Fashion

Celebrity Style Inspiration: 16 Floral Outfit Ideas for the Dead of Winter

Wearing bright colors in winter is all well and good, but you're not fooling anyone.

For the days when your mood is a bit more realistic — that is, languid, dark, and poetically frostbitten — you don't want to look like some dream of a summer garden when you get dressed. You want to look like flowers should look in winter: monochrome, washed out, and a little bit dead.

Trust me on this one. Just look.

Image: Getty Images

by Tori Telfer

Blake Lively

Black and white and funereal all over.

Image: Getty Images

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Karen Elson

The florals on Elson’s ’90s-inspired slip dress just can’t deal anymore, and that’s why we love them.

Image: Getty Images

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Black floral dress

Jarlo Adora Button Through Maxi Dress in Floral Print, $145.19, asos.com

Image: Asos

Floral clutch

There’s a Byzantine mosaic quality to this clutch that makes the flowers look frozen in time.

Image: Getty Images

Rob Kim/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Creepy vintage ring

Vintage Dead Flowers Ring, $3, etsy.com

Image: Etsy

Michelle Dockery

Winter florals don’t have to be printed on heavy black fabric when sleeves are long, necklines are high, and colors are kept demure.

Image: Getty Images

Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Léa Seydoux

In another cut, this fabric would look summery, but the long sleeves give the whole look an icy demeanor.

Image: Getty Images

Ian Gavan/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Sally Hawkins

It’s okay to channel Mrs. Havisham and brocade sofas when it’s cold outside.

Image: Getty Images

Cindy Ord/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Winter whites

ASOS Swing Dress With Floral Applique And Embroidery, $99.82, asos.com

Image: Asos

Keytt Lundqvist

We’re not saying winter florals have to be leached of all color. The print on this dress has a stultified, antique hue, like flowers that have been artificially preserved under a glass dome.

Image: Getty Images

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Faded shirt dress

ASOS Shirt Dress In Floral Check Print, $99.82, asos.com

Image: Asos

Lindiwe Matshikiza

There’s no better way to create artificial flowers than to edge them in gold.

Image: Getty Images

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Vintage sweater

Black and Gold Floral Vintage Sweater, $24, etsy.com

Kate Foley

Flowers in grayscale definitely don’t need watering. Or sunlight.

Image: Getty Images

Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Floral skirt

Spring Retro Floral Pattern High Waist Mini Skirt, $33, jaccofashion.com

Image: Jacco

Kelly Killoren Bensimon

The somber burgundy and the gray-white flowers sober this look right up.

Image: Getty Images

Mike Coppola/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Floral jumpsuit

Diane von Furstenberg Shany Floral Lace Jumpsuit, $445, bergdorfgoodman.com

Image: Bergdorf Goodman

117