O U T F I T | Forget the Dress with VoucherCodes

I was recently contacted by VoucherCodes to take part in their style challenge 'Forget the Dress'. With New Year's Eve, Christmas and festive parties all over the show it can be an expensive time finding different outfits for different occasions. In fact, VoucherCodes recently carried out some research that showed most 18-24 year old females spend on average £119 on Christmas party outfits! I certainly know I haven't got that to spare right now. The 'Forget The Dress' task had the concept of re-using the same dress, which I already owned three times over but each time with a different set of accessories to style it up differently. I had a budget of £50 to hit the high street for accessories. Simple, right?! Unfortunately not. I'm not much of a high street shopper as the majority of my wardrobe is charity shop bargains, vintage gems or pieces from Urban Outfitters which I've purchased with a generous staff discount. I haven't even been into Topshop or River Island in months! I had no idea of the concept of high street prices, it was a lot higher than I expected. Maybe it's just because there are currently no sales on or maybe prices are creeping up. Also, I'm not much of an accessories queen. I tend to layer up clothes rather than accessories, so it was a learning curve for me in that way too!

My dress of choice was a recent edition to my wardrobe that was sent to me by Motel after their Blogger's Christmas Party a while back. It's a sequin, shift, 60's inspired little number that I saw one of the Motel girls wearing at the party and wanted it automatically. The smock shape is perfect for disguising an after Christmas tummy and is comfortable enough to dance the night away in.



Outfit #1: This outfit is potentially my favourite out of all three just because I adore the turban so much! It was only £5.99 (plus cheeky student discount) too. Anyone who knows me will know my absolute adoration of the 70's and this look was based on my favourite decade. The fur collar from River Island was the priciest accessory within my budget at £25. Although it was a little above my means, I think statement accessories are far more important than dainty ones in changing an outfit. Statement, exaggerated pieces are also essential at this time of year, because when else are you allowed to dress so glamorous other than that one day a year to sit down and have a turkey dinner with your mum? Also, it's strictly black and white colouring matched the dress perfectly and made it that little more luxurious than it already is. This would certainly be a look I would wear to a NYE party (but maybe cover up my skanky festival wristbands with a nice rose gold cuff).



Outfit #2: As the dress itself is very much 1960's inspired with it's monochrome colouring and shift shape, I decided to suit it to it's intentional style with this beautiful check bowler bag that was just £10 in Primark. It's so well-made for Primark and could easily be mistaken for a Fred Perry bag. It's also important to consider your hairstyle when re-styling a dress as this can make a dramatic difference and it's free! As I was aiming for a sixties look, I side-parted my hair flat to my head and tied it up in a high ponytail, which is a look I never really opt for. I've had these knee high, slouchy boots hiding in the corner of my room since I was like 17 years old. They've needed re-heeling for years, but they go perfect with this Mod inspired look.




Outfit #3: It was actually pouring down with rain as I was shooting this third and final outfit. Ideally I wanted a kimono but after blowing a lot of my budget on the fur collar in the first outfit, I ended up going for this tie-dye scarf which was just £1 in Primark! ONE WHOLE POUND! It definitely made up for the blow out on the fur collar. I think every girl needs something 'swooshy' to dance into the New Year in! The monochrome embroidered belt was also a cheeky Primark purchase at £2.50. A belt can be key in transforming a whole outfit as it can change the shape of a dress entirely and it particularly works well on smock dresses. It cinches in the waist giving more of a curved si The incredible pearl and rose gold daisy headband was another goodie from New Look. I had never taken into account just how good and cheap New Look is for accessories! This headband was just £6.99 (plus student discount, again!).

I've got to admit I actually found this challenge rather difficult and I was trooping around the shops looking clueless all day! Accessories certainly are not my forte, but I've learned how just accessorizing can totally transform one dress. So if you're stressing about a festivities dress this season, maybe see what's lurking in the back of your wardrobe and save those pennies you were counting for some accessories instead. After all, you can work them into almost any other outfit too so they make a worthwhile investment!