Help! Accessorizing busy vintage dress for anniversary - YouLookFab Forum

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Help! Accessorizing busy vintage dress for anniversary

Amz

Hello. I found this vintage dress on etsy and I'd like to wear it for my wedding anniversary. My husband is a painter that was greatly influenced by impressionist artists like Monet so I think he will really like it. However, in having trouble figuring out how to make an outfit out of it. I found a couple belts I really like, but I'm not sure they go with the style of the dress. Any tips or recommendations would be most appreciacted.

Dress : https://www.etsy.com/listing/1.....?ref=hp_rv

Belt ideas
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Women.....2060070185

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Women.....2042788723

Shopping

21 replies

Latest reply was from Amz

rachylou

Veteran

Must say I quite like the idea of the red obi belt... The lace feels a little clashing to me. If it were my dress, I’d probably pull out my ankle strap shoes to go with...

kkards

Veteran

cute dress....it looks like it has a set in waist, so i could just wear a "regular" belt instead of an obi...

Jessikams

(website)

Veteran

That is such a sweet, romantic idea!

Runcarla

Veteran

From the etsy pic it looks like it has a self belt. If not, I would do as Kkards suggests, and not detract from the interesting imagery of the dress fabric.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

It's hard to see on the Etsy pic, but I wonder if it has a self belt too, or if it even needs a belt. It's such a pretty, romantic dress ( and what a romantic idea, I love it) you don't want to distract. I would say delicate jewellery and dainty, refined shoes.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

PS is your lovely profile pic a painting of the two of you by husband? It does look very impressionistic. I love Monet too, though my first love as a child was given to Renoir. When you are more into the forum you could run an art challenge for us!

Anonymous

Happy anniversary, it looks like bronze colored accessories might be nice.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Cool dress.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

How very cool of you to reflect his interests this way on your anniversary!

I agree with others that it looks like the dress has a self-belt. If you want something that stands out a bit more, I'd go with one the same width as that one, but in the orange-y color of the rooftop right by the belt in the second picture, or a simple light brown suede.

If you go with the self-belt, you might want to stick with metals the color of the buckle. Otherwise I think brass or gold could go nicely.

About your shoes: What do you expect the weather will be like? Will you be walking much?

If you tell us a little about your coloring and style, people might be able to make better suggestions. Things like what kind of glasses you wear, if any, how long and what texture your hair is, what shade your hair and eyes and skin are, that sort of thing.

Amz

Thanks for all the replies! I'll make sure to post pictures when the dress comes.

I'm 33, I have wavy medium brown hair that's a little longer than shoulder length. My eyes change colors but then are usually greenish or grayish blue. I'm pale with pink undertones. I don't wear glasses or makeup.

I was thinking about a vintage shoe like this one...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C.....#038;psc=1
But maybe something more modern would be better?
I definitely want the dress to shine, but I also want to be beautiful and stylish. I'm really like wearing unique items so i think this dress will be great.

What style jewelry would be good?

Amz

Oh, and my avatar is an image from our favorite anime Sword Art Online, but it does give off an impressionist feel, huh?

Amz

I put together this site with all the different things I'm considering. Please take a look if you can
https://orangepanda.jimdofree.com

ChristelJ

Veteran

What a cool site you made! I love the uniqueness of the dress and the way it looks on you. My immediate impulse was that an orange or red-orange accessory would complement it best. A belt would work, or shoes would do it nicely if you wanted to stick with the self belt. I like the vintage orangey shoes, but I’d you want to modernize the outfit, something like the orange wedges in your collection would do that.
Sounds like you are skilled in alterations and courageous enough to get that creative! What are you leaning towards? Keeping it as is, or altering?

hgr

Such a beautiful dress. I also like the self belt that comes with the dress. I would almost call your dress the "jewelry" of your outfit. So many colors. I llike the orange shoe you picked out. I also think an ankle boot or sock bootie with a medium heel (2-3") in orange, brown or black would compliment the outfit. Consider unbuttoning the neckline to reveal a camisole in a similar color as your shoes. Would you be interested in wearing a chunky bracelet or two? I think that would add to the outfit as well. Good luck with your outfit. I know you will pick what works best for you. Happy Anniversary:)

Amz

I am pretty good at sewing,but I have a friend who makes clothes professionally so I was going to let her handle the alterations if I decide to go that route.

