The Best Dresses for Women Over 50 in 2024

Have you shopped for a dress recently? Looking for one is not what it once was. There’s no rifling through racks to feel the fabric or dressing room try-ons with a helpful salesperson bringing backup sizes (and her opinion) to you. Instead, urged on by sales, “the last three left!” alerts and promising customer ratings, women cross their fingers, hit buy and wait for the magic … the dress that will boost their body confidence and fit like a dream. It’s tricky. Updated styles and new lengths can make choosing a winner hit or miss. Not anymore! Here are six foolproof looks for all:

(Left to right) Eloquii Cross Front Flutter Sleeve Dress in Peppery Vermillion ($100, eloquii.com); Donna Karan Women’s V-Neck Belted Short Sleeve Dress in Tourmaline ($100, macys.com)

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Eloquii; Macy's)

1. The look-at-me statement dress

The right color turns any dress you buy into a showstopper and compliment-getter and gives a basic wardrobe a blast of personal style. This is the one to reach for when you want to stand out in a crowd (for example, at a class reunion or crowded party), be memorable (a first date) or just to boost your mood. No need for a professional “color consultant.” Check your makeup for cues about what hues light up your face, brighten your skin and make your hair and eye color pop. Pinks, roses, corals and reds — lipstick and blush colors — never fail. Try the voluminous-sleeved Banana Republic Factory Voile ElbowSleeve Midi Dress in Dragon Fruit ($90, bananarepublicfactory.gapfactory.com), the comfy knit Eloquii Cross Front Flutter Sleeve Dress in Peppery Vermillion ($60, eloquii.com) and the tailored Donna Karan Women’s V-Neck Belted Short Sleeve Dress in Tourmaline ($100, macys.com) for rave reviews.

(Left to right) Boden Wrap Jersey Midi Dress in Navy, Scattered Foil Spot ($150, bodenusa.com); Lane Bryant 3/4 Sleeve Faux-Wrap Jersey Midi Dress in Maritime Blue or Black ($29, lanebryant.com); Quince Women Tercel Jersey Midi Wrap Dress in Brown, Dark Olive, Black or Navy ($60, quince.com)

Photo Collage: AARP; (Source: Boden; Lane Bryant; Quince)

2. The give-me-a-shape-fast dress

Every woman needs a wrap dress on call. It saves the day when extra pounds creep up, you feel bloated or haven’t worked out in weeks. Its success as a shape-shifter is partly due to design and partly to optics. Here’s how: The crossover design of wraps and faux wraps (known as a surplice wrap) creates a V neckline, which visually balances width at the hips and thighs and lifts and separates the bust, while the tie waist chisels even the smallest indent to create firm, defined curves. Longer wraps such as the Quince Women Tercel Jersey Midi Wrap Dress in Brown, Dark Olive, Black or Navy ($60, quince.com), the Lane Bryant 3/4 Sleeve Faux-Wrap Jersey Midi Dress in Maritime Blue or Black ($36, lanebryant.com) and the Boden Wrap Jersey Midi Dress in Navy, Scattered Foil Spot ($150, bodenusa.com) are especially flattering since the extra “midi” inches add “flow” and movement to elongate the body and provide bare leg camouflage. It sounds tricky since a dress has to work in many different spots — at shoulders, arms, bust, waist, hips and length — but stretchy fluid jersey wraps lead in adapting to every shape.