The dress you can wear anywhere is the hardest one to find — everything is either too plain or too much!

Just imagine a soft pale grey dress with pink blossoms drifting up from the hem, three-quarter sleeves, a gathered waist and pockets in the side seams. Now stop imagining. It is quiet enough for a weekday and pretty enough for a lunch that matters, which is a rarer combination than it sounds.

• Grey Goes Everywhere
  A soft pale grey sits beside almost anything already in your closet — navy, cream, black, denim. It is a neutral that still feels considered rather than plain.
• A Print That Climbs
  The blossoms start at the hem and fade as they rise, so the pattern is densest where it flatters and lightest near the face. It keeps the whole dress balanced.
• Pockets At The Side
  Set into the seams so they vanish into the line of the skirt. They hold a phone and keys and give you somewhere to put your hands.
• A Waist That Forgives
  The waist is gathered gently and the skirt releases from it. It suggests a shape without holding you to one, right through a long afternoon.
• S To 5XL, Relaxed
  Cut relaxed with a full size range. Take your usual size; the gathering at the waist absorbs any difference between two sizes.

Too plain or too much is the usual choice. This one sits exactly between them — and a dress that works on a Tuesday and a Saturday is one you will wear until you know it by heart.