Throw-on-and-go dresses to get you through the rest of winter

An easy-to-wear, long-sleeve print dress is the between-season staple that Londoners need right now. Emma McCarthy has a guide 
Kitri Jeanette Check Belted Jacket Dress
Kitri
Emma McCarthy4 February 2020

1. The dress that’s not a dress

Flower Berry Print Silk Top, £159, shop it here. Worn with the Flower Berry Print Silk Skirt, £179, shop it here.
Whistles

As appealing as the prospect of a fling-on-and-go instant outfit is to your morning routine, it can also make for a bunch of very lazy dressers.

Wake up your wardrobe with a co-ord of matching separates designed to work as well together as they do independently. The Limited Edition spring collection from Whistles — crafted from only the most luxurious fabrics and made in exclusively small production runs — has it nailed with this fresh floral and berry print silk skirt and ruffled blouse combo. Wear the top with denim and the skirt with a sloppy jumper when you’re not working the full look.

2. The short smock

The Arket ​Ruffled Crêpe Dress, £79, shop it here.
Arket

Much ink has been spilled over the merits of the midi dress. But shorter hemlines need not equal less versatility. Take Arket’s ruffled crepe dress — crafted from semi-sheer, airy viscose fabric and cut with a wide silhouette and billowy sleeves, it’s the perfect dress to layer over kick flare leather trousers and ankle boots now, stompy knee-high boots come spring and your trusty Birkenstocks all summer. It’s also available in three colours including plain black and monochrome polka dot, but we’re fangirling over this trans-seasonal floral print.

3. The one with flex appeal

Chinti & Parker Navy Abstract Cotton-Jersey Dress, £295, shop it here. (Chinti & Parker)
Chinti & Parker

If it were up to us, we’d live all day every day in our favourite T-shirt and sweat pants. Unfortunately, head-to-toe jersey is not a look every workplace is accepting of.

Unless it’s from Chinti & Parker. Designed to be as flattering as it is comfortable, thanks to its demi-turtleneck and loosely belted A-line fit, the bold abstract print of this jersey dress helpfully detracts from the fact that you got dressed in 45 seconds and your mind is still on the sofa.

4. The hard worker

Me + Em Large Dot Keyhole Dress + Tie, £270, shop it here.
ME + EM

Every wardrobe needs an all-rounder, yet not every shop has one. ME+EM — the capital’s purveyors of “intelligent style” — has no such shortage.

This dotty little number, for example, features a crease-free sheer georgette over-layer with a stretch lining, a waist tie which can be worn loose for a relaxed fit or pulled in for a more fitted shape and a flattering keyhole neckline complete with a removable tie that can be styled around the neck in a pussybow. It also boasts two holy-grail requirements — sleeves (in reverse monochrome, to match the flounced under-layer) and a care label that boasts the words “machine washable”.

(£270, meandem.com)

5. The new shirt dress

Kitri ​Jeanette Check Belted Jacket Dress, £115, shop it here.
Kitri

Somewhere along the line, the shirt dress lost its crown as the capital’s most ubiquitous style to the slip dress. This season, the OG is out to reclaim its title thanks in part to a host of London’s most influential young labels which are dusting off the boring boardroom perception and giving the wardrobe hero back its credibility.

Among them, Kitri, which has introduced its check print “Jacket Dress” which can be worn buttoned up and belted or left open like a coat depending on your mood — or more likely, the weather.

(£165, kitristudio.com)

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