Is your closet ready for spring? Spring has officially been here for a few weeks now, but we haven’t been seeing that many warm days, at least not consecutively. Nevertheless, it can be fun to plan out some of the outfits you want to wear for the season, figuring out what fits your style now and what you want to donate since you won’t be wearing it anymore. It’s always a process, but before you decided to clear out some items from last year that you may have gotten bored with think about how you can style it and refresh the piece. For me, that meant figuring out how to style a floral mini dress to wear this spring & summer. Ready to see the looks I came up with for this piece?

Look 1: The Dress Itself: Although this post is about restyling the mini dress doesn’t mean you have to make any major changes. The dress itself can still have a different feel if you change up your accessories and shoes, try adding a belt and playing around with the width of the belt in addition to the type of shoe you choose. There are several fashion rules that are going out the window now, one of them being that you have to wear dressy shoes when styling a dress, that is not true so play around with sandals or boots or sneakers when styling a mini dress. You’ll see me styling both ankle boots and sneakers in this post.
Look 2: Adding A Jacket: Adding a blazer or a jacket can easily help you dress up or dress down a jacket and has the functional bonus od helping you keep warm on those cool spring or summer nights on the days where you might regretting that your outfit is cut, but not entirely function, we’ve all done it. You can choose one that matches a color in the dress if it is one that has some prints or choose something that is a little bolder, but pairs well.
Look 3: Wearing A Dress Over A Long-Sleeved Shirt: A combination that is perfect to style a mini dress for spring weather, particularly if you get cold easily. I suggest again that you pick a color that complements the dress, but doesn’t necessarily have to be one that the dress features. However, pay attention to the necklines of the shirt and the dress when making your pairing choices if you want to wear several dresses this summer, have necklines that don’t fit takes away from the seamless look of the outfit, something I forgot to consider when creating looks with the mini dress from Pretty Little Thing in my closet.

Look 4: Layer It With A Sweater: If you layer your mini dress with a sweater, it looks like a skirt and you have whole new outfit, though I’d suggest doing this one in the spring when the weather is a bit more unpredictable and you’re less likely to get too hot especially sitting in your wheelchair. Personally I’d go with a solid color sweater if the dress had a pattern and vice versa, but that’s just me. If you want to you can mix patterns so that they complement each other, but be careful how you do it so that the patterns are cohesive and it’s not all over the place when someone looks at your outfit.
Look 5: Adding A Cami: Aside from the simplicity of adding a jacket, I think adding a cami to style a mini dress is one of my favorites and one you will see me in often this spring and summer. For another skirt style look, fold the top half of the dress down and add a cami, it can be plain or have a few design details. For this look I went with a plain black cami that I just tucked into the dress and to complete the look, I added a wider black with a front bucket and some black ankle boots. I really wasn’t sure about the belt when I pulled it out the closet, but once I completed the look I loved it.
Look 5: Adding Shorts or Pants: Last, but not least turning the dress into a cute cami. We’ve turned the dress into a skirt for a few outfit ideas so why not add some shorts for a “new” cami for the summer? In order to do this, I folded the hem of the dress a bit to make sure it was shorter than the shorts and tucked it in. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel sitting in the chair, but I l felt good for the 20 minutes or so that I had it on. However I’d suggest not wearing this outfit on days when you’ll be outside and in your chair longer, because sitting in a black chair in summer is not fun, don’t add extra fabric.
Check out my latest reel on Instagram to see all of the outfits I put together with dress so far. Follow me on Instagram for more fashion tips and living life with Cerebral Palsy
Another Fashion Tip For Styling A Mini Dress For Spring & Summer
Wear Biker Shorts: If you are going to be moving around alot or transferring, consider wearing biker shorts so that you don’t have to worry about any wardrobe mishaps during the day.
Your sense of style is going to change…. Often. I’ve lost count of the number of times my personal style has changed since I started paying attention to it more a few years ago. Guess what that’s okay. Now when your sense of style changes, I’m asking you to think about how you can restyle something before you decide it doesn’t belong in your closet anymore because not including the dress itself and adding a jacket, you have four new ways to wear a mini dress for the spring and summer and that number multiplies when you think of all the color options you have for the other pieces. I hope this helps you refresh some items in your closet for the warmer months and inspires you to have fun creating your outfits for the season and remember, have fun with it.
~Kimberly
Do you have any ways to style a mini dress for the spring and summer that I need to try? If so let me know in the comments below.