The 7 Cool-Girl Ways to Toughen Up Your Pretty Floral Dresses

At this point, a floral dress for spring can feel so trite and done—until you pair it with something as unexpected as a pair of laced-up hiking-inspired boots (or in some cases, actual hiking boots), that is. Our muse? Selena Gomez in Louis Vuitton at the 2016 Met Gala where a pair of badass boots perfectly offset her pretty printed dress.

And just like that, our boots are out of storage and our sandals on standby. Unlike other fashion pairings that share the same aesthetic (blazer and button-downs, white tee and jeans, and so on), this floral dress-hiking boot combo is not only a surprising one, but it also transcends seasons—garden-party florals bloomed throughout the spring collections, while combat and hiking boots stomped on the fall 2016 runways at Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Tod's. Together, it's Annie Oakley meets Daria (with maybe a little bit of Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed in Wild). 

The toughness from the boots hardens the delicacy and preciousness from ditsy florals and sweet pastels. The end result? A look that's wonderfully rugged, yet effortlessly pretty—a look that could convince people that you could scale a mountain or hike the PCT no problem. Embrace the combo with seven floral dress-and-hiking boot pairings, below.

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LWD + Docs

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Your first instinct might be to pair your cut-out floral LWD with summery sandals that pick up one of the petal colors. Instead, find color coordination in the stitching of a pair of tough boots for a shared thread (get it?). 

Shop the combo: Tibi dress, $875; tibi.com. Dr. Martens boots, $160; drmartens.com.

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Moody Florals + Hiking Boots

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Cool-girl florals are a thing. Now, they're even cooler with this goth take on the Danners. 

Shop the combo: Mango dress, $70; mango.com. Circus by Sam Edelman, $63 (originally $90); nastygal.com.

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Prairie Flowers + Danners

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Your fashion-forward PCT packing list: 1) A breezy dress sprinkled with ditsy prairie flowers and 2) Danner boots (of Wild fame). 

Shop the combo: Coach dress, $795; coach.com. Danner boots, $360; rei.com.

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Pastel Petals + Timberlands

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Play up contrast to the extreme with the sweetest, airiest dress with the toughest hiking boot.

Shop the combo: Ulla Johnson dress, $575; otteny.com. Timberland boots, $130; timberland.com.

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Royal Florals + Street-Chic Lace-Ups

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Embrace florals in regal fashion—with an elegant high-neck gown covered in a tropical print. But then give it a street-chic edge with chunky boots. 

Shop the combo: Tory Burch dress, $550; net-a-porter.com. Zara boots, $70; zara.com.

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Rustic Shades + Utilitarian Boots

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Western meets bohemian with an easy off-the-shoulder maxi and utility boots. 

Shop the combo: H&M dress, $50; hm.com. Frye boots, $298; nordstrom.com.

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Monochrome Blooms + Perforated Combat Boots

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Simultaneously add interest and harden black-and-white florals with tough combat boots. The effect? '90s cool-girl grunge.

Shop the combo: Zara dress, $70; zara.com. T.U.K boots, $115; tukshoes.com.

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