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5 Ways To Style Your Summer Dresses
We all love a good dress moment—easy, breezy, and effortlessly stylish. But sometimes, even our favorite go-to dress needs a little remix. Whether you’re heading out to brunch, a casual gathering, or just want to feel cute on a Tuesday, these five styling tips will take your dress game to the next level.
Here are five fun, fashion-forward (and super doable!) ways to style your dresses this season:
1. The Graphic Tee Trick You Didn't Know You Needed!
Layering a graphic tee over your dress is a total game-changer. And here’s the real secret: grab a shoelace! Tie it around your waist over the dress, then pull your tee down over it to hide the lace. Voilà—your tee cinches perfectly without bulk. Another way to wear this look is to knot the tee itself—either off to the side or front and center. This style gives off major cool-girl vibes while keeping things comfy and casual.
🧡 Styling Tip: Try this with a vintage band tee and a flowy floral dress for that perfect contrast.
2. Jean Jacket: The Forever Staple
Let’s be honest—we’ll stretch summer until the last warm breeze. When temps dip just a bit, throw on a denim jacket. It adds that laid-back charm and goes with literally everything. Want something a little extra? Tie a lightweight scarf around your neck for a little French flair. Or, try tying a denim button-down at your waist for a casual-chic twist.
💙 Styling Tip: Try a cropped jacket with a maxi dress to elongate your silhouette.
3. Sneakers + Dresses = The Ultimate Power Couple
Who said dresses have to be paired with sandals or heels? Sneakers bring the perfect mix of function and style. White kicks are classic, but don’t shy away from prints or pastels! A dusty pink dress with a leopard-accented sneaker? Yes, please. Mix your colors, play with patterns—make it fun!
👟 Styling Tip: Pastel sneakers with a tiered ruffle dress = unexpectedly bold and totally on trend.
4. An Easy French Twist That Looks Like You Tried (But Didn't)
Let’s not forget: hair is part of the outfit too. A simple French twist bun instantly elevates any dress look. It’s perfect for a brunch date, summer soirée, or even just a day you want to feel a little more put together. No prep required—but if you want some extra texture, try a light mist of Triple Dry from Redken (find it in-store at Urban Eve).
💁🏼 How-To: Gather your hair in a low pony, twist up, fold the ends down and tuck them in, then secure with pins. Instant elegance!
5. When In Doubt Go Bold (With Your Lip)
Sometimes, the finishing touch isn’t an accessory—it’s a swipe of lipstick. A bold lip can completely transform your look. Whether you're wearing muted tones or playful prints, lipstick ties it all together. We carry Bare Minerals makeup for a reason—their matte, hydrating, and mineral-based formulas are amazing.
💄 Try This: A blooming pink lip with a white eyelet dress, or go berry-bold with a classic LBD.
Dresses are one of the most versatile pieces in your closet. With just a few easy styling tricks—whether it’s a knotted tee, fresh sneakers, or a bold lip—you can wear them in totally new ways every time. So go ahead, play with your look, and have fun getting dressed again.
P.S. We’ve got graphic tees, sneakers, lipsticks, and all the little extras in store—come see what inspires your next outfit!
MORE CURATION,
LESS DUPLICATION
If you’ve ever walked into a charming boutique and wondered how all those perfectly curated pieces ended up on the racks, here’s a little peek behind the curtain. The answer, more often than not, is fashion tradeshows—massive events where designers and brands showcase their upcoming collections to potential buyers. But what’s it really like to shop for a boutique at one of these events? And how does it differ from how big-box stores do their buying? Spoiler alert: It’s a totally different world.
A fashion tradeshow is a bustling, often overwhelming gathering of fashion brands and industry professionals. Think rows upon rows of booths, each one brimming with new collections, style samples, and sales reps eager to introduce you to what’s next. These shows often take place in major fashion hubs like New York, Las Vegas, Dallas, or Miami, and they can cover everything from high-end designer labels to emerging indie brands.
