Clothes Things

Is the “House” Dress the Perfect Quarantine Outfit?

Arlyn HernandezAugust 9, 202013 Comments

No, that is not me wearing a house dress, but it IS probably the last time me wearing something sleeveless was documented. Plus, I’m IN a house, and I look pretty comfortable, so I thought it appropriate (really, I just couldn’t think of a photo, stumbled upon this one and wanted to use it. My blog, my rules).

ANYHOW, when quarantine started, approximately seven years ago in March, the silver lining was being able to trade in my jeans and slacks during my workday for stretchier athleisure. But even that quickly became uncomfortable. Workout leggings? They are TIGHT. So I often found myself scavenging my drawers for more comfortable cotton shorts or pajama pants.

You know what got tiring really fast? Running to change out of my see-through or butt-cheek revealing shorts to accept a delivery or move my car for street sweeping (when that was still happening). From there, the next move was purchasing some more comfortable “house clothes” as I like to call it. I ordered some relatively schlumpy sweat pants which did the cozy trick…until LA remembered what summer was. On top of that, wearing sweatpants all day sure does feel good, but after a while, you forget what your actual silhouette looks like and that you’re a person rather that just a pile of French terry.

Fast forward six and a half years—a.k.a. late July—and I got into the habit of digging my most comfortable dresses out of the closet in the morning and feeling so free and swingy and loose all day. You know what’s better than sweatpants with a looser waistband? NO WAISTBAND. Plus, a dress is a real outfit, which satisfies both a little self esteem boost (never underestimate the mood enhancer of looking in the mirror and saying “oh yeah, that’s what I look like!”) and eliminates the need for “delivery/door pants.”

I have about four dresses on rotation, but now that I discovered that the house dress is the perfect quarantine outfit, I’m hunting down a few more options. Here are my prerequisites:

  • Must not be stiff. 100% cotton, linen or cotton blend/jersey only need apply.
  • Must have some semblance of sleeves (showing up to a Zoom meeting with essentially a tank top is not a look I’m into for myself).
  • Midi and maxi lengths are preferred but mostly because I would rather not be distracted by my leg stubble.
  • Easy to wear, i.e. no separate waist ties that need to be fumbled with all day, limited buttons, stretchy.

Let’s take a look at some of the contenders.

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I guess I missed the cross-leg-over-and-point memo about how to wear a dress, but regardless these look COMFORTABLE.
  • 1. Ribbed Pocket Tee Midi Dress: I have a T-shirt dress from Madewell similar to this one that I wear all the time but I really love the ribbed texture here. Sadly, there are only a few sizes left in both colors.
  • 2. Sleeveless Button-Front Mini Dress: This one breaks a few rules (buttons, length, sleeves) but sometimes, I break my own rules. I love the color and the texture.
  • 3. Gauze Easy Midi Dress: This one is only available up to a medium right now but man I love it. Gauze is so lightweight and perfect for summer…someone please buy this if I can’t.
  • 4. Linen-Blend Striped Shirt Dress for Women: Okay okay, again with the buttons, but this is a shirt dress and the buttons are really just…decorative. You can still slip it on and off. Plus, the linen blend would be really nice on those 100-degree SoCal days.
  • 5. Embroidered Linen-Blend Raglan Ruffle Mini Dress: Never do I look more Latin than when I wear a dress like this. I usually call them “Panchita” dresses and yes, I have a few. Back before COVID days, I’d wear them with pretty strappy sandals or wedges, otherwise, I’d look like a potato but I’m in no position these days to care about potato aesthetics.
  • 6. Button-Back Easy Dress in Stripe: I have this dress in an olive green and I love it so much. It has big, cute buttons all the way down the back which levels this up from a simple shift.
  • 13. Linen Side-Button Easy Dress: Similar to #6 but half the price.
  • 14. Drawstring T-shirt Dress: I have something like this in a romper set up, which in theory is great, but in practice suuuuucks when it comes time to go to the bathroom…numerous times a day.
  • 15. Short Sleeve Split Boho Dress: Amazon Fashion can be a bit all over the place in sizing and quality. It’s the epitome of fast fashion (I mean, all of this stuff is, tbh) but I know a few people who have and love this dress, so I might give it a whirl.

Aaaand thank you for virtually window shopping with me. Maybe you found a house dress or two in there for yourself…I know I did. I’ll be sure to report back on any of the above that I end up purchasing, adding any I give the thumbs up to to my Favorites page. Have a great rest of your weekend, internet (and real) friends.