What I Wore : How to Wear The Wrap Dress

 

G’day Beach Cottage ladies, let’s talk What I Wore today yeah?  We have today The Wrap Dress, The Black Wrap Dress with a ruffle no less.  Come on in for forty-is-the-new-thirty Real Girl Fashion.

So, as you know I recently went to a blog conference here in Australia, my first one and there were a few different functions to attend, including a couple of meetings (exciting things going on for my blog, I will have the news on that soon), a dinner and of course the conference itself.  So what to pack?  I mostly wanted to stay in what I normally wear, jeans with smart-ish tops, a scarf, layering and bangles, plus flats and of course, my favourite big leather tote…but I also wanted something in my suitcase that would work for anything that might be thrown at me and for the actual conference day I wanted to be comfortable but semi-smart…I considered jeans but decided a dress would dress me up but keep me comfortable.

Please enter the black wrap dress.

The wrap dress is a staple in my wardrobe and has been for a long time, it is simple, chic, comfortable and can take you, happily, to any event…it pretty much never dates which is right up my alley…modern classic?  Yes please.

You can wear some form of a wrap dress pretty much anywhere and I have a few of them in my wardrobe…over jeans for a casual look, topped with a scarf for a bit of chic, with flats for semi-smart or rocking it a bit more with a pair of heels…

I have learnt over the years what to look for in a wrap dress and I include the items below by experience…of getting it very wrong…but if you look for the following, which this black one has all of, it will be your best friend, for, like, ever.

How to Wear a Wrap Dress

the Beach Cottage guide to buying  a wrap dress :

fabric :  must ‘wrap’ nicely – it must have some stretch but must be heavy enough to cover the things I need covered…hold it in your hands and stretch it, if it goes see-through, run a mile

cleavage wrap : it must be cut decently across the cleavage, I do not want to be adding in a safety pin or worse constantly checking down there all day…try it on and lean forward, if you can see things you shouldn’t be able to see, shudder and put it back

length : it must be on the knee or thereabouts

sleeves :  it must have semi to full sleeves to cover my tuck shops…try it over your arms, if it stretches or worse, clings, about turn and get outta there pdq

the wrap : must not sit in all the wrong places as it ‘wraps’ (this is hard to find, this one did it nicely)…sit down in the wrap dress…see where it falls open…if the cut is not right it will open at the top of your thighs and you will be exposing a whole lot more than your legs…take it off, throw it at the changing room ‘no’ pile and leave, with a quick step

Wrap Dress wearing is perfect for the forty-is-the-new-thirty legs, arms, neck, muffin top and posterior and there aren’t many shapes and sizes I have seen it fail on…for me it stays neutral and not too flowy but if your shape is different to mine and you like a bit of oomph in your dressing a patterned wrap dress with a roomy top wrap will take you a long way baby…

In these pics I teamed it with black flats (with an oh-my-god-I-heart-you ruffle) but at the conference I wore neutral wedges with it and a scarf…here I am in the hotel room before I headed to the conference for the day…

 

 

 

This investment piece in my wardrobe will be taking me places I can tell you, but cost per wear will be in the minus on this one (though it’s ahem offset by the Mulberry & Tiffany, (oh and Mr Beach Cottage brace yourself a new one is on the BC Wishlist) because I purchased it while running around with a trolley…..from the supermarket, hello Coles Mix Apparel, $25

(…a few more pics here, just click to make them bigger)

 

So forty-is-the-new-thirty girls, get theeself a wrap dress….if you are picky and get it right…it will cover, and wrap and swoosh all in one go….and boy oh boy do we, or do we not,  need a cover, wrap & swoosh combo in our lives???

Be seeing ya then lovelies, I have an Easter thingy to show you soon….oh yeah!

Yours from Beach Cottage Land where all is white and little wrap dresses are black ;-)

Sarah

 

 

 

p.s. this post is sponsored by abeachcottage.com, that means I took the Grocery Shopping Money, bought the Beach Cottage Crew baked beans and spent their food money on a dress to wear to a blogging conference…this post is in no way affilated or sponsored byColes Supermarkets or Mix Apparel ..

p.p.s can anyone send me some spare cash to buy the Beach Cottage Crew some Easter Eggs?  I spent it on a dress ;-)

 p.p.p.s. the last time I did a fashion post a troll told me I was embarrassing myself, to that I say…I know and I am embracing it…feels soooo good….try it baby…

 

bag : Mulberry  dress : Mix Apparel (Coles)  bracelets : Seed, Tiffany   Shoes : Wittner  Dog :  Lucy  scarf : Laura Ashley