Black Lace Fashion Ensemble
December 17, 2014 7:32 AM   Subscribe

I have this dress. What do I wear with it?

I have no sense of how to put outfits together.

The picture is not me. I am built similarly though bigger and taller (I wear size large usually and have a bmi of just under 25 at almost 5'9"). I would not wear the metal necklace in the picture.

The dress has a scoop back showing just the tops of shoulder blades. I was going to wear it with nude hose and ankle boots or no hose and strappy sandals. It is very short - I can't bend over in it - it covers about 1/3 of my thighs and I am tall so it a lot of leg (not too thick and not too thin but mid-40s legs). I feel like this look would be great for a stick thin 20-something.

So I wonder if going with black leggings, treating it like a tunic) would be better but ... head-to-toe black? I have black heels with straps back and forth all the way to the ankle that are pretty nice but best with no tights. I could buy some silver flats or ankle boots though I am having trouble finding ankle boots that I like in the store. I could go with leggings that end at the ankle that would allow me to wear the strappy sandals - feels so 80s!

The venue is a house party with cocktail party dress with most women in heels.

So what to wear on legs?
What to wear on feet?
Wear a different dress?
Please lend me your fashion sense!
posted by RoadScholar to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (23 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I love the dress.

So what to wear on legs?
I'm in my mid-20s and would wear it with bright red or purple tights, but this may be too young a look for you, so I'd go with black tights. Leggings are going to dress it down too much.

What to wear on feet?
It sounds like you don't want the head-to-toe black look, so shoes and belt are your opportunity to add color. I'd just pick a color you like and find some shoes and a belt that match in that color. I think heels, flats, or formal boots would all be fine but if most people are wearing heels then go with that.
posted by capricorn at 7:41 AM on December 17, 2014 [2 favorites]


I think either nude or black low heels, like strappy kitten heels... it's really short; I think real heels might be too much. (Or not - take a pic of yourself wearing heels with it and look at it to see where the hem falls.)

I wouldn't put leggings with that. If you have the legs for that dress and it sounds like you do, rock it for real.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:42 AM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


That's a lot of leg and so I agree it's probably not the dress to go bare-legged in. I'd wear it with leather leggings and pointy heels. Your strappy heels sound like they'd work nicely if the leggings were short enough. I've linked to silver leggings, but black would be fine too. If you go head to toe black, jazz up the outfit with colourful (but simple) shoes - gold, red, leopard print, etc. (I say simple because leather, lace and statement shoes could be too much - be careful not to overdo it).
posted by yawper at 7:43 AM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I would definitely wear heels. Either bare legs or black opaque tights or leggings with heeled booties.

Simple black heels with bare legs would look great and be the fanciest option. While leggings and heeled booties would be a little more casual, but more comfortable.

I might be wrong but for some reason I feel like anything strappy wouldn't work. Maybe it's the sort of hipster vibe of the dress, but I would stay away for anything strappy or flats.
posted by whoaali at 7:45 AM on December 17, 2014


Is it cold where you live? You could pair this with some nice, sleek, knee-high black leather boots. You'd stay warmer and not feel so exposed. Its cute on its own, I wouldn't add a belt.
posted by iiniisfree at 7:46 AM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


I would wear sheer black hose, that will make you feel less naked instantly. The ankle boot cuts off the leg and makes it look chunky. It might be mitigated by the black hose, but I'd go for a platform pump, or for a sleek boot (kind of S&M, ain't nothing wrong with that.)

I would wear this shoe, because I like comfort and because it looks like a Ferragamo, and I'm all about that.

I think black hose look weird with colored shoes, YMMV.

If you have pierced ears, put your hair up and wear some chandelier earrings.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:47 AM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]


Um hello. You have a black lace mini dress. It is literally screaming, I can hear it from here, for some big chunky 90s boots.
posted by phunniemee at 7:55 AM on December 17, 2014 [8 favorites]


Colored tights (I was also thinking purple or plum), or patterned tights, and boots. Or chunky shoes per phunniemee.
posted by RogueTech at 7:56 AM on December 17, 2014


I feel like between the lace, the shortness of the dress, and the scoop neck at the back, you've seriously got all the girlishness you need, so I would not go super femme with the footwear or anything else. Chunky or flat boots (you're 5'9, you can handle it), and opaque tights, or yeah, the leather leggings. I'd probably stick with black for those and use colour the way capricorn suggested - really any colour would be fine, though I think muted or deep jewel tones (your classic fall or winter colours) would be better than brights.
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:02 AM on December 17, 2014


