We’ve researched and tested dozens of cotton house dresses — these are our favorite options for their natural materials, comfort, and ethics across a range of price points.
We love the house dress for a casual and loose garment that is ideal for lounging around the house, running errands, or simply staying cool in the summer months. The options below are made with safe and eco-friendly materials, like organic cotton, and are great for errands, chores, and even meetings, whether on Zoom or IRL! Best of all: they have pockets. Check out our affordable and sustainable picks; for the greenest choice, of course, try thrifting or going secondhand.
Our criteria:
We’ve personally tested the below dresses, assessing the fabric comfort, quality, texture, opacity, as well as pocket depth and placement. We’ve rounded up the best quality pieces that feel good, look good, and are versatile for chores, errands, and leisure moments alike. We update this list regularly with our emerging favorites that meet the following criteria:
- ORGANIC/NATURAL MATERIALS | The brands below carry dresses that are nontoxic and organic cotton.
- COMFORT | Each dress has been editor-tested and approved at least an 8 out of 10 on the comfort scale!
- ETHICS | Each brand is committed to ethical production and various sustainability initiatives.
Keep your feet cozy, too, with house shoes and voila—your indoor/outdoor outfit is complete.
1. Pact
Size Range | XS-XXL
Price | $70
A house dress…with pockets? Yes, it’s true! Pact’s Crush Easy Dress is exactly what we’re looking for. Flowy and flirty with pleats and pockets, this cotton house dress effortlessly transitions from work to home and vice versa. Like all Pact items, it’s ethically made with organic cotton using 91 percent less water than conventional cotton.
2. Kemi Telford
Size Range | Varies
Price | £80-£220
Add a pop of color or pattern to your day with Kemi Telford’s dresses. This UK-based designer uses African wax paints inspired by her upbringing in Nigeria. Ethically sewn in small batches, Telford brings her visions to life by partnering with manufacturers in the UK, China, India, and Nigeria. Many dresses come with specific measurements (e.g., 52” length) versus a generic size. You can also find samples at discounted prices, and Telford has international shipping options.
3. Nesara
Size Range | One size (0-14)
Price | $88-$108
Dr. Pragati Gusmano launched Nesara just this past year when she couldn’t find any comfortable postpartum dresses of her own. Using her fond memories “of the house dresses [her] mom and nani (grandmother) wore” as a drawing board, these dresses are sewn to standard sizes and hand-blocked by artisans using organic dyes for a beautiful finish. Perfect for postpartum and nursing, but also for anyone seeking a lightweight summer smock.
4. Known Supply
Size Range | XS-XL
Price | $38
Known Supply is a certified B Corp making some of our favorite basics. Part tee, part dress, the Revel Dress is cute and comfortable—whether you plan to keep it simple or dress it up with a scarf and platform sandals. As for material, the dress is 100 percent GOTS certified organic cotton and crafted in a Fair Trade certified factory in India. Just throw it on and go about your day!
5. Pyne & Smith
Size Range | XS-XXL
Price | $196
Pyne & Smith’s pieces are certainly an investment, but one of the best you can make. Each house dress is skillfully made in small batches out of LA, using entirely European Flax linen. (To be extra sustainable, linen scraps are also recycled via textile centers!) We adore this Pinafore style, available through XXL, for its gorgeous seasonal colors, cooling fabric, and of course, the pockets. (Always pockets!)
6. Boody
Size Range | XS-XL
Price | $32.95
If slip dresses are more your style, Boody’s is one you’ll love. Designed for everyday wear, this house dress is a TGT favorite, ideal for layering or wearing as is around your home. This slip is sustainable too, born from a bamboo viscose blend. With the Everyday Slip, you’ll help save over 600 hours of LED bulb energy and 350+ liters of drinking water. Not bad for a dress just over $30.
7. ABLE
Size Range | XS-XL
Price | $130
ABLE helps sustainably break the cycle of poverty by employing and empowering women makers. As only two percent of fashion workers are paid living wages (and the industry is the largest employer of women worldwide), ABLE is committed to transparent wages to hold themselves accountable to higher ethics. We are in love with this Dolman dress, from its flowy sleeves to the cinched waist. A house dress comfy enough to wear from the couch to the club.
8. Hackwith Design House
Ethics | Sustainable & secondhand fabrics, made in the USA, secondhand shop available
Size Range | XS-2X
Price | $50-$100
Hackwith Design House’s Sustain Shop is our go-to for inclusive house dresses that are affordable, sustainable, and ethically made. The Minnesota brand follows a limited production model, so its secondhand shop Sustain is where you’ll find samples and returns at deeply discounted prices. These dresses, made of 100 percent cotton, come in varying shapes, sizes, and styles—find the one that speaks to you!
Featured image by Pact
