My mission to rewear and restyle my dresses continues, with bonus points awarded if I manage to be Autumn-appropriate. The pink slip dress by Riina Põldroos that starred in the first post of the series was in fact part of a two-layer dress that I deconstructed pretty much as soon as I bought it. Today, I’m featuring the second half of that brutally severed gown.

To be frank, it is not the easiest thing to style (or wear), as it is entirely see-through. This problem can, generally speaking, be solved in two ways: wearing something underneath or throwing something on top. As I’ve shown the first option already, I went with the second one this time around.*

The jacket I’m wearing here is an entirely random one from Zara: I liked the utilitarian vibe and thought brown with (very) pale pink is a more interesting combination than gray/black and pink. There is a reason why people keep banging on about contrast: because it works. The rough, rather casual jacket makes the dress less pretty and more interesting than it would otherwise be. I’ve also used a belt – which I don’t usually do (because I have no waist) – to add some structure to the upper half, again in contrast to the wispy lower half.

Now, the takeaway here is not that everyone should go and buy utility jackets and wear them over entirely transparent dresses – I have a feeling there would be a rather limited market for that. The idea is that a floaty or just feminine dress plus a more serious jacket often equals a very good look. I have a black lace gown that I love to wear with a black blazer: I will push up the sleeves, add a black cuff and look amazing, if I do say so myself. I also love the blazer-over-a-slip dress look and with midi versions, adding a blazer is what I do to make them suitable for the office (the more masculine the blazer, the better).

Another – I would say by now classic – combination in the same family involves a biker jacket. A leather jacket over a romantic dress was the default setting of most coold girls a few years ago, but it has never really gone away. Somewhat surprisingly, I’m currently obsessed with the idea of wearing a high-collared long white dress under my black biker jacket. So if you see any Victorian dresses on offer, do let me know!

To sum up, wearing your dress with a jacket can solve several issues. It’ll help: a) if you are cold b) if the dress just feels too feminine on its own c) if you are not feeling super confident about your body d) if you want to change the overall mood of the look. Everyone should of course pick the exact ingredients for this formula according to their own taste and needs, but the overall idea is worth considering.

PS When we were shooting this series, we had about 10 minutes of sunlight, so as soon as it appeared, we sprinted to the spot Stina had in mind for this look. I think she did an amazing job in very challenging circumstances.

*Off-blog, I’ve also worn it over jeans, with a bra top.

Dress by Riina Põldroos, jacket by Zara, shoes by Aldo. Images Stina Kase, makeup Erle Taklai, hair Helen Heinroos Hair (Cäroly).