Maxi dresses are a great asset to any summertime wardrobe, but often they are only worn on the hottest of summer days without any other layers or accessories. However, a few extra pieces can make your maxi work for a wide variety of occasions:

1. Many maxi dresses are sleeveless, but there are many times (even in warm weather) that you'd like to have something on your arms. Instead of adding a cardigan, wear a chambray or linen button up shirt over the maxi. Button the middle two buttons and then knot the bottom of the shirt to create a tie-front shirt. 

2. When it gets too hot to add any extra layers to your outfit, add a bright and colorful skinny belt (worn at your waist) and an equally colorful statement necklace. Adding bright accessories makes your look pop without extra weight. (Although your shoes are often partly obscured when wearing a maxi, it is always fun to throw in a little bit of color or metallic there as well!)

3. For an evening look, add a white or soft gold blazer over your maxi dress. Add a metallic sandal, sparkly chandelier earrings, and a statement clutch. The structure of the blazer will make your look more polished which makes it perfect for a dinner out!

I have styled this shiny, olive jacket in previous installments of Emily's Closet and was excited to style it again. I suggested this floral chambray shirt from Banana Republic in a post earlier this year and Emily bought it just before I arrived for my visit. I love pairing a long sleeve shirt under a three quarter sleeve blazer because it lets you enjoy pops of pattern throughout the entire outfit. 

Wear to Work: Tuck the chambray shirt into a pair of black or navy trousers and add a belt through the belt loops. 

Around Town: Wear with navy or black shorts and sandals. On cooler days, pair with dark wash denim.

Dinner Date: Tuck the chambray shirt into a casual black skirt and pair with black ballet flats.

See the rest of the outfits from the Emily's Closet series here.

I absolutely love cardigans and have quite a few, so I always enjoy finding ones that look a bit different than all the other ones I own. I  picked out this cardigan for my sister, but she hadn't cycled it into her wardrobe rotation yet. The zippers give it a unique and slightly edgy vibe (or as edgy as you can get while wearing a cardigan from Ann Taylor), so I wanted to play up that spunky spirit. The pattern on this cowl neck shell is hard to pin down; at first glance it seems like an animal print, then like abstract brush strokes, and finally you give up looking so intently because it is starting to make you see spots. 

Wear to Work: Pair with a black pencil skirt and pointy-toed heels.

Around Town: Pair with black shorts (whatever length you feel most comfortable in), flat metallic sandals, and a confident attitude.

Dinner Date: Pair with dark wash denim and red patent pumps. Wear your hair pulled back to show off glitzy earrings.

Check out more installments of the Emily's Closet series here.

Think that you can only wear your casual blazers with casual t-shirts? Wrong. This corduroy jacket looks great layered over this patterned silk shell. Although the colors are very similar, the texture of the corduroy and the contrast against the silk help to create visual interest which prevents this from looking like a blob of oatmeal. However, texture isn't always enough, especially since it is best appreciated in close range. A simple pattern can differentiate the pieces from each other.

Wear to Work: Pair with dark wash trouser jeans and ballet flats.

Around Town: Pair with white cropped pants or white shorts, metallic sandals and a simple metallic pendant necklace.

Dinner Date: Pair with dark wash skinny jeans, brightly colored patent ballet flats and a necklace with a splash of color and sparkle.

Like this look? Check out the rest of Emily's outfits here.

Wear to Work: Tuck the striped tee into a white pencil skirt and pair with a pair of cobalt or silver ballet flats.

Around Town: Pair this with a crisp pair of white walking shorts and a silver sandal and spend the afternoon sipping mojitos on the patio.

Dinner Date: Pair with dark wash skinny jeans, black pointy-toed heels and a silver pendant necklace

Since not all of the photos I took will be appearing on the blog, here are a few other outfits I put together with this blue blazer:

1. Wear over a black knit dress with a patent skinny belt and heels.

2. Wear with a black and white polka dot shell and black skirt for work.

3. Wear with a white tank and boldly patterned navy and green scarf.

To see more looks from Emily's Closet, click here.