The $47 Velvet Amazon Dress I Wear to Every Wedding

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• Buying a different dress for each wedding as a guest can get expensive.
• For two back-to-back weddings, I wore the same $47 Amazon dress, despite differing dress codes.
• The dress got me a lot of compliments and was very comfortable and easy to tailor. 

Some of the most common complaints about weddings are the expenses: Travel, hotels, gifts. Tacked onto the list is a dress, which can end up being a one-time outfit depending on the occasion.

While I’ve gotten away with wearing knee-length casual fare in the past, I had two nearly back-to-back weddings coming up that required a little more wardrobe consideration: A mostly outdoor fall wedding, and a more formal winter one.

I figured something floor-length would work for both, and after seeing a dress I liked on someone else’s Instagram, I kept Googling words like “long velvet 70s wrap dress” until I landed on a reasonably priced Amazon one.

At the time, it only came in a few colors — Maroon (the one I got, which is more of a burnt auburn), Burgundy, and Navy Blue, but now comes in seven possible options including Black and Dark Green. Even though it looked a bit like a choir dress in some of the product photos, I liked it because it seemed warm enough for an outdoor, 50-60 degree wedding and versatile enough to either dress down or dress up, depending on the occasion. I wore a more dangly, statement necklace for the more casual wedding and more minimal accessories for the formal one.

According to a lot of the reviews, this dress is flattering on a lot of different body types and is relatively easy to tailor. (For the brides out there, the reviews on this dress also indicate that it could be a nice option for bridesmaid dresses.)

On top of the $47 cost of the dress, I did get it hemmed and altered to be a little tighter on top, which should normally be a low expense, but I got scammed into paying more for the tailoring than I did for the dress (a story for a different time!) 

I also paid for Spanx because this dress is very form-fitting, but other than that, it was a relatively low-cost way to achieve an outfit that felt right for two weddings without the hassle of renting anything or paying a lot for two gowns I probably won’t wear again.

All in all, I loved wearing this dress to both weddings. I got a lot of compliments and felt really comfortable the whole time. I’m even thinking of converting it into a wide-leg jumpsuit one day, making this an even more permanent staple of my closet.