What’s the Best Housedress?

Bestunder-$50housedresses

Colu Henry, New YorkTimesfood columnist and author ofBack Pocket Pasta, fell in love with caftans around 2011 when she stumbled on Laughing Cherries, a company that makes cotton drawstring-waist caftans: “I put it on, and I felt elegant,” and her housedress obsession began there. “I can’t tell you how many I’ve bought of those in different prints,” she says. “The more worn in they get, they become more housedress than ‘out’ dress.”

“My main goal in life is to be comfortable at all times, and a housedress is the absolute pinnacle of comfort,” Freer says. “Plus, there are usually pockets involved.” She says to look for pockets “large enough to hold your phone, a pack of tissues, and a lip balm,” and recommends “a housedress with a small cap or flutter sleeve, so you can wear it on days where you don’t want to bother shaving your underarms.” Finally, don’t overlook length: This one, which “just barely grazes the top of your knees, so you can bend over in the yard without flashing the world,” is just right.

“This Vinkis dress has been following me around on Instagram, and now that I see it’s under $50, I think I’m going to buy it,” Mechling says. The ideal housedress, she says, has “soft, thin fabric, loose shoulders, generous underarms, a waist that would accommodate a Hula-Hoop” — and, finally, nap-ability. “The dream iteration is one you can fall asleep in and will double as a nightgown. Caftan life is not bounded by time of day,” Mechling adds.

Update: We have received multiple complaints from customers regarding this Vinkis dress. We are attempting to contact the company and will update this post with any additional information.

Freer has found gems on the vintage siteRusty Zipper, which “consistently has an incredible selection of vintage housedresses, muumuus, and caftans,” she says. “They are the real deal, selling vintage on the web since 1995. Their buyers have amazing taste, and their prices are very fair.” One of her purchases — she bought it so long ago she was still “using AOL dial-up” — looked like this ’60s piece. For vintage newbies, Freer says to measure “a garment you already own and love the fit of; it’s the best way to determine if something is going to work, and most vintage sellers take measurements with the item laying flat, so it’s easy to compare.”

Bestunder-$100housedresses

A similar recommendation comes from Maria Del Russo, writer and author ofSimple Acts of Love. “Believe it or not, Country Store has some adorable options,” she says of the online general store that started years ago as a catalogue. She’s planning on buying this seersucker housecoat with a front zip and smock yoke. “I feel like a glamorous lady whenever I put on a housecoat with a fun pattern,” she says.

Freer also swears by Dillard’s, where she remembers shopping with her mom as a kid in Texas. She recently bought this chambray patio dress there because she’s “a sucker for cheerful motifs like ladybugs,strawberries, and rainbows,” Freer says. If critters are too cutesy for you, she suggeststhis denim onewith a floral embroidery.

Mechling recommends Salter House, a hip general store in Brooklyn Heights, for its nightdresses, which are “all under $100 and absolutely lovely,” she says. “Their look is very sleepy Portuguese aristocrat.”

For a slightly less homespun take on the housedress, style bloggerSade Akinsanyalikes the maxi and midi dresses from indie British label Kitri. “They’re brilliant transitional pieces that I can wear in the summer with a headscarf, espadrilles, and a basket bag, or layered up in winter with tights, boots, and a leather jacket,” she says. She owns this rathersunny maxithat happens to be on sale right now.

Bestunder-$200housedresses

Though Del Russo is not typically interested in long-sleeved housedresses (“They make me feel like I’m wearing a robe,” she explains), she would make an exception for this “amazing dressing gown,” which is currently at the top of her wish list. (There’s only extra small left, butthis one’ssimilarly charming — and on sale.)

Akinsanya also recommends Swedish retailer Odd Molly, which has excellent patterns and lots of voluminous silhouettes.

Syme typically sticks with vintage when it comes to caftans, but for new options, she likes “some of the drapey dresses you can get these days from Universal Standard.”

Henry also recommends Emerson Fry’s cotton caftans, which come in really pretty patterns and have a covered, cinchable waistband for some shape (one of the most important caftan details in Henry’s opinion). Also considerPax Philomena’s maxi caftans: A personal favorite of mine, they’re similar to Emerson Fry’s styles in price and silhouette — they have the same hidden belt — but come in bolder, more saturated prints. I live in thisglamorous Paradise style, currently available on preorder.

Bestunder-$300housedresses

Mechling says Ace & Jig is one of her go-tos for around-the-house dresses. This one has an elastic waist, is made of 100 percent cotton, and comes in eight prints — plus it’s available in extended sizing (up to a 4X).

Another one of Mechling’s favorites is Matta, an indie label known for its rich patterns and lightweight cotton voile, like this abstract tiger-print style.

“I think the modern resurgence of housedresses started withthis Ganni dressthat is basically a nightgown you can wear to the grocery,” Freer says. “It’s part of the collective realization that you don’t have to be in pain to look cute. All it took was a pandemic — and people trying to work on their sofa in real-world clothes — for us to figure it out.” Freer’s black-and-white version from the hip Danish brand is mostly sold out, but this slightly more colorful style is still in stock (and just as cool).

“Ilovethe housedresses fromWagner Uniform, a label that my next-door neighbor Antonia Wagner Belt started,” Mechling says, praising this gingham option’s not-just-for-quarantine aesthetic. “These are comfy, stealthily structured housedresses that you can wear to job interviews once this is all over,” she notes.

Bestsplurge-worthyhousedresses

“Zero + Maria Cornejo has been making some really beautiful ones,” Henry says. They can hit four figures when they’re full price, but you can often find them marked down to the $300 to $500 range.

Syme says there’s a fine line “between a caftan that makes you feel like a goddess and the one that kind of makes you feel like you were like an old lady getting the newspaper with a towel on your head.” That’s why she tends to stick with the more glamorous options out there. “I prefer the ones that look like you’re a Hollywood actress in her dressing room,” like this Boudoir by D’Lish piece, a label she’s been fawning over recently.