It’s that time of the year when sweater dresses get packed away and shirt dresses come out to play. Have you already switched over?
Hello and welcome. I’m Alessia, the writer and founder behind Italy with an Italian.
If you’re ready to style your favorite shirt dresses, perhaps even buy a new one for the coming season, you’ll love this post.
I am going to share how to style a shirt dress for different occasions, and in some cases, even different seasons. This way, you can make both your old and new shirt dresses work harder for you.
You can wear them for work, date night, vacation day time and night time, and even layer it under a coat.
Let me show you all the styling ideas.
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Shirt Dresses Shopping & Styling Tips
Here are a few tips you can use whether you are shopping your own closet, while doing your seasonal switch over, or as you start looking for new shirt dresses to add to your collection.
1. The simplest shirt dresses are the best, and most popular for a reason.
They are easy to style for different occasions. You can wear them for the office, and also take them on vacation. Don’t worry, I will show you how in just a minute.
Choose these type of shirt dresses: solid colors, classic silhouettes – like A line and midi, ones that come with a removable belt.
White and black are the most popular shirt dresses. If you don’t have them in your closet, here are two great options:
Black cotton blend A line midi Shirtdress
White cotton blend A line midi Shirtdress
2. Buy the highest quality you can afford
If you love your shirtdresses you know you wear them a lot, which means they get wash multiple times during the same season, and that leads to added wear and tear.
When you buy a higher quality shirtdress, you don’t have to worry about that wear and tear for years, provided you wash them properly.
Buying one good one will not only save you money in the long run, but also time because you won’t have to replace it after a few wears.
Most importantly, it will help you look your best, elevating your outfits even with minimal styling.
SHOP HIGH QUALITY SHIRT DRESSES
3. Keep the styling minimum and classy
Italian women love shirt dresses because they are effortlessly elegant.
If you too appreciate that aspect, don’t complicate things.
A stunning high quality shirt dress can make the outfit with just a few added accessories, and layers.
The examples I am about to show you will help you understand what I mean, and also guide you to recreate similar outfits.
Of course, you switch the colors, opt for a different layer, change the shoe style, etc.
4. Try a patterned shirtdress
Once you find the perfect black and white shirt dresses, you might want to add other colors. But what about a patterned shirt dresses?
Striped and floral shirt dresses are among the most loved, both in Italy and internationally. And the best part about it, is that there are different options for different styles – long and short, classic and modern, simple and more unique.
If you’d love one to wear during the Spring and Summer months, but also take on vacation, you can find popular styles here.
How To Style A Shirt Dress: 21 Chic Outfits With Just 7 Dresses
It’s time to see those dresses I showed you above turn into chic outfit ideas.
I will be sharing at least two different looks for each dress, and in some cases up to 5.
That way, if you already have a similar dress in your wardrobe, you’ll have plenty of inspiration to style it.
If you don’t, you’ll find very similar options you can consider bringing into your closet.
Here are all the dresses we will be styling together:
- Dress 1: the classic black shirtdress
- Dress 2: a similar white option
- Dress 3: a modern blue and white striped shirt dress
- Dress 4: a chic beige striped option
- Dress 5: a very Italian patterned shirtdress
- Dress 6: a pretty floral option
- Dress 7: a classic floral shirt dress
You can see all those shirt dresses here.
You will also find a few other good options.
5 Ways to Style a Black Shirt Dress
I am Italian, so, of course, I am starting with the black dress.
A black shirt dress is such precious item in an Italian’s woman wardrobe.
Here’s one way I’d style it for work – with a classic but fresh looking blazer, perfect for Spring. Then, in Summer, I would wear it without the blazer. Many Italian women love pairing brighter accessories, like a timeless coral set.
You can wear that same dress on vacation in Summer, whether you are going to Positano or the Dolomites. Here are two different ways I’d style the same dress:
Wear it for dinner with simple but very dressy matching accessories. I love silver, but you can also opt for gold.
