They Are Work & Weekend Appropriate

There’s nothing worse - sartorially speaking - than arriving at a post-work dinner or catch-up with friends looking like a version of yourself you usually reserve for the office. Blouses tucked into pencil skirts have their place in workdrobes, but we’re celebrating the office-appropriate shirt dress outfits that embrace and embolden every side of your personality to guarantee you never feel as though you’re making compromises for the sake of a business dress code. 

Elevate a longline shirt dress in a neutral tone or classic white shade with a neat colour-pop blazer and heels when a day at your desk beckons. Thanks to a shirt dress’s tailored details and unstuffy silhouette, it helps you to perfect a put-together look that makes a statement when you arrive at the office in the morning and those aforementioned reservations when 6pm rolls around - and not because it looks as though you’re ready to run through the company numbers this quarter, unlike other work-appropriate outfits. 

When those precious Saturdays and Sundays arrive, this comfortable style ensures that even if you’ve just thrown on a shirt dress with trainers to quickly run errands, it perfects a considered and carefully put-together look without making you lay the groundwork ahead of time - consider it your cheat sheet to effortlessly elevated dressing.

Crafted from super-soft cotton shirting, our Casual Cotton Maxi Shirt Dress + Belt speaks to weekends defined by a back-to-back schedule when temperatures start to rise thanks to its breathable fabric and classic print. Introduce the removable belt into the mix for a pulled-together finish.

They Have Forever Appeal

While they existed before, shirt dresses didn’t enter the zeitgeist of the masses until the 1930s and their popularity has rarely waned since. While the style has taken on many guises through the centuries - for an example, look to the 80s’ iterations topped with statement shoulders - two key details have remained the same: a neat collar and a button-up front.

Always following the beat of its own (metaphorical) drum, these shirt dresses don’t pander to flyby trends. A classically cut one crafted from a soft yarn in a versatile colourway has a timeless quality that acts as the backbone to a plethora of penchants. Embellish them with decorative brooches to add drama akin to that spied on SS22 fashion-week runways or team them with collegiate-inspired pieces and low-top trainers as a nod to the sports-luxe trend.

In a denim-look cotton shirting and stitched with feminine gathered details at the shoulders, our Cotton Chambray Midi Shirt Dress + Belt marries a short-sleeved silhouette with an already-timeless shade resulting in a piece that is unlikely to stray far from your weekly rotation, whether it’s complemented by trainers or heeled boots. In other words, this is a piece that has trans-seasonal staying power and never dates.

They Have Year-Round Versatility

Even though they’re only truly championed a few months of the year, we’re never going to dispute the place a pair of shorts has in your summer wardrobe or the importance of an insulating duvet coat in your winter one. What we will do, however, is rave about the versatility of the shirt dress. Unlike those aforementioned pieces, shirt dresses have cemented their spot in your year-round wardrobe - possibly in more than one iteration.

When temperatures start to rise, a summer shirt dress in a breathable, crease-free yarn that is easy to pack and style without the use of an iron is your sartorial answer to tackling rising temperatures. And it perfectly bridges the wardrobe gap between days at the beach and ones exploring cobbled streets. A shorter silhouette lends itself to cover-up status styled with swimwear poolside and can be translated to city-ready looks with sandals, a belt and a lightweight jacket.

Crafted from breathable, pure-cotton cheesecloth that has a natural texture, our belted midi and maxi shirt dresses keep you cool in the heat and are doused in your pick of bold and pared-back shades to satisfy every colour craving.

When the sun starts to make fewer appearances and the nights draw in, turn to tights and cosy round-neck knits to layer over your pick of shirt dresses, leaving the collar to peek out over the top. Pull your look together with a longline coat or oversized blazer to accommodate cold-weather knits. Round off your ensemble with tall leather ankle boots to combat the chill and keep your footing steady on slippery pavements. 

They Complement Every Penchant

Given the style’s shapeshifting habit and affinity with any fabric - much like its menswear beginnings - its position in any and every wardrobe is almost indisputable, whether it’s one that has a penchant for effortlessly put-together ensembles or leans towards more casual aesthetics. In short, a shirt dress appeals to bold colour and print magpies as well as those sartorial purists among us.

From a version of a shirt dress that takes cues from minimalism to ones that celebrate bold patterning and prints, they’re as all-encompassing as traditional shirting with the same versatility through the seasons. Finding that maximalist-minimalist balance, our Silk Colour Block Feminine Dress + Belt brings together a timeless long-sleeved silhouette detailed with pressed pleats running down the front and a statement, vibrant green shade.

While the buttoned front works to switch the aesthetic between a sophisticated and more slouchy one, it also accommodates different bust sizes and figures. Whatever your frame, add a belt to the simple, button-up design to create an hourglass silhouette by emphasising the smallest part of your body for a universally flattering finish.

In a classic print and sunshine hue, our Frill Sleeve Striped Midi Shirt Dress + Belt (coming soon) can be styled with tailoring for a polished look as well as faded denim or leather jackets for a grungier approach signed off with anything from pointed-toe heels and polished brogues to chunky ankle boots and trainers to chime with your tastes.