Okay so today I wanted to figure out how to actually wear this striped tennis dress I bought on sale last month. Looked cute on the hanger, bit confusing actually pairing it up for a real game.
Started By Actually Putting The Thing On
First thing first, had to actually get dressed. Dug the dress out my closet. It’s those classic navy blue and white horizontal stripes, kinda fitted on top, skirt flares out. Felt… stark? Like, just standing there in the stripes felt a bit like a referee uniform gone wrong. Needed something else, quick.
Played Dress-Up Disaster First
Grabbed random crap from my floor, honestly:
- Attempt 1: Pair of bright red running shoes. Yeah, no. Looked like my feet were screaming separate from my body. Clashed hard. Tossed those back.
- Attempt 2: Tried a busy, patterned scarf around my neck. Thought maybe “accessorize”? Felt super awkward while pretending to swing an invisible racket. Kept getting tangled. Dumb idea.
- Attempt 3: Thick black leggings underneath because it was chilly morning. Result: Dress looked super short and frumpy. Leggings bunched weird. Nope. Looked like I forgot pants.
Kinda frustrated at this point. Almost gave up and wore my old sweatpants.
Stumbled Onto Some Okay Looks
Decided to keep it simple. Stuck to solid colors that already worked with navy and white.
- Look 1 (Playing It Safe): Plain white sneakers (finally found ’em!), low white socks barely peeking. Minimal. Classic. Boring maybe, but felt clean. Movement felt good. No tripping hazard.
- Look 2 (Added a Tiny Bit of Zip): Remembered I had these simple navy blue sneakers. Same color as the dark stripe. Put ’em on. Surprise! Looked intentional. Not fancy, but put together. Like I didn’t just roll outta bed onto the court.
- Look 3 (Threw On a Layer): Mornings get windy sometimes. Grabbed a lightweight, solid bright blue sweatshirt I usually use for running. Just tied it loose around my waist. Boom. Instantly less stripe-overload, added color pop without the headache of patterns. Actually useful too when warming up.
Final Thoughts After Actually Moving
Ended up going with the navy shoes and the blue sweatshirt tied. Played a couple sets. Felt comfy, looked decent in the clubhouse mirror after sweating buckets. Key takeaway? Stripes are noisy enough on their own. Trying too hard makes it worse. Simple shoes matching one color in the dress, maybe one extra layer in a plain bright color – that’s the sweet spot for actually playing. Saves time, looks sporty not stressful.