Casual sleeveless midi dresses in rib knit and prints

The casual sleeveless midi dress we make most often is a ribbed tank cut, plain enough for a Tuesday and long enough to cover the knee. Bare arms sound like summer only. They aren’t, and that’s the whole point of this page.

One rib knit tank dress, four seasons

We sew the rib knit midi in black, white, red and beige, with a round neck and no sleeves. It’s a stretchy knit that hugs you without squeezing. In July you wear it alone with sandals and a woven bag. By October a thin turtleneck goes underneath, a long cardigan or trench goes on top, and the same dress walks into the office. That’s how we’d treat it, as a base you keep adding to.

The red and beige ones are sewn from a ribbed scuba knit, which is denser and usually doesn’t need ironing. Our white one reaches mid-calf. A thin belt marks the waist on the black tank cut if you’d like more of a line there.

Which color first? Black if you want one dress for work and dinner. White needs seamless underwear in a skin tone, and silver jewelry looks better with it than chunky gold.

Ruffles and thin straps for the warm months

Three styles aren’t rib at all. Our pink V-neck dress has ruffles along the waistline, and it’s the dressier one, good for a friend’s birthday or a date. Keep the necklace thin, because a heavy one fights with the ruffles. Its yellow floral sister and the black sundress with small flowers belong to our summer collection, so they come back to the site when it gets warm. The sundress has thin straps that tie, so you decide how high the bodice sits.

Getting the size right in a close knit

Rib gives, so don’t size up. Take your own size and check the hip measurement in the chart, since a fitted midi hugs there too. We make each style in XS to XL, and S is about a US 4. For the ruffle dresses, bust and waist matter more than hips.

One habit worth picking up. Keep a rib dress folded in a drawer or on a shelf, never hanging, and it won’t stretch lengthwise. If you’d like more to compare, see all our sleeveless styles, ribbed dresses with sleeves or everyday midis.