How to style a lilac dress for any occasion

Discover how to style a lilac dress for any occasion. From weddings and work to casual lunches, learn how simple accessory swaps create endless outfits.

Nine times out of ten, a lilac dress gets bought for a wedding. You wear it, everyone tells you it suits you, and then it hangs at the back of the wardrobe waiting for the next invite that might not turn up for a year. Bit of a waste, that, because lilac will go much further than most people give it credit for.

Change the shoes, change the bag, and the same dress will carry you through a ceremony, a long lunch and a night out without anybody clocking that it's the same thing three times over. Here's how to get proper wear out of it.

Start with What You Already Own

Bridesmaids have a head start here. Most satin lilac bridesmaid dresses get made in cuts that were never really wedding-specific to begin with. Cowl necks, V-necks, wraps, slip styles. None of that shouts bridal party once the day's done with, which is exactly why they're so easy to wear again. Satin has one other trick going for it as well. It catches the light differently depending on what you put next to it, so a new pair of shoes and a different bag will change the mood of the whole outfit while the dress itself just sits there doing nothing.

So before you spend anything, have a rummage. A tan belt, gold hoops, the white trainers you'd forgotten were under the bed. Most people own more than they think they do, and a fair few of the outfits below won't cost you a penny.

Dress It Up for a Wedding or Formal Event

Ask the couple about their colour scheme before you buy anything. If the bridesmaids are in lilac as well, you'll spend the entire reception being handed things to hold, and there's no coming back from that once the group photos are done. Assuming nobody's already claimed the colour, wear it and don't think twice.

Worth knowing about the light, though. Pale purples look their best outdoors and go slightly grey under warm indoor bulbs, so the dress you put on for the ceremony won't be quite the same dress by the time the band starts up.

Metallic heels in gold or champagne are your best option here. They pick up the purple undertone instead of fighting with it. A small clutch in the same metallic, or a soft blush pink, will tie the whole thing together. Keep the jewellery gold as well. A delicate chain, drop earrings, a thin bangle. Refined does more work than heavy ever will.

Outdoor wedding in July? Leave the heels at home and go for strappy block-heeled sandals instead. You won't sink into the lawn and you'll still look like you've made an effort.

Take It to a Summer Lunch

This is where lilac really earns its keep. For a lunch that drifts into the afternoon, or a garden party where nobody's checking their watch, take it down a notch with flat sandals in tan or nude leather. A woven basket bag or a raffia clutch will do most of the work for you.

Jewellery can go altogether, or keep it to studs and a watch. Nobody needs more than that in the heat. And if cold restaurants are your enemy, a cream or white linen blazer thrown over the top will break up all that colour and give the outfit a bit of shape.

How to Wear It on a Date Night

Lilac is soft by nature, which is lovely, but it can tip into sweet if you leave it unchecked. Black accessories will sort that out fast. Black strappy heels, a black leather crossbody and a dark lip will sharpen everything up without stripping out what made you like the dress in the first place.

If black looks too severe on you, silver jewellery with charcoal or pewter tones does a gentler version of the same job. Statement earrings help too, crystal or amethyst if you've got them, because they'll catch the light and drag attention up towards your face.

Make It Work-Appropriate

Nobody thinks of lilac as an office colour. Put a midi-length one under a tailored blazer in navy or charcoal though, and it reads as smart as anything else hanging in there. Pointed-toe courts in nude or navy. A structured tote. Studs, nothing bigger than that.

Everything else wants to stay quiet, because the dress is already the interesting part of the outfit and it doesn't need any help. One or two muted extras is about the limit. Throw four colours at it and the whole thing starts arguing with itself.

Accessories That Dress Lilac Up or Down

Lilac isn't a fussy colour, but it does have preferences. Learn them once and you'll stop standing in front of the wardrobe at half seven in the morning:

• To dress it up: Gold or champagne metallics, satin clutch bags, strappy heels. Crystal or pearl jewellery if you happen to own any.

• To dress it down: Tan leather sandals, basket bags, white trainers. Skip the jewellery entirely.

• For evening edge: Black leather, silver, big earrings, a dark lip.

White trainers deserve a mention of their own. A satin lilac dress, clean white trainers and a denim jacket over the top is a Saturday sorted in roughly thirty seconds.

One Dress, Plenty of Outfits

There's no reason a lilac dress should only come out once. Swap the shoes, swap the bag, put different earrings in, and it'll keep turning up in your outfits from March right through to the Christmas party.

That's the useful thing about the colour. It'll sit next to almost anything without clashing. It's also bright enough that people will actually notice it, which is more than you can say for the average navy dress. So go and dig it out. Try a few combinations in front of the mirror and give the poor thing the wear it deserves.