There are a lot of styles and trends that I just adore from the very moment that they hit the runways, streets, and stores. But styling in nude? I have to admit that I was more than just a bit wary of this style. I thought it would be something that would be here and gone in a flash—mainly for the Lady Gaga types and others of the exhibitionist persuasion—but, wow, was I wrong! Styling in nude has outlasted a lot of trends and seems to be joining leggings and masculine wear as one of the hallmarks of our style period. And, truthfully, styling in nude can be both very tasteful and very cute when executed correctly.
Rachel McAdams, above, nails the look for three major reasons:
- Texture. The dress’s ruching and pleats add a degree of multi-dimensionality that make it quite obvious that McAdams is, indeed, wearing a dress. Unless the color of your dress is quite different from the color of your skin, I would advise against wearing a dress that’s completely void of visible texture. Which brings me to my next point…
- Color Contrast. With the pink heels, white shrug, brown bag, tan skin, and non-nude make-up (please, please, please don’t pair nude make-up and a nude outfit!) there’s plenty of contrast to keep McAdams from blending into a beige blob. I’d say that’s a good thing.
- Style. The key thing here, is that McAdams chose a dress that first and foremost is a cute dress, and then is a nude dress. I have seen way too many examples of people wearing potato sacks (or their close derivatives) and thinking that it’s going to be fashionable just because it’s nude. Um, no.
Please don’t let that be you – you know better. Just because your clothes are nude doesn’t mean that (a) no one can see you, so it’s okay if they’re ugly, or (b) no one can see you, so it’s okay if you’re not wearing pants.
Keep it classy, collegiettes™!