Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different types of dresses and dress lengths?

Eight shapes cover most wardrobes. FatFace's guide to types of dresses lists the shirt dress, shift, wrap, swing and denim dress alongside the three main dress lengths: mini, midi, which often reaches mid-calf, and maxi, which goes to the floor. The same guide says a mini works well for petite figures because the hemline lengthens your lower half, with or without heels. Start short with the Starry Night Sequin Mini, a figure-hugging bodycon with sheer long sleeves, or the Miami Days chiffon sundress for daytime.

What should I wear to a club?

Something that catches the light and moves with you. When you're planning club outfits, a short, fitted dress does the work: the Ballet sequin mini pairs its deep V-cut with backless crisscross straps and built-in undergarments, and the Crystal V-Neck Bodycon Mini lines its plunge in crystals for nights out. Still deciding what to wear to a club with a dress code? The Shine Right sequin plaid mini pairs with strappy black heels, a polished look that keeps club outfits for women well clear of anything casual.

What should I wear to a concert?

Anything you can dance in for three hours. Our pick for concert outfits is a mini that stretches: the metallic ruched minis have stretch fabric that moves with you, and the Special Flirt sequin styles leave room on the dance floor with a front slit. Need more concert outfit ideas? The Red and Blue Striped Fringe Mini has tassel fringe that swings with every song. So when you're working out what to wear to a concert, start with the dress and pick flat, comfortable shoes to match.

What should I wear to Coachella or a music festival?

Pieces that work from scorching afternoon to chilly night. InStyle's guide to coachella outfits notes the shift from blazing desert afternoons to cold nights, and quotes a personal stylist who says movement matters most: if you can dance in it, you're good to go. The same guide suggests a crochet dress to stay cool in the desert heat, so our Aura Crochet Cut Out White Mini is an easy start. For festival outfits with more texture, add the Red and Blue Striped Fringe Mini, and bring a layer for after sunset.

What should I pack for a beach vacation?

Cover-ups by day, chiffon by night. For beach outfits, the Becca cover-up dresses come in white crochet, black and nude to throw over a swimsuit. When the plans move to dinner, our vacation outfits lean on the chiffon ruffle minis in floral, tie-dye and leopard, all made for the beach, while the Pink Tie Dye and Green Animal Print bodycons handle beach parties and city nights.

What should I wear on a date night?

Something that feels like you, turned up a notch. A great date night outfit can be as simple as Meet Me For Cocktails, a ribbed bodycon mini with a deep V and short sleeves that's made for date night. Nervous about a first date outfit? Go softer with the Miami Days yellow chiffon sundress. And if you're still deciding what to wear on a first date that's dinner and drinks, the Gold Glitter Beads style was made for date night too.

What should I wear in Vegas?

Light layers by day, sequins by night. Cedar & Lily's guide to vegas outfits lists bodycon dresses and sequined mini dresses for nightclubs, and warns that most clubs turn away flip-flops, athletic wear and overly casual looks. It also flags the arctic air conditioning in casinos and theaters, so pack a light jacket. For what to wear in Vegas after dark, the Isabella sequin minis and the Starry Night Sequin Mini were built for exactly this kind of night.

What should I wear to brunch?

Something easy and bright. A sundress makes the perfect brunch outfit: the Miami Days chiffon ruffle minis in yellow and blue have spaghetti straps and a tiered hem, and the Floral Print Chiffon Ruffle Mini brings a bright print and a strapless tube top. Prefer something more playful? The Cute Cat skater dresses sit at mid-thigh with a flared skirt.

Mini Dresses

Hemlines up, standards higher. This is the rail for every mini dress that refuses to be ignored, from sequins that throw light across the room to bodycons that fit like a secret. Think of these mini dresses as your shortcut to the main-character moment, whether the plan is cocktails, a club or a birthday dinner that turns into a birthday weekend.

Built for anyone shopping mini dresses for women who like their legs on display and their outfit doing the talking. Prefer to call it a short dress? Same energy. On this rail, short dresses run from a sexy mini dress with cut-outs in all the right places to the cute mini dress you can wear to brunch, and our short dresses for women come in prints, satin, velvet and more sequins than any one wardrobe needs.

Sequins, sparkle and zero chill

Glitter is a personality trait here. The Isabella cut-out style comes as a silver and a black sequin mini dress built for any formal party, while the Cut Out High Slit range adds front slits and cut-outs in gold, brown and white. Want a sparkly mini dress that does the most? The Special Flirt silver sequin style brings ruffled shoulders, a deep V and a front slit made for the dance floor, and the Cut Out High Slit Gold Sequin Mini is the gold sequin mini dress for birthdays and cocktail parties.

Beads count too. Our one-shoulder Glitter Beads styles are the beaded mini dress lineup in black, gold, orange, dark green and more, and the Ruby Rendezvous brings ruby-red embellishments to a black embellished mini dress with side and back cut-outs. For high shine at a lower price, every metallic mini dress in the ruched range lands at $49.99, a ruched mini dress with long sleeves, a front belt and a high front slit. Add a little drama with feathers: the Black Strapless Cut Out Feather style is the feather mini dress for parties.

