Belting tips and tricks + Slip dress styled 4 ways

I’ve mentioned earlier this year just how much I’ve been loving the understated slip dress trend. While this piece isn’t the most relevant for wearing at home right now, I picked it out a while back for this post with Banana Republic, and wanted to show 4 different pairing ideas and a few styling tips & tricks! Looks 2 through 4 each utilize a different tucking or belting tip, and at the bottom of this post are a few petite friendly try ons!

Sale Alert: Banana Republic is offering 50% off + extra 10% off sitewide, no code needed (ends 4/1)!

Look 1: minimalistic

A good slip dress gently skims the curves, and isn’t too fitted or baggy. This one doesn’t look like much on a hanger, but it grazes the figure nicely, and the shoulder straps are adjustable by tying in the back center. The upper back is elegant yet sexy with a slight V dip, and the fabric is very lightweight and fully lined. I always wear my adhesive nippies instead of a bra with tops and dresses like this!

Look 2: monochromatic with a sweater tucked into a belt

The use of a waist belt here creates a “shelf” for tucking in your top, allowing almost any dress to be styled as a skirt. This also works if you have a longer sweater or want to hide the belt – simply cover the belt with the sweater and tuck it in under the bottom of the belt.

I love the juxtaposition of fabrics and cuts here, with a fluffy sweater in a slouchier cut, styled against smooth satin in a figure grazing cut.

Look 3: belted blouson-style with a blazer

Another old styling trick I shared before (see picture 3 in this post) is to add a slim waist belt, then pull out some of the dress fabric in the torso area and let it fold over the belt. This creates a blouson effect at the waist area, and also temporarily “shortens” the hemline of the dress.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this blazer color on me (it also comes in black and many more colors in Regular), however I am a fan of the wrinkle resistant, machine washable fabric and sleek collar-less cut. Fit wise, I thought this ran a little big.

Look 4: knotted under a top + boots

See my older post on how to knot a looser sweater or tee over a dress! I also used the fold-fabric-over-the-belt trick mentioned in pairing idea #3 to shorten the hemline of the dress, so that it doesn’t overlap with the top of the boots.

Here’s a couple other items I’ve tried on from Banana Republic over the past season!

Cap Toe Slingbacks

The online reviews are mixed, but after trying these on, these are just as expected and a classic, comfortable low pump in my opinion. These are similar to my old BR cap toe heels that sold out quickly in small sizes, except these have a wide slingback (in my opinion, this wider leather slingback strap feels more comfortable off the bat and doesn’t dig in like thinner elastic backings might) and with a low, more walking friendly block heel. FYI, these run a tad big and on the wide side. I’m usually between size 5 and 5.5, and these fit me in size 5.

Puff sleeve cropped top

Very cute, fitted top with dramatic but not overwhelming puff sleeves (hard to show in the picture, but the puffs have a light, airy feel to them). This top is double layered which helps with sheerness, and the back center is a fully elasticized panel which provides stretch and comfort (fit is pretty snug on me in the torso). The length is just long enough to tuck into my jeans here, but I think a top like this would be adorable tucked into a flowy skirt for summer.

Duster cardigan sweater

This is a very lightweight, basic cardigan but in a versatile color. The weight of this sweater is just a tad thicker than an older linen cardigan I have, so the lighter colors in this are probably a little sheer. Fit is true to size.

Scoop-neck belted jumpsuit 

This try on was snapped last month … the sunglasses indoors are a result of Nori giving me an accidental black eye, lol! I thought this jumpsuit was TTS and draped nicely. The fabric has nice weight to it and torso is double lined, and there are functional side angled pockets. Due to the belt though, this one will take another extra minute in the bathroom compared to pull on / pull off jumpsuits!

Thank you to Banana republic for partnering on this post.