I picked this white shirtdress up from a thrift store a long while back (we’re talking 4+ years ago) and yet, I hardly ever got around to wearing it.
I guess it just goes to show how I have a tendency to hold on to things that I don’t really need.
But I’m not a hoarder… really, I’m not!
It’s just that I often develop a connection to my clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and then it becomes hard to let the piece go until I feel I’ve used it to it’s fullest potential.
White Shirtdress – How To Wear It
How exactly do you style a white shirtdress with a hemline that hits just above the mid-thigh line?
That’s what I didn’t know how to do.
And it’s why this crisp white button-down shirtdress sat in my closet for years before it got it’s day in the sun.
I may never know for sure what the designer’s original intentions were, but here’s how I finally made the white button-up shirtdress work for it’s place in my wardrobe.
Continue below for more details on how I styled this white shirtdress with Tarbay shoes.
Photos by GenStreetStyle
The white shirtdress isa very casual, loose-fitting garment and mine is just a tad too short for daily wear.
Indeed, it always seemed more ideal as a beach cover-up (which is weird because it’s from New York & Company, a decidedly un-beachy designer.)
Still, I saw a key piece, a blank canvas waiting for the right selection of accessories to bring it to life.
I knew I could figure out how to style my shirtdress one day, so it survived seasonal wardrobe purges over the years.
What better way to honor the potential I knew it had then to feature it here on the blog?
Tarbay Shoes & Other Black Accents
All in all, it wasn’t as hard as I had thought to take this white button down shirtdress from awkward-fitting to fashion-forward.
Opaque white short-shorts provided much-needed coverage without ruining the lines of the shirtdress.
By adding in some black accents: reflective Ray-Bans, a quilted leather tote, edgy Tarbay stilettos, & black jewelry, it all came together for a chic, somewhat minimalistic look.
Learn more about Tarbay
Pastel Blonde – Get The Look
Perhaps some of you are wondering… what about your hair?
I know I love the way it looks here, so maybe you’re wondering how to achieve lavender blonde hair like mine.
I have an older blog post which touches on how to get bleached blonde hair.:
After all, before you can achieve and maintain pastel blonde hair, you will need to accomplish a platinum blonde palette first.
Once you’re hair is lifted to the lightest possible platinum blonde, the metallic purple tint you see here was actually a combination of two additional processes over 2 or 3 months.
1) We added a silver toner which dyed it a deep, rich gray metallic hue.
It was a great color, but it washed out very quickly, and all I used to maintain it was my purple shampoo/conditioner.
I actually really loved the way it faded, it kept the metallic effect without so much blue and purple tones, and settled on what I liked to call champagne blonde.
2) From there, I wanted to try out a lavender pastel hair tint all over.
I don’t recall which brands or colors we used, but we mixed it with clear solution so it didn’t come out too bright.
The silver color from my previous treatments never quite fully washed out, and the end result was what you see here:
a sort of metallic violet blonde, which was much more distinct in the sunlight.
Shop My Look – Shirtdress & Tarbay Shoes:
New York & Company – White Button-down Shirtdress (similar)
White Chino Shorts (similar)
Tarbay – Lace-up Calf-hair Pumps (similar)
Calvin Klein – Quilted Pebble Tote (similar)
Vintage Nautilus Seashell Pendant (similar)
Black Sunglasses (similar)
DISCLOSURE: This post features gifted product(s) from Tarbay and may make use of affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Please click here to learn more about sponsored posts.
