If you work in an office environment with a smart or smart casual dress code, dresses have probably been one of your go-to staples.

But when it comes to picking dresses for work, many women make a few crucial mistakes.

In today’s Style Note I wanted to show you 3 variations of a smart dress that will tick all your work boxes and will offer additional options on top of it.

Tight shift dresses, jersey wrap dresses and sleeveless pencil dresses are all quite dated styles.

If you want a dress that is modern, refined and versatile, there are 3 key features to look out for:

1. long sleeve – this is the number 1 requirement. You want to be able to wear the dress with no terms & conditions attached – no little cardigans or trying to time it with the weather so you don’t get cold.
2. midi-length – this length is not only very contemporary but is also very versatile and stylish.
3. V-neck or scoop neck – ideally you want to be able to style the dress with a blazer if needed and these necklines can easily facilitate that.

So the most versatile dresses that have all of these features are the waisted midi-dress (preferably with a V-neck and look out for the long sleeves I just talked about), the shirt dress and the wrap dress.

It’s important to avoid the jersey and stretchy cotton materials in wrap dresses as those styles are quite dated. More structured fabrics will work best.

The other 2 styles work well in heavy-ish polyester finishes. 

Avoid cotton finish in shirt and waisted dresses as those are casual rather than work dresses. 

Summer or winter, these dresses will give you a ton of options to rely on.

In winter they will easily pair with knee-high or ankle boots and in summer you can add a pair of sandals and brighter accessories.

These dresses can also be styled with blazers if you want an extra smart vibe to the look.

The hidden beauty of these dresses is that besides doing everything you’d want a work dress to do, they can easily transition into the weekend wardrobe. Just pair them with a biker jacket or a denim jacket. For an extra laid-back vibe, add a pair of white leather sneakers.

All 3 of these styles follow more or less the same silhouette with long sleeves, waist on show and elongated skirt. This will give you enough flexibility to not only wear dresses on their own, but also to layer. So this is definitely a silhouette I’d highly recommend considering. 

There is also a variety of options you can tap into colourwise – think dark colours, bold pops of colour, prints or light summery colours.

Since we are trying to make these dresses work for work first and foremost, I’d recommend being careful with floral prints. They often lack that professional office vibe and can look too girlie in the office environment.

Geometric prints, including stripes, will work much better. As another alternative, consider abstract prints or floral prints but with bold flowers and a lot of space in the print.

If the dress code is on the casual side, disregard these suggestions and have fun with florals or animal prints.

These 3 styles are pretty much universally flattering shapewise. 

V-neck and wrap style will work well if you have a big bust, but be careful with shirt dresses as they can be tricky to fit over the bust.

Having said that, shirt dresses are meant to be worn relaxed and not overly fitted, so there should be a good bit of space between the skin and the fabric. This will help the dress to sit better over bigger busts.

If you are petite and are worried that the midi length might overwhelm you without having to wear heels, simply choose styles that are only couple of inches below the knee. You will still create an illusion of the modern silhouette without distoring proportions.

If you have a bit of a tummy, give preference to styles that are not overly fitted and have a print – pattern can hide the tummy very well. Bright colours will accentuate the tummy so are best to be avoided. 

These cuts will look very flattering on ‘pears’ and ‘hourglasses’. 

If you have these styles in your wardrobe, see if you can wear them outside of work to get as much wear out of them as possible. To do that, simply consider teaming them with more casual footwear and jackets.