A few weeks ago, before a recent trip to Cartagena, I realized that I didn’t have a single simple little black dress hanging in my closet. Turns out the idea that every woman should own a black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion had no longer made sense with my quirky art-teacher style, and one by one I had listed and sold them off on Poshmark. But as I began packing for my trip, I found myself wishing I had something chic, comfortable, and easy to throw on with my favorite sandals or over my bathing suit. So I placed a few frantic online-shopping orders.
It took me a while to find a little black dress that, well, wasn’t so little. I’m five-foot-four (not a particularly tall person) and was finding all the minidresses I tried on way too short. I loved the Nataly Knit Dress by Reformation because of the high boatneck, but it was too tight and way too short. I also tried the 14/1 Rib Spaghetti Boatneck Dress from Los Angeles Apparel, which is made of a very heavyweight cotton. I really liked how thick the material was but found that it was slightly too tight around the upper half of my body, and it was also too short. I knew I wanted to wear this dress when it was very hot outside and was worried about breathability.
Out of the eight dresses I ordered, only one dress was not returned. And it was the one I had the least hopes for: an unassuming Free People number, which costs $50 and to an untrained eye looks like every other tank dress on the market.
First off, the length is perfect. It falls a little more than halfway down my thighs — short enough to still be considered a minidress but long enough that I don’t have to worry about bending over. The mix of viscose, polyester, and elastane gives it a heavyweight feel yet wasn’t too suffocating while I was wandering the streets of Cartagena, where temperatures were in the 90s. The heavyweight fabric blend also allows the dress to drape really elegantly without bunching up or laying weirdly on my frame. And though it’s described as slim, the dress has more of an A-line structure — it’s basically the chicer version of the black spandex bodycon dress we all had in high school. And I like how the scoop neck fits more on the high-neck side, which I think always gives a dress a more refined look. It ended up being all I wanted to wear on my vacation. It should also be noted that it didn’t wrinkle despite being packed into my stuffed-to-the-brim suitcase.
Back in Brooklyn, I’ve loved styling it with boots and a big coat for the colder days. And as it has started to warm up, I’ve been wearing it with some neutral socks, fisherman sandals, and a chunky-knit sweater.
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