How to wear a striped dress

There are a lot of people who don’t like wearing stripes, especially vertical stripes. I love stripes and wear them quite often. But for a petite person like me, there are a few tricks that will help us to pull off this chic look:
1. Pay attention to proportion: For striped dresses, usually an above the knee length is the best for a petite frame.
2. Pick a body friendly cut: A loose, baggy striped dress is a nightmare for a petite person and the whole body will just disappear in that striped bag. Don’t go too far with how tight it is either, the stripes may make your tummy look bigger than it really is when the dress is too tight in that area.
3. Show some skin: Allover stripes are a bad choice for a petite person. Showing some skin will help create a smaller silhouette overall.

Today we are back to my driving story again, enjoy! đ
Almost there!

So the good news is I was finally off the freeway. We were on our way to northern Michigan to visit my in-laws and my husband/driving teacher decided this would be a great opportunity for me to get in some freeway practice time. If youâve been reading along you know that until today almost all of my driving practice had been around our small town and nearby roads in the countryside. This usually meant slow. And I was good with that. During my whole life growing up and living in China, I had never sat in the driverâs seat of a car. So being in control of one while going 70 miles per hour on an Interstate Highway was not my idea of comfortable! This was especially true when I got to play pass and be passed with a huge truck driven by a crazy person! Well, maybe he wasnât really crazy but for someone who wasnât used to this kind of driving it seemed a bit like it. In fact, I had only been driving for less than an hour but it had felt like a lot more. You know what they say, âtime flies when youâre having funâ. I guess that proves that I was NOT enjoying it. Anyway that was over now. We had gotten to our exit and I had managed to get off the freeway without being run over or hitting anything so I was thinking that things were looking up. At this point we only had another 30 miles to go until we arrived at my husbandâs parentâs home.

I had been to my in-lawâs home many times so knew that this last part of the drive was actually quite beautiful. Northern Michigan was full of forests, lakes and rivers. And the road we would be on went past all of these. My husband offered to take over the driving but I thought since we were already going I would just stay behind the wheel and get another short driving lesson in. There was never much traffic on these roads and we only had a short way to go, so what could happen? I have often found over the last few years that this is always a dangerous question to ask! We went through the city that the freeway exit directs you into and, after stalling at the first red light, I managed to go through a couple more with no problem. Once through the small downtown area, the next intersection was our turn to go towards the small town my in-laws lived in. I was starting to get enough experience driving that I was finding a few things that I liked because they made it easier. One was a left turn arrow light. At most intersections, if you want to turn left in front of the traffic coming from the other direction, you just have to wait until you get a break. When you are at an intersection with a left turn arrow that means when it turns green you can make your turn and those other cars have to wait for you. I like this system a LOT better! It is pretty hard for me and most new drivers to judge how close and fast those cars are coming towards you. So, I would either wait too long, and make the people behind me upset, or I would go when there wasnât much room and be too close to the oncoming car, and then they would be upset! But at this intersection, the arrow turned green and I turned onto our road and started to pick up speed.

Once we were on this road it was pretty much a straight drive until we got into the small town where we would finish our trip. There were a few curves and hills but no other towns to go through and the thing I really liked, no more traffic lights or stop signs! This may actually be fun for a change. It was getting quite dark pretty early now as it does in Michigan in winter. Our little car didnât have many options but it did have a feature where the headlights came on automatically when it got dark enough. Mine were on now and lit up the road pretty well. There were a few cars in front of me and some behind so I could also see the road from their lights as we moved along. Hmm, thatâs strange. The road looks a bit wet. It had been clear and dry all the way so far. And of course it was pretty cold out so it wouldnât be raining. That must meanâŚSNOW! My in-laws lived âUp Northâ as they say in Michigan. And itâs not just a little bit north; they live almost 200 miles away from our home near Detroit. A lot can happen in 200 miles. Plus where we were going was closer to Lake Michigan. If you ever saw Michigan on a map you know that it is surrounded by huge lakes: So big they call them Great Lakes. Lake Michigan is one of the five and my in-laws lived less than an hour from the water. These lakes added a lot of moisture into the air and this time of year that could mean snow. So much for my âfunâ drive! My âteacherâ advised me to slow down a bit and just be careful. I thought that was pretty obvious and I didnât really need a driving instructor to tell me that! I turned on my windshield wipers, grabbed the steering wheel a bit tighter and kept going into the snowy dark! I would never ask âwhat could happen?â again! Come back tomorrow to see if we ever make it!








SHOP MY LOOK:
Striped dress @TJ Maxx
Black jacket @Kohl’s
Two toned heels @Nordstrom Rack
Red bag @Michael Kors
Watch @Movado
Bracelets @My Arm Charms
TODAY’S LINK UP PARTY:
Style to Inspire with Rhea
16 Comments
Orbb
LOL have to be careful with those words “what could happen?” that just invites disaster!
gliang
Lol! I know! Now I am very careful about that sentence. đ
templeofbeauty
Gorgeous look, I love the dress and the colors of your outfit. Red looks really great on you!
xx Z&G
http://www.temple-of-beauty.com
gliang
Red is always my top choice colors. But recent years I discovered more colors so I don’t wear red that often like before. Kinda feel sorry for my red clothes. đ Lol!
Julie
Such a super cute dress! I love it paired with that blazer, it really accentuates your waist
gliang
Thank you Julie! I didn’t even try on that dress when I bought it. That day I wasn’t feeling very well. But it turned out not bad. đ
Ada
I love all of my striped dresses and this one you are wearing is gorgeous. The orange stripes pop. Gorgeous jewelry and purse, as usual, also. =)
Happy Monday Grace!
gliang
Thank you very much Ada! Your dress collections of today are really good! đ
Rachel
Great tips, I completely agree with you, it has to do with proportions.
http://www.racheldinh.com
gliang
I love all length skirts but feel more comfortable with the above-the-knee ones. đ
Gina
Lovely tips! I agree about above-the-knee for petite frames, I feel like a midget in dresses that hang too low, especially because I have muscular legs >.<
Gina
Pink Wings
gliang
Lol, I heard many girls said that but when I looked at them, everything is just perfect. đ We are always too hard on ourself I guess. I love over the knee or maxi dresses but they are a little bit harder to pull off.
Alena
Beautiful dress! Love the vibrant color and style!
Alena & http://garmentsspeech.blogspot.com/
gliang
I love it very much too Alena! It is comfy to wear and it will not show my tummy. Lol!
Leslie
You seem to look great in the black, white, red combos. I think that is my favorite color combo to see you in. I think the white contrast well with the black, the red offers great pop and the black seems to play well off your jet-black hair.
gliang
Lol! They are my go to color choices. I know I can count on them every time. đ