Black tights. I don't think it lends itself to jewelry. Maybe a white plastic bangle.
posted by discopolo at 8:07 AM on December 17, 2014


I would go with high black boots (shiny riding boots) and not the combo the model has with the saddle purse and animal print ankle boots.
posted by discopolo at 8:09 AM on December 17, 2014


Oh also, you don't want to wear the metal necklace pictured but if you want to do shoes and a necklace instead of shoes and a belt, the chunky plastic look is very in right now and I think BIG statement-y jewelry always goes well with black. A piece like this one from Payless of all places would go really nicely.
posted by capricorn at 8:31 AM on December 17, 2014


It's got a late 60s vibe--like Rich Man's Frug from Sweet Charity. I'd keep jewelry minimal and go with black shoes, black legs.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:56 AM on December 17, 2014


Chunky ankle booties and black opaque tights! Take inspriation from Nubby Twiglet, like maybe this somewhat similar outfit. I would probably not wear nude pantyhose with that dress. Nude hose look kind of shy and weird to me. Opaque tights in a colour, or in black, will look more confident and sleek, and also not flash so much bum.
Super-cute dress!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:16 AM on December 17, 2014


Definitely sheer black tights--either plain or patterned. I think colored tights tend to dress an outfit down (I've seen girls wear a black lace mini dress + colored tights + heeled booties as a nice daytime outfit). For shoes, I'd go with either closed-toe pumps (because of the tights) or ankle boots.
posted by serelliya at 9:16 AM on December 17, 2014


grey tights!
posted by likeatoaster at 9:24 AM on December 17, 2014


I can't bend over in it

Whoa, missed this. Leather leggings or find another (longer) dress, imo. You're not going to be able to relax and enjoy yourself if you feel conspicuous or are tugging at the dress all the time / worrying about ride-up.
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:59 AM on December 17, 2014


If this were me, I'd pair it with a pair of tealish/blueish/greenish tights I have*, black ankle boots, and funky silver jewelry.

I would also consider pairing it with black tights and flats or pumps in a bold color.

I would not wear this with strappy heels or nude hose.

I would not wear this with leggings unless you were trying to make the overall effect more casual.

If you straight up for real cannot bend over in this dress, I would return the dress.

*No idea if bold colored tights are still the thing? Either way, I think they're an easier sell than either nude hose or leggings with a black lace dress.
posted by Sara C. at 11:05 AM on December 17, 2014


I am wearing a dress that is almost identical to this.

For today, which was holiday lunch at my uber-casual work, I'm wearing it over jeggings with tall strappy boots. (So basically, trying to dress down the fanciness of lace.)

A few weeks ago for a conference, I wore it with a turquoise skinny infinity scarf, turquoise tights, and black ballet flats.

I'd go more towards the latter with the type of event you describe. Maybe even with heels.

For me, I've used pops of color with this dress (when I normally really, really don't wear a lot of color) because black lace is really easy to go way too goth with.
posted by pixiecrinkle at 3:20 PM on December 17, 2014


With your fabulous height and this dress, you have a tunic. I would pop it over a pair of those footless tights and wear the strappy sandals. Black only as I see any color at all moving you into the realm of Clown-Ville; young girls do sometimes choose the combat boot/delicate dress combo but it rarely works.
posted by Lornalulu at 7:13 PM on December 17, 2014


So I wonder if going with black leggings, treating it like a tunic) would be better

Tunics are big right now! Here are some lace tunics on Pinterest.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:29 PM on December 17, 2014


If you can't bend over, it's a tunic. :) A beautiful one!

Love the idea of leather leggings with black heels (no sandals in December! Unless you live somewhere that it's over 70 degrees F.) Leather leggings could be black or camel.

You could also do any kind of very tight sleek sleek black or camel pants - ponte, or a thicker knit (legging style, but thick).

Knee high black boots would be nice with the leggings.

For color do a statement necklace or a scarf.
posted by amaire at 2:24 AM on December 18, 2014


Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Great responses that really helped me to narrow down the choices. It is interesting to see the variances - just about anything goes in the right situation.

Follow up -
I found thick, almost lined, completely opaque tights that I wore with black leather wedge (not too high) booties.
The dark legs helped me feel covered enough with the short length of the dress/tunic and the wedge booties /brought the whole outfit back from lingerie. The first thing a couple people said to me was wow you are tall tonight - a result I think of the all black from head to toe. Leggings or colored tights would have felt a little too casual for this event for me. Knee boots and chunky boots would be great for a dinner out. I may find myself wearing this dress/tunic more often given all these options!
posted by RoadScholar at 5:55 AM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]


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