factor is to simply layer pieces on top of it. My absolute favorite kind of garment to pair with a mini dress is an oversized coat or blazer that surpasses the length of the dress. Don’t ask me why, it just gives me this grown woman sense of power. More importantly, I’m guaranteed to be stylish. Would you believe me if I told you that BOTH of these pieces were thrifted? A few years ago I bought this dress from Plato’s Closet for $10 or less and the blazer from Goodwill for $5 or so. The shades of green aren’t a perfect match, but in this case I think I actually prefer it that way. I’ll elaborate while talking about my third styling tip!

2. Rock Your Most Stunning Accessories

You guys remember when I said your accessories will either elevate or depreciate your look? Those were the wise words of Randy Fenoli that should stick with you whenever you’re adding the finishing touches to your outfit. When it comes to a dress that you don’t want covered by another garment, a great styling tip is to pair some of your most unique accessories with it. I found a transparent, perfume-bottle shaped handbag on Amazon that matched the femininity of this second look perfectly. For only $20, it made this $7 dress from Plato’s Closet look a little more luxurious. I can already see this combination being my next brunch look once all of the restaurants open back up.

3. Play with Colors That AREN’T in the Dress

I’m a black woman that loves color, especially the way it complements my complexion. With that being said, I use it to my advantage quite a bit when putting looks together. This dress is colorful on it’s own, hence why I bought it, but I still felt like I needed more from it. It’s predominantly blue which is why I wouldn’t layer it with more blue; I always aim to bring out the more subtle colors in a dress which in this case would be pink or green. Though the shades of green in the dress are different from that of the blazer, I still felt it would be a great piece to complement each color. I had the same thought process when I decided on wearing these mustard yellow heels as well. They were for sure a nice contrast against the blazer, but even if I decided to take it off, I’d still feel confident that they would complement the colors in the dress.

4. Find Yourself a Killer Statement Heel

For the millionth time, shoes can make your outfit or break your outfit and not feel the slightest bit of remorse about it. That’s why you have to put as much energy into choosing the perfect pair of shoes as you do with choosing the base of your look. Typically if you’re going to do a pop of color in your look, the most common way to do that is with your shoe choice. In this case, I liked the blue and white color palette that I had going on, so I decided on a shoe with a gold statement heel. From none other than Shoe Dazzle, they’re extravagantly simple in the sense that they’ll look super basic from the front, but once you catch that side view you won’t have a choice but to do a double take. Similarly to the handbag, these heels will also give a thrifted dress an expensive-looking uplift!

These four tips sum up the most common ways I like to style my favorite Spring dresses! Which do you think will work the best for your personal style? Let me know in the comments!