SIMPLE BLACK SLIP DRESS TWO WAYS

Hello dear friends,

I have an interesting confession to make.  Throughout my life I have owned quite a few LBDs and LBD (long) and all of them were either intricately constructed or made out of either fine expensive fabric or had some kind of decorative embellishment but never just a simple cotton black dress.

Well, that was about to change when my husband and I stepped inside Natalie Alamein boutique store in Bondi Beach.  Although this shop has been opened for a while and I happen to pass its windows at least three times a week on my regular runs, I have never been inside it.  Somehow, I always perceived that her clothes are meant for a younger crowd.

At a glance, my first impression of the clothes was confirmed: lots of short skirts and crop tops and body hugging dresses and the only thing I liked were the fabrics and the patterns.  Then I spotted a "Sale" rack and decided to take a closer look.

 

To my surprise, the selection was more to my taste and I chose two linen skirts, a wide sleeve blouse and a black slip-on dress and took them into a dressing room.  To my surprise, all items were reasonably priced, fitted well and I ended up buying all of what I had originally selected.

As the days grew warmer the dress became one of my most popular go-to outfits.  It was just a matter of slipping it over my head, slip on a pair of Havaianas (hugely popular footwear in Australia and worn all year around and not just to the beach) and set off to do my errands.

"WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT A SIMPLE BLACK DRESS
 COULD BE SO VERSATILE"

After wearing it for a couple of weeks, I decided to try and extend its functionality from just being plain casual outfit into something more elegant and stylish.  I often talk about the importance of accessories and their power to make or break an outfit.

SIMPLE BLACK SLIP DRESS TWO WAYS

The opportunity presented itself when I was getting ready for a lunch date. First I ditched the thongs and put on a pair of chunky sandals.  Then I added a long silver chain around my neck, clasped a silver cuff around my wrist and grabbed a leather day bag.  The transformation was complete.

Then one day we were going out to dinner and I was going through my wardrobe trying to decide what to wear when I spotted a silver sequined sparkly top I hadn't worn for a while.  As I was dressed in the black dress, I just slipped the top over it and checked in the mirror.  I liked the result, so it was just a matter of choosing the right accessories that would help me to transform a day dress into evening outfit. 

Who would've thought that a simple black dress could be so versatile?  Just imagine that it is a blank canvas and your jewellery, shoes, handbags and other accessories are the tubes of paint of different colours.  And all you need to do is to let your imagination run wild and let it create as many paintings (in our case outfits) as possible. 

I am wearing dress from Natalie Alamein, sandals from Gorman, court shoes and old handbag are from Louis Vuitton, cuff - Georg Jensen. 

Have a great weekend

Anna
xoxo