I’ve written previously about my campaign to “Bring Back the House Dress” and it struck a chord with many of you. Apparently I’m not the only one who has become disenchanted with sloppy at-home wear and is trying to up my game a bit. If you haven’t read my post about it, you should do so before reading the rest of this one. I’ll wait…
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What did you think? Is the idea of a house dress appealing to you or do you think I’m a little nuts? Either answer is okay. In fact, you might agree with both.
Even those who liked my house dress plan have wondered how to make it work during cold weather. Obviously this dress isn’t going to work when it’s a rainy 39 degrees as it is here right now.
So let’s take a look at a more weather-appropriate option.
Check out this skirt. It’s soft, comfortable, machine-washable, AND it has pockets! I own several in various colors and have just added this lovely teal to my Amazon cart.
They are lightweight enough to wear in the summer with sandals but work well in the winter, too. In the summer I pair them with a tank top but in the winter I choose a long-sleeved tee, something like this:
If you’re cold natured you can wear a pair of tights underneath:
and maybe even add a long, half slip.
What about footwear? 
Or my beloved Birkenstock sandals:
But these are on my wishlist for at-home wear:
The final piece to my winter at-home “uniform” is a lightweight sweater or cardigan. I keep one on the back of my desk chair in my office and one or two hanging on the coatrack in our entry hall. Most of the time a long-sleeve tee is adequate indoors but on especially chilly days another layer might be called for.
Any sweater will do but it’s nice to choose something with a bit of style. I like this one:
I have something similar and have worn it for years. It also looks cute with a pair of jeans and boots.
This has been my go-to at home wear for winter and by adding boots and a cute scarf this also serves as my usual look when I leave the house. It’s comfortable and it’s easy to dress it up a bit with nicer jewelry.
However, I’ve been wanting to expand my winter wardrobe a little. I love sleeveless maxi dresses in the summer so it only makes sense to consider a long-sleeved version for winter. Something like this perhaps?
Update: I now have the dress above in several colors. Love it!
I’m still researching options for winter at-home wear and will add to this post as I find good options. And if you have any suggestions please leave me a comment.
Great ideas! I find leggings or “yoga pants” quite comfortable under a skirt for warmth (tho never alone!) It seems to me that tights are hideously uncomfortable in comparison. Love your warm & comfy posts (despite our 80-ish weather today). It seems I always enjoy being a little extra toasty : )
I totally agree that tights are uncomfortable. Personally I’m warm enough in my home to just wear socks. I reserve tights for when I wear short skirts and boots. And may I just say I’m jealous of your 80 degree weather?
I haven’t worn tights since I was a child, and haven’t worn a skirt or dress since I was a teenager. I don’t intend to change that now. I’m glad you’re finding items you’re pleased to add to your daily wardrobe though.
I really don’t like tights – part of the reason I am SO ready for warm weather. The dresses I ordered arrived today and I tried them on. They fit and are so comfortable. Part of the reason I pretty much stopped wearing pants is that I tend to get hives around my waist if I wear anything snug-fitting. At this point in my life I’m all about the comfort unless it’s a really important dress up occasion.
I’m all about the comfort too, but a dress isn’t comfortable to me. Never has been. From when I was old enough to decide what I was wearing for myself, I only wore a dress or skirt when I either was forced to or was trying to please one of my parents, and even then often secretly wore shorts underneath.
Isn’t it funny how different we all are? 🙂
I’m not big on skirts and dresses, so I mainly wear yoga pants around the house.
I think you’re in the majority on that one. 😉
I love dresses, wear them every day usually a mock wrap dress at home – brought three different colours and love them.
I know locals think I’m a bit odd never wearing trousers and the like, but hey what?! I love dressing as a lady- even while scrubbing the floor.
Thanks
I have become so much more comfortable in skirts and dresses. I think I wore jeans twice this past winter – ha!
I wear only skirts and dresses. So much more comfortable than pants and much nicer looking, I think. I do believe as a society we have become too, too casual. It’s nice to dress nicely and it’s nice to look at other people dressed nicely.
I totally agree. 🙂
I just found your blog today!!! Where have you been?? I have been pinning A lot of “Homemaking” pins the past few weeks…I would LOVE to get back to that. I’m much older than you guys….72!!!…and I feel that our society has gotten WAY too informal and relaxed these days. We don’t need to go formal, but at least a little more respectful and modest. Enjoy reading your thoughts!!!
I’m so glad you found me! I’d love to hear your thoughts about homemaking.
yes, I’m a dress gal….72 yrs old and still sporting dresses…..sometimes if it is very hot I slip into a cotton long lounger dress…like mumu and can be comfortable for any work in home…and meet the UpS man at the door and don’t scare him out of his shoes!!!!!I have been a professional storyteller for all ages for 16 yrs….and still manage to wear dresses/skirts/sweaters/comfortable clothing…I remember my Mother wearing a certain housedress called a Swirl…..it’s skirt swirled to back were it had ties that held it in place and it had big pockets. nothing wrong with good old fashioned values and comfy clothing…and looking like a woman without looking like everything you are wearing shrunk 3x its size!!!!!I love looking at old 40’s/50’s Good Housekeeping magazines too…and cooking from scratch.Husband seems to like it….we have been married 50 years….keep your ideas flowing!!!!!!!karen
Congratulations on 50 years! That’s wonderful. We celebrated 38 years in June.
