Wearing tunics and dresses over pants
May 7th, 2008Wearing tunics and dresses over jeans or pants is my favourite look. I’m all for outfit variety, but when it comes to a uniform, this is mine. I was first inspired by the look when my late mother sported the trend in the ‘70’s. There’s something extremely elegant AND funky about this ensemble combination and I’ve been besotted with it ever since. I started incorporating this look into my wardrobe 10 years ago and I haven’t looked back.
You don’t need to be tall or tiny to wear tunics and dresses over pants with style. It’s a question of getting the components and proportions right. You’ll need to pair slim boot cuts, straight legs, skinnies, leggings or clamdiggers with the right tunic or dress. Here’s how:
- The correct length: The shorter you are, the shorter you’ll need to go on the tunic or dress. You’re looking at a length somewhere between mid-thigh and a few inches above the knee. Go shorter or longer and you’ve lost that long lean line. Regular height and taller gals can shop in petites for this item as it often brings the hemline up to the correct place.
- The correct silhouette: Pear-shaped and apple-shaped gals need structured A-line silhouettes like shift dresses and baby dolls. Hourglasses, inverted triangles and rectangles get away with straighter and more fitted styles like shirt dresses and sheaths.
- Heels or flats: The trend is especially good with some sort of heel if you’re petite or pear-shaped, but it’s not a necessity. Judge the overall look once the ensemble is complete.
Chances are high you’ll need to commit a tunic or dress to wear over jeans or pants. It’s seldom that a dress will work over pants and on its own. It’s either too short to wear as a dress, or too long to wear over pants. Sometimes dress and tunic lengths work out perfectly and you get the biggest bang for your fashion buck by wearing them both ways, but it’s no guarantee.
Pairing tunics and dresses over pants is comfortable. And the right style tunic or dress is particularly forgiving around the tummy and thigh area if those are spots you’re self conscious about. Don’t be afraid to try something new. You can be a modern-classic that pushes the fashion envelope once in a while.
Tunics of varying lengths worn over pants, jeans and clamdiggers.
These are the types of dresses that work well over pants provided they are the correct length. From left to right: Sheath, shift, shirtdress and baby doll.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Thanks for posting this, Angie. I can hardly wait to try this look out.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:42 am
I do like the look of the two on the bottom right-hand side. I think the stiffer gray dress would drive me nuts, though. I do have a question–would either of those two work as smart casual?
May 7th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Angie, love this look. I am not sure I have enough guts to try it myself, but Betsy wore one her dresses over jeans and it looked sooooooooooo hip.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:37 am
And I can’t wait to see this look on, Ana. You have a great eye and will put your ensemble together well.
Absolutely, Christie. This look can be smart casual with the right pieces.
Oh my goodness! Betsy was a sight for sore eyes in her shirt dress and jeans combo. She had the store turning heads!!! This was one of my prouder moments and a magical moment for Betsy. You’ve got the spunk to pull off a similar look Jennifer. Go for it!
May 7th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Just not convinced adding more fabric to a hippy pear figure is a good idea. The more fabric, the more the volume in that area. Can’t see it for me. Go skinny girls, go!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I wore tunics and leggings quite a bit in the past — that was a great way to get through pregnancies! However, since the trend has returned, I just haven’t found the style appealing. I’ve seen dresses and leggings on a few girls that looked cute, but pants with a dress just doesn’t do it for me.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:09 am
You are in for a nice surprise, Joey!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:15 am
I love LOVE this look, but can never quite pull it off … I’m obviously not getting the proportions right. I’ll have to try again. It might help to know my body type — What would a thin, 118 lb, 5′4″ girl be? (I’m anything BUT curvy!)
I love all the featured looks!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:38 am
When I try out at home, walking around, I have fabric slightly bunching up around my thigh area, it doesn’t seem to be move-friendly.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:01 am
This is my favorite outfit style too! I love wearing my Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress over black pants at work. I love A-line cap sleeve mini dresses over skinny jeans too with flats. Long stretch tunics over all types of jeans with short cardigan sweaters are a favorite too. If I feel to self conscious about my waist line or the exact fit of the dress over pants, I just throw a big obi style belt on at my natural waist and it seems to work. For me, these dress or tunics really make skinny jeans possible for an athletic body type.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:19 am
i definitely love tunics over pants, but i think the dress over pants idea is a little dated. to be a total fashion snob - “it’s so four seasons ago!”
for me, the trend kinda went out with uggs. but, to each their own - and it’s certainly not the worst outdated trend i’ve seen.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:03 am
While I think the tunic-over-pants-or-leggings look can be very stylish, the dress-over-pants look just doesn’t do anything for me. It seems redundant. It’s like, why did she put on a pair of pants when she already has a dress on? Short dresses over leggings look OK to me, I guess because leggings are more like hosiery than like pants. I think what bothers me is that pants are supposed to make your legs look long and slim and wearing a skirt over part of it seems to shorten the shape of the legs?
