This time of year wearing that special occasion dress can get a little chilly! Choosing a nice coat or sweater to go with a dress makes all the difference. The first thing you need to determine is how much coverage you need. This varies by region based on climate and fashion. Try to avoid anything to bulky looking. If it’s really cold you can opt for a long, thick coat, but nothing too puffy for a formal dress. In warmer conditions a nice knit sweater will do the trick. Another consideration is how long you will need to wear the coat. If the event is held completely indoors and the coat is just to get you from door to door, the look becomes less important. But if you will be outside for part of the event then the coat becomes just as important as the dress itself.
In addition to style, color is a key factor. Black, white, and brown provide nice compliments to dresses with a lot of color or patterns while dresses of those colors can be really jazzed up with a fun color piece of outerwear. For example, these two go together nicely:
If the dress has a pattern or is very busy a solid color neutral piece of outerwear is the way to go. So with dress I would go with a simple coat:
