Outfits Under $100: 1 Little Black Dress Worn 4 Ways
Maybe it was my exposure to Cher Horowitz at any early age or the Mean Girls-style pressure of high school, but for years I actually thought it was unacceptable to wear things more than once. Pretty silly, right? Luckily, I came to my senses and grew out of that phase, and with the epiphany that my friends would still love me if I wore my “Jesus is my Homeboy” shirt twice (well, maybe not that shirt), came a world of new wardrobe possibilities.
Clothes are so versatile, particularly classics like your favorite little black dress. Once you let go of self-inflicted limits, you learn to get creative with your styling, and the result is exponential growth in the number of cute outfits in your closet.
Did I mention this is a major money saver? Invest in one great LBD that can be dressed up for dates or down for class, and you’ve struck wardrobe gold on the cheap.
Here are four budget-friendly and style-savvy ways to rock a little black dress:
The Versatile (Winter-Appropriate!) Dress
Product Info: Dress, $25
Outfit #1: Campus Casual
Product Info: Cardigan, Boots, Tights
Paired up with a cozy over-sized cardi and tough-looking flat boots, this mini dress becomes just as ready for a study session at the campus coffee shop as it is for hitting the town after dark. Plum-colored opaque tights shield your legs from the cold and add a much-needed pop of color.
Outfit #2: Date Night
Product Info: Cardigan Jacket, Necklace, Flats
The muted rose hue and easy shape of this cardigan jacket, plus the romantic flair of the necklace, add a soft touch to the basic little black dress; it becomes a comfortable yet chic choice for a movie date, lunch with the girls or even a day of classes. The studded flats balance function and fashion, and they add a bit of edge to the feminine look.
Outfit #3: Working Girl
Product Info: Tights, Jacket, Booties, Necklace
Get down to business in your LBD with the addition of a sophisticated jacket in a classic shape, opaque tights, booties and a necklace that balances trendy and elegant. By maintaining a neutral dark color palette, the ensemble remains understated, chic and professional.
Outfit #4: Girls Night Out — Under $50!
And naturally, this dress was built for a night on the town all on its own. All you need to indulge in a fabulous outing with your girls is a pair of pumps in a look-at-me shade and big earrings that draw attention to your gorgeous face. And if you’re on a budget, rejoice: This look is less than $50!
What do you think?
Do you have any articles of clothing that you love to dress up and down for a variety of occasions? How often do you wear the items in your closet? How would you style this dress? Do you like these looks? Please leave a comment!
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Posted on on February 1, 2011 / Filed Under: Shopping / Tags: Budget Fashion, Budget-Friendly, LBD, Little Black Dress, Outfits, Outfits Under $100
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Katie
Honestly, while I appreciate the different places you can wear an LBD, I think the outfits are pretty monochromatic. You need to intersperse more color and texture.
Melissa Roque
Love this! I have yet to try this cause im a little scared i wont be able to pull it off, but i will try it soon. The outfits you made are amazing! Absolutely LOOVE.
Nice Job
Devon
I found a dress like this in the back of my mother’s closet over winter break and literally wore it to death. While it’s hard to make it more than just monochromatic, I layered it with tights (grey crochet under a bright blue), and just amped up all the crazy voluminous patterns to make it a little more interesting. Love this one!
Melissa L.
I love this post! The dress is great, but I don’t think the professional outfit is professional at all. Maybe I just have conservative ideas of business attire since I’m going into investment banking. However, all the other outfits are beyond adorable!
Charlotte - University of Birmingham
I really like this dress and really like the date-night outfit :]]
Charlotte xxx
Jess
Melissa, I was totally thinking the same thing. Definitely not professional attire for any office setting – traditional or not.
Ali - University of Missouri
Jess and Melissa — I currently work in an office, and previously worked in an insurance office, and this look would be totally appropriate in either setting. Skin is completely covered head to toe, the heels are mid-height, the dress hits just at the knee and the dress is not tight. I don’t really understand the problem. Also in NYC, I also visited many magazine offices, including WWD, The New Yorker, Us Weekly and W, and this outfit would be totally appropriate – if not overdressed – in any of them. I understand there are some working environments where you still have to dress conservatively to be seen as professional, but I think that sentiment has fallen away in the last five to ten years.
Lynne
I love the dress, and I clicked on the link, but it redirected me to the main dresses page…I’ve looked at the LBDs and the sale dresses. Is this sold out already? /:
Ali - University of Missouri
Lynne — My goodness, it must have JUST sold out; it was on the site yesterday! Perhaps all this crazy snow (and cabin fever) is increasing the amount of online shopping? BUT I found an identical dress on ModCloth: http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Dresses/Here+to+Stay+ple+Dress
Thanks for commenting!
