Styling Print Dresses for Summer
I love a print dress. That might surprise those of you well familiar with my muted, black, and denim-focused style, but it’s true. I actually tend to like a bolder and darker prints to smaller and more delicate one. It’s go big or go home for me!! Here are some fabulous sustainable print dresses (some on sale!) as well as tips for styling prints and cute shoes to wear with dresses!
A few years ago, Cleobella (a luxury, B Corp brand) gifted me this dress. It was this bold print. The colors were more muted than I expected and my momentary flirtation with dark brown was waning. Trying to be responsible, I asked to exchange it for something else. The answer was no, so I was stuck with it.
So I decided to throw it on and give it a college effort to wear it. And you know what? It was unbelievably comfortable. I got countless compliments. And I quickly realized my mistake in thinking this dress wasn’t for me.
I’ve had the dress 3 years now and it’s a MAINSTAY in my summer wardrobe!
One of the things I love about print dresses are how easy they are to style. They literally do all the work for you. Throw on some cute shoes, grab your purse, and hit the road.
Of course, they can be dressed up with the right accessories and shoes, but it still feels so much easier.
And you can see I’m all about wear fun dresses year round. Get my tips for how to wear dresses in winter, including all sorts of comfortable layering, so you can still look cute in cold temps!!
Cute Shoes to Wear with Dresses
My favorite shoes to wear with dresses are wedge sandals. No matter the height, they just the right kind of dressed up, comfortable, and something! These wedge sandals are my go-tos and have been for a few seasons. She often releases new variations each spring/summer season too!! Use my Sarah Flint Discount Code: SF-LUCI-15 for 15% off your first order.
While I’ll be the first admit that I wear my print dresses with my Birkenstocks, I do like to wear a strappy sandal most of the time. These flat sandals are polished but not too dressed up for anything! And for a bit of elevation (literally and figuratively), something like these heeled slides are just right.
Ankle boots a commonly searched combo with dresses. It’s a very bohemian style and not actually one of favorite for myself, but it certainly works for others. Maybe it’s because legs aren’t too long, so I like a bit of elevation. Here are some great ankle boots with and without heels!
I do love knee high boots with dresses – mini dresses as well as maxi. I think a bit of a heel is good, especially with long dresses, but this is all up to your style of course.
I just learned that Reformation (a sustainable clothing brand) offers shoes now. I discovered them on the Nordstrom website, but their website has way more options. These knee boots are a great everyday pair (Perfect with dresses, tights, and skinny jeans). I love the brown as much as the black.
These black suede options have a slight heels and they’re so gorgeous!!! But if you love a heel, these are PERFECTION. The ruby leather would be actually quite versatile!!
On a slightly different sartorial spectrum, these are fun combat-style boots that would be fun with a maxi dress. NOTE: All linked print dresses and cute shoes to wear with dresses are from sustainable and/or ethical companies (see a complete list of sustainable shoe companies). You don’t need to sacrifice style for sustainability.
