Playing with color: one dress, five weddings

Fun styling without buying anything new

You’ve read about natural fiber dresses and buying pre-loved pieces for under $75. But sometimes, even that $75 could be spent elsewhere. This year, all five weddings I’m guesting are destination weddings 😯

I’m lucky enough to be staying with friends or family to save coins on lodging. Still, the cost of rental cars and flights sure add up!

So for funsies, I challenged myself to wear the same dress to five weddings in a row, and to feel really cute while I’m at it.

I resolved to buy nothing new: to shop my own closet, make, borrow, or buy pre-loved accessories.

I might still buy something new (to me), but hopefully it would be a piece I could wear to the clurb, not only to a ball.

Create a new look by playing with color:

1. Pick your fighter. Could be a dress or suit

2. Decide on a color-matching scheme, like Coolors or Sanzo Wada

3. Find the colors that match your fighter. Since fabric is two-dimensional, there might be multiple counterparts

4. Hunt for accessories in the matching colorway. Could be jewelry, bow-ties, shoes, purses, eyeshadow, socks

   1. Assess what you already own in the closet

   2. Text your friends to scavenge for specific pieces in certain colors

   3. Make or thrift accessories that might match

   4. Search pre-loved pieces

5. This is just a starting point. There are no rules. If you come up with your own color combos or adjust, even better!

Here, I’ll show you what I mean…

1. Pick your fighter

You can start with anything— a tuxedo, gown, or skirt— but I picked what I had. I scored this viscose dress at a LEHHO sample sale in Seoul for ~$116. One-of-a-kind and never produced en masse, it’s a true sample.

The silhouette is from Autumn Winter 2019 Collection and was eventually manufactured in golden, butterscotch silk.

Disclosure: I digitally added the “grape” color to the retail photo which is “butterscotch”

Fancy enough for more formal dress codes, but the slit keeps her from feeling too stuffy for cocktail hour.

Would I be able to wear the same dress to five consecutive weddings? Spoiler: no. For example, there was one wedding where the dress code solidified to Black Tie. We’ll chat more about the implementation phase in the next letter…

2. Find a color-matching scheme

No digital color will be an exact match for a tactile, three-dimensional fabric, and that’s ok!

Photo by Skyler Ewing

There are many color palette-ing websites and apps. Do you have a fave? Here are Sanzo Wada options found on this website:

Coolors had some beautiful palettes, but 4+ colors felt more challenging:

3. Find the colors that match your fighter

From the above, I chose the following Sanzo Wada color combos.

I picked this shade titled “light brown drab” by Sanzo Wada because that’s how the dress looked to my eyes in cool lighting. But once I saw it photographed, I realized there was a warmer, browner shade that matched the dress better, as seen below. Oh well!

For Combination #191, I eventually substituted the blue from Combination #214.

4. Hunt for matching accessories

Before texting grandma about her ruby earrings, pin some ideas on a vision board. No need to get fancy, it’s just for you.

Throw some screenshots on a Google Slide

It’s a fun way to scratch the itch of shopping and to envision potential looks before realizing gemstone danglers might not be the mood you’re going for. Thinking about the dress code and setting is fun too!

Since it’s purely for inspo, I went wild and even slapped on some expensive, fancy picks… which I then set second-hand alerts for.

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💒 Pittsburgh Church Wedding

Left side: Red chalcedony stone earrings ($24) Mondo Mondo brass and gemstone necklace ($100), Staud Tommy Bag ($295) The Row mesh sock flats ($690)

Right side: Numbering silver earrings ($155) Rabanne Nano bag ($1020) Jeffrey Campbell Suede Pump ($150 $60)

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🌴 New Orleans Botanical Garden Wedding

Left side: Kara Yoo Celeste Earrings ($155) The Salon clutch ($1620) Flor Glass Ring ($115) Raye Sandals ($80 $140)

Right side: Constella Earrings ($189) Lambertson Truex Ponyhair Clutch ($110) Attico Satin Sandals ($198)

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🌅 Lebanese Beachfront Sunset Wedding

Left side: Vintage Dior Earrings ($257) Lapis lazuli disc necklace ($330) Steve Madden Libra slingback sandal ($28 $70)

Right side: Spiral drop earrings ($231) Lapis lazuli & pearl necklace ($38) Loewe sandal ($990)

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🎭 Seattle Theater Hall Wedding

Left side: Ilia Wanderlust lip balm ($28) 20-carat citrine necklace ($525) Le Bambino eelskin bag ($822) By Far Heels ($154 $503)

Right side: Glass Daisy earring ($78) Loeffler Randall raffia clutch ($295) Khaite sandals ($890)

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🪩 Chicago Art Gallery Wedding

Left side: Silver Sadie Choker ($36 $140) Gohar Host Bracelet ($290) Cassidy Leather Sandals ($600)

Right side: Completedworks Peat Earrings ($309) Vintage scarf ($15) Chartreuse Knot Bag ($42) Inez Camilla Heels ($310) I have these!

Sneak peak of the glass bead bracelets I made

Later this week I’ll share the final lewks, along with what I learned, and what I regret!

Waiting for something to go on sale at Net-A-Porter is easy. Scoping and scoring a piece you’ve been waiting for? With so many variables, it really does feel laborious when you’re accustomed to buying new.

Sure, I’ve scored sweet second-hand pieces on a whim, but rarely an item I had in mind before shopping.

I have so much respect for fashion writers who intentionally curate second-hand wardrobes and style the clothing they already own.

Would you drop the names of your favorite sustainable fashion writers in the comments?