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Hello, lovelies!

As I have mentioned here and here, wrap dresses are my favorite dresses. If you have curves, a wrap dress will accentuate your smaller waist. If your figure is straighter, a wrap dress will give you pretty curves. The wrap dress is truly a universally flattering style that can look great on every woman.

This snakeskin-patterned wrap dress is one of my favorite dresses ever, and I wear it all the time. It is made by the designer who is often credited as having invented the wrap dress in the 1970s: Diane von Furstenberg. However, fashion historians say the wrap dress style been around since the 1930s, and Furstenberg gave the wrap dress a new popularity with her distinctive fabrics and patterns. The knit fabrics of many wrap dresses make them a great choice for travel. In fact, you might have seen this dress in my recent packing post. Style Vault Insiders, you can find wrap dresses in a variety of fabrics and colors and sizes in my wrap dress collection. Not an Insider yet? Click here to receive a free 5-day trial.

Some women are reluctant to wear wrap dresses because they fear overexposure (cleavage). This is easily remedied by sewing on a hook and eye or a snap to keep the dress from gaping. Another option is to wear a camisole under your wrap dress. You do want to be careful that your camisole is not too thick or long, or it will become bunched up around your waist under your dress.

A curvy Style Vault member recently asked me how to make sure a wrap dress isn’t “too sexy.” I think the most important tip in this regard is to ensure adequate cleavage coverage via a closure and/or camisole as described above. You also want to make sure the dress is on the longer side because a shorter hem increases the sexy factor of a dress. Finally, I've found that faux wrap dresses (the ones that are a wrap style but sewn together as one piece versus having a tie you pull through to wrap the dress) are sometimes not quite as fitted in the waist. The more fitted the waist is, the more pronounced your bust to hip ratio will be.

While many wrap dresses are made of knit materials, this style also comes in other fabrics like this beautiful lace. I think lace dresses are lovely, but many of them are shapeless and/or have large designs in the lace. The more fitted shape of this dress and smaller scale of the lace design are good choices for those of you who are petite in height like me.

Navy is a universally flattering color and a welcome departure from black. I promise people will notice (in a good way!) your dress that is a different color in the perpetual sea of black dresses. Navy is also seasonless. I wore this dress to a June wedding last year, and I’m planning to wear it to a December wedding this year. Your fancier dresses won’t get as much wear as your everyday dresses, so choosing fancier dresses that you can wear year-round will get you more bang for your buck. Be sure to note that I tied the sash in a square knot rather than a bow. This is a simpler and more sophisticated look.

I am wearing one of my favorite shoe colors with this dress. This is a great opportunity to see just how flattering nude shoes are. I have the exact same pair of shoes in nude and black. See how much longer my legs look on the left? The black shoes cut my legs off visually. This is why I only wear black shoes with black stockings or tights and never with bare legs or nude stockings.

Visit my wrap dress collection to find your perfect wrap dress!

Francie