Side Stripe Sweater Dress

Start Your Engines! I’m off to the races in this sporty, side stripe, a ribbed sweater dress! And there’s a surprising little story that goes with it.

If this dress looks familiar, it’s because you’ve seen me wearing it on Instagram at a recent blog conference I attended. I wore it there because I knew it would be very comfy and warm ( conference rooms can get cold) and it has a youthful, modern feel. I knew the conference would put me in the mood to take action and this black long sleeve sweater dress has that same vibe!

It’s a beautiful knit dress, black with a racy red stripe up the sides and along the arms. And here’s the history…

I was in NYC with my daughter Ashleigh (who is 15) just before school started. She wanted to do some teen shopping, so we dedicated the day to looking around for her. We were in a lot of stores that are popular with kids her age, but I don’t really go into myself because most of the time the clothes feel too young or trendy.

We were in Express looking for clothes for Ash when I came across this cute sweater dress and was really surprised! I almost bought a similar one at Michael Kors the year before for 7 x the price. I decided to try this on one, and to my delight, it looked fab. At $69 it was too good a deal to pass up! Most times dresses at what I would call a “younger store” like this, are way too short for me. They are made for twenty-year-olds and under. With this dress, I just went up a size to a medium in order to get the length I wanted, and it still fit because of the stretchy knit.

I was looking around Express, and they had some interesting things. I don’t lot to pay a lot for trendy stuff that I might not wear next year, so places like Zara (or now, Express) are stores I will check into again.

Sweater dresses are always a little bit on the short side no matter what brand, and that is why I wear them with opaque tights. I’m wearing heeled booties here, but I often wear my sweater dresses with flat boots, and they look great.

The funny thing is that this is a $69 dress that I have paired with a very expensive bag- Gucci- you can click the link to see what I paid. It was a special treat I bought for myself last Spring. But that’s the beauty of fashion these days. You can mix high and low, and it all works!

Here’s the look. It’s perfect for a fall day!

…my Gucci Soho bag. I chose red because I can use it year-round. I wanted to get my money’s worth!

Shapewear is key with a dress like this to lift your bottom and smooth things out.

Isn’t it great when you find a deal?

If you like this black long sleeve sweater dress, you can click the links above to buy it. Send me a photo if you get one of these for yourself. I’d love to see how you style it.

Check other these other ideas for wearing a sweater dress with boots.