The Difference Between Mini Dresses & Tunics

Today was another snow day.  Huzzah!  All this lovely snow creates the perfect backdrop for photos and what better way to break out some great winter styles than set against a winter wonderland.Today's post involves a fair question and one that virtually every savvy shopper and even the most devoted fashionista has had to ask at least once:  What exactly is the difference between a Mini Dress and a Tunic?

The reason we've all asked this question can be found in the answer itself--not much.

Mini dresses and tunics are so close to one another that it is easy to get confused.  Fortunately fashion is forgiving and experimentation is encouraged!  Tunics are typically thought of as very loose, long shirts while mini dresses can be either form fitting or swing skirt style.  But in modern fashion trends, we now find that there are plenty of tunics that are fitted, with some even having a built in waist or a peplum. and plenty of babydoll style mini dress.  (checkout my babydoll dress post from 2016) 

Since there is so little difference between mini dresses and tunics, I thought I'd kick off FemmeLuxe week with this Pink Knitted One Shoulder Mini Dress- Macie worn as both a mini dress and a tunic to demonstrate the subtle difference. FemmeLuxe isn't just my favorite shop for cute mini dresses, I also love their Mesh Sleeve Dresses and PU Leggings.  Every month I look forward to FemmeLuxe week as it presents me the opportunity to really focus on fashion topics and get a little experimental with current trends as well as revive some of those vintage styles I love so much.

So, let's say we've found something spectacular, can't-do-without-it, how do we style it?  The rules for this are pretty simple: Style a tunic with leggings or skinny jeans; style a mini dress with bare legs or tights.  Going based solely on length, my average tunic top is about 28-31"/77-78cm long.  A mini dress is generally defined as a dress that is falling no lower than four inches below the buttocks, which for my height (5'6"/167cm) is about 29-31"77-78cm.  Anything shorter than 4"/10cm below your bum is a top, so please, oh, please, do not wear tights or leggings with it; wear jeans or trousers.

I chose this Macie Mini Dress for this little demonstration for a couple of reasons.  First off, I love the color and the wonderful thick cable fabric.  It's perfect for this time of year, which as you can see, is quite chilly.  I woke up this morning to a fresh dusting of snow on the ground, so a sweater dress was the perfect pick.  Even though it was snowing while I took photos I stayed warm and hardly noticed the weather and that makes an outdoor winter photo shoot so much more enjoyable. 

I wanted to basically keep everything the same in this outfit except for the one main factor that separates a mini dress from a tunic and that is leg wear.  So, for outfit number one it's just the dress with a few little pieces added to finish the look.  I kept the color palette simple by only using black accents in the form of black ankle strap heels and accessories.  I chose a thick belt and wore it at the narrowest part of my waist.  It's important to use a thick belt with chunky knit fabric like this because a skinny belt would not create enough contrast to really show off the waist.  Instead it would be lost against the cable knit.  

So, with a chunky belt and a chunky knit, all that was needed to accessorize was some chunky jewelry.  One shoulder dresses make such a strong statement at the neckline on their own, there's no need to accessorize further with a necklace.  However, statement earrings pair quite nicely with this neckline which is why I chose these glossy black paisley earrings.

For outfit number two, the mini dress becomes a tunic with the addition of leggings.  Remember when you wear leggings, your top should be long enough to fully cover your bum, especially if the leggings are made of a thin fabric.  I chose these fun novelty print comic book leggings just for the demonstration, but you could easily wear solid color leggings or skinny jeans instead.  I just happened to be feeling a little whimsical today but, who knows, maybe next time I'll try some PU leggings.

Shopping Info:  Macie dress from FemmeLuxeFinery.co.uk, Leggings from: SHEIN, Belt from ModCloth