Styling a Swing Dress for a Hourglass Shape

You guys know how I have no willpower when Anthropologie puts their sale section on an additional sale, right? Well, last week they did exactly that and I came across this:

The Grasslands Midi dress was originally $178, but with their extra sale going on I was able to scoop it up for $69. I went back and forth in my head before submitting the order, because the reviews are mixed. People either loved the dress, or they thought it looked like an oversized bag.

Now, I’m an hourglass shaped lady, so typically a swing style dress won’t really work on me. But I liked the print and embroidery so much that I decide to chance it. I mean, the worst that could happen is that it looks terrible and I drop it back by the store next time I’m nearby.

As an added bonus, I could have a little extra fun and show you guys a few different ways to style it! Want to see?

Here is the dress on me with just a pair of simple sandals. It’s certainly different than my normal fit-and-flare look and kind of almost gives of a muumuu vibe. But I pretty much fell in love with it the moment I put it on. The embroidery is even more amazing in person, and it totally has room for a large lunch. Or a large dinner. Or a large lunch, large dinner AND dessert! I’m actually now strongly considering moving around my packing list and taking this baby on our next cruise.

But, let’s say you want to give it a little more of a flattering silhouette. Well, bring on a belt!

I tried it with both a skinny belt and a thick belt and both do a pretty good job at cinching in the waist a little bit. Visually, I prefer the skinny belt because it pretty much gets hidden in the crazy pattern.

I didn’t stop there though, I decided to give the dress another look by styling it with a cardigan and booties.

You might as well put a Pumpkin Spice Latte in my hand, because this look basically screams FALL, right?! When it gets a bit cooler, I could easily add a pair of black tights to keep my legs warm.

Okay, so we can do cute boho Fall, but can we make it business-appropriate?

POW! That just happened. By switching out the cardigan for a black fitted blazer, I gave the dress a little more of a nipped in shape at the waist. I also switched the booties for a pair of serious heels and would totally feel confident wearing my fancy muumuu to work for a presentation.

So yeah, it looks like this dress has found a new home. I’m glad I tried it and can’t wait to switch it out with some different color cardigans and maybe even a denim jacket and scarf too.

Which is your favorite way of styling the swing dress? Do you agree that it looks like a fancy muumuu?