12 Different Ways to Wear a Dress – Increasing Your Capsule Wardrobe Possibilities

So! You have this dress. It’s multi-colored and nice shape for you, and you love it. But it gets old wearing it by itself over and over again, because you couldn’t afford a whole lot of dresses. Well I have such a dress, and I wanted to show you how I changed it up with a few simple additions. So, here we go with 12 different ways to wear a dress!

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Here’s the Dress:

I got this dress several years ago at Walmart in Laramie Wyoming. I loved it on the hanger, and have always loved it since I bought it. It’s made of jersey material, with a wide elastic waist, and is basically wash and wear. I don’t put it in the dryer, just hang it up. Just throw it over my head, and I’m out the door! It’s a cute dress and I love how I look in it. But it gets boring after a while, wearing the same look over and over. So, next I will show you what I did to change the character of the dress, creating MANY different outfits.

The Vest

 

I got this teal vest from Amazon. It came in probably 20 different colors. This gave me two different variations of the dress. Another way to wear it would be to close the vest and wear a black stretch belt over it.

The Hoodie:

 

The light aqua fine gauge hoodie sweater was purchased from Woman Within. The white mule sandals are from Woman Within.

The olive green hi-low cargo jacket with hood, I got off the rack at Target.

The sleeveless black zip hoodie came from Amazon. The black ballet flats are from Target online.

(Note, each have a tie at the waist. I love clothing that gives me an automatic waist if I want it, but doesn’t have to if I don’t.)

Make it Dressy:

On the left, I wore a black maxi skirt over the top, which I got at Amazon. I bought the black skirt in a package with a jersey gray maxi skirt that would make a good summer day look with this dress.

On the right, I have on my Ulla Popken jacket, black leggings from Walmart, and black slouch boots from Woman Within.

Wear a Sweater:

The purple babydoll open cardigan is from Walmart.

Change It Up!

Here I have worn a teal baby doll jersey shirt, purchased from Woman Within, as a pop over for the dress.

Next I put on my royal blue, tie sleeve, rosette trimmed t shirt from the second hand store, plus feetless leggings. The belt is from Lane Bryant.

Then I just swore the dress with the feetless leggings.

Other Varietions

There are probably hundreds of things you can do with a dress like this. Try some of these:

  • A solid colored scarf in teal, black, gray, purple, or magenta around your neck
  • A solid colored scarf can also be worn as a sash, tied in the front or back.
  • A floral or striped scarf in the same color pallet. Mixing patterns used to be against the “rules” but now you can do it however you want!
  • Other colored leggings, in teal, magenta, royal blue, or gray.
  • Mix it up with accessories. Try hats, necklaces and bracelets, shoes, and colorful bags or purses.
  • Try different color sweaters, ponchos, vests, or tailored jackets.
  • You don’t have to be as matchy-matchy as me! Try other colors than what you see in the dress.

The possibilities are endless, so don’t be afraid to try new things. You never know, you might find a whole new look that you love, and will inspire you to get creative with your other plus size capsule garments.

My Favorites

I guess my favorite look of all of these is the dress with the teal vest, worn open with the black flats or the white mule sandals. I also like the dressy look with the Ulla Popken jacket. But I love all of these looks because I love the dress!

What You Can Do

Here’s a few items to get you started.

====>Click on any of the pictures below to buy now! 

Or click here to find your own clothing items at Amazon! <====


For under $200, you can get nearly 100 different outfits with these 15 items.   Added in with the clothing you already have, you could have nearly endless fun creating outfits from these garments.

In Conclusion

So, don’t just keep wearing the dress by itself and liking it less and less every time.  Mix it up with any number of accessories and other garments, and love your dress more every time you wear it.  Adding accessories to your favorite dress will increase the outfit possibilities in your plus size capsule wardrobe!  Thank you for reading, and add your comments and questions below!  

