Everyone should own a red dress.

I've owned a handful over the years - none of which have cost more than forty bucks; I think this one was $15 at H&M - and they're always what I break out when I'm feeling like I could use a lift. For a special date. For a big Girls' Night Out. For any event, basically, where I'm OK with being The Girl In The Red Dress (because when you wear a red dress, that's what you are, and that's what everyone will refer to you as for the duration of the evening and in subsequent recaps).

Many of my red dresses have been very, very bare, and some have even been cut-down-to-there, but this one - which is more of a tunic, really, and could arguably be called a "shirt" (not that calling a dress a shirt has ever made me disinclined to wear it as the former) - is the kind of shape I want to wear right now. Super-short (with opaque tights during the daytime), but with a boxy cut and covered-up arms to balance out the shortness. And tall, flat boots to make the effect a little more sporty than sexy.