Yes! Might sound mad but I work at home better if dressed ‘properly’ and with shoes. I have several pairs of Clarks active shoes just like those black birkenstocks..built for business indoors and in comfort and I prefer skirts with them. I love 40s and 50s fashion so to do housework in a shirtdress with active shoes is great…..and of course flylady….dress to shoes….it works!
Yes, yes, yes to house dresses xx
I heard that Mary Kay stressed to her consultants the importance of being nicely dressed, hair and makeup done, before making phone calls from home. Even though the person on the other end won’t see you she believed it made a difference in how a consultant came across over the phone. I believe the same is true for housewives. If we treat our homemaking as a valued profession and dress for the job we are more likely to feel good about ourselves.
I totally agree!
I find wearing pants to beuch warmer and comfortable in winter. I am cold if it’s arid and below 75, so I’m shivering just thinking about constantly wearing skirts in the winter! I’d have to invest in several pairs of fur-lined tights or leggings. I like your posts about the house dress, I just don’t know if it would work for me. Skirts get staticky in the winter, even with slips, and I have tripped on long, stretchy skirts like the one you listed. I also seem to get full skirts caught on things. Also, I would suggest wearing a shorter jacket with long skirts, for balance and a visible waistline. Wearing long flowy everything looks frumpy. That’s why that jacket looks super cute with jeans and boots! I get that you do it for comfort so you don’t get rashes, and you seem like a really sweet lady, but I am still on the fence about the practicality of wearing skirts for the sake of it.
I am new to your blog, and can’t believe I’ve been missing this all my life! I love the idea of the house dress, and have several for summer or warmer weather already. But I live in Wisconsin, and this weekend, for example, we got 12 inches of snow. The idea of wearing a dress, even inside, is too much for me! I’m looking for some nice-ish, casual, comfy pants that I can wear with a sweater (and with fleece lined leggings underneath) to keep me warm and looking put together 🙂
I’m so glad you “found” me. 🙂 We haven’t had much winter here in Southern Oklahoma this year but it’s supposed to dip into the teens this weekend. I don’t personally have any recommendations for pants but I heard about some on the Gretchen Rubin podcast the other day. Gretchen and her sister both say these are very comfortable but more stylish than yoga pants. I wish I could remember the company name but here is the link to the podcast. It’s worth listening to anyway.
https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast-episode/310-very-special-episode-read21in21-hacks
I started doing this way before the pandemic. Dresses are just way more comfortable. Although I have no desire to.wear long skirts or long dresses. I love simple dresses I can pick up.at Goodwill. I have at least eight hanging in my closet. All.I need is very cute jewelry and simple shoes to look completely put together!
I feel like those of us who were already wearing dresses were ahead of the curve when the pandemic hit.
Here in Scotland winter wear is heavy fabric, wool, tweed an denim for casual wear, A trick for snow and ice weather that us Scots and a lot of the Nordic countries use is short above the knee skirts in heavy fabric , pleated to stop blowing up and fir modesty in movement with woolly tights, think arran or cable knit, and pair with a fair isle or arran cardigan or jumper, add a hat , a duffel coat and flat knee high boots for outside. My daughters and I stay toasty warm in -15 c snow fall, and no wet soggy hem’s either 👍
You make a good point about shorter skirts avoiding the wet hem problem. And Scottish woolens – lovely!
If you can wore this clothes at winter, your winter is very soft 🙂
Here we have 60 degrees at home, under 40 outside from October to June. I cannot use your options or I will die!
I only use tights (double) for meetings outside home. They are not comfortable at all.
I will continue my research!
It gets pretty cold here at least part of the time during the winter but not for as long as you have. And we keep our house at 68 degrees during the day so this works for me. I happen to like dresses but there’s no reason everyone has to wear them if they are more comfortable in pants.
-15 degrees Celsius is not soft in any way. It’s only 5 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning a lot of colder than you have, Soriana.
Here in Finland we have 21-22 °Celsius indoors even in winter, so not difficult to make do. But I have to say that I don’t wear knee-length skirts in winter if it’s windy. If it’s still, then I might, unless I have to be outside much.
I ordered a long maxi wrap dress a couple of years ago, and it’s been one of my absolutely best buys ever. It’s made in slightly heavy knit, and I’ve used it all year round as a house dress. Ridiculously comfy, and so stylish. In winter I sometimes wear a knit skirt as an underskirt – the half slips are usually polyester satin and not as warm. I feel the cold very easily, so I tend to layer heavily.
Using a knit skirt is a clever idea!