Give Your Little Black Dress a Formal Makeover

What do you do when your little black dress isn't quite formal enough for the occasion you're going to? Do you immediately run to the store and buy another little black dress? Sometimes it is necessary to buy a new dress, but often there are little things that can be done to make the dress you already have appropriate for the occasion you need it for. Here are a few tips on how to give your little black dress a quick formal makeover.

Dress Up Your Little Black Dress: Diamonds and Pearls

For a little black dress that needs to be made a little more formal, try adding a string of pearls at the neck and lobes, or real or imitation diamonds. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't have the money to go around buying diamonds but many of the cheapie imitation diamond jewelry items are fairly authentic looking. Remember to elongate with formal jewelry, earrings can dangle lower, necklaces can be longer; you just want to be careful about going overboard, a formal look should be sparing and classically beautiful.

Dress Up Your Little Black Dress: Downsize Your Purse

For a formal and/or evening look you'll want a small purse; a velvet, silk, or satin clutch is best. Whether plain or with jeweled or sequined detailing, a small clutch always makes a dress a little more formal.

Dress Up Your Little Black Dress: Hair Up

If your face is suited to up-dos, putting the hair up in a loose chignon can really create formality with a little black dress; if you don't already have too many accessories chosen for the dress, you can play around with jeweled hair pins and such.

Dress Up Your Little Black Dress: Shoes

There is no hard and fast rule that says that flats equal casual and heels equal formal where the little black dress is concerned. There are some pretty formal ballet flats out there, but if you can muster heels, it does lend a more sophisticated air to the ensemble which lends itself to formal occasions. Not to mention the fact that heels accentuate the calf muscles and lengthen the silhouette, making legs look longer and more feminine.

Dress Up Your Little Black Dress: Tone Down Color

For the most part you'll want color to be fairly muted for a formal occasion; think Audrey Hepburn as Holly Go Lightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Jewels, a good up-do, and accessories were all Hepburn needed to get a fabulously formal look from your little black dress.

Dress Up Your Little Black Dress: Gloves

Again, in keeping with Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's; if you can find a pair of elbow length gloves to go with your little black dress, they add instant glamor to even the simplest dress. These can often be found in department stores but if not, the bridal shops often have them, though you would likely need to have them dyed as they might not carry black.

Dress Up Your Little Black Dress: Conclusion

Now that you know a few ways to give your little black dress a formal makeover, you can get some serious mileage out of that little black number currently hanging in your closet.

Related Reading:

How to Dress a Little Black Dress Up or Down by Associated Content Contributor, Sophie S.

How to Makeover Your Little Black Dress

Give Your Little Black Dress a Casual Makeover