I'm really leaning towards modernizing the dress by changing the silhouette to a cold shoulder, similar to the gray shirt on the site I made. I think it adds a nice feature while keeping the collar and long sleeves.

My favorite shoes are the brown leather pumps with the gray bow. I think they are super cute... But I really wanted a pair that showed off my feet so I'm leaning toward the darn green peep toe or coral wedges. I also like the khaki one simply because I was toying with the idea of dying them orange myself.

I think the flower necklace are so cool. They are real blossoms that have been lacquered and they look so pretty. I had the idea of looking for a water lily necklace to continue the Monet theme, but I wonder if that's too much...

I wouldn't say no to a chunky bracelet, but it depends on if I change the sleeve length of not.

I'm also seriously thinking of dying my hair orangey reddish copper, but that's not really related to the dress.

Bijou

Veteran

With such a statement dress I would tend to keep things quite pared back but also very modern, unless you want to go full 1970's retro. I like the nude suede sandal - which will keep the focus on the dress.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I like either 1. the first shoe on the site you made- the two-tone shoe has a swing dancing Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers spectator shoe vibe to me which I love- or 2. The orange retro Mary-Jane shoe. Love the first necklace you show or either flower one.
Sorry but I think the cold shoulder style would date it in future? Up to you of course, this is only my opinion!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

And re the avatar- it's cool! My second daughter who is 25 loves drawing anime. She is quite an artist- only for pleasure, her job is a food technologist. She has some art on the deviant art website.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Those necklaces are cool! I like the orange shoes a lot, but I gave away my preference for orange with this dress above. Your hair sounds similar to the woman's who has the dress on in the selling site. I think that's better, because otherwise it could be too much orange.

I agree with Jenni on the cold shoulder, but think you might want to see how your husband feels about the cold shoulder look, since it's for your anniversary.

The avatar is funny. In the thumbnail, it looks smudgy and possibly impressionistic, but clicking on it reveals the characters are anime.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

I tend towards more bombshell looks when I wear a dress - so for me, I would wear a pair of nude patent leather pumps, and some sheer hosiery the color of my skintone. I would put on my best push-up bra, and unbutton one more button. And some really nice makeup to draw the eye up from the pattern of the dress, to my face. And a pale pinky-gold metallic nail polish. I'd keep my bag as streamlined and neutral as possible, and try to match the hardware to the self-belt. If that were my dress, I would Google images of Loni Anderson when she was on the TV show "WKRP in Cincinnati", and see how the costumer accessorized her dresses. ETA: Or Charlie's Angels

I would play with other belts, too. The self-belt is lovely for daytime, but if you're taking this dress out, it wouldn't hurt to try out that red obi belt you linked, as it seems inexpensive. (However... I see that that belt ships from Asia, and my experience with purchasing from Asia on eBay, is that 3 out of 4 times, it has taken me 6-8 weeks to get my purchase). But seriously, that self-belt really finishes the dress, to my eye.

Looking at the shoes you selected... #1 is cute, but seems like retro-confusion, because to me, it looks 1930s-40s. I like the 70s retro of the green platform sandals in #2, and I like #3 for anytime the weather permits (btw, where are #3 from??) I also like the orange and minty Mary Jane heels, and the orange platform sandals in the bottom row.

I would try that blue-green floral necklace, because it sounds like your eyes are that color, and it would draw the observer's eye up to your face.

As far as altering the design... I'm cringing a bit, because this is a fabulous piece of 70s retro deliciousness! Very unusual and gorgeous. I vote to keep the dress as-is, and only alter it for better fit.

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Amz

Hello all.
Here an update -
The etsy seller just contacted me (after taking my money) and said she lost the belt so it will be shipped without it.

I'm uncomfortable with unbuttoning the collar as I tend to dress more on the modest side, even during special occasions.

I won't know about altering the style of the dress until I put it on, although I still like the cold shoulder idea a lot.

In my brain, if I wear it as is, I'm leaving toward the minty blue belt and beige sandals.