Wearing a velvet green dress is perfect for the winter holiday season, yet do you wonder why so many dresses are sleeveless? Even in a warmer climate, sometimes you need a layer here or there. So I came up with 5 different ways to wear this same dress.
Ideas of styling this velvet green dress
1-Wear a cropped sweater over it
2-The same cropped sweater under it
3-Halftee layered under it
4-Coatigan over it
5-Cowboy boots
Velvet is one of those materials that are perfect for the winter holiday season. I may have purged a lot of my velvet when we moved to Arizona, but I thought because this dress was sleeveless, I’d get to wear it without layers.
Well, call me surprised when I experienced Arizona winters. I blogged about the fallacy here, and considering I’m always cold anyway, I still need ways to layer this velvet green dress.
Being innovative with layering is a fun way to create more looks from our closets and you may be surprised at how they can change up the look so well.
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The Details about this Velvet Green Dress
I bought this handmade velvet, green dress when we were out in Seattle for a blogger meet-up (you can see it when I tried it on here modeling with the woman that designed and made it). Supporting small businesses is one of my favorite things to do, and I just loved the material and interesting faux leather neckline.
Even when I bought it, I realized I would have to layer it since I would be wearing it in the winter when it’s cold.
It’s a shift-type dress that is a tad shorter than my usual dresses. But as you know, I’ve found ways to make even a short dress or skirt seem more modest.
If it’s one thing I’ve learned in the last couple of years, is the way to layer any dress (including this velvet green dress) is to think about layering under it and over it.
Had you asked me about this same idea 10 years ago, I would only have thought to wear a cardigan sweater over it. Yet now I feel like there are so many other options.
Want to see other ideas for velvet styling? I collaborated with another blogger to showcase how to wear a velvet blazer.
Dress: La Macon~~ Sweater: Forever 21~~ OTK Boots: Report~~ Purse: Alison + Aubrey c/o
Wearing a Cropped Sweater OVER It
I was inspired by this “2 Piece Sweater Dress” from Banana Republic recently. Even I had never thought to wear a super cropped sweater like that over a sleeveless dress and I wanted to recreate it.
So the next time we were out thrifting, I was keeping an eye out for a cropped sweater, or I was wondering if I could chop one off somehow.
As a knitter, I realize that a knit will likely unravel when you cut it, but there are ways to add trim or something. Yet, we all know it’s easier when you can find something to buy instead of having to DIY it yourself.
BTW, I almost bought that green dress from BR because I just loved the color and the idea. Yet, it was a little expensive so I wanted to figure out how to create it from my own closet. Sure it’s not exactly the same, but that’s life.
At one of the thrift stores, I found this pale pink, crossover sweater. It’s one of those pieces you would see and never think it would work for a woman over 50, right? And considering it’s from a store that caters to the younger girls, most of us would pass it by and that would be it.
However, my mom thought it would work, so here I am wearing it over the velvet green dress. Considering my dress has a bow at the neckline, this v-neck cropped sweater is nice to allow the bow to be visible.
It’s really no different than adding any sweater over your dress. This is an easy way to make your dress more versatile as then it looks more like a skirt (as we have blogged about in the past).
I’ll give the details for the rest of this exact outfit.
Wearing Sparkle and Snakeskin with the Velvet Green Dress
Since the idea of velvet seems perfect for the winter holidays, I wore a pair of sparkly earrings with the outfit. These earrings have both silver and gold in them, so they work with any color combination.
Because of the faux leather bow at the neck, I left off wearing a necklace. Although one of these days, I may try it with a layered pearl necklace for fun.
The snakeskin purse was chosen to add some print to the look and coordinate with the color of the boots. Most clutches are very small which is why I like this one so much better. There is actually room for all of my stuff!
