The 7-Way Dress

Tristan's 4 in 1 and More dress, $89. Instructions included, we hope.

One of the most interesting takes on this summer’s day-to-night dress is a Transformers-inspired number that can be tied, wrapped, twisted, haltered, strapped over one or both shoulders, or just plain dropped to the waist and worn as a skirt.

With so many different ways to wear the dress (Tristan, who makes this one, calls it the “4-in-1 and More” and I have to agree about the ‘more’ part. I hope that it comes with instructions (actually it does, and I’ve also attached video instructions to help make it easier for us to figure it out).

Tristan sells this fun and versatile summer dress in three solid colour options: coral, blue, and your basic black for an easy $89. I feel that the genius who invented the concept of a completely versatile dress should be promptly set back to work on creating more fun and practical pieces like this dress.

(I found other designers who create several-way dresses and theirs are available year-round in countless colour choices and also in a lovely floor-length version that is strikingly beautiful. More about these designers below.)

The Signature Wrap Dress is available year-round at Butter by Nadia (pictured above) and TwoBirds Bridesmaid.

I love that we can embrace the one-shouldered trend but also spin it into a halter or a strapless if we feel like it on another day of the week. Not only that, but the full skirt and the comfortable fabric will make it easy to work on all body types and fun to wear.

Could it be that we finally found the perfect dress for the masses- one is fun, flirty, transformable, and can be glammed up or dressed down for a reasonable price? I say get yours before everyone else figures it out.

Here are Tristan’s 7 ways to wear the “4 in 1 and More” dress:

UPDATE to this post:

Since writing this post in the summer, I’ve since wondered where we could find this dress during the rest of the year. Tristan’s bargain-priced summer collection number at $89 wasn’t meant to become a staple for this high-turnover retailer, and for some of us who didn’t buy one, this dress could be useful for a variety of occasions (like outfitting a fleet of bridesmaids!) More importantly, many of us were hoping for more subtle colours than the bright foursome by Tristan.

And that’s where Butter by Nadia and TwoBirds Bridesmaid come in. These labels are offering 7-way wrap dresses (or 15-way dresses.. depends on who’s counting) in lovely jewel tones and neutrals in a variety of fabrics and length. The Signature Wrap Dress by Butter by Nadia comes in short ($246) or long style ($360) and in either satin or jersey. The summer collection also included fun printed jersey but the solid colours are available year-round.

The Butter by Nadia Jersey Ball Gown wrap dress, $315

Butter by Nadia also created How-to videos that are posted on their website to show you all the different (and easy!) ways to tie the fun wrap dress. Here’s one of the videos; for more, see Butter by Nadia’s site or follow the YouTube link.

Another great option is the similar wrap dress by TwoBirds Bridesmaid, which is also available in multiple colours and either knee or floor-length ($270 – $310). The obvious benefit of ordering from this company is that they can easily outfit a team of bridesmaids for a wedding- which is a great option for those who want to keep a colour theme among their bridesmaids but understand that everyone might want a different style of dress. (And of course, who wouldn’t want to wear this bridesmaid’s dress again?) My favourite option from TwoBirds is the Rosette knee-length dress which is trimmed with fabric roses at the hem (pictured, bottom). We’re also told that there will soon be a two-tone colour version of the jersey wrap dress at Two Birds (!)

TwoBirds Bridesmaid Classic jersey wrap dress, $310

The Rosette wrap dress by TwoBirds Bridesmaid, $370

Happy wrapping!

Images courtesy of Tristan, TwoBirds Bridesmaid, and Butter by Nadia.

Special thanks to Jordana for the tip about Butter by Nadia!