It’s time to say yes to flats paired with dresses. While heels are the staple of many of our wardrobes, at some point in our lives—particularly when styling dresses— there comes a time when it’s necessary to integrate a new style of shoe into our wardrobe that will give an extra spring in our step. The spring, while quite literal from how easy it will be for you to move around, will grow from the confidence you feel while effortlessly and stylishly doing whatever awesome things you plan to do. Plus, a diverse shoe collection never hurt anyone; it actually will help your style game. So lets explore how to wear flats with a dress, it will be fun!
From the office to that chic after house party, embrace your new style gem, the flats. Any body type can wear flats, and the styles of dresses that can be paired with flats are endless. The magic is in pairing the dress and flats appropriately. First things first, a great straightforward styling approach to integrating flats into your closet is to start by building your outfit around the shoes. To take this styling tip to the next level, if you have a special occasion you are dressing for, choose a shoe that fits the occasion and style you are aiming for, and then choose the dress based on the shoe.
So let’s begin with something basic. Flats are not frumpy and we can thank all of the fabulous choices we have at our disposal on the internet and the shops around us for that. With that said, flats come in many forms. From classic to wild, from ballet flats to the now trending flatforms, it’s the season to get creative with our flat shoe choices. I will give you some general guidelines on dressing particular styles of flats and a few options available online. Remember this is just a guide and it’s encouraged that you explore all the flats we are so lucky to have available to us.
Keep it Classic
How to Wear Ballet Flats with a Dress
Speaking of classic, let’s begin with some classic flat choices and styling options. The ballet flat is classic and can be dressed up or down. It’s a delicate type shoe as would be expected from its telling name. Some have delicate bows, others have masculine studs; yet, even with these starkly different sorts of embellishments, the shoe still remains delicate in stature.
The juxtaposition of edgy and raw embellishment like metallic studs on delicate shoe like the ballet flats are the sort of details which really draw in others eyes! Other variations include the lace up ballet flat which I’m personally partial to.Even the toe shape of the ballet flat should be taken into consideration; rounded and pointed are the main variations. One of my favorite ways to style the ballet flat is to pair with a flowing skirt.
The fun part is that a long or short flowing dress will work and I find that a lighter weight fabric also complements the style shoe and pulls the whole look together. On top of it being uber aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it actually will give movement to your walk like that of a dancer in a beautiful flowing dress. Check out some style inspiration below!
How to Wear Loafers with a Dress
Another classic shoe to pair with dresses is a classic pair of loafers. I’m a big believer in every woman owning at least one solid go to pair in her closet. They are an effortlessly cool style that will never fade. Perfect to wear to work or even to add a flare of sophistication on your weekend jaunt to the corner coffee shop, these little babes will turn a few heads. One of my favorite styling tips for wearing loafers with dresses is to skip the tights and opt for some killer socks that really pull the shoes, the dress, and the whole outfit together. Not to mention you can show off your legs while still keeping the outfit laidback yet very well put together at the same time.
How to Wear Oxfords with a Dress
Other shoe styles to consider if you love loafers as much as I do are smoking slippers and oxfords. Check out this styling option below. Remember, keep it simple by choosing flat shoes you love and build the outfit from there.
Go Wild
How to Wear Flatforms with a Dress
Now that we have covered a few classic flat shoe options that you may already even have in your closet to pair with your dresses, it’s time to take a walk on the wilder side. This is the place in particular where you can have fun and play with expressing your personal style via your choice of flat wear. With the above shoe choices, while the flats are timeless, iconic, and already well loved, on the wild side, things start the bend and take new forms. A mish mash of various shoe styles mesh to form into an entirely new one; wild colors, and textures will test your eye for choosing a style that works for you and your outfit.
Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box; styles like flatforms, sneakers, and the loafer mule slipper hybrids, are all fair game. Even those unusually shaped beauties that you can’t seem to take your eyes off of; it’s time to give it a go.
How to Wear Sneakers with a Dress
Sometimes certain shoes paired with dresses can seem daunting. Personally, I was weary of wearing sneakers with dresses, but now I cannot go back. Plus, I found a photo of Kate Foley, the fashion stylist, sporting the trend that you can see below.
Immediately upon viewing Kate Foley prancing in her flatform sneakers and dress, the rush of wearing my favorite sneakers with my favorite dress to wear them with overwhelmed me. Try it, you won’t regret it. Just find a pair of sneakers that work for you and your style and look you are going for; then, build from there. Naturally tennis shoes imply a more laid back look but this is the sort of shoe choice you can go really wild with the styling or keep it simple. It’s completely up to you. Here is some style inspiration below to start pushing the boundaries of types of flat shoes you wear with dresses.
How to Wear Flats with a Dress: Classic and Wild Collide
When classic and wild collide, this is the sweet spot for me personally when choosing my main inspiration piece that I’m styling my outfit around. In this case, the flat shoes are my inspiration piece that is then paired with a complimentary dress. The fun part here is that while the dress shape is important when pairing to the style of flat shoe you decide upon, you can play with pairing a more classic and timeless looking dress with your classic and wild collide style flat shoes. Or, you can go all out and go wild with the dress too. It’s all up to your style preference and where you will be wearing the outfit; these are valuable tools in helping to guide your decision. Everything else about your look will follow more naturally after these two parts are taken care of.
Don’t be afraid to experiment
Right now, embellishments and striking details of all sorts are super in right now. Take advantage of this current trend to really hone in on the multitude of flat shoe style avenues available and don’t be afraid to experiment. Some examples of shoe styles that fit the classic and wild collide bill are shoes with cutouts like: oxfords with cutouts, ballet flats with cutouts, and even sneakers with cutouts. Other examples include embroidered flats of all types, metallic studded shoes, animal printed flats, floral printed flats, and sandals embellished with shiny gems.
Match embellishments and details of shoes
A few last styling tips: Match embellishments and details of shoes to the direction you want your outfit to head. Dressing for a punk show or indie music festival? Find embellishments that fit into the style you’re trying to convey and work from there. Also, never forget, texture, texture is your friend. Also, peculiar materials draw in the eye; think transparent materials, lace, or mesh like materials that are unconventional materials being used to add structure to the shoe. Sparkle, shine, velvet, embossed patterns, and even lettering are fun ways to play with texture and add more interest to your flats style as well.
Now give your new tips for styling flats with dresses a go and don’t forget it’s about what you are drawn to aesthetically first and making that work with the whole outfit!
Best of luck!
What are your favorite How to Wear Flats with a Dress ideas? Let us know in the comments bellow!
