Swoon. I love both dresses and have a lot to say.
Full disclosure: I love simple, clean lined clothing and have an affinity for this style of dress; But I really love how it looks on you. Really, really Love.
First the red dress:
Since the red is a little out of your color, and looks great and you feel comfortable in it, I would consider getting the red just to stretch my range. I think another black dress would be easier to find than a red. I think this is the red dress to get and I would force myself to wear it, to get comfortable with this color. I think any black shoes would bookend your hair nicely. And if your toes happen to peak out of your shoes, I think it would be a nice touch if your toenail polish reflect the dress color, as shown in the photos.
The size:
I was going to say I couldn't see a difference between sizes, but once Rachylou mentioned the shoulder thing, I couldn't unsee it. I now decidedly think the smaller size is more flattering.
The black dress:
The black dress still looks fantastic and the lines are simple and clean enough that I would consider duplicating it, with a couple of caveats.
- The lines are so clean that I don't think people would notice it was a duplicate, but I might take note to style the dresses differently.
- I agree that it's a lot of black from the front, so I would experiment with jewelry or a scarf or even sew buttons on the front and see how you like it.
- I would audition the black dress against other items in your closet.
Does it fill a wardrobe hole? Do you like it better than something similar? Could that item be moved to holding or donation? Do you already have something that you like so much better? Could you manage adding both the red & black dress comfortably to your life?
Good luck in your decision.
I love this dress on you.
