Thursday, August 16, 2018

How to Style A Long Cardigan with A Dress

Striped Dress With A Cardi


Anyone else besides me having a hard time accepting that September is just a couple weeks away? Yikes, where did this summer go?! It's still really hot and humid here, of course, but I know that sweater weather will be here before we know it and that means styling sweaters and cardigans with different outfits. Today, I'm showing how I style a cardigan with my striped t-shirt dress. You've seen the dress before but with different accessories and shoes. 


I think a cardigan looks best with a dress or skirt when the cardigan covers approximately 2/3 to 3/4 of the dress. If I were wearing a longer skirt, the proportions wouldn't look as good. It's important to notice these things when you check yourself in the mirror. If I'm wearing pants, the cardigan will cover 1/2 of the outfit, so the proportions will still look good. You hear many fashion bloggers speak to the "2/3 rule" when creating outfits and it's a good rule to follow. Sometimes wearing a jacket or cardigan that isn't the right length for the dress or skirt can cause an outfit to look "frumpy" in my opinion, so I try to be careful with sweater and jacket lengths. 


By the way, I do hope you are noticing those beautiful garage doors behind me. I have waited almost 16 years to get those doors installed and I'm thrilled with the result! I plan to do a series in the Fall on the 16 year renovation journey we have experienced with our house so you can consider this a sneak preview!


Let me share a word about these BZees Spirit Wedge Sandals. I have enjoyed wearing these so much this summer. Talk about comfort! I also understand that every BZees shoe is designed with machine washable material that can be washed in cold water and air dried. I haven't done that with these shoes but will in the future. That's a nice feature. 

Do you wear cardigans? What fashion rules do you follow when deciding which jacket or sweater to wear? Hope you'll take a moment to share. I love hearing from you!

Until Next Time,
Debbie

*photography by William Ross

4 comments:

Karen said...

I do like this look Debbie. You make very good points about the length of a cardigan or jacket, and it really does pay to check it out in a mirror. I have even tried different lengths in front of the mirror to make sure I have the right one. I love long cardigans over pants, shorter skirts and shorter dresses, like you show here. A longer midi length or full length skirt seems to call for a short topper. I think your recommendation of checking it out in a mirror is excellent advice! What a great feature that you can wash those sandals!! The summer really flew by, didn't it? While late August, September and October are truly my favorite months because of the sunshine, cooler temps and low humidity, I do NOT like what comes after!! This is a reminder to get outside and enjoy what we've got left of beautiful weather before the snow comes!!

Sharon said...

I didn't know about the 2/3 rule. That's a helpful hint when choosing sweaters or jackets. Even before you mentioned your new garage doors, I noticed them in your photos. They look great! I'm really looking forward to your upcoming post about your 16 year renovation. I love projects, and I enjoy seeing before and after photos of renovated spaces.

Amy Johnson said...

I always find this time of year so sad, as I never want summer to end. Cute look. Love that cardigan with that dress.

Debbie Styles Life said...

Thank you Karen, Sharon and Amy for your comments. Hard to believe that sweater weather is not far away!