I love dresses!

I have several sheath style dresses that are flattering, but for some occasions they can look a little too va va voom! I have had good success with maxi dresses too, but these are true summer holiday and barbeque wear for me. When I wear shifts or looser tunic style dresses they can be terribly unflattering. I have tried several shirt dresses on over the years and also found them a challenge.

For summer I would like to add a couple of dresses to my wardrobe.

At 45 I want something elegant but fun, and not too dressy, but that could take me from a casual work setting to the sports sideline or to lunch with friends without looking mad in any of those places.

While I will probably buy locally, I wondered what styles had worked on others.

I have added some pics from Country Road, an Australian retailer who has a store near me just for reference. I don't have my heart set on any of these, but they show a range of day dresses broadly in the type of dress I would like.

I prefer a midi length to a mini, I am happy to wear sleeveless as long as I can wear a bra, and a slightly lower neckline is best on my neck/shoulder/bust area.

From the pics I would think 1-3 would suit me figure wise, although the neck on 3 is not my best. I think 4-6 would be unflattering.

I actually like 1 3 4 and 6 the best, 2 is similar to a body con Bailey 44 dress that I have, and I think 5 is very boxy.

Interested to see what styles other people would think would work on me or what styles other hourglasses have had success with.

The other option is I just get over the vava voom nature of the sheath dresses......

Thanks in advance,