Let me tell you, there is nothing that makes you feel like a million bucks more than a great bodycon dress!
I’ve used the heavyweight 4-way stretch knit before and it is still one of my favorite fabrics from Cali Fabrics. This time I went with the black and tan colorway and I couldn’t be happier with my dress!
This fabric is pretty much perfect for a form-fitting knit dress. It’s nice and heavy with a generous spandex content to really smooth out lumps and bumps. Because it’s so heavy, it behaves almost like a woven, which makes it really easy to work with.
And of course the stripes are a bold, dramatic print, which I love to accentuate curves (in a good way) on a simple bodycon silhouette.
A dress like this may not seem like an obvious choice for someone who spends a large chunk of time in an office and is headed into winter, but I think it looks great with a structured blazer for office wear:
And layered with a flowy sweater for casual wear or date night:
For this dress I chose the new Givre dress from Deer & Doe patterns. Deer & Doe patterns are favorites of mine because I love how they fit and the drafting and presentation is so nice.
Tips for Making and Styling a Bodycon Dress:
- Pay attention to length. As you can see, my dress hits and almost covers my knee. I think that a longer length is key to making sure your bodycon dress doesn’t look more appropriate hanging out on a street corner. It should be at least knee length, and maybe longer.
- Consider going sleeveless. Now this is definitely a matter of personal preference, but I find that a sleeved bodycon dress in a nice heavyweight fabric like this gets a little tight in the shoulders just because of the high spandex content of the fabric. My sleeveless dress does not have that problem.
- It’s all about proportion. A bodycon dress is, by definition, figure hugging. Pair it with something looser or flowing. I chose to style it with a structured (but not tight) blazer and a drape front cardigan. Both are modeled above. A blanket scarf would be another great option.
- It can double as a skirt. You can easily throw a top or sweater over a dress like this and have it serve double duty as a pencil skirt.
But if a bodycon dress isn’t your jam, this is also my favorite fabric for a knit pencil skirt like the Pirate Pencil Skirt (affiliate link), or something that can take more structure like a knit pleated or circle skirt like the Sybil Skirt (affiliate link). Ooh, or maybe a peplum top like the Margot peplum (affiliate link) — it would be fun to have a more dramatic look with a skirt that stands out a bit. I have some leftover fabric, I may have to give that a shot…
What do you think? Is a bodycon dress something you would wear?