How to Drape a Backless Dress

Avoiding heavy neck accessories when wearing a backless dress will accentuate your back.

Make a striking style statement even as you show off your back by wearing a backless dress. If draped correctly, a backless dress can look elegant and enhance your beauty for that special occasion or for any evening out. Coordinate the backless dress that suits you best with appropriate undergarments and flawless skin to make an unforgettable fashion statement.

Things You'll Need

• Shoes
• Specially designed bras: halter bra, adhesive underwire plunge bra or silicon bra
• Bra pads
• Exfoliating scrub cream or long-handled loofah brush
• Self-tanner
• Light-reflecting body lotion or shimmer powder

Instructions

1. Try out a variety of backless dresses to find your best fit. Wear dresses in different styles and fabric textures to determine what backless dress type suits you. Ensure that you try the shoes and undergarments that you intend to wear with the backless dress, to estimate whether the dress enhances your beauty or detracts from it.

2. Wear specially designed bras suited for backless dresses. Depending upon the design of your backless dress, you can wear a halter bra that attaches behind the neck, or opt for adhesive underwire plunge bras or silicon bras. If these don't work with your dress style, you can sew bra pads into your backless dress, or go without.

3. Exfoliate your back with a scrub cream or use a long-handled loofah brush. This will remove dead skin from your back and give it a clean look.

4. Spray on a self-tanner to give your back a glowing look and eliminate any odd-looking tan lines. Use a light-reflecting body lotion or a little shimmer powder on your back to add sparkle to your skin.

Tips & Warnings

• An A-line backless dress makes a good choice if you are unsure of what dress design suits you. This type of cut gives most women a perfect fit irrespective of body type.

• Wear a thong to make your backless dress flatter your body without revealing the underwear lines beneath.

• Avoid wearing a regular bra on the day that you plan to wear your backless dress. This will prevent unsightly elastic marks on your back.

References

• ChicStories; How To Wear Backless Dresses; October 2010
• Miss Malini.com; FCUK Knows How To Wear A Backless Dress; Sue Castellino
• Hollywood Life; Listen Up Ladies! Before You Wear A Backless Dress...; July 2010
• Cosmopolitan: Beauty Prep For A Backless Dress
• Glamour Beauty; A Few Tips To Rocking A Backless Dress; Beth Shapouri; July 2009

Resources

• The Frisky; What Do You Wear Under A Backless Dress?; Catherine Strawn; June 2010