How to Wear a Striped Dress: Best Style Tips and Outfits

Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates from Your Next Shoes. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure for more details.

While stripes can be a go-to casual look for many, this timeless pattern is also very charming and can be elegant when dressed up. With the right mix of accessories and styling, celebrities have taken this trendy look to the red carpet.

Here are four chic ways to a striped dress:

1. Tights and Stockings

Black tights and stockings can easily dress up any outfit while also adding a vampy edge to the look. Aside from the hint of sexiness, they also keep your legs warm on a cold night out, and you won’t have to worry about the hemline of your dress because your legs are covered up.

English model and fashion blogger Ella Catliff looked perfectly put together in a Karen Millen ensemble at InStyle’s pre-Bafta party. Styled with a clutch and pumps in hot pink and stockings, her Karen Millen striped dress looked easy-breezy and yet suitably fine for the red carpet event.

Ella Catliff wears a striped dress with stockings at the EE and InStyle pre-BAFTA partyElla Catliff wears a striped dress with stockings at the EE and InStyle pre-BAFTA party held at the Ace Hotel in London, England, on February 2, 2015

2. Sparkles and Sequins

Dresses with a splash of sparkle always look instantly glammed up. Don’t go overboard with the styling, though, because sequins can be too striking.

‘The Newsroom’ actress Olivia Munn rocked a couture sequined number from the Giambattista Valli Fall 2014 collection at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards. The sparkly black-and-white striped outfit combines a midi skirt with a loose-fitting cropped top. Olivia finished the look with a fun high ponytail and classic black Louboutins.

Olivia Munn in a sparkly black-and-white dress at the 41st Annual People's Choice AwardsOlivia Munn in a sparkly black-and-white dress at the 41st Annual People’s Choice Awards held at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on January 7, 2015

3. Volume

A voluminous skirt is a sure and fun way to amp up the look of any ensemble. If you have the height and figure for it, take a risk and rock a full-length striped skirt. To balance the look, keep the top part simple.

Kimberley Garner pulled off a bold dress with a billowing striped skirt at last year’s Chain of Hope Gala Ball. To top it off, her chic skirt has pockets — perfect for striking poses for the photographers.

Kimberley Garner in a billowing striped skirt at Chain of Hope's 2014 Gala BallKimberley Garner in a billowing striped skirt at Chain of Hope’s 2014 Gala Ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England, on November 21, 2014

4. Asymmetrical Stripes

Asymmetrical stripes say that you are anything but plain. This unconventional stripe pattern offers a little avant-garde kick for out-of-the-box fashionistas.

Leighton Meester sported a neoprene Cushnie et Ochs Spring 2015 dress with an asymmetrical stripe pattern that is both chic and figure-framing. For a lovely color boost, Leighton styled her monochrome ensemble with a green Amanda Pearl clutch.

Leighton Meester's asymmetrical stripe pattern dress at the premiere of Life PartnersLeighton Meester’s asymmetrical stripe pattern dress at the premiere of Life Partners in Los Angeles on November 18, 2014

Love the effortlessly chic stripe pattern? Check out our picks below.

Torn by Ronny Kobo Aziza Dress in Blue Combo, $268 at Shopbop

A striped blue combo mini dress with unique asymmetry. Diagonal seams join the uneven layers, which drape to an angled handkerchief hem.

A striped blue combo mini dress with unique asymmetry

A.L.C. Alejandro Dress, $315 at Shopbop

A twisted knot links the cropped, striped bodice to the draped skirt on this lightweight jersey black and white dress.

A twisted knot links the cropped, striped bodice to the draped skirt on this lightweight jersey black and white dress

Line & Dot Dimensions Peek-a-Boo Dress, $149 at Shopbop

A sweet, flirty blue stripe effect mini dress. The crossover panels form a bodice cutout, and the skirt is trimmed in a playful flounce.

A sweet, flirty blue stripe effect mini dress

Rachel Zoe Irland Fringed Edged Shift Dress, 350 at Shopbop

Fringe and metal hardware modernizes this winter white shift dress in a texturally rich weave.

Fringe and metal hardware modernizes this winter white shift dress in a texturally rich weave

Credit: WENN / Lia Toby / Brian To / FayesVision