Sarah
I love this post! I like some outfits better than others (I think the first is my favorite), but I just love some of the individual details and the whole concept. :)
Sam
I too think the working outfit is too flashy and formal if you don’t want everyone at the office to be staring at your clothes all day. I also think the outfits are all only slightly different in formality/casualness. Like the date outfit doesn’t seem more dressed up than the class outfit. Same with office and going out (just one doesn’t have tights.)
kelley
Love your posts! the categories are versatile and the items you suggested are nice. keep up the good work and hope to see more posts like this :)
Kelly
This dress would be perfect for uniform project!
For me though I really really am not that big on accessories but with that dress and a few feminine subtle pieces I would love to add more edge with a snake cuff earring chain.
Ali - University of Missouri
Sam — When all the outfits include the same dress, the same foundation of the outfit, they’re inevitably going to look similar.
The date outfit includes a silk jacket and tulle necklace while the class outfit features a chunky sweater and roughed-up boots. To me, those are different levels of formality. Plus, no one said you had to be super dressed up on a date (in fact, in my past post on date outfits, people said some of them were too formal — I can never win!).
The going out outfit includes huge sparkling earrings and hot magenta stiletto heels with bare legs — those things should never be seen in an office. The office outfit is completely covered up and only features a non-flashy, understated lucite necklace. The two looks are very different when it comes to the details.
Thanks for commenting!
Ali - University of Missouri
Melissa Roque, Sarah and kelley — Thanks for your nice, positive comment! It means a lot to me.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Sam
Obviously we have different opinions on what is appropriate for the workplace. Maybe you don’t think that four inch stiletto heeled booties are flashy for the office but they would probably turn some heads since not everyone is a young fashion forward person. And tights are still tights, they are skin tight coverings, they still show all the curves of your legs so its not like you’re wearing pants or anything really modest. Its the combination of leg, chic boots, and big necklace. Now if the dress, necklace, jacket and tights were paired with a more lower heel or a flat or a more basic shaped pump then I think it would be appropriate. Not to say I don’t like the outfit, its just something I’d wear to dinner with my friends rather than to work. Or maybe if I worked at a media related office in NYC (which most of us don’t)
Anyway you seem a little defensive about your outfits, I don’t think you need to be posting rebuttals to every critical comment. You don’t have to accept or rebut everything in writing!
Ali - University of Missouri
Sam — I’m not trying to act defensive. When anyone leaves a comment, they’re starting a conversation and engaging in the post. I’m just responding to that and engaging with readers. If someone doesn’t want me to answer with my reasoning behind my work, what’s the point of commenting? I’ve been writing CF posts for seven months now, and I don’t respond or post rebuttals to every negative comment; it would take too much energy! But I do read every comment, and learn from them all, good or bad.
Besides the office outfit, I hope you enjoyed some aspect of this post. If not, there are tons of great posts on CF representing a plethora of different styles from all of our writers. There’s truly something for everyone on here.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting!
Brittany
I think I’m missing how the “work” outfit is not business appropriate.
heels- low, skin-covered and not showing anywhere, accessories-minimal and not extremely flashy. Honestly it looks more conservative to me then a lot of women business suits, or pencil skirt-blouse combinations that i have considered to be typically associated with being stylish while working at an office.
Anyways, it seems like everyone is on a different page on what is appropriate. It would be interesting if somebody made a CF blogpost on what to wear to the office, or for internships. (may have already been done, can’t remember).
And I love the date night outfit. I like the first outfit too, but would personally replace the purple tights with black patterned tights.. or sheer black with knee-high socks for the boots.
Floradress
I love the post. The versatile Black dress is also looking cute.
Ali - University of Missouri
Great blog post suggestion, Brittany! CF has covered office attire a few times:
“What to Wear to Work (or an Internship” — http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/what-to-wear-to-work-or-an-internship/
“Outfits Under $100: 3 Budget-Friendly Internship Looks” — http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/outfits-under-100-3-budget-friendly-internship-looks/
“How to Dress Professionally: Business Dress Code Basics” — http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/how-to-dress-professionally-business-dress-code-basics/
I think I may do an Outfits Under $100 post on office fashion (for offices of varying levels of formality) in the future.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Lottie
Good post, I love little black dresses so it’s nice to see how to turn a plain dress into suitable outfits for day & night. I work in an office too, and i’m sure wearing outfit 3 would be fine with my bosses because of the jacket and tights :-)
Milana
Absolutely love all these outfits – especially the date night look! Great!
