The Basic Dress Every Woman Needs

Tips on Healthy Living

It's a V-neck, semi-fitted dress, worn with a bold necklace or statement earrings, a bracelet, and heels. Here are eight more details to look for -- and 10 to avoid -- when shopping for the dress. From Wear This, Not That!: Hundreds of Fashion and Beauty Swaps That Save Your Looks, Save Your Budget & Save You Time, by Amy E. Goodman.

Wear: A V-neck, semifitted dress, worn with a bold necklace or statement earrings, a bracelet, and heels.

  • Shoulder straps or fabric that rests naturally on your shoulders

  • Armholes that fit -- no gaping, no constricting

  • A zipper that zips easily. Holding your breath? Size up

  • Seams that lie flat on shoulders, sides, and butt

  • A style that tastefully shows some skin in your décolleté to balance a curvy body

  • Fabric that drapes smoothly, showing off curves without being taut

  • Monochrome color scheme, which is almost always slimming

  • Patterns proportional to your body size. If you're petite, go for smaller prints; for larger frames, try bigger prints

Toss: A visually detailed dress with busy pattern panels is never a basic choice.

  • Beyond busy prints

  • Horizontal stripes (unless you're curve-less)

  • Shoulder fabric or straps that dig

  • Unflatteringly stiff fabrics

  • Roomy, shapeless dresses that no longer fit

  • A dress with sky-high shoulder pads

  • Shirt dresses with buttons that pop at the chest

  • Overly appliquéd styles with sequins, paillettes, rhinestones, rosettes, beading, crystals, pom poms, fringe, and shells that visually or actually weigh you down

  • Strapless styles if you have broad shoulders

  • Muu-muus

We want to know - What's your favorite kind of dress?


ABOUT THE AUTHORAmy E. Goodman, author of Wear This, Toss That!: Hundreds of Fashion and Beauty Swaps That Save Your Looks, Save Your Budget & Save You Time (Copyright © 2011 by Little Professor Productions, LLC, and The Stonesong Press, LLC), is a frequent contributor to the Today show, as well as The View, Good Morning America, The Early Show, CNN, and Movie & a Makeover, among others. A former correspondent and editor for InStyle and senior editor for All You, she is currently an editor at large for Southern Living and fashion trend director for Timex. She lives with her husband and two young children in Washington, D.C.

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