Striped Drawstring Waist Casual Dress

Stripes and a drawstring, which is close to a perfect combination for a dress you actually want to wear rather than admire. The stripes run multicolour so it never reads as plain, and the drawstring at the waist means you decide the shape rather than the pattern maker deciding it for you. Pull it in and you have a waist. Leave it loose and the whole thing turns into an easy shift.

The composition is 95% polyester and 5% elastane, slightly stretchy, and the body is not lined. That bit of elastane keeps the stripes from distorting when you move and gives the fabric a soft recovery, so it looks the same at six in the evening as it did at nine in the morning. Sizes run S through XL. The table below covers length, waist, hip and bust. The length runs between roughly thirty four and thirty six inches, and the hip measurement is generous because the skirt is cut full below the drawstring.

Flat sandals and a straw bag is the default and it is hard to improve on. A denim jacket handles a cool evening, white sneakers relax it further, and a tan belt over the drawstring gives you a sharper waist if that is the mood. Because it is multicolour, let the dress choose the palette and keep everything else neutral. It packs small, it does not hold a crease, and it comes out of a bag ready to wear, which is most of what you want from a summer dress.

Why you will love it

• Multicolour stripes with an adjustable drawstring waist
• Features: drawstring
• Material composition: 95% polyester, 5% elastane
• Stretch: slightly stretchy
• Body: not lined
• Wears cinched at the waist or loose as a shift
• Sizes S through XL, full measurements below

Care

• Machine wash cold
• Tumble dry low