May 7th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
i loooove this look. And i have to tell you, i started dressing this way because when my daughter was 2 (she’s now 3 1/2) she put together this look for herself and i thought it looked great! Right from the start she’s had a very particular opinion about what she wears and i must say, she’s got a good eye. Last year her daycare teachers told me how she always had great outfits and when i told them she selected her clothes, they were shocked.
Yup, i’m learning fashion from my toddler
May 7th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Sorry, Angie, you still haven’t convinced me! I’m with Joelle on this one. Tunic-over-pants or leggings I have no problem - it’s a cute look, although as someone else mentioned, this was done in the early 90s - before, during and after my pregnancies (remember stirrup pants???) so I’m all done with that trend.
Dress with leggings and ballet flats - no problem. Very cute look, esp if the leggings have a bit of lace.
But a dress over jeans? Nope. It looks like you were trying the dress on in the dressing room, and forgot to take off your jeans. And if you have proportionately short legs like I do… nope. Just nope.
With that said, if anyone really loves this look (and to each his own!!), BR right now has the most adorable shirt dress - from their safari collection - which is the perfect length for wearing over jeans. It’s sort of a very long shirt - longer than tunic length. I didn’t try it on but when I saw it I immediately thought “that’s the perfect dress for wearing over jeans.”
May 7th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I do have a shirtdress that I like to wear over denim leggings in the winter, as well as on its own othertimes. Think the classic shirtwaist and the classic tunic work best for over pants/leggings. It’s very close to the big shirt over pants/leggings look. Anything too far out does seem dated.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I love the dress over skinnies look! I have found that it only works with dresses that would NOT work without the jeans (for me) because they are too short or too form fitting or something. So in effect, for me it’s a way to wear dresses that I wouldn’t otherwise buy/wear. I find the look very slimming.
And shiny, got it right, shirt dresses (straight cut more so than A line, and on thd shorter side) are PERFECT over skinnies.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I used to not care at all for this look, I have never even tried it on. But then, very recently, I mail ordered a military green shirtdress that ended up being perfect in every aspect other than the length, a bit too short for my comfort level. I asked Angie for advice, she suggested to wear it over skinnies, I tried it on and was sold! I liked it so much they I went ahead and got three more for this particular purpose, and now I’m on the hunt for white skinnies to wear with them.
However, i will only wear this look with a shirtdress or tunic that’s a shirtdress style, I would feel weird in other versions. And the dress has to have a belt!
Angie, what are the options for extra layer over the dress? I know a longer trench would work, but it’s getting to warm for it. Would a cardigan work and what length-cropped, hip!
I’d recommend everyone to try the look at least once (in a store) and then judge. Sometimes thing look very different on us than we thought they would and we may even like it!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Thanks for the responses ladies. At the end of the day you either like this look or you don’t. Horses for courses, as I always say.
I feel the need to reiterate an important point. The look is NOT supposed to resemble a “dress worn over jeans”. The types of dresses that work well over pants are in fact acting like tunics in longer length. So the look is actually all about TUNICS with pants, even if the “ tunic” is a dress. You’re after a sleek dress silhouette over a pair of sleek pants. The look does not work with pukka fit-and-flare dresses. This looks silly and indeed like you forgot to take your pants off while trying on a dress.
As for the look being dated, this is simply not true. Believe me, I would let you know.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Okay, but Angie, the last photo on the bottom row just looks like a dress with jeans to me!! Perhaps if the hemline was 3 or 4 inches shorter.
I suspect this would work best with any dress that doesn’t cover your fanny when you bend over, or sit.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Angie,
I want to try this look but have a question - can this work for the office? How can I make it look more professional so that I don’t stand out too much at work but can carry this look into a happy hour after work? Thanks!
May 8th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I love this look! It’s the only way I wear jeans. I have a couple tunics/dresses for chilly weather (one is actually more of a jumper that I wear with button-ups) and they hit at my fingertips like in the second pic, which is my prefered length. Right now I’m looking to add a couple to my summer wardrobe…I already have a b&w polka dot a-line shirt dress (whew), which flares below the waistline, but I think it works. I tried the NY&Co brown shirt dress the other day and just loved it, so I’m going to hurry back with my 20% coupon!
May 9th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Chaula, this will depend on the dress code and culture of the office. I certainly was able to, and others that I know pull off the this look appropriately in a professional setting.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I have a question, would this look work for with short legs and long torsos too? I’m afraid that it could emphasise my long torso even more…
May 14th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Good question Lila. You’ll need to wear a heel and sport the tunic or dress a little shorter.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
okay thanks Angie! I love your site, I found it really helpful!
June 24th, 2008 at 7:01 am
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