When I think about a laid-back but also absolutely chic look, what comes to mind is a floral maxi dress, especially one with pockets. This one-and-done outfit will take you from brunch to drinks to beach days with friends. And if you style it right, a floral maxi dress will make you shine on special occasions like weddings, parties and even church.
Whether you like the sophisticated floral print for those cooler months or the bright, bold shapes we love during summer, the sky is really the limit with florals. The designs of floral maxi dresses are also plentiful, from elegant lengths to cute sleeves and even slits on the side. All you need is to learn how to style this dress the right way.
Contrary to popular belief, short, petite and curvy women can wear floral maxis without looking overwhelmed. All they need to do is choose prints that are proportionate to their size. As a petite lady, choose tiny floral and leave large flowers to your tall model friends.
Small print florals are also better if you are curvy because they won’t exaggerate your curves and draw all the attention to your hips.
Once you pick the right dress, all you have to do is style and accessorize the hell out of it, depending on the occasion. Instead of simply providing general ideas on accessorizing a floral maxi dress, I’ve also added a guide on how to rock different floral maxis.
Let’s delve right in!
How to Accessorize a Floral Maxi Dress Casually
The best thing about a floral maxi dress is that you do not need to dress it much. This one-and-done dress brings the freshness, style, and femininity you want from a casual outfit. But you could make a few tweaks to help your floral maxi dress stand out even more.
1. Rock a Flirty Pair of Sunglasses
A pair of sunglasses are an excellent addition to a floral maxi dress, especially one with bright and bold colored prints. Not only do sunglasses add a touch of class and style to your outfit. They also shield your eyes from direct sunlight during hot weather.
Pick glasses whose frame color complements the colors on your maxi dress. You could also go bold with the size and shape of the lenses to add flair to your outfit.
2. Throw on a Cute Hat
Even if you are not a hat person, throwing on a cute hat can elevate your outfit. With so many available styles, you just need to pick a hat that compliments you and your floral maxi dress.
Choose a hat with a colored band that matches your maxi dress’ color to complete your look. Alternatively, go for a wide-brim felt fedora or solid-colored wide-brim straw hat to elevate your outfit.
3. Wear a Headband
Show your playful side by wearing a headband over your hair. A headband is not only stylish but also functional. It helps you keep your hair back while keeping you looking on-trend.
With that being said, be careful with the headband’s color selection. Avoid an over-the-top headband type, as it could take away from the beauty of your floral maxi dress. Instead, ensure the headband is an accent of texture and color.
4. Let Your Favorite Statement Jewelry Shine
One piece of accessory you should never leave out when wearing a floral maxi dress casually is jewelry. Consider your style, taste, preference, and gown when choosing an appropriate piece of jewelry to complete your outfit.
Here are ideal jewelry pieces that go well with a floral maxi dress:
- Necklaces
Pair your casual floral maxi dress with strand layers of pearl necklaces. These jewelry pieces help you create a timeless and classic accessorized vibe.
- Earrings
Few jewelry pieces can provide an elegant and classy way to elongate your neck and show off your collarbone than earrings. A floral maxi dress pattern with a scooped-out neckline paired with beautiful earrings creates a lovely, feminine vibe. Rock big, gold hoop earrings for a casual vibe.
- Toe Rings and Anklets
If you plan long, romantic walks with your significant other along the beach or frolicking barefoot through the fields, pair your floral maxi dress with anklets and toe rings. The jewelry pieces add a fun and unique summer vibe to your outfit.
- Armbands and Bracelets
The warmer weather allows you to show off your cute armbands and bracelets. Pair your short-sleeved floral maxi dress with silver and gold bangles to create a musical and fun vibe.
You could also wear armbands and bangles on your upper arm to create a fun boho look. That said, ensure you keep the bracelet and armband designs and colors to the minimum to avoid overpowering your floral maxi dress pattern.
5. Let Your Feet Shine
A casual floral maxi dress is perfect for running errands or in a relaxed setting. This implies you should opt for comfortable footwear that allows your feet to breathe. This includes strappy sandals or a pair of flip-flops.
Wedges are also perfect for a casual setting because they boost your height. However, ensure the wedge shoe design coordinates with your maxi dress’ color pattern.
Another shoe option that could complement your outfit is a pair of white sneakers. White goes well with most floral prints and hues of red and green, so white sneakers provide a perfect way to redefine your look.
6. Pair Your Floral Maxi Dress with a Denim Jacket
A floral maxi dress is lightweight and comfortable, making it ideal for warmer months. However, you do not have to ditch this one piece during winter or when heading to an evening event. Rock a denim jacket to add warmth and an edge to your feminine floral maxi dress.
If you do not fancy denim, you could swap it with a leather jacket. Pick leather jackets with rich colors like brown or black to complete your look.
3 Ways to Accessorize a Floral Maxi Dress Formally
Although a floral maxi dress is considered casual or informal, you can still rock it to a formal event like an anniversary party or wedding.
Below are three tips for styling a floral maxi dress for a formal event.
1. Match the Belt and Shoes
Cinching your waist with a belt creates a form-fitting silhouette look, making you appear elegant and sophisticated on a formal occasion.
To give you a polished look, ensure your belt matches your shoes. The belt and shoe could have a solid color like black, or you could pick a shade that complements one of your floral maxi dress’ tones.
