I’m not sure why, but fun and flattering casual dresses with sufficient hem length and sleeves are highly elusive every season. I bet that if retail supplied us with more of the right silhouette, they’d sell like hot cakes.
Here’s a roundup of casual dresses that recently caught my eye, some of which have worked on clients. Some of the styles come in several colours.
- COS Dress with pleated sides: Architectural and very voluminous. Fabulous side entry pockets. Will blow in the wind and feel extra breezy. Runs big.
- Cloth & Stone Nila T-Shirt Dress: Great on Team Tall with broad shoulders and/or a larger bust. Works quite well on curvy figures despite not being shaped. Soft and unstructured. You can knot the front of the side slitted hem for more structure.
- 'Katie' Cowl Neck High/Low Maxi Dress: Beautifully drapey and the fabric is substantial. Can be dressed up or down. Also works well on a larger bust. Gorgeous in motion and runs big.
- Ann Taylor Double Dot Long Sleeve Shirtdress: A relaxed shirtdress in a soft fabrication. Works well on curvy and straighter body types. Versatile. Many rave reviews.
- Ann Taylor Striped 3/4 Sleeve Dress: Tailored fabness for Team Curvy. Not good on apple shaped body types. Runs big.
- Loft Striped Flare Dress: A great style for a curvy petite with a small to regular size bust. Very waist defining, yet breezy. It can work on a subtle apple shaped body type because the stripes are camouflaging. Soft fabrication. The stripes are bold so consider yourself warned. The vertical stripes on the bottom are unique and slimming.
- Linen Popover Shirtdress (Regular & Petite): An amazing uber casual shirtdress that's super soft, lined, and has pockets. VERY comfy. The curved hem adds structure. Runs very big so size down one or two sizes. Great with flat sandals.
- Utility Midi Shirtdress: A fashion-forward shirt dress in a rich shade of olive. The fabric drapes surprisingly well despite its stiffness. Love the side entry pockets. Works well on all body types except pretty pears. As roomy as it looks, it's cut quite narrow on the hips. You have to be okay with the shapeless sack silhouette, so watch out. Runs small.
- J.Crew Short-sleeve cargo dress: A fitted classic in linen. Read the rave reviews.
- J.Crew Ruffled bell-sleeve shift dress in stripe: Bell sleeve fabness for apple shapes. Good on petites. Runs big, and might feel a little short on regular height gals.
- Chambray Shirtdress: Sporty Luxe Fabness.
- Tencel Chambray Roll Sleeve Shirtdress: Soft and lightweight. The drawstring waist adds great definition to the torso. Fab on petites.
Visit the collection page to see the pictures alongside my descriptions.
