Pick one up off the rail and the first thing you should notice is the weight and the drop, the way it hangs straight down from your hand without any clinging. A good tunic dress has a bit of body to it. Not stiff, but not so thin it clings to everything either. If it feels flimsy and see through under the shop lighting, it will be worse the second you're outside in daylight with the sun behind you, so hold it up and have a proper look.
Before you buy, check the side seams for actual slits or vents, because a tunic without any ease at the hip will crawl up when you sit down and stay there, and you'll spend the whole lunch tugging it. Check the neckline sits flat without gaping when you lean forward, since a lot of these are cut loose through the body but left a bit too open at the front, and that's fine standing still and less fine bending to pick something up off the floor. Check there's a bit of weight in the hem too, a proper finished edge rather than a rolled one, because that's what stops it blowing about and riding up on a breezy walk to the car. As for when it's wrong, a tunic dress is not the thing for anywhere you need to look pulled together in a structured way, an interview or a formal do, because the whole point of it is the slouch, and if you're after something with a waist and a line you'll be disappointed and probably tugging at it all day trying to make it into something it isn't. It's also not brilliant on days you're on your feet moving fast, carrying things, going up and down stairs a lot, because the loose fit that's so comfortable sitting at a desk starts to feel like you're wearing a sail once you're walking with any purpose.
On fit, go by the shoulder and bust rather than by how it looks on the hanger, because tunic dresses are deliberately generous everywhere else and sizing down usually just makes the proportions wrong without actually making it fitted. If you're short, watch the length, a lot of these are cut for someone five foot seven and on a five foot two frame they stop being a tunic and start being an actual dress, which changes what you can wear under it entirely. Leggings, straight jeans, even a slim trouser, that's the whole point of the shape, something underneath doing the work your legs would otherwise have to do alone. I wear mine with plain leggings and trainers for the school run and with the same leggings and boots for everything else, and it's the only dress I own that does both without me thinking about it.
Check the length against your own height before anything else, that's what decides whether it's a tunic or just a dress with an opinion.
Winter Tunic Dresses: What We’d Buy Now
White DressesWhite Tunic Dresses You’ll Reach for First
V Neck DressesV Neck Tunic Dresses: The Ones Worth Your Money
Printed DressesA Closer Look at the Best Tropical Print Tunic Dresses
Tunic Dresses Worth a Closer Look
Tie Waist DressesThe Tie Waist Tunic Dresses Shortlist
Tiered DressesTiered Tunic Dresses You’ll Want to Live In
Knee Length DressesFinding the Best Tie Waist Knee Length Tunic Dresses
Finding the Best Tassel Tunic DressesAlso worth a lookMidi DressesI used to think midi dresses were what you wore when you'd given up on deciding whether to…See the collections →
Summer DressesSummer Tunic Dresses Picked by Us
Short Sleeve DressesShort Sleeve Mini Tunic Dresses You’ll Want to Live In
Short Sleeve DressesShop Our Favourite Short Sleeve Tunic Dresses
Our Edit of the Best Short Tunic Dresses
Effortless Sheer Tunic Dresses We Love
Sequin DressesA Closer Look at the Best Sequin Tunic Dresses
Relaxed Fit Tunic Dresses You’ll Reach for First
Red DressesThe Red Tunic Dresses We Keep Going Back To
Purple DressesPurple Tunic Dresses: Picks We Stand ByAlso worth a lookMaxi DressesA maxi dress is only as good as its hem, because that is the part that catches wind,…See the collections →
Printed DressesThe Printed Tunic Dresses We’re Eyeing Up This Season
Pleated DressesOur Edit of the Best Pleated Tunic Dresses
Pink DressesPink Tunic Dresses That Feel Special
Party DressesParty Tunic Dresses for When You Want to Feel Put Together
The Oversized Tunic Dresses We Keep Going Back To
Office Tunic Dresses: Our Honest Shortlist
Navy DressesNavy Tunic Dresses You Can Dress Up or Down
Mini DressesShop Our Favourite Mini Tunic Dresses
Midi DressesMidi Tunic Dresses: The EditAlso worth a lookMini DressesThe thing nobody mentions about a mini dress is what happens to the hem after the third wash and the fifth wear.See the collections →
Shop the Edit: Long Tunic Dresses
Long Sleeve DressesLong Sleeve Tunic Dresses That Do All the Work for You
Shop Our Favourite Layered Tunic Dresses
Knitted DressesKnitted Tunic Dresses You Can Dress Up or Down
Knee Length DressesOur Top Knee Length Tunic Dresses Right Now
Keyhole Tunic Dresses That Do All the Work for You
Jersey DressesJersey Tunic Dresses That Earn Their Place
Holiday DressesHoliday Tunic Dresses You’ll Want to Live In
