Black Sweater Dresses

Table of Content

• Oversized Metallic Red Moc Neck Sweater // Petite XS
• Sweaters
• Banana Republic SP Flare Sleeve Sweater Dress Small Petite Camel NWT
• Banana Republic Navy Blue Ribbed Knit Sweater Dress
• Best black cocktail dress for date night: A.L.C. Renzo Pleated Midi Dress
• Banana Republic Blue Long Sleeve Button Shoulder Sweater Dress Size LP Petite

There’s something about a brand new outfit that’s hard to resist! The perfect dress can make you look and feel your best, no matter the occasion. From New Year’s Eve to prom night, we’ve got you covered! At Target you can choose from a wide collection of dresses with your perfect mix of comfort and style.

Meanwhile, the designers we considered that specialize in plus-size options offered dresses only in bright colors or patterns during our testing window. We hope to offer more little black dress picks for plus-size people, as well as more spring and summer options, when we update this guide. In the meantime, our fashion experts said 11 Honoré, Eloquii, and Veronica Beard are a few of the retailers offering chic and well-made plus-size dresses. Then I selected the 14 contenders that ranked the highest to send to a panel.

Oversized Metallic Red Moc Neck Sweater // Petite XS

The COS Drawstring Mulberry Silk Dress featured a thick, textured cotton front with a silk back skirt—a combination that our testers hated. The silk quality was also poor—almost raw or scratchy—and wrinkled too easily for a piece you’d be sitting on throughout the day. The Black Label by Evan-Picone Sleeveless Fit & Flare Dress is a simple-looking business-casual dress that didn’t stand out compared with the better-quality J.Crew Résumé Dress.

The little black dress is a wardrobe piece that will outlive any fashion trend, and we think it's worth investing in a high-quality piece that will last for years. Even if you’re stuck inside due to social-distancing mandates, there’s nothing stopping you from rocking an LBD at home when you want to take a break from sweatpants. This will come as no surprise to anyone who wears women’s clothing, but during testing there was no consistency in sizing across labels. For example, I typically wear a dress size 8 or M, and I found myself wearing everything from a 2XS to an XL.

Sweaters

I enlisted three additional testers who typically wear a women’s 2/S, a 12/L, and a 14/XL. The panelists paid special attention to the dresses’ overall quality, style, fit, and comfort. They also noted how they’d wear each dress and which ones, if any, they’d purchase for themselves. This velvety, 100% silk number is the nicest, most luxurious silk dress we found. It’s made with thick fabric, and the French seams ensure the hem won’t fray over time. And the cuffed sleeves feature two buttons that allow the wearer to adjust the size to their wrist.

Want to wait for the best possible deals on designer clothes, shoes and accessories? Shop now, save all your favorites, and we'll alert you to any sales, price drops and new promotions across hundreds of retailers and brands. Become a ShopStyle member and get exclusive online clothes shopping deals and the highest cash-back savings powered by Rakuten. The fashion industry is still playing catchup with offering extended dress sizes or even dress lines that cater to curvy people. Most retailers’ dresses go up to only a size 12 or 14.

Banana Republic SP Flare Sleeve Sweater Dress Small Petite Camel NWT

Pick a look you love, find a flattering fit and cut, and understand quality fabric and good construction. “It’s all about being confident in who you are,” according to Influencing in Color, a Houston-based group of fashion influencers. Katie Sturino, a body-acceptance advocate and the founder of body-care line MegaBabe, added that an LBD “shouldn’t be something you look at in two years and go ‘what was I thinking? ’” To select a timeless look, opt for simple, clean lines and a cut and hemline that you know you’ll want to wear for years. The Résumé is of a higher quality than many of the other business-casual dresses we wore. We liked its strong, even stitching and reinforced waist, which doesn’t feel like it will stretch with wear.

Pay close attention when you order—by the company’s size chart, our size-2 tester is a 3XS, and our size-14 tester is a S. Most other dresses we tested come in just about a dozen sizes, usually ranging from 00 to 12 or 0 to 14. This thick ribbed dress is comfy and great at smoothing out any lumps, while accentuating your favorite body parts.

Banana Republic Navy Blue Ribbed Knit Sweater Dress

Although this dress would kill both at happy hour and the witching hour, we think it’s professional enough to wear to the office, too. Our panelists unanimously agreed that the best way to style the Equipment is by dressing it up with a pair of your favorite leggings and tall boots. This dress ran slightly large for some testers—if you’re between sizes, we suggest sizing down.

The design features exposed shoulders, which means that regular bra straps may show. If you don’t want to skip a bra altogether, our testers found that the flowy pleats on the bodice hid the lines of a strapless bra just fine . This turtleneck dress features high-quality cashmere and a double-sided slit to modernize the look. The Naadam is currently on sale, so it’s a steal, but be aware that there are no returns.