Go-To LBD

every year i go to a charity event with a friend and her family (have you read this book?) and need to wear a dress. wearing a dress these days seems so foreign! i wear one to work occasionally but nothing very formal. at the last minute i am always scurrying around for a dress and realized that i do not own a go-to little black dress. horrors! 

this year i ended up wearing this tiered burgundy dress from theory that i found at a marshalls many years ago. i like it but it didn’t quite feel right for the night. so i set out to find a few options online that i hope to try on and keep in my closet! the criteria: budget-friendly, not too trendy but not boring, or if a little plain, able to be dressed up, and able to be worn in as many seasons as possible.

banana republic swingy dress (gotta love BR – any given day they’re giving like 40% off – they can’t be doing well right?). super short on the model but guessing on a 5'5" person like me it wouldn't be so short.

a super cute one from anthropologie (sleeveless though):

what else? do you have any favorites?? i feel like i'm striking out a little. p.s. happy fall officially. it's october!