ALL IN THE DETAILS: Transforming The Grandma Dress

Your Grandma buys you a dress for your birthday. It is decently cute, but you probably wouldn’t ever wear it out. Every time she sees you she asks, “Have your worn your birthday dress yet?” You naturally feel bad so you tell her of course you have, but in reality it sits in your closet until your next spring cleaning and eventually ends up at Goodwill. Fortunately, I have concocted a method of evolving this dress so you can make both yourself and your Grandma happy.

Step one: Put on the dress. There are some things you like about it and it some things you don’t. Step two: Throw on a quirky oversized coat or sweater. This could be a vintage leather jacket, a shirt jacket or even a kimono. Step three: Slip on a pair of loud shoes that compliment the coat. You can choose colored Converse, printed sneakers or booties. Step four: Add tons of random jewelry to include a fun burst of shapes and colors. Put on a pair of sunnies to complete the look. You’re done! You still have the dress as a foundation of the outfit, but you just made it so much more interesting. Now you can truthfully tell Grandma that you’ve worn your birthday dress.

Look to this Fashionista as a model for this method; she knows exactly what to do. She found this awesome oversized men’s jean jacket from a thrift store in Europe and piled it overtop of her plain dress. Her funky cheetah print flats are fun and trendy, and add a little bit of class to the look. The huge gold necklace makes a statement and draws you into the center of the outfit. The blue bracelets and the sunnies are fun and add a relaxed element to the look.

How To: Go thrifting! Find cool pieces from all over the world that will make your outfit unlike anyone else’s. Have fun pairing different patterns and textures together!

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