Cover-Up's: The Cropped Cardy

I've had a number of questions in relation to what can be paired with a dress to provide a bit of cover-up especially while at work.  To help answer this, I thought what better than to write a post dedicated to this topic! And on one of my most favourite forms of cover-up - the cropped cardigan!!


I have a confession to make, while growing up one of my least favourite things to be forced into wearing was a dress.  All I wanted to do was put on my jeans or shorts and play, I didn't want to have to be all dressed up and worry about not getting dirty.  Well those days have changed, and boy am I glad!  Feeling feminine in my adult years is liberating, and nothing says "feminine" other than wearing a dress.  I'll admit that the 50's have been providing me with (and fashion designers) inspiration for the dresses of today.  They are tailored and sleek, sophisticated and chic; they can be fitted or flowing but in the end dresses are the epitome of feminine style and one of my favourite clothing pieces that I wear as often as I can.


I've noticed that a lot of women share in my love affair with wearing dresses; more and more of us are wearing them into the office, and not just saving them for special occasions!  But what is appropriate to wear to work when it comes to dress styles?  What style of dress should be covered or can be worn without cover-up?  I'm here to help uncover the do's and don'ts when dawning your frocks in the working world.


Cover-Up's:
So many of us are familiar with wraps to help cover our shoulders, but lets face it, they really don't do a great job.  They're either too big or not big enough and we're constantly fidgeting with them because they've decided to slip off or end up trailing behind us.  In addition, a wrap covers up what we're aiming to show off - you in that dress!  Sure wraps are great and I'm not telling you to throw them out, but let's reconsider what can be used on a daily basis to provide us with a bit of cover, especially while at work.

The cropped cardigan is the cardigan reinvented, as I like to think of it.  This bad-boy (along with the shrug) is one that I use whenever I'm in need of coverage either at work or when I'm out.  A cropped cardy is a wonderful tool and one that I highly recommend.  I found my love-affair with cropped cardy's many years ago, just when they started emerging on the fashion scene.  Back then they were paired with long-sleeved button-up shirts and frilly tops, but I saw a use for them in adding to dresses in order to make them more "work appropriate".  Dresses that I would never dream of wearing to work were now starting to make appearances and I have never looked back.

I've had women ask me over the years how they can wear a cropped cardy with their dresses? What colours go? How long should the length be? And if the look was too juvenile.  Not only did I welcome these questions I saw them as a challenge, I needed to get the word out about cropped cardigans, dispel the myths and preach their benefits - one would think that I hold stocks because that is how adamant I am about them.  Back when the cropped cardy was emerging they were only available in basic black and white.  And as you know, black and white go with everything!  So these colours became the staple in my cropped cardy wardrobe.  But slowly I started branching out as the cropped cardigan market exploded in a plethora of colours.  Fashion designers were noticing the trend on the marketplace for them and made the right move in designing the cropped cardy in endless colours, styles, shapes, lengths and materials.  This was the perfect time to look at the cropped cardigan and get the word out that they're not just meant for tops, they need to be combined with dresses as well!

How to Wear your Cropped Cardy:
Okay so you've heard me going on about how great cropped cardy's are so let me give you some tips on how to wear them and what to pair them with.  I recommend wearing a cover-up (i.e. cropped cardy/shurg/bolero) when wearing the following style of dress/strap to the workplace:

• Halter Neck
• Spaghetti Straps
• Strapless
• Thin Straps
• Sheath

You could also wear a cropped cardy with a shift dress, a dress with thick straps or even a dress that has straps that cover most of your shoulders.  It is not necessary to wear a cropped cardy with dresses that have longer sleeves or that cover your upper half almost entirely.  Cropped cardy's are meant to be worn with dresses that show off the shoulders or enough of the shoulder that you would feel more comfortable covering up.


Cropped cardigans come in many lengths from mid-waist to upper-back, they have sleeve lengths from full to 3/4 and all the way up to just grazing the edge of your shoulder.  The key is to select a cropped cardigan style/length that is most comfortable for you and one that works with the season.  A longer sleeved cropped cardy might look odd on those 30 degree days; whereas a barely-there sleeve wouldn't work well in -30 degree days either.  Remember, the idea is to get a cropped version of the cardigan, so stay away from the traditional below the waist cardigan length.


When selecting a cropped cardigan to wear with your dresses I recommend that you select at least one in black and white to have in your closet.  I would even venture as far as to select a dark brown and charcoal cropped cardy, but these selections depend on the colours of your dresses.  I am a huge fan of pairing the untraditional and mixing colours that are complementary or analogous, and a lot of the time I select a cropped cardy colour based on a colour that is found in my dress.

I believe that the cropped cardigan (shrug or bolero) is a perfect solution to help provide a bit of modesty while in the workplace, they can be fun or sophisticated and I believe are far more functional than using a traditional wrap.  The cropped cardy becomes apart of your fashion statement and believe me when I say that you will not only thank me for giving you that extra little push into purchasing one, but that you will never go back to wearing wraps (aside from special occasions of course!).


Here are some shops to keep in mind when out scouring the racks for your cropped cardy purchase:
Esprit
Old Navy
Suzy Shier
Le Chateau
Ricki's
Winners
Jacob
H&M
Costa Blanca
All department stores
+ many more!


Happy Shopping!


Courtesy of:
Esprit
Nordstrom