OTK Boots with a Short Dress
One of the ways I love to stay warm and covered in the winter is with taller boots. While many of my older friends still haven’t embraced the over-the-knee boots, I think they are the cat’s meow. Heck, even my 80+-year-old mother used to have over 3 pairs of them before we moved to Arizona. (I have no idea if they made all of the purgings that happened when we moved, haha). But you can see her wearing one pair in this older blog post.
As the owner of at least a dozen pairs of OTK boots in the last 8 years, I will say they aren’t all created equally. There are some boots where the material doesn’t have enough weight or thickness to stay up around your thighs. Even when they seem tight, they end up falling down due to gravity.
Yet some stay up just fine, which is why I love this pair. In fact, you can see this same pair that I wore with a pair of shorts in the past.
Insider tip: How do you know if a pair will stay up when you buy them? If you’re online, you’ll never know until you get them. But that’s where knowing the return policy before you buy something is extremely helpful. If you are trying them on in a store, walk around in them for 10 minutes. If they start to sag, then don’t get them.
Wearing tall boots like this OTK pair is one of my tricks for wearing a dress or skirt that seems a tad too short. I have 4 other ways that I’ve discussed for winter here. And I even tackled this subject for the summer months too.
Other Ways to Wear the Velvet Green Dress
I’ve come up with 4 other ways to style this same velvet green dress incorporating the idea of layering under it and over it, plus changing out the footwear.
Wear the Cropped Sweater UNDER It
I took the same cropped pink sweater in the main photos and layered it under the velvet green dress. This is the perfect way to add sleeves to a sleeveless dress for warmth without hiding the dress.
In the past, I would only ever think to layer a cardigan over a sleeveless dress, but then you cover up so much of the dress.
So when I bought this dress, I ended up purchasing a couple of tighter long sleeve tops that I could wear with it. Most of them were lace because I considered the dress “fancy.” However, I think that’s a trap we fall into. Really any long sleeve top could work depending on the neckline and color.
Insider tip: It is helpful to stop categorizing our clothes as dressy, casual, workout, etc. Most of the time, that has no bearing on how we can wear it. Even sequins can be worn with jeans as my mom has shown in the past.
Dress: La Macon~~ Top: Halftees~~ Shoes: Walking Cradles
Halftees To The Rescue
When I first heard about halftees, I thought it was brilliant. Yet, when I was living in Colorado, I wanted a shirt that covered my midriff when I was layering because I needed the warmth. However, once we moved to Arizona, I could see the advantage of this companies products, so I became an ambassador.
Insider detail: As a Halftee ambassador, I have a discount code if you want to order the product. When you use my code, Jtouch20 (for 20% off) and link, I do receive a small commission, so thank you.
While I do love my halftees, don’t think you can’t find a cropped top or sweater which is basically the same thing. Just as I did with the pink cropped sweater in the featured photos.
Can you make your own halftee? You probably can. The original halftees have a band that is made to sit below the girls so it doesn’t ride up. That’s the only thing to consider if you want to DIY your own.
You can see how I’ve worn my various halftees for winter here and summer here.
Dress: La Macon~~ Coatigan: Fab’rik~~ OTK Boots: Report
Coatigan Over Your Sleeveless Dress
Wearing a cardigan or coat is the obvious layering technique for these sleeveless dresses in the winter. I love the longer cardigans that keep the line of the outfit about the same.
I bought this furry, white cardigan years ago and wear it almost every winter holiday season.
Dress: La Macon~~ Coatigan: Fab’rik~~ Cowboy Boots: Nordstrom-Thrifted
Can You Wear Cowboy Boots?
I wanted to showcase a different set of boots with the velvet green dress look. Cowboy boots may be considered casual and southwestern, but I don’t consider that a bad thing. It’s always more fun if you can add some dichotomy to your outfits especially using your footwear.
In fact, the modern way to wear this dress would be with combat boots. I will be trying that next.
Insider tip: If you want to keep your legs warm while wearing shorter boots like this, I suggest either a pair of fleece tights or I’ve been known to layer two pairs of sheer hosiery over each other.
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