When the weather starts changing, you can also wear your black shirt dress under a coat with tights. Here’s a great example of how Italian women like to play with contrasting tights and shoes. This outfit works both for early Winter, and early Spring.
Wear Your White Shirtdress Like This
If white is your kind of neutral, the color you reach for the most, especially in Spring and Summer, than you might not need a black shirt dress. In that case, you might want to invest in multiple white shirt dresses – perhaps a cotton one, a linen one, and a more casual option.
Let me show you three very elegant, Italian inspired ways, to style your white dress. I am using this cotton dress as an example.
Outfit one can be worn for work, but also for running errands or travel. You just have to swap the shoes, and the bag.
In the second outfit, I show you how to style it more casually. It’s perfect if you like pretty and feminine outfits that are also comfortable.
It’s a great look for mums who want to feel feminine while wearing practical outfits (you might need to swap the bag for a larger one); you can wear it at home when hosting friends and family during the day; you can go do the groceries wearing it, especially if you love dressing up; and it’s the perfect day trip or vacation outfit. I can picture you wearing this in Lake Como or Cinque Terre.
Finally, here’s a way you could transition your white shirt dress into Fall, or wear it early into Spring. While a black shirtdress is a little easier to transition into the colder seasons, you can also make the white dress work.
3 Blue Stripes Shirtdress Outfit Ideas
A blue striped shirt dress is another classic option many Italian women have in their wardrobe. It works for women who value classic looks, as well as for those who have a more modern style.
Below, I am showing you a more modern option, but you can easily give it a more classic feel by cinching the waist.
Here’s how I imagine a modern Italian woman wearing this dress for her creative job, a day on a boat or by the sea, and on the beach.
How To Style A Beige Pinstripe Shirt Dress
This option is especially a great one for women with an Autumn or Spring color season.
I had to include it because it’s such a chic piece, the kind you can wear to a farmers’ market, work, an early date night, travelling, and on the weekend.
Here are three gorgeous outfit ideas featuring this dress:
Style A Printed Shirtdress The Italian Way
Of all the shirt dresses I am showing you, this is the one that feels the most Italian. It’s a true A line, and the fabric seems to hold its flare better. It’s classic but also bold and edgy. This is the kind of dress you throw on and makes you feel wonderful every time, whether you are going out for a special lunch or to work.
You can also wear it on vacation; it has that luxurious resort-style vibe.
And you could even layer it under a coat or trench coat.
Pretty Floral Shirt Dress Outfits Ideas
Other than stripes, floral shirt dresses are very loved, and while they might sound like a very pretty feminine options, there are different options for different styles.
This one I am about to show you is for the women who like pretty pastel colors and bright florals. It’s also great if you’d like to own something in that very trendy butter yellow.
Here’s an outfit idea that could work for work or a dressed up occasion. You could wear this to a Christening, an elegant birthday party, but also to a meeting.
And here’s how you could wear the same dress on vacation in Italy, or anywhere else that has a more romantic vibe.
Classic Floral Shirtdress Looks – Day & Night
Finally, but certainly not least is the floral dress that most women are likely to like. It’s floral, but is neither too pretty nor too bright, it’s blue and who doesn’t like a blue dress?, and it’s a timeless piece.
I am sure you could find your grandma wearing a similar style when she was young.
This is the dress that needs the least styling, it does all the talking. Of course, you could wear it under a cream trench coat, but simplicity is key here.
Here are two simple ways to wear the same dress for daytime and for dinner.
More Dresses Outfit Guides
If you love wearing dresses, and appreciate the Italian style inspiration, I have many more guides just like this one.
Here are a few you can read next:
Spring/Summer Dresses Italian Women Love
11 Iconic Dolce Vita Dresses You Need To Know About
The Best Dresses To Hide A Big Tummy
The Best Warm Winter Dresses – Styled Like An Italian
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A presto,
Alessia