Blaire
I personally love the office outfit…just not for the office. While it’s very fashion forward, that’s the problem. In the world of law firms and investment banks, classic is what works, not fashionable. I love it, and I’d definitely wear it, just not to work. It’s work appropriate for some people, but not for a classic, conservative work enviornment where the men wear classic suits every day. Sorry, it just wouldn’t fly.
Blair
Love the outfits! Many of us can’t afford to have a lot of black dresses that work with everything so thank you for just sticking with one!
XOXO
Blair
shaina
love this post! i agree that the office post is totally work appropriate with the exception of offices that require business suits, but I can only think of like three professions like that (and this post isn’t meant specifically for those girls–in cases like that, i’m sure they know how to dress, since the attire is so strict and unchanging). the campus casual is the most my style–and also about as formal as my campus would ever get :) i actually might buy that dress–it’s only 24 dollars on modcloth.
shaina
I also wanted to mention–about extremely conservative work environments, the lawyers and investment bankers do need to be in suits. as someone who has worked as a secretary though, positions like that don’t require suits, usually. the blazer thing with the office outfits seems sufficient. since interns (in my personal experience) generally file, copy, and deliver messages, i assume their dress code would be at the level of administrative assistants, not at investment bankers.
Lynne
Ali- Thanks so much for the link to the Modcloth dress! I went ahead and ordered it (my first ever order from Modcloth…yay!) and am now eagerly waiting for its arrival. I can’t wait to try out all of these fabulous looks!
Safiyyah
AA has a similar dress that i’ve been eyeing for a while. It’s more expensive, but I love their quality and fit, and their clothes just last forever.
I really love the campus outfit, and when I do eventually buy the AA dress, I would give that a go.
Melissa
This was so great! I loved the class one. Also, I actually really liked the office outfit. I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the negative comments, I immediately thought of how you could trade out the shoes for something more classic if you needed to be more conservative (like I’d have to). With a little brainstorming, readers can tailor any outfit idea to suit their needs. :)
Caitlin
I tried posting but I think it didn’t work? Anyway here goes my second attempt, I apologize if there ends up being two posts. I love the booties in look 3 and the sweater in look 1! And I like the office outfit – I think if you work in a more style-conservative environment you could just swap they grey boots for heels or flats and it would be great, or just leave it as is. Nice post!
I actually just did a post myself the other day on how to style an LBD for dressy occasions, check out my blog if you’re interested :)
Michelle
wow. ah-mazing dress.
stephanie
I have just bought a purple dress similar to this from pennys on clearance for 5 dollars! they had it in a WHOLE bunch of colors and what not. Its only on clearance i think til sunday so if u can check it out.
http://www2.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?GrpTyp=SIZ&ItemID=193bf7d&DeptID=73298&CatID=73830&PCatID=73298&SO=0&CatSel=4294943193%7csweaters&Ne=4294957900+5+23+29+3+596+8+591+1031+586+904+1011+593+1010+1023+585+966+1013+1040+1009&CatTyp=RLE&Dep=CLEARANCe&N=4294943193&Pcat=CLEARANCe&Cat=juniors&Nao=0&PSO=0&CmCatId=73298|73830 I think i had seen a black one or something super similar to it on their 5 dollar clearance rack.
I personally think this is work appropriate and I work in a office which is pretty much conservative. I am in fact wearing this exact kind of outfit minus the cardigan and heels because i can not wear heels due to a foot injury.
I persoanally love the first outfit and the date night outfit. come to think of it i love them all and this is totally my style. thanks for this post, i now see what i can do with my long sweaters.
danielle
As someone not college aged, who has worked quite awhile, I would say that work outfits are going to very WIDELY depending on where you work. As I librarian, I would wear the work outfit, just with flat shoes (I do a decent amount of walking) and a different necklace. I think the outfit ideas provided her are meant to spark ideas, no necessarily a by the numbers mandate. Also, I love outfit number 1, I think I need a long sleeved black dress!
Samantha
Great post, and people are crazy! That work outfit is appropriate for any workplace… it’s actually a bit conservative for me! My office is relatively conservative and I wear sleeveless dresses, wear bare legs, and wear four inch heels all the time! As long as there’s no cleavage or mini-skirts, I don’t see the big deal! If you think that outfit is too revealing, you have a problem, not the poster.
Emmalee
Other options for long-sleeved black dresses in the same price range:
http://www.zappos.com/hurley-barre-yc-dress-black
I bought this sweater dress from Macy’s in green! (I have so much in black, and the green is a beautiful shade. The nude would be nice, too, as long as those colors don’t wash you out.)
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=525897&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results