Written by Naomi May
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If a dress and sandals is your go-to summer uniform, consider this your go-to guide of combinations that will give you a surplus of style inspiration.
It’s a style combination that’s as synonymous with summer as strawberries and cream or warm beer and a picnic blanket, but sometimes ye olde faithful dress-and-sandals combination can become a little stale – perhaps requiring a hearty update to rank among your go-to summer outfits.
After all, there are your run-of-the-mill dresses, there are your average sandals and then there’s the sartorial connection of a dress and a sandal that’s unabashedly the other’s type on paper.
There’s the wonderful chemistry between a slinky slip and a chunky padded sandal, the sort an elderly relative might rely upon for support; there’s the return of the jelly shoes of your youth and their undeniable compatibility with shirt dresses; there’s even the underrated flip flop and its ability to be worn with absolutely any dress – any dress at all.
In case you’re in need of a little reminder of which dress ought to be paired with which pair of sandals, fear not – help is at hand. Consider this your go-to guide for dresses and sandals for the remainder of the summer – and for every year after.
BEST DRESS-AND-SANDAL OUTFITS
Maxi dress and padded sandals
You know the feeling: the instant recollection of the fact that you haven’t moisturised your legs in over a decade and your skin is more pallid than innocent bystanders should be privy to. The solution, sartorially speaking at least: a maxi dress, which is a summertime perennial.
To give balance to the femininity of a floor-sweeping frock, keep your sandals chunky, padded and oversized. The sort that promise to imbue a sense of utilitarianism to easy-peasy and always breezy dresses.
Trapeze dress and flip flops
The virtues of the humble trapeze dress have been extolled at large at Stylist HQ, particularly during the recent heatwave. However, for those scratching their heads as to just which sandals will really allow the trapeze to sing, consider employing the use of Havaianas, the surfy flip-flop brand beloved by the style set.
Not only has Havaianas recently joined forces with Rotate and More Joy – further cementing its clout – but its fuss-free flip-flops truly are the star of every summertime fashion week. Swollen feet giving you blisters? Slip your body into a trapeze dress, your exhausted tootsies into a pair of these cushioned sandals, and just watch how effortlessly you pulled a look out of the sky. Just like magic!
Statement dress and slides
It’d be rude not to make a statement with a summery dress, wouldn’t it? But if your dress is doing all of the talking and you’re not sure quite how chatty you want your footwear choice to be, a pair of simple slides is written in the stars for you.
The flat and fairly plain sandals that are the yin to the yang dresses that the fashion world is currently crushing on – for example those in the style of Hermes’ flat Oran sandals, which struggle to stay in stock. The key is to keep them pared back, neutral-toned and minimal. Let your dress can sing from the rooftops without interference.
Shirt dress and jelly shoes
90s kids, hold onto your (bucket) hats: jelly shoes are back and this time around they mean business. No longer the footwear staple of children, 2022 is yanking far into the past and breathing new life into the shoe. But forget wearing them with mini dresses (purely to avoid any child-like connotations) or jeans (whatever you do, do not do this), the jelly shoes of this decade are crying out to be paired with shirt dresses of the breezy, patterned variety.
Keep silhouettes slouchy and almost ill-fitting to enable the jelly shoes to tie in effortlessly with the overall aesthetic. Remember, they’re merely an accessory to the outfit, not the outfit in and of itself.
Ruched dress and mules
Despite the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it existence of Summer Fridays for some during the warmer months, the office does sadly still exist for most of us during the sweatiest times of the year.
One of the finest ways to tackle the sticky topic of office dressing in summer is with a ruched dress, which proves a patina of togetherness. Slip your feet into a pair of simple kitten-heeled mules and there’s an outfit that’s simple, stylish and oh-so summery.
Images: Getty
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