Sleeves, straps and every silhouette

Cooler night? Grab a long sleeve mini dress like the long-sleeve bodycon styles in pink, dark green and white, each cut close to the body, or the Cut Out Letter Sequins style with shimmering sleeves. Anyone hunting a mini dress with sleeves but less coverage should try Meet Me For Cocktails, a short sleeve mini dress in ribbed bandage fabric. Bandage is the backbone of many a bodycon mini dress here, and the Black and White Striped Strapless style shows how a bandage mini dress works: rows of stretch knit that hold the body in.

Neckline decides the mood. The Sparkly Metallic Halter Neck Mini is the halter mini dress in silver, and the Copper Brown Sequin style is a strapless mini dress with a draped front. Prefer one sleeve? The Cut Out Off The Shoulder Glitter Sequin style works as the off the shoulder mini dress, and the Glitter Beads range covers the one shoulder mini dress crowd. Showing back instead? The Backless Satin Cocktail style is a backless mini dress and a satin mini dress in one, in green, beige, blue and pink. Rounding it out are the long-sleeve mesh panels on our mesh mini dress, plenty of cut out mini dress styles, and a black velvet mini dress with a high neck and a long train.

Hoco, prom and every dress code

Dance coming up? You want a short homecoming dress that moves as fast as you do, and a short hoco dress in sequins was made for the photo line. On this rail, every homecoming mini dress shows leg without losing polish, so pick your hoco mini dress by sparkle level and go.

Prom on the calendar? The white Cut Out Glitter Slim Fit style was made for prom, a short prom dress with the perfect balance of sexy and classy, and any sequin style here works as a prom mini dress. For a formal mini dress, the Isabella styles were cut for formal parties, and the Cut Out High Slit sequins list formal occasions too, so a short formal dress is never a downgrade here. Invitation says cocktail? Cosmopolitan's cocktail attire guide allows mini, knee-length and midi lengths, which makes a cocktail dress short enough to dance in fair game. The Crystal V-Neck is the cocktail mini dress with crystals along the neckline, and it doubles as a wedding guest mini dress when the dress code says cocktail.

Out-out, birthdays and holidays

Friday plans, sorted. The Ballet sequin styles were made for a night out, which puts them at the top of our going out dresses, and the Shine Right sequin plaid style is the going out mini dress that loves a strappy black heel. Need a party mini dress with a little edge? The Cut Out Glitter Slim Fit styles make a statement at any party, and our short dresses for party plans come in black, white and orange.

Clubbing counts as cardio. The Ballet style was cut for nightclubs too, which makes it the club mini dress that can keep up. Shopping for a mini dress for birthday photos? The Cut Out High Slit sequins were made for birthdays, so the birthday mini dress decision comes down to gold, brown or white. December calendar filling up? The Glitter Beads styles list holiday parties, the easiest holiday mini dress pick on the rail.

Daytime, sunshine and every season

Not every mini needs a nightclub. For a casual mini dress, the Cute Cat skater styles sit at mid-thigh with a flared skirt, the skater dress you can wear everywhere, and the Cat Print Black T Shirt Dress is the t shirt dress for errands. Heat wave? The Aura crochet style is the crochet mini dress and summer mini dress in one, and the Miami Days chiffon ruffle styles in yellow and blue are sundresses for date night or a day out. Want more swing? Their tiered hems make each one a ruffle mini dress too.

Flower girls, the Floral Print Chiffon Ruffle style is the floral mini dress with a strapless tube top and tiered ruffles, and the White Floral Cut Out style adds lantern sleeves. The Layered Gold Ruffle style is the flowy mini dress, a ruffled A-line in nude-gold, and the leopard mini dress option comes in the same chiffon ruffle cut. When the temperature drops, a long-sleeve bodycon becomes your fall mini dress, and a winter mini dress like the high-neck Long Sleeve Bodycon Black style pairs with tights and heels for an all-night event.

Pick your color

Pink fans, start with the Work The Runway cut-out, a pink mini dress with a belted front, or go playful with the Pink Tie Dye bodycon. Gold lovers get a gold mini dress three ways: high slit sequins, one-shoulder glitter beads or the Layered Gold Ruffle. Prefer cool tones? The Ballet sequin style is our blue mini dress, the Willow sequin mini comes in sky blue, the Body Contour bandage style is a light blue mini dress cut to a flirty mini length, and the Starry Night sequin mini covers the navy mini dress and royal blue mini dress hunt.

Sunshine shades next: the Sophie bandage style is a yellow mini dress with a full front zip, and Miami Days does yellow in chiffon. Green comes as a satin Special Flirt, a studded corset-style bodycon and a long-sleeve dark green mini dress, so every green mini dress mood is covered. The Cut Out High Slit Brown Sequin style is the brown mini dress that sparkles, the ruched metallic style is our purple mini dress, the Cut Out Glitter Slim Fit comes as an orange mini dress, Meet Me For Cocktails in wine red answers the burgundy mini dress search, and the Isabella sequin style leads the silver mini dress edit.

Shopping one color? See white dresses, red dresses and the little black dress edit. More shine lives in sequin dresses, curves in plus size mini dresses, and the finishing touch in high heels.