• Bio

Brynn McKenry

Brynn McKenry is the host of a syndicated radio show called The Brynn Project designed to help inspire people to feel good from the inside out. Brynn believes that while fashion and beauty are typically what we see on the outside, style also comes from the way we carry ourselves. While trends can vary from person to person, Brynn is constantly looking for new ways to enhance a look.

I don’t know about you but with
all the snow this winter, I am more than ready for spring to get
here. So, why not at least think spring? One of my favorite spring
and summer pieces is the maxi dress. It’s something that can be
casual and with the right accessories a little dressier.

For those of you fashionistas out
there who maybe have this perception of the maxi dress that it only
works for certain body types, I’m here to tell you that’s not true.
How do I know? Because I was one of those fashionistas. I always
thought that I was too short and had too short of a torso to pull off
a maxi dress. I gave myself the misperception that they would all be
too long or that they would make me look pregnant. Then one day, I
got the idea to try a maxi dress on. To my surprise it flattered me
in all the right areas. So this goes to show that fashion like other
things we experience can surprise us.

Now when the weather starts to get
warmer, many maxi dresses can stand alone without have to find the
right sweater or jacket to pair with it. Until then, I want to tell
you that you can still wear this piece of clothing without feeling
cold or out of season.

One of my favorite ways is
utilizing the maxi dress as a skirt and pairing it with something
like a chunky sweater. Maybe get a little flirtier of a look by
making it a sweater that can slide off of one shoulder. This is one
way to winterize an outfit while still dreaming of warm weather or a
night at the beach.

Now if the chunky sweater isn’t
your thing and since the bottom of the dress has a little flow to it,
try pairing the dress with a tighter sweater cardigan or a tighter
t-shirt and then add something like a jean jacket over the tee.
You’re still dressing for warmth, but you don’t have to wait until
spring and summer to wear that dress. Or you can even omit the tee
and just pair the jean jacket with the maxi dress.

Something that I did fairly
recently (and on a warmer day than some of the frigid snowy days that
we’ve had) included an asymmetrical maxi dress. The top of the dress
is spaghetti straps so I actually did two things on two different
occasions. The first was that I placed a black chunky sweater that
went off one shoulder over the top of the dress. I still had color
because this dress in particular had a very Fall-inspired pattern on
the skirt of the dress. Then I paired it with a cute pair of
booties. Now, the second option that I did included taking the dress
and adding a jean jacket. I still went with the booties, but this
time added a scarf.

So now that I’ve given you some
ideas for how to winterize your maxi dresses, remember that the maxi
dress can serve as a base point for experimenting with fashion. The
easiest way for you to start the experiment is using a black maxi
dress. With this you have a very neutral color that can pair with
any jacket or sweater or even scarf of your choice. Remember that
fashion is in the eye of the beholder. You never know what something
looks like on you until you try it. Another reminder to help you
experiment is that fashion “rules” are more guidelines. If you
break one, it may actually work in your favor and you don’t have to
follow all the “rules” at the same time.

HAPPY EXPERIMENTING!