2. Layer Your Floral Maxi Dress with a Blazer
Consider pairing your floral maxi dress with a blazer to keep you warm during formal occasions. A blazer highlights your shoulder’s structure, making you look elegant and sophisticated. It also gives your feminine outfit a masculine touch.
Do not go overboard with the blazer’s color selection to avoid overpowering your outfit.
3. Opt for Minimalist Jewelry
Big, statement jewelry goes well with casual settings. However, they make you appear understated in a formal event. For this reason, keep accessories like necklaces and earrings to the minimum when formally dressing up a floral maxi dress.
Common Types of Floral Maxi Dresses and How to Style Them
Instead of dishing up general ideas on how to style a floral maxi dress, we will look at different dresses and style each of them individually. This way, you will know exactly what to do next time you pull out that floral from the closet for whatever occasion.
White Floral Maxi Dress
A white floral maxi dress is a classic style that you can’t go wrong with. It’s elegant, calming, and classy enough to wear to special occasions. The thing with a white floral, however, is that it already gives everything you need. So you don’t need to do much in terms of styling or accessorizing.
Simply put, all you need is a beautiful pair of nude heeled sandals and a subtle necklace or chain. You can also do a set of matching necklace, simple earrings, bracelets, or watch. And since this is a refreshing summer look, keep your hair simple and your makeup bright.
A white floral dress is also a great spring-season outfit. Then, if it gets a little chilly, don a little black leather jacket, and you are good to go.
Black Floral Maxi Dress
Of course, I would not tell you how to style a white floral and leave out the black one. In my opinion, a black floral maxi dress is more versatile in terms of styling, and it can go from season to season seamlessly. For example, I like to wear the dress with stiletto heels or wedges in summer and sneakers when it’s a little cold.
The secret to rocking a black floral dress, however, is finding ways to brighten it up. For example, a white or crème leather jacket works perfectly well, but you can also choose a white blazer or a bright-colored trench coat.
This brightening factor also means you can add statement jewelry, a bright purse, and bedazzled shades if you are into those.
Boho Floral Maxi Dress
A boho floral dress is a unique style that few can pull off. The patterns, florals, and color tones are all very demure, even though boho-style women seldom are. The key to styling a good floral boho dress is therefore going a little overboard with the accessories and shoes.
This is not the dress you want to tone down further with a jacket or blazer. Instead, you must make it pop with lots of bold jewelry on your ears and arms. Gold is usually a safe way to go with bracelets and necklaces, and you can also wear gold shoes. Speaking of shoes, it’s preferable to wear a pair of boho-style sandals or embellished wedges.
Colorful Floral Maxi Dress
White and black floral maxi dresses are all good options, but they are not suitable for every mood. When I want a cheerful look that just exudes positive energy, yellow, orange, and green floral maxi dresses are my go-to. These colors are perfect for parties and beachy days and are a good way to kick up your mood.
My favorite thing about a colorful floral maxi dress is that it allows plenty of accessorizing. You can repeat any of the bold colors in those flowers somewhere else. For example, I have a yellow floral dress with touches of brown, green, white, black, and pink flowers. This goes perfectly with a set of green emerald jewelry I have. I also wear a pair of brown sandals with it and a black clutch. Finish up the look with a bold pink lip and nails.
See how many colors I did there? Of course, you can do that with any colorful floral dress.
These dresses are also a perfect backdrop for colorful sweaters or jackets. Choose one prominent color you see on the dress and get a crop jacket in that color. This could be pink, white, or even denim to tone down the screaming color.
Every floral dress has at least two prominent colors besides the primary color. Take note of these and recreate them in your shoes, sweater/jacket, handbag, and jewelry. It’s all about creating balance.
Red Floral Maxi Dress
I know we’ve already talked about bold, colorful florals. Red, however, stands in a class of its own. Like white, a red floral maxi dress is overwhelming on its own; hence you don’t need to do much else. I would choose a darker sandal, like brown or nude, and wear a modest piece of jewelry like a chain on the neck and a simple bracelet.
If it’s cold in the evening, white or black jeans and leather jackets will work well.
Final Thoughts
These are only a few options of floral maxi dresses and how to style them. However, I find that sometimes all you need to dress up a floral is accessories. A belt to cinch in the waist, a statement handbag to go with the florals, and stylish sunglasses will suffice. Floral maxi dresses also look good in cute jewelry pieces like gold and silver if you don’t overdo it.
The easiest way to style a floral maxi dress is to look at the colors in those flowers and try to repeat them in accessories. You can recreate white, for example, in a blazer or shoe and repeat brown in your belt or handbag. A floral maxi dress is too much already, so you don’t need to accessorize too much.
If you have to choose between a dress with pockets and one without, always go with one with pockets. Pockets, especially in a floral maxi dress, could be all the accessories you need to look stylish and comfortable, plus you can throw in your lip balm and keys there.
The easiest way to accessorize a floral maxi dress is to consider the occasion you intend to attend. You should then look at the dress’s prints and patterns and try to repeat them in your preferred accessories or opt for solid colors.
The best jewelry to wear with a floral maxi dress depends on your style, taste, and preference. However, you should ensure the jewelry’s design and colors do not overpower your outfit.
Ideal jewelry pieces to wear with a floral maxi dress include necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.
