How to Confidently Wear a Short Dress Over 40, 50+
Have you ever seen a cute dress and wanted to buy it, but it seemed a little too short? Sometimes, there are ways around this problem. Here’s what I did with mine, plus a few other style tips for how to wear a short dress over 40, 50+
Let me begin by saying that skirt length is a personal choice. I’m not here to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t wear short dresses as a mature woman. The days of judgment and “age-appropriate dressing” are over. Style now is about what makes you feel confident, and that usually stems from wearing something that is in tune with your personality, figure, and lifestyle.
I’m fairly conservative, and I typically like my dresses to reach the top of my knee. However, there is the odd time when I feel like wearing a dress that is more casual, fun, and sassy. In this case, I may buy a shorter skirt, so long as I can find a way to feel comfortable in it.
Take this cute green dress, for example. I fell in love with the clean, modern look of this perky Blouson-style stretch jersey dress. It’s soft, super comfy, and casual, although you can dress it up if you want to. Yes, it’s on the short side, but that brings me to the first point I want to make about styling a short dress over 40.
1. Consider the Overall Dress
This dress may be a little short, but it also has a high neckline (I love that stunning bateau neck!). It also has long sleeves, so it it’s quite modest up top. If this dress had a V- or scoop neckline, or was sleeveless, or had short sleeves, plus the short skirt length, it would have felt too revelaing, and I wouldn’t have bought it.
The overall style makes it work. In addition to this, my legs are still one of my best features, so why not have a bit of fun?
There are a few ways to make a short dress work at 40, 50 +. For example:
2. Wear Opaque or Semi-Opaque Tights
Short dresses are a little easier to wear in fall and winter because dark, opaque, or semi-opaque tights can create the illusion of a longer hemline. My dress is dark green, and my tights are black, so you don’t notice the hemline as much as you would if I wore bare legs or sheer stockings.
3. Wear Flat Shoes or Boots
The higher the hem, the shorter your heel should be. Flat or low-heeled shoes or boots make your short dress look less short. This illusion works even better when your footwear and tights are the same color. I’ve paired low-heeled black boots with black tights. There is no color break to draw attention to my legs or my short hemline. My dress is also a dark color, which helps.
4. Wear Leggings with a Short Dress
If your short dress is a straight shirtdress, tunic style, or is flowy, you can often wear it with leggings. (See examples here). Leggings don’t work so well in this case because my dress tapers in at the bottom a little too much. You want your dress to look like a long top over leggings, not like a short dress over leggings. One type of dress that always looks fabulous with leggings is a short sweater dress. (Here are some examples)
5. Layer a Long Cardigan with a Short Dress
Another thing you can do to offset the shorter length is to wear a long cardigan over the short dress. Cardigans are traditional and soften the sexy look of a short dress. Plus, when you wear a cardigan that is a little longer than your dress, it creates the illusion of length.
Note: too much of a difference in length between the dress and cardigan will emphasize how short your dress is, especially if your cardigan is in a contrasting color to your dress, like this red one!
Finding a way to wear a short dress over 40 50+ takes a little trial and error but can sometimes work. So, if you have a short dress hanging in your closet that you’ve given up on, or you have your eye on a short dress you’d love to buy, play around with these ideas and see what you think. You might just be surprised by the results.
Now go rock that short dress!
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The dress looks great on you. At 67, I would need that dress a bit longer. I have varicose veins and will only wear shorter dresses with tights. I like your idea of wearing a shorter dress with a long cardigan and boots.
Thanks, Terri, If I wore this without tights, I would want it longer too. I don’t have varicose veins, but it would feel too short and bare. I like the cardigan with it too. It’s a classy, cozy look. Please drop by again.
Cheers, Deborah