Day-to-Night Styler: Eye-Catching Ikat

[We all live busy lives: we go to school or work (or sometimes both), we try to keep our lives in order and, on top of everything else, we try to maintain a social life.

It can all be a bit overwhelming at times, especially when you’re running here, there and everywhere, and in the process of it all, still trying to look cute.  On a weekly basis, I will be posting a guide for an outfit that looks super cute and casual during the day, but you can easily rock out at night with a few accessory additions and/or a change of shoes.  And maybe, just maybe, it’ll help ease the stress of life a little bit because, hey, when we look good, we feel good, right?]

It’s easy to bring out your wild side this season with the offerings of ikat and other tribal prints available in darling dresses, skirts and tops.  And a bonus is that with the right style, this print can easily look fabulous no matter what time of day you’re rockin’ it.

I love that summer means you can show of those gams in super cute dresses, and I am lovin’ this one from Forever 21. What makes me even happier?  The under $25 price tag.

For Day:
The dress is cute enough on it’s own not to need too much accessorizing, especially for daytime. Throw on a cute pair of black sandals and you’re set.

For Night:
All you need to dress this up is to throw on some accessories and hit the town.  If you really wanna doll it up, you can always pair it with some black strappy heels or black wedges, but cute sandals are perfectly acceptable for going out this time o’ year.  (And – bonus – if you keep those suckers on there’s no need to carry a giant purse with you toting around shoes, etc. Hey, sometimes our shoulders need a break.)

Since the dress has a lot going on as it is, it’s OK to keep the accessories pretty basic. In this case: basic black. They will bump up the glam for evening without making you look like you went on accessories overload.

If you want to give the look a little more oomph, you can also wear jewelry in a fun and funky color like yellow,  purple or teal. It’ll really pop without being too over the top. (Thought I’d throw down some rhymes while I’m helping your style…)