How to style a mini dress

how to style a mini dress for summer

After a long hiatus from Styling shoots, I got back into it recently. I created some looks for a classroom demo for my Fashion styling class and have been shooting by collaborating with photographers and make-up artists in the classroom setup. While many of the looks were staged and conceptual, a few were impromptu, keeping in mind the age group and likes of students. One such exercise was to style a Mini dress.

mini dresses
PS: WGSN has a whole report on Mini dresses and how the trend is evolving

What is a Mini dress?

Dresses whose lengths range from 2 inches above the knee to 6 inches are mini dresses. Anything shorter is not worth calling a dress. The short dress epitomizes fun and frolic. There’s a lot to like about these short dresses, both aesthetically and stylistically. On the runway or off it, they’ve been a great hit. Put on a mini dress like this for a stunning and feminine look.

Why is the mini dress “in” at the moment

In the 16-25 age group, the mini dress is so “in” now. In India, even in summer, minis are frowned upon and the accepted dress/skirt length to be worn outside the house is knee-length. However, now that college has opened offline after a series of closures these last two years, I find several students wearing mini dresses. Let me tell you why they are so much in trend.

Smocked floral mini dress with asymmetrical side braids, blue platform heels and chain and hoop earrings. Model – Anushka Agrahari | Hairstylist – Ms. Abhirami Shivakumar | Photographer – Ms. Aaritika Sharma | Clothing and shoes – Gayatri Rajesh | Jewellery – Divya N

 

Flirty and feminine

In the last 2 years, young women between the ages of 18 and 22 found themselves staying at home, lounging in their pyjamas all day. With classes happening online, there was no opportunity to be a social butterfly. However, with colleges opening up in real life, girls want to dress up and have fun. Enter the mini dress. 

A mini dress is designed to make you look younger and full of life. The wearer’s figure is elongated by a slimming fitted bodice and a flowing skirt. Fluid fabrics with subtle sheen with interesting details like gathers or cuts make it look casual yet dressy.

The Doll look

Another growing trend, based on runway shows and an increasing number of fashion features, is the Doll look. 1960s style dresses, the bombshell hairstyle and doll’s eye make-up are all over Instagram now. I was recently told that H&M is doing an entire line of 60’s skirts and fitted tops for a Barbie doll look. While the make-up is getting creepier by the doll, I love the cut of the dresses and wish that I had the figure and the opportunity to wear them.

Now that I have established that mini dresses are in trend, let me share a few ideas on How to style a mini dress.

How to style a mini dress

How to style a mini dress

You may try on several looks while you’re wearing a mini dress. They can be worn with a pair of boots or heels or dressed up with jewellery if you’re a complete diva. Cotton or linen dresses in bright colours like pinks and oranges can be dressed down with neutral sandals or ballerina flats for a casual look. Floral printed synthetic dress work well with ankle length boots for a college – day look. Solid dresses in dark colours or metallics could be paired with strappy heels for a party look. Furthermore, match your tights/stocking to your shoes rather than your dress to make your legs look longer.

How to style a mini dress
Strapless Smocked yellow mini dress with a bubble hair plait and hand moulded fibre flower. Model: Gayatri Rajesh | Hairstylist – Ms. Abhirami Shivakumar | Photographer – Ms. Aaritika Sharma | Clothing, hoops and shoes – models own.

Jewellery to style a mini dress

Wearing a mini dress is a bold fashion choice. It doesn’t need a lot of jewellery to make it work. The go-to piece of jewellery while wearing a mini dress is a pair of hoops. Gold-silver, solid-glitter, with chains or rhinestones, all of them are fair game. Match the earrings with either rings or chain bracelets in terms of the metal colour and finish. If they are dainty enough, they can be worn stacked. You could either combine a bold watch with rings on the other hand or rings and bracelets without a watch.  If you want to wear all three then choose really thin, dainty pieces.

A mini dress is flirty, fun and can make you look like a diva with the right accessories and jewellery.

I hope you find it interesting
Cheers

2 responses to “How to style a mini dress”

  1. Rozantia Petkova avatar

    I never thought of it but now I see how bold hoops can actually balance the look of a girl in a mini dress. As far as the doll look – not my favorite, seems unnaturally staged to me. But it’s all up to personal preferences 🙂 Unfortunately, the jewelry in the first picture is not quite visible but I’m sure you styled it properly 🙂

    1. Divya avatar

      Yes, I made a pair of glitter hoops with dainty green chain hanging from the bottom. I realise I should have posted pictures of the earrings too but for that I need to take the pictures first.

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