Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
How to Create the $180 Anthropologie Gemini Twofer Dress for $5
I have always adored Anthropologie. Their stores are filled with unique clothing and home goods that fit my life aesthetic. However, it’s extremely pricy. I often will peruse their website or stores and see if I can create something similar for less money and when I saw their $180 Gemini Twofer dress, I knew I could recreate it for much less. Read on to learn how I created my own Anthro dupe dress.
One way to style a slip dress
I love shopping my closet to put together new outfits with things I already have. Most people have many staple items on hand that can be paired with new pieces to help you stay on trend, used to create costumes like I did here for a Princess Leia outfit, and more. The Anthropologie Gemini Twofer dress looked to be created using a slip dress and a cropped sweatshirt.
My Anthro Dress Dupe
The Process + Discount Code
I had two slip dresses in my closet already from Target many years ago. Both are in great shape and still fit me, so I pulled them out and started to think about how to create this Anthro dress dupe. I perused Temu and found a gray cropped sweatshirt for $5 which I purchased immediately. Grab a similar one here on Temu. If you shop Temu, use my code afe55197 or this link for 30% off for new Temu app users.
You can hold the ruched pleats with a pin
See how I layer my yellow slip dress with a vest for another look in my one-minute video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
If you don’t have a slip dress on hand (they are great because they can be layered for cooler weather, but also are great in warm weather), here are some similar ones that are under $30:
Women’s Loose Maxi Dress ($30+, Comes in many colors, Get it here on Amazon)
Women’s Open Back Satin Adjustable Slip Dress ($20, Comes in several colors, Get it here on Amazon)
Women’s Casual Lounge Slip Long Dress ($15, Walmart)
The sweatshirt and dress alone would work too, even without ruching
Similar Cropped Sweatshirts:
Creating the Ruched Sweatshirt
While I know my Temu sweatshirt isn’t the same quality as the Anthropolgie one (theirs is actually a sweater, but it looks very sweatshirt-ish), it’s actually pretty soft and was only $5! While you could simply use a decorative button pin to pull together some ruching on the sweatshirt to temporarily make it ruched, you can also put a few stitches in it to make it more permanent.
If you don’t know what ruching is, it’s defined as a “a pleated, fluted or gathered strip of fabric”. I took quite a few fiber arts classes in my Masters of Art Education program at the University of Louisville and we had lots of practice with stitching and manipulating fabric, so this is basically what helped me understand fabric and sewing more.
See my process in my 1-minute video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
I started by pleating the fabric of the sweatshirt
I simply pulled together the fabric of the sweatshirt at the bottom corner to create a few pleats. I didn’t do mine exactly like the Anthropologie version because I wanted it to be very simple and removable if I didn’t like it.
Hand stitching the Anthro dupe sweatshirt
I used some straight pins to hold the pleat, then I threaded a needle and hand sewed the pleats together. I only put about 4 stitches in it. Again, you could hold the pleating with some decorative buttons, but I wanted to try to make this more permanent. I used gray thread that matched the sweatshirt.
I made sure my thread matched my sweatshirt
I have lots of threads on hand, but if you don’t this Amazon sewing kit for around $6 is a perfect thing to keep around in case you need to fix a hem, sew on a button or create this fashion project!
One way to style the Anthro Gemini Twofer dupe dress
I then pulled on my yellow floral slip dress and my cropped sweatshirt, added some tall heeled boots and I had an easy dressy style of an outfit. I left my hair down and would have worn this look when I was a teacher or even into the corporate environment I used to work in. It’s comfy and stylish.
A casual way to style the Anthro dupe dress
I also had a black slip dress, so I tried that with the ruched sweatshirt and it worked too. I added socks, tennis shoes and a pin hat I created to match the model in one of the ads for the Gemini Twofer dress. Overall, it’s an easy and quick dress look, great for errands, and it cost me very little and is cute!
If you loved this idea, then we know you’ll love this one too: I Bought the Viral Lace Slip Skirt and Here’s How to Style It
Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.