Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Dress; A Quest

I am looking for a day dress.

All spring and summer I live in dresses—the kind that have defined bodices and waists, then float away from the body, dresses that one can simply slip on, add sandals, and go.

But in fall and winter?

Yesterday I had a craving for a dress and went to my closet. But what was inside? Separates. Pencil skirts, jackets, cashmere t-shirts, cropped cigarette pants. Not one weather-appropriate day dress.

Why is this? Are fall and winter dresses too structured? Too office-y? Too button-y? Are the prints too reminiscent of department stores? Do the dresses tend to wear the person?

Surely there must be dresses that resist categorization, that have a flattering but not overly designed shape, that are in attractive solid colors.

Gentle readers, if you have any suggestions, just send them to my adress.

10 comments:

K.Line said...

Sometimes Club Monaco does a nice one. And if you're willing to spend a bomb, you could get something Mouret that's fab. I totally want a good winter weight day dress now too...

materfamilias said...

The wish for fall/winter weight dresses almost has me hauling out my sewing machine again. Almost. Some days I just crave the easy simplicity and smart-ness of a simple dress. My favourite right now was a lucky find at Gap (I know!) year before last -- a grey flannel shift which would be great if it had pockets.

Belle de Ville said...

I too love to wear dresses but they are easier to find in summer than winter styles. At the high end Donna Karan, Akris and Piazza Sempione. At the low end Black Halo, Mod Cloth, DKNY. The Neiman Marcus website has lots of dresses, and you can narrow the search by price.
The last couple of years I have been wearing dresses by Calvin Klein. They are pattern free, reasonably priced and perfect for work.

Angie Muresan said...

Hope you find something out there. I spend my autumns and winters in pencil skirts and boots or pants. A dress would be nice.

Make Do Style said...

I'm sending you the one I would select which I think you could wear with thick opaque black tights, with boots with jumper on top - any which way for winter wear

Here is the link

http://www.matchesfashion.com/fcp/product/Matches-Fashion/Dresses/diane-von-furstenberg-dvf-w-d7613306l9-pri-dresses/12196?colour=red&page=dvf

WendyB said...

Clearly I need to send you the info on what's left of the Francis fall line -- lots of dresses!

Glowing Doll said...

You need a good structured sweater dress:

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=930094&catId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&pushId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&popId=CLOTHES&sortProperties=&navCount=55&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=060&colorName=RED&isSubcategory=true&isProduct=true

Disneyrollergirl.net said...

Nothing to add except sympathy because I'm feeling the winter blahs with my wardrobe as well!

Toby Wollin said...

My sewing machine and I have have a standing date for two lightweight wool dresses for this fall and winter - as soon as I finish my winter coat, that is..

s. said...

I have just started layering lighter dresses - not summer dresses, to be sure, but autumnal weight - with slim turtlecks beneath or cardigans over top. It has allowed me to wear a lot of dresses that were, until now, out of commission all winter-long.