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11 Comments

  1. JJ

    Hi Rhonda, you are giving me some great ideas here. It seems like the key is choosing a basic multicoloured dress that is a soft jersey fabric. Your article shows me that I need to get some other plain coloured pieces(top and bottom) that could be worn over the dress. There we go again, the benefits of always having a black skirt. I am thinking that in addition to these, I might also like a tailored jacket as an option. Thank you. Great styles !

    • RhondaLeigh

      I am so glad you like my outfits!  I agree about the black skirt.  It can be worn with anything for any occasion, as I showed here.  I like the idea of a tailored jacket too.  Thanks for reading and commenting!  RhondaLeigh

  2. Owillz

    Wow.  This is so beautiful and creative. Like you can wear same dress over and over again and no one would notice. And it would be so much fun creating different clothes with same dress. I think I need to broaden my mind when it comes to dressing. Just sticking to the status quo is boring like u said. Thank you so much for sharing this. I have sure learnt alot 

    • RhondaLeigh

      Hello and thanks for commenting.  Yes, when you’re on a budget and can’t afford a whole lot of clothes, getting creative with your limited items keeps you from getting bored with the same old thing every day.  Thank you again for reading and adding your comments!

  3. Cheryl Kohan

    What a great post, Rhonda!

    Your suggestions for changing up outfits is really helpful. I’m going to England to visit my daughter for the summer and I really don’t want to pack a lot of clothes so using your suggestions for the different ways to wear an outfit is just in time. I like Lane Bryant, too, and I’ll look at each piece in a different way, now. Thanks for this.

    • RhondaLeigh

      So glad you liked my suggestions.  Yes, a capsule wardrobe is essential for travel.  You can make a bunch of outfits with just a few of the items I have posted from Amazon.  Have fun putting together a capsule wardrobe for your trip, and bon voyage!  Thanks for reading and posting!  RhondaLeigh

  4. The steps you’ve shown here to wear a wardrobe in 12 different ways sounds quite interesting and unheard of before.

    The teal vest from Amazon had made it look altogether a totally new dress.

    I must encourage my wife to follow and apply your steps and techniques as it will not involve a bigger cost. Mixing up with different accessories and other garments will definitely make the wearer to love the dress more each time she wears it.

    Thanks for sharing your experiences about loving and liking the same dress with practical methods.
    I wish you all the best and success.

  5. H Phomrong Maring

    The steps you’ve shown here to wear a wardrobe in 12 different ways sounds quite interesting and unheard of before.

    The teal vest from Amazon had made it look altogether a totally new dress.

    I must encourage my wife to follow and apply your steps and techniques as it will not involve a bigger cost. Mixing up with different accessories and other garments will definitely make the wearer to love the dress more each time she wears it.

    Thanks for sharing your experiences about loving and liking the same dress with practical methods. I wish you all the best and success

    • RhondaLeigh

      Thank you so much for reading and commenting!  And yes, please share with your wife.  The teal vest look is perhaps my favorite combination with my dress.  You are right, it i cost effective to add in other garments, rather than buying a whole other dress.  Thanks again for your comments.  I really appreciate it!  RhondaLeigh

  6. Sherry

    What a great article on 12 Different Ways to Wear a Dress – Increasing Your Capsule Wardrobe Possibilities! You did a great job giving so many options on how to make a staple of your wardrobe go a long way! I love this idea. I’m not very fashion savvy so I always tend to go for outfits inspired by the manuquin lol. And have a hard time coming up with other outfits with what I already have. As someone who tries to save space – this is great! I am a minimalist and this styling fits perfect with the minimalist lifestyle. Thanks for sharing!

    • admin

      Hi Sherry!  I’m so happy you found my information helpful.  It was fun doing it.  It’s a pretty easy concept, as you can see, that anyone can do, even the not-so-fashion-savvy.  I’m glad you can integrate this with your minimalist lifestyle…that’s what capsule wardrobe is all about: saving the planet and saving money.  Thanks again for reading and commenting!  RhondaLeigh 

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