The Perfect T-Shirt Dress

Every now and then, I get an idea in my head of a piece of clothing I need. What starts as an idea completely morphs into an unattainable garment that doesn’t exist. Enter in my brain, the black and white striped t-shirt dress. Sounds pretty simple right? Not once my mind gets a hold of it and it has to be about knee length, not too around the hips, comfortable, able to be worn at work and on the weekend…and I didn’t even consider white with black stripes or black with white stripes?!

With this simple yet oh so complicated idea spinning in my head, it’s taken me years to find a dress that satisfies my ridiculous criteria. That was until last week when I found the perfect black and white stripe t-shirt dress that checked every box and cost me $26 (currently on sale for $16).

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All photos by the amazing Michelle Dorman

I’m starting to believe I find the best items when I’m not looking. Well that’s what happened when I strolled into Old Navy one day, unexpected of what I was to find. I always stop to check out the striped t-shirt dresses only to find this one intrigued me slightly more. I dared to go into the dressing room on a Saturday in downtown Seattle and found the dress fit perfectly and fit all my criteria. I didn’t know my fashion guardian angel was in Old Navy that day!

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And for $26, how could I say no? So let me get into why this dress is my perfect version of what a t-shirt dress should be.

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Not too tight, not too loose: For once I don’t have to choose between a body con dress and a dress that looks like a giant tee shirt. It’s loose enough that I can eat a plate of nachos without sucking in but tight enough that it doesn’t look I’m wearing a pillow case.

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Perfect length: This dress hits just above my knee. Personally, I don’t like wearing super short dresses because I’m always uncomfortable. However, I feel the pain of the midi dress too – hello, I”m 5’ 3’’ and a midi can easily turn into an ankle grazer.  Mega props to Old Navy on the length of this dress.

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Substantial material: This dress is relatively thick and with a little stretch. There is no need for a slip, nude underwear, or a tank top under this dress because the fabric is substantial enough to cover. Wear your Friday undies on Monday, no one will know.

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Cross Functional: This dress can easily go from the office to the weekend. The simplicity and work appropriate cut can be styled with a blazer and tights. Or you can opt for a camo jacket, black choker, and booties for a weekend look, like I did here.

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This dress can easily be a versatile piece in wardrobe and at $26  $16 what do you have to lose?

The dress, jacket, choker, boots, and bag featured above are the exact items from this post! Each piece is very affordable :) If the dress has low inventory, try ordering a size up in petite. I ordered an XS regular sizing.

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About Bailey

Seattle fashion blogger at hotdresshotmess.com

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