Monochrome Madness: My Top Picks For Affordable Mod-Inspired Dresses

for the third and final installment of my series on mod culture, i'll point you to my top ten favourite, affordable dresses (in no particular order) that are either reminiscent of the original era, perfect for mod revivalists or simply pretty and wearable for anyone who loves the looks and wants to style themselves to fit it, without necessarily immersing themselves in any aspect of the overall lifestyle. 

the criteria i set for myself when looking these up were price, versatility (who doesn't love not having to change for dinner or drinks after work?) and silhouettes that could work on more than one body type. this latter point was a but more difficult to address, as the main mod icons were ultra-skinny for a reason: mini skirts and short a-line skirts usually tend to be less flattering on curvier women. and i say this not to discriminate. there exists clothing and styles to compliment every body type; i just don't feel that most of what mod fashion has to offer was made with anyone but the skinny girl in mind. that said, there are ways around this, with proper styling and always making sure that you're wearing clothing that fits. 

the back in london tunic dress from shopruche.com is only $39.99

the ponte colorblock dress by tibi is currently on sale at $120 at neimanmarcus.com. regular price: $345

bloomingdales.com is offering up the rory color block dress by cynthia steffe for $228.

i'm also digging the in de stijl of the night dress at modcloth.com. $79.99.

a personal favourite of mine is the hello collar dress from modcloth.com. bonus? it's only $49.99.

another color blocked shift dress is up for grabs at forever 21. $24.80.

 the asos swing dress with short sleeve and collar. $37.30. asos.com.

also from asos we have the sister jane geo embroidered dress for $115.29:

and the sister jane shift dress with holographic feather collar for $122.08:
(they really like directing this model to tilt her head to the side...)

and not versatile at all but still quite cute, if not hella bold is the asos petite exclusive mini dress in checkerboard:

addendum: i really underestimated a couple of things when i first set out to put this together. firstly, most mod-inspired dresses are not incredibly versatile. you can style them, yes, but i'm looking at the length of these dresses and i'm thinking there is a)no way i could wear this to the office and b)i have curves. this just doesn't work. the second thing i discovered was that it was way more difficult to dig up these dresses than i thought it would be, especially if you consider the fact that i really tried not to present you with monochromatic redundancy. 

all of these dresses are cute but will they work on just anyone? no. if you're looking to wear something mod-inspired and you're not quite sure where to look or you're a mod who wants to find a few non-vintage pieces, i hope this pointed you in a few interesting directions!

this concludes the three-part mod series. next up, i kick off montreal street style photos with a beautiful, classic, lolita, wrap up the roots series and profile a kick-ass shop in st-henri.

Posted in: 1960's,asos,black and white,bloomingdales,checkered,mini dress,mod,mod fashion,mod-inspired,monochrome,peter pan collar,two-tone