The summer of ’23 was magical. As Taylor Swift was shaking the world with her renowned Eras Tour, I was entering a new era of my own: a dress era.

The story begins one evening in the heat of June. My family was visiting Washington, D.C. Earlier in the day, we toured the Capitol Building. So, my dad and I were dressed in the equivalents of Sunday best as we walked to pick up an order of take-out Thai food. While waiting in the restaurant, an elderly woman beside me told me I looked lovely. I realized that in my white dress, I did feel lovely. Very lovely.

Since then, dresses have been my closet staple. They romanticize life and make me feel pretty. Occasionally, friends who are interested in wearing dresses ask me where I get them from. However, in our fast-moving conversations, it’s hard to give all the details. So, I’ve made a shopping guide for all those looking to enter their own dress eras, sharing the tips and tricks I’ve gathered over the years.

Buying

When I began shopping for dresses, one of the first things I noticed was that they’re not cheap! At face value, most cost over 50 dollars. Even though I could come up with a variety of reasons for why dresses are investments in high-quality clothing, let’s be real: No one wants to spend half of a Benjamin Franklin on a dress. Luckily, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to cut down on the expenses of dresses.

My first tip is clearance, clearance, clearance. Shop clearance. The beautiful thing about dresses is that they’re timeless, never going out of style. I’m convinced that the only reason stores put dresses on clearance is because their customers always expect new styles. Otherwise, they’d stay a hot commodity on the shelf. My personal favorite place to shop for clearance dresses is Altar’d State. They have hundreds of high-quality dresses on sale, marked down from their usual price of 70 dollars to 20! Hollister is another amazing option. Although they don’t have quite as large a selection as Altar’d State does, their dresses are cute and durable.

My next tip is to find less expensive stores to shop at. This might sound daunting, but it’s easy if you know where to look. T.J. Maxx is one of my preferred places to shop. They sell name-brand clothing that would usually be sold at stores like Macy’s for prices as low as 20 dollars. Although all T.J. Maxx’s have wonderful selections, my favorite location is in Superior. There, they have rows upon rows of dresses. Thrifting is also a great way to find inexpensive dresses. Some of my dearest dresses are from places like Goodwill! Lastly, Aeropostale has adorable styles for (usually) very low prices. However, I’d be careful when buying from Aeropostale; their clothing has a lower quality compared to other stores.

Styling

Now, once you buy dresses, it’s important to know how to style them. I’ve broken dress styling into 3 categories: armwear, legwear, and footwear. Most dresses have short sleeves. So, to combat the cold, I enjoy wearing either a cardigan or jean jacket with my dress. This not only keeps you warm but also elevates the look. As for legwear, sometimes it’s too cold outside not to wear pants. In the fall, when there’s a slight chill in the air, I wear sheer tights under my dress. Meanwhile, in winter, I wear black leggings with my darker dresses and skinny jeans with my lighter ones. Finally, when choosing the perfect shoes to go with a dress, I’ll always suggest classic, white Vans. They’re stylish and match with everything! However, Converse, flats, and sandals also look fabulous with dresses.

Confidence

My last piece of advice for anyone looking to enter their dress era is to be confident. Wearing dresses can feel girly, but I urge you to embrace it, love it, bask in it. Feel pretty. Scratch that, feel beautiful. Stand with your back straight (dresses look a million times better with good posture) and show the world your stunning smile. With summer just around the corner, remember that you are all that. If you want to wear a dress, wear a dress! They’ve helped me build up my confidence in so many ways. I hope they can help you as well.

(p.s. – You don’t have to wait for summer – spring is the prime time to wear long dresses!)