Layering Outfits

Layering is one of the ways I get to continue wearing my spring dresses without covering it up with a jacket or sweater when it does start to get a bit nippy in Florida. It also allows me to wear all the awesome sweaters and turtle necks I've collected from living in colder states like Missouri and Georgia. Instead of wearing them over the dress, instead I wear them under it. Plus, it gives me more opportunities to pattern mix, which I'm a sucker, which I've written multiple posts on. It's not a revolutionary idea, but to be honest it's personally something I never really thought of until I started my Instagram account and followed a bunch of inspiring fashion accounts, and then it felt very obvious and "why didn't I think of that", which is why I wanted to start with it.

This outfit is entirely thrifted.

This is again the same idea but a less winter-friendly version. I also went all out layering my necklaces and prominently layering my socks with my shoes because if I'm going to layer I might as well be fully committed to the concept.

Except for the socks from Target and the robot and mustache/glasses necklaces purchased from F21 over ten years ago everything is thrifted mostly from Goodwill.

So, when my grandad passed away, I inherited some of his button down shirts, which he had a large collection of. This might come off as morbid for some people, but for me personally clothes are a huge way I connect with people and places, especially those that are no longer in my life. That being said, his shirts were naturally too large for me, so I often use them to layer over dresses. Sometimes I let them just hang loose, or I'll tie them at the waist like you see here to make them a little more form-flattering. This is a nice way to incorporate a button-down or general shirt you come across that might be too big for you or you've grown out of but still want to wear.

I picked up this vintage vest from a Kansas City shop years ago and originally struggled with how to style it since it's so open on the sides, but didn't quite look write under shirt like I had originally planned when I bought it. I'm not sure why it took so long to occur to me to layer it with a dress instead, but I got there eventually and that's what matters. Just like sweaters, sweater-vests or any kind of vest also work really well layered over dresses to turn the dress essentially into a skirt.

The layering here is not necessarily obvious, but it is two dresses layered on top of each other. The yellow silk dress on top was a gift from my mom that she thrifted from a store called Lulu's in Kansas City (no idea if it's still around). The issue was it is extremely sheer, and I didn't have a slip to wear under it. I just so happened to have this dress in my closet that I was thinking about giving away since it shrunk a bit in the wash and was now just a tad too short to be appropriate to wear to work. It somehow dawned on hem to see if it would essentially work as slip for the yellow dress. I liked how it also created and interesting neckline and a pop of different color paired with the yellow dress, which also made pairing accessories a lot more fun!