For small boutique owners, buying is all about curation. We’re not shopping by algorithm or based on nationwide trends—we’re buying with our customers in mind. That means keeping a sharp eye on quality, uniqueness, and the story behind each piece. We might spend hours walking the floor, chatting directly with designers, feeling fabrics, and picturing how pieces will look on our shelves—and more importantly, on our customers. Unlike major department stores, we don’t buy hundreds of units of one style. Instead, we carefully select smaller runs, often negotiating minimums, colorways, and delivery timelines that work for our size and clientele. Every purchase is personal.
In contrast, large retailers have entire buying departments with massive budgets. Their buyers are focused on volume, scalability, and data-driven predictions. They look for items that will move fast across many locations, often negotiating exclusive versions or bulk discounts. They typically have preset budgets and rely on trends forecasted months in advance, sometimes even before the tradeshow floor opens.
While boutique buyers walk the show independently, often making gut decisions based on instinct and customer knowledge, big-box buyers might have back-to-back meetings with major labels, often behind closed doors.
When you shop at a boutique, you’re not just buying a piece of clothing—you’re buying into a point of view. The styles on the rack were handpicked by someone who’s thinking about their community, not a spreadsheet. There’s heart behind every item, and chances are, you won’t see the same piece on every street corner. So next time you step into a small shop and fall in love with a dress, a jacket, or even a handmade accessory, know that someone stood at a tradeshow booth, held that exact piece in their hands, and thought of you.
Tradeshows can be exhausting, but they’re also incredibly inspiring. For boutique owners, they’re a chance to discover new talent, build lasting relationships with brands, and bring something special back home. It’s not just about buying clothes—it’s about building a collection that tells a story. And that’s something you won’t find on a department store rack.
How Can We Help You?
We take pride in welcoming everyone into our space and caring for our guests while they’re visiting. To us it doesn’t matter if you walk in because you’re checking in for your hair appointment or you want to see what is new in our space, everyone matters to us. We want to help you find what you’re looking for whether that is a hair product you heard of the last time you were visiting or a clothing item you saw on Instagram.
A unique quality that we have is the people you hear over the phone when you call us or come in to check-in for your hair appointment are the same people who style our boutique, the mannequins, help our shoppers during their visit, and so much more! Finding that clothing piece that will be a staple in your
closet for the season can be so much fun and a little exciting and we want to be a part of that process with you. We try and do things a little differently when it comes to caring for our shopping guests. We want to share our latest styles that we have in our
space with you, our space is constantly changing with new clothing that comes in every one to two weeks. In order to keep up with the demand we have in our boutique we only order six of each clothing item meaning something that you salon our Instagram last week probably won’t be in our boutique the following week, or at least not in the size you’re needing. Always feel free to call our salon and ask our guest services about a boutique item you’re interested in, ask them about our policy on holding items, or about our policy on a payment taken over the phone. We understand that you can’t always stop in and talk in person, so we want to work with you because you matter!
You will probably see brands that you don’t see anywhere else and because every brand’s sizing fits a little differently you will probably hear us ask, “can I get a fitting room started for you?” We understand that not many people like trying on clothes in store, but we hope to maintain a space that is calm and makes you feel comfortable staying a little bit longer to try on some items. We want to make sure you have the sizes you need and help you style that piece you’re not quite sure about, but you still want to try on anyway. Don’t be alarmed if you hear a knock on the door and a voice saying, “How are you doing with sizes?"
Let’s say you bring an item home, and it’s doesn’t feel good on or even though it said the size you normally wear it doesn’t fit quite right, no shame we’ve all been there, no worries our return policy is two weeks for in store credit. We ask that you bring your original receipt or gift certificate along with the item you’d like to return and then we will return the cost of that item onto your account for in-store credit. Anytime you check out you will hear our guest services ask, “Have you shopped here before? What is your first and last name?”
The store credit stays on your account for however long it takes you to spend it (hopefully not too long *wink*). You don’t necessarily need to only spend your store credit solely on boutique items. You can spend it on other things we offer: Bare Minerals make-up, Redken or Pureology hair care, or do a little self-care day, and book a shampoo blow dry with one of our fabulous stylists!
It matters to us that you have a good experience when you come into our space. It is our goal that these little things we do to set us apart from other places you shop make you feel cared for and enhance your time shopping with us! Let us help style you and help you put together outfits for that vacation you have coming up. We want to help make the most of your visit, so how can we help you?