Well I had good intentions to have this published for Easter, but there are so many great dresses this year that writing this post took way longer than I anticipated. It seems that Easter is often a turning point– the time of spring when you buy a new dress. Growing up, I often had a new dress for Easter and I am sure many of you can relate. Many women have continued with this tradition in their adult years although depending on when Easter falls, the weather is not always conducive to spring dresses!
If you love dresses, need one for an event, or have just let your dress wardrobe go during the pandemic, then this post is for you! Shop early though. I don’t think the “buy” is very large for seasonal dresses. I’m worried that even by the time you read this and go through the widget, sizes will be sold out our limited. Don’t delay!
The idea for this post all started a couple of weeks ago when I was invited to a Spring Fashion Show here in Portland. I did not have time to shop or do the research the way I wanted to, so I went with something that was in my closet. I asked my Facebook Group to choose and while it was close between A & B, in the end B was the winner and it’s what I wore.
If one of my clients had asked for advice I would have never suggested any of these three, and would have sent links of current styles for her to order. However, if she had told me she didn’t want to buy anything new, and had to work with what she had in the closet, I would be up for the challenge. That’s what I did for myself! Here is a quick synopsis of what I chose and why.
A. Black and white is always a favorite but it is also overdone. You can add a color & interest with accessories, but right now I’m really into neutral shoes and bags and don’t have many colored accessories! The dress is 5 years old and while I have only worn it twice, I just wasn’t feeling it. Then I noticed two small holes in the seams- my deciding factor.
B. This is a very simple tank dress for a warm summer day. I knew I would need to dress it up a touch. With all the gold jewelry below, it makes a big difference. I don’t wear scarves much like that really anymore, but it added to the look. I love to mix any prints thus the animal print bag. Someone in my group suggested a different combo. I could envision a woven straw clutch, but I was doing this the day before. And then can you believe, the perfect bags arrived at my door after I got home? (see photos below) I love both of them!
C. This is a bit of an oversized blazer I was trying from EVEREVE for photos. It also helped me complete a monochromatic outfit challenge I did with some clients in my membership. While it didn’t get many votes because it wasn’t the typical “luncheon” outfit, I knew it would have been fine.
And you know what? I was exactly right. Portland is very casual. Although this event would typically draw more of the fashion forward, I was a still little surprised at what I saw. Pants/Denim vs dresses –at least 50/50. There was a fair amount of white denim and overall just a little bit of everything. It occurred to me that after two years of a pandemic, that most of the women there were probably like me. We haven’t gone many places in the last two years. We are a little out of practice and dusting off things we haven’t worn in two years. The black and white dress seemed fine to hang onto three years ago. Now two more years have passed and I don’t know if I’ll wear it again. You could be having these same feelings and more. It’s actually something I’m going to cover in my next post.
Going through this process made me realize that I just had not kept up with buying a dress the last couple of years. Sure, a lot of it is Covid related, but also last year I was so focused on my son’s wedding and reception. I bought a formal dress and a casual maxi dress. When I read over that post, I realized there were just not many dresses I was drawn to last year because there was not a lot of choice. I have a hunch you may have felt the same way.
New Trends in Dresses
For 2022, we are definitely seeing distinct style patterns and I think you’ll be happy with what you see. There are some great dresses this year!
- Lots of florals! (Don’t worry if you’re not a floral person— other prints and solids are out there too!)
- Longer styles– definitely more “midi” dresses, but you will still see plenty above the knee and maxi dresses as well.
- Flutter sleeves, tiers, and smocking.
This is one of the popular styles we are seeing with lots of variations within the same basic silhouette. V-neck, wrap style, high low hem, and flutter, bell or long sleeves. I don’t say this very often but it’s a style that is flattering on many different body types. It covers upper arms, brings in the waist and the high low hem is great if you don’t love the midi length on your frame (that’s me). Many women hate showing too much leg or worry about their legs being tan. This length just seems to be the happy medium! I looked for a high low hemline for both of my kids’ weddings, and struck out both times.
This photo collage gives you a quick snapshot of the dresses we are seeing.
I’ve been watching some Amazon sponsored ads on social media which helped me dive in a little more to finding some choices there. I decided to do their “Try Before You Buy” program. I have been wanting to try it and just never quite got there. Here’s a tip: I searched TRY BEFORE YOU BUY dresses because so many things are NOT available for this program. It just will help you save time with the search. Watch for a report on social media. You can follow me here on Instagram if you don’t presently.
Here’s the widget for the dresses. I hope you enjoy the choices. What do you think of this year’s trends? Do you have a special event coming up this year?
