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Sheath Dresses | New York & Company

Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds. Got to love the versatility of a frock! There are two important things to keep in mind.

First, layering in this way requires a certain style of dress. Sleeveless wool blend sheath dresses are ideal for layering because they are fairly rigid and substantial.

Second, the layer underneath the dress should generally be thinner than the fabric of the dress. Get stuck into that wardrobe and begin the experimentation!

Long black jersey sheath dress shirt

Combine all sorts of layers under your dresses and see what happens. The results could be arty, hip and above all cost effective. Inspire us by posting your favourite combinations on the forum.

Update : A few days after this post I followed up with another where I model two examples of layering underneath dresses. Use your imagination to picture these dress styles layered over the right button down shirt, soft blouse, T or knit top.

I vote fab. Very helpful pointers, Angie!

I have seen wonderful WIW posts in the past on the forum where members have layered a button-down collared shirt under a sleeveless dress.

I would think if I tried this, some part of the outfit would ride up or twist or some such thing. These are some great tips Angie!

Most of my dresses are too thin for this, but I do have one or two that might be thick enough, like a ponte sheath dress.

I also like to layer sleeveless or short-sleeved sweater dresses over long sleeved button-downs. I really like this concept, seems like a great way to stretch a wardrobe.

Too often I purchase floaty, thin styles for hot weather, then they sit for the rest of the year.

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I feel like dresses with thicker straps make layering easy but no straps or very thin straps, I doubt see how this can look like a polished look.

I am hoping someone on the forum does this so I can see what it looks like. I am always looking for ways to add warmth and stretch my closet, so thanks Angie!

The weather is getting to where it perfect for trying this now. Excellent tips. Angie, what about short sleeve dresses, such as shift or sheath styles?

Plus Size Dresses | HSN

Any special tips or consideration for layering under short sleeve dresses? Wow, these are quite dressy frocks. The others are still quite dressy for me but I can see them working if styled differently.

This is overall a great way to transition some of my summer dresses into fall. I am layering under my denim dress and the look is so much more interesting to me than on its own.

I also have a few sleeveless sheath dresses that I always layer under. I love the look of dramatic and colorful sleeves. So mod and fun.

I look forward to wearing dresses this way every fall now.

I also recently layered a lace jacket and I was surprised how good and…not weird it looked. OK, you just inspired me. Thank you. I have a grey sheath dress and I think my red button down will work great with it.

I will try that today. I have been already doing this for a month now since the weather cooled down! I love the versatility of a sleeveless sheath dress for layering opportunities and they are becoming my wardrobe workhorses pretty fast.

Long black jersey sheath dress shirt upper west

All my summer dresses are silky summery weights, and while I can think of a couple that could work over a base layer, most of them have the wrong sleeve length or the wrong type of fabric, I think.

That said, I want to layer one of my black and white dresses over my new red silk tunic. I love the idea of layering to stretch a dress… I do it more by adding a jacket over it.

I do layer underneath, but I have a hard time doing it without feeling like a school girl. I looove layering underneath dresses! It looks very professional but also really funky at the same time.

If you are a bit on the shy side this may not be your dress. It has all the details of men’s shirts with a point collar button placket and barrel cuffs. Long black jersey sheath dress shirt It’s definitely a wardrobe must have!!!!

For a more conversative look I add pumps, though my preference is to wear this with boots hose or no hose depending on the season. Experiment, ladies, especially if you like a bit of a funky edge!

They seem too dressed up and event-specific.

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I just cannot get my brain around it! However, the concept is excellent for stretching your dress wardrobe to work for more of the year.

Or a more casual style dress. For example, I have a sleeveless denim dress that I wore a lot this summer and I am thinking it would look good layered over a black knit top with my black boots to extend its wear to another season.

Marlene, your idea is the conventional one and I mentioned that in my post. The pictures of the linked dresses are for more daring dressers.

Trust me. They look great layered with shirts and blouses! Just a lot more arty.

Also, you lead a very casual lifestyle which makes these looks seem more dressed up. For my style they are every day — bar the strapless number.

Hope that makes sense.

Well, I am definitely not a daring dresser! Maybe some actual pics to show how these event frocks can be layered as you described will help my brain wrap around this.

So far, everyone seems to have described more conventional examples they are trying….

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But you seem to be alluding to something altogether different and at a level I had never considered. A good friend of mine picked up a black textured heavy wool strapless sheath dress when we were shopping together at a designer outlet.

But she wears it to work over a white button-down blouse with lots of pearls and it looks…well, FAB! This is something I intend to practice soon, when the girls were smaller I would find layers underneath a dress uncomfortable, having to carry a baby on your hip would scrunch up the under layer.

This year I purchased dresses in the summer which I could layer in this way for fall. Simply brilliant.!! I just need to take some time and find the right dress with the right blouse under, that will no doubt take me some closet play time!

I can also wear it solo, or with an obi belt. I may try it once the weather is reliably cooler, but with much less formal-looking dresses than the examples you showed Angie.

I was amazed by how well it worked and how cosy and warm I felt! The fabric thickness point is a good one. I think I may only have one dress to try it on, so looks like I might be wearing that one quite a bit in the near future.

I like the idea of doing this — but and this absolutely blows my mind I have NO dresses in my current wardrobe that would even remotely work for this look.

First of all I have very few dresses, period — and 2nd, the ones that I do have are all summery prints or very thin material, or they are pretty clingy and there is no way I could get something else underneath them.

That is what I would be doing — IF I was participating! I love this, though maybe not with the first three of those specific dresses.

Oh, who am I kidding, I would definitely do the third as well as the fourth.

It lays perfectly on me and smooths over all my lumps without feeling constricted. summer print sheath dresses plus size A dress that buttons all the way down the front can also be worn open as a duster, which I guess technically is layering under!

Easy to fit a cardigan over also. I even layer simple jersey skirts under dresses that feel a bit too short—the things you do when you wear dresses all winter!

I really should try this once it gets cooler.

I never considered doing this until I found YLF. Thanks for the advice! I have to admit that I have a whole lot more wardrobe options than I have ever really considered.

This post was extremely helpful!! Love this post!