The Dress as Winter Uniform
Undoubtedly many of you, like me, grew up in the era of “mix and match”, subject to the ubiquitous idea that the more combinations possible with a few components, the better.
But it’s not the only way to go. Throughout most of history, women wore dresses. No mixing and matching there. A person able to make dresses work for them on an everyday basis has a very simple uniform template indeed. (Alternatively, an outfit which always stays together works much the same, albeit in the building stage is much more complicated.)
In the summer, nothing could be easier than a dress! To be practical in the winter, however, additional thought needs to be given to the “prepositional pieces”; that is, what goes under, over and with. Both casual and career looks can be built on dresses. Here are some random thoughts I’ve been having:
- Tights, for casual. Recently I was given a pair of brown bamboo tights and a pair of charcoal heather Australian wool footless tights. I’m rich!
- Warm socks under boots. Personally I like the look of the sock cuff showing at the top.
- Leg-warmers are fun for casual and can be practical for commuting career ladies, like a muffler for the leg. Obviously, when wearing formal business attire, the mufflers come off when you arrive at work.
- Speaking of mufflers, scarves of various styles can add warmth to a dress without complicating the silhouette like a blazer would.
- Somewhere recently I read about layering stockings for color, and then I tried it for warmth. Actually, what I did (with boots and a skirt) was wear my silk long underwear pants underneath a pair of tights. Yes, it worked.
I’m going to stop there and leave room for input. How do you wear the day dress in winter?
How do you wear a dress in the winter? You move to Florida.
He, he… Although, it’s been cold here (at least for us!) lately!
I was just thinking about you, after hearing on the news how cold it is. Is everybody getting by okay, enjoying their sweaters?
Tights and boots, double-layered tights and oxford heels, scarves scarves scarves, turtlenecks as layering underneath. I have fallen in love with double-layering tights, which is perfect since it is 10 degrees outside now.
Any dress can be worn with, depending on where you’re going, a cardigan or jacket or vest piece over, the same way that a solid color or two piece print outfit can be. At the mayor’s inaugural I went to - 20 degrees, high winds, by the river - dresses were mostly worn with enveloping
ankle length fur coats or faux furs. Also big brimmed fur hats. This is a city where only about a quarter of the people are employed so probably most fur coats in the city left the closet that day.Though two of the three of us didn’t wear them. The other wore a faux sheared beaver jacket. I didn’t see the mayor in winter outerwear but she did wear her pantsuit with natural color hose! She was sitting on the dais so you could see her feet.
I lament the ubiquitous wrap dress. I don’t like camisoles and they always hit too low on me. I used to have the perfect winter dresses - three identical in wool jersey, black, deep ultramarine teal, lipstick red. Long sleeve, scoop neck, set in waist, flared bias skirt. Very graceful but still serious looking. I wash everything myself, including coats. I learned not to wash bias cut wool jersey. Alas.
I don’t personally like this look of adding too many winter accessories to dresses. It would make me feel like I was an immigrant in steerage wearing everything I own. You start with a dress - simplicity of line - and then you destroy the line at every point with lumpy, droopy, stiff components.
When I think of business dresses I think of men’s attire to compare. I’ll grant they’re warmer in their suit jackets and the dress as costume with matching jacket or coat could be tough to wear and not look overstuffed. But it could be done. In any case, there’s something wonderful to me about men in suits and knee length overcoats looking ready for the weather and unrestrictedly mobile. I guess for women’s wear it would be knee high boots removed at the office. Women, though, look more ceremonial in sedate dresses than men do in suits, don’t you think? Perhaps too heavy handed for other than executive positions? Too understated cocktail for lesser levels of authority?
I love the coatdress. Found one at a yard sale in black with a chalk stripe. Husband calls it my Law and Order dress. I was afraid of that. I don’t do ironic any more, so wasn’t going to take it down with motorcycle boots, etc. Works nicely for my non-working life with slim black crop pants under or a slightly longer slim skirt.
You’ve inspired me to actually wear one of the few winter dresses I have today. All are black and I have a snowstorm of white dog hair here.
That may be why they stay in the closet.
Thanks for the two pair of tights idea! I wouldn’t have thought of it. I do sometimes wear tights over thin thermal underwear but only with an ankle or other boot because otherwise the line of the underwear shows on the leg.
As I no longer work in an office and live in a cold climate I don’t wear day dresses in winter! However, I do have a beautiful jersey DVF wrap dress and a long sleeved shirt dress for occasional wear (usually with tights and a cashmere cardie). I also have a 3/4 sleeve faux wrap dress for transitional wear.
It’s hard for me to find dresses that work for me since I’ve been breastfeeding for most of the last 10 years, but I do love my skirts. I don’t currently have any nice winter skirts now though.
I saw a lady the other day that I thought was so cute. She wore a heather brown sweater dress, brown tights, and flat boots, with a caftan-like sweater over everything. She pulled off the look really well. Of course, she was travelling and her kids were in pj’s, but she seemed like the type who was used to being gorgeous and stylish wherever she went! I loved her look.
(She also seemed like a Western/urban person, and I really enjoyed her look of utter disbelief as she watched this Cajun dad try to use his French charm to get the McD’s casheir to invent a breakfast happy meal for his child. That has nothing to do with style, but it was a hilarious little cultural vignette. haha…)
currently..now…I think I was redundant in that first sentence.
Er…paragraph…Sorry, bad case of fuzzy brain today.
I’m with Vildy about not adding items on to winter dresses, which is why I rarely wear a dress in winter. It messes with the clean line. If so, wear Hanro Warmwwear and thick tights under. But when my cashmere sweaters and wool pants beckon it’s mighty hard to don the dress.
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