How to Dress Girly (But Not Like a 5-Year-Old)

Anyone who knows me knows that I love girly little details. Bows, lace, cute ruffles... I die. And we've talked about feminine dressing before, but I thought I'd give a little update for this season. Because with all of the cute polka dots and pinks comes completely overdoing the look and ending up looking like a 5-year-old at a birthday party. No good.

As always, the trick with playing with uber-feminine stuff is balance. For every sticky-sweet piece you use, counteract it with something completely different. Then you won't end up looking like a cake topper, but you'll still get to wear adorable clothes. HOORAY!

Here are some general tips.

1. Mix Hard with Soft

Mango lace cocktail dress, $39 / Charlotte Russe peep toe shoes / Forever 21 sequin clutch / A|X Armani Exchange cuff jewelry / Pearl earrings, $24

I love the idea of mixing hard and soft pieces to really balance them out. This dress would probably be a bit much with some pearls and a super girly heel, but with studs and some rope detail? Perfect. I am especially obsessed with the beaded clutch. Must... own....


2. Let One Piece Shiiiine
 

Mango scoop neck sweater / BKE low rise jeans / Ballet shoes / Watch / River Island heart jewelry, $4.71 / Purse Boutique: Light Taupe Large L&S ''Natalia'' Hobo Handbags,...

It's totally fine to have one totally girly detail and then go casual with the rest. 
How adorable would this be for casual fall? It's enough to be different and 
polished, but not so much that you look like a crazy person at the grocery store. 
Look for one girl piece and the rest can go neutral... with a great leopard print flat, natch. 

 3. Let Your Accessories do the Talking 
 

Madewell pocket t shirt / Vanilla Star capri shorts / Charlotte Russe ballerina shoes / Dorothy Perkins white handbag / Wallis flower jewelry / Stella & Dot ivory jewelry / Dorothy Perkins flower jewelry / Forever New stone jewelry, $14 / Tasha flower hair accessory

If you're not really into all of the lace and bows, it's totally fine to use girliness 
in your accessories instead of all of your clothes. Wearing a gray shirt and some 
Bermudas is pretty tomboyish, until you add in some ballet flats, a couple of 
flower pins and a pretty bracelet. How easy is that? '

4. Get a Sexy Shape 

 

Vero Moda pink top, $39 / Crop shirt / Body con skirt, $19 / GUESS peep toe pumps / Liz Palacios anchor ring / Charlotte Russe flower stud earrings / Medium Size Red Satchel

A flowy top with an a-line skirt with girly details can be a bit twee (PS how 
awesome is the word "twee?" Use it in a sentence today) but when you swap the 
A-line for some peplum and the flowy top for a Mad Men cardigan, you're back 
in the game. I love me some florals and how awesome are these shoes? Wear this to 
a 60s ad agency immediately. 

5. Go for Modern Details

 

Dorothy Perkins peplum top / Mango skinny jeans / Flat / Abercrombie & Fitch tote handbag / Nautical jewelry / Stud earrings / Bow belt

There's a time and a place for vintage-y prints and old-school silhouettes, but when 
you're dressing really girly, look for mod colors and shapes. There's nothing old 
about a pair of red skinnies; they take the girly pattern of the top and belt into 2012. 
I can even respect some dot-on-dot pattern mixing, as long as it's done in a 
different color. SO CUTE.



So yeah, definitely dress like a girl. Just an adult one. Leave the princess dresses 
and glass slippers to your daughter.