The Best Women's Dresses for Working from Home

You’re working from home? Yay! You’ll want to have easy outfits that make you look and feel great for your professional working hours. Let’s look at the best women’s dresses for working from home.

First, the Fit

If it’s been a while since you have taken your measurements, start with your current curves. You’ll want women’s dresses that are comfy and stylish for working from home. Our bodies are always changing, and you’ll want to make sure that you don’t buy dresses that are too tight or too loose anywhere.

If you have ever admired Audrey Hepburn’s classic good looks, keep in mind that not only were the outfits that she “threw on” as the character, Holly Golightly, designed for her, but Hollywood lore has also it that she would often go through six separate fittings per outfit. Part of what made her so gorgeous was that her clothes fit. We all deserve clothes that make us look and feel beautiful.

Form Should Follow Function

Think about the exact activities that you will be performing throughout your workday. Will you spend most of your time sitting at a desk? Do you have a standing desk that you prefer to use? Do you have a job that requires you to see clients either in a home office or at other locations throughout the day? A great work dress will accommodate all your work-from-home activities.

If you work primarily from a sitting position at a desk, you’ll want the hem of your dress to be at a length that works well with your desk chair. A maxidress might look great, but is it likely to get caught up in your chair wheels? If so, keep it for after hours. It will be fun to change into for dinner out one evening or lunch with a friend on the weekend!

Breathability is Best

Natural fabrics are always the comfiest ones and this includes dresses for working from home. You will be comfier wearing cotton or silk than you would in a synthetic blend—even if you're in control of the thermostat. Cotton dresses are great year-round. Cotton is just a great fabric to wear next to your skin. Whether you're talking with your coworkers, working on a spreadsheet, or making an important presentation, a cotton dress will help you keep your cool through anything that your workday may bring.

Versatile for Video

When thinking about what activities you perform for your job, keep in mind who sees them. Are you constantly in meetings, but most of them are audio calls? Do you occasionally have video calls with your team or manager? Even if you don’t typically have video calls, you will want to have “video versatile” dresses as part of your work-from-home wardrobe. Consider adding a waterfall cardigan sweater to your work-from-home dress for an instant upgrade.

We have all seen the memes about people wearing formal business outfits from the waist up and pajama pants from the waist down. You don’t need to go to that extreme (unless you want to) but making sure that your “waist up” look is appropriately professional for both your job and the specific occasion at your job is key. You’ll want to choose dresses that have professional-looking necklines (i.e., not plunging necklines) and are flattering to your face. In general, solid colors look better on video than patterns. Matte fabrics work better than those with a sheen. Light can play on both in ways that distract from your face. In a business setting, you will want your smiling face and the ideas you present to be the focus.

Getting Out and Going Out

You will also want work-from-home dresses that can flex from working at home to activities like running errands, going out to lunch, or going offsite for a meeting easily. You’ll want to be comfy during your work hours, but not have to change clothes to go somewhere if you don’t want to do so. A fit and flare dress is a great option for this because they are comfy while always looking pulled together.

One of the best parts of working from home is having no commute! This will give you more free time to enjoy balance in your life. So… make sure to plan some fun activities for after-hours. Whether you're dashing off to a yoga class, going to a home store to look at paint chips for that cool DIY project, or going out on a date night with your sweetheart, make sure to enjoy the added flexibility that working from home can give you.