Handsome, hardworking dresses for the cooler weather.

Totally agree that was unpleasant. I work outside often in my role, hence my asking the question! And sometimes I have to be in dresses!

Agree that someone might want clarification on that - though having a "hardworking" item in your wardrobe is fairly common parlance too. It was the turn it took after that, implying that the OP's use of English was sub-standard (when it's anything but) that was rather unpleasant.

Well, next year no doubt jewel tones will be in & I will buy nothing for a year!! Though some of what's out there is too sludgy even for my taste/colouring. Olive/khaki greens can take a nasty turn towards the borderline dysenteric ...!! And I don't like wearing brown ...

Totally agree. So many small variables can make the difference between whether a dress works or not.

I'd mentioned Toast, OP, as I have quite a lot of their clothes (not bought full price). And their Bryn dress - & variants thereof - is a style that I like & have several of them in different fabrics/colourways. Those (& another denim A-line Toast dress) are probably the most hardworking dresses in my wardrobe?

Currently the ones on their website are more on the murky colour spectrum ... bar this indigo twill one, which I have & love. It's not exactly a waist seam - there's a partial waist seam at front & back with flat unpressed pleats below, but no seam at the sides (not explaining that very well!).

It's £195 but it does come up on eBay/Vinted.

https://www.toa.st/products/bryn-twill-dress-indigo?variant=58250275127645&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=22750424605&dema_id=22750424605&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22750424605&gclid=CjwKCAjwotzWBhBFEiwA1JhPoM7gQ9tVD5dvoxesQwcYUtBL7ryUJKa0bfg12Ek0SBllX5LIlKAwzhoCHwUQAvD_BwE

Hmm clarifying if someone meant hardwearing isn't picking on someone's English! It's a standard industry term! Do you want a hardwearing fabric - one that resists wear, tear and stands up to heavy use over time. It's a common word. Some people honestly look for offence where there is none. Denim is a hardwearing fabric for example!

I hadn't noticed the pattern mis-matching, which is unusual for me as I'm a sewist. Now it's all I can see!

Hasn't it just? I'm presuming you mean the criticism of the OP's wording ...

For what it's worth, @Vaguelyclassical - the meaning of a "handsome & hardworking dress" is clear to me, especially as you've given very specific details! I suspect some people are rather too fixed on only one meaning of a word ...

I like the simplicity of the COS ones. The pea green cord one I like because it's a great colour - for me, not the OP! The Celtic & Co one I would like to like - but the pattern mismatching is upsetting me greatly!!!

I love these suggestions!! Autumn - winter styling is my favourite.

It’s funny - I keep recommending Justine Tabak because the clothes really do look excellent: well made in the UK, with a generous amount of wonderful weighty fabric, in strong colours. But they’re so far from my own style it makes me feel rather regretful. I know I would feel compelled to compliment anyone I saw wearing any of those dresses.

Oh these are stunning!

Wow, this thread has taken an odd turn!

Anyway, I love the image you have in mind OP. It's a surprisingly tricky ask!

How about these?
https://www.cos.com/en-gb/women/womenswear/dresses/mididresses/product/pintucked-cotton-midi-dress-navy-1292176001

https://www.cos.com/en-gb/women/womenswear/dresses/alinedresses/product/raw-cut-cotton-midi-dress-brown-1334822002

And because you mentioned a princess seam dress, this one has a lovely shape, but the colour isn't right - just posting to see whether this is the shape you're searching for:
https://www.whitestuff.com/p/8532/ELLIE-CORD-PLEATED-DRESS/KHAKI_GRN?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Croud_UK_PMAX_CatchAll_Full_Price&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17434335532&gclid=CjwKCAjwotzWBhBFEiwA1JhPoH2KRyQpppzhnC-hqLQzD4YcF7iKmlnleuLWfTSNAGm5rGTmVBm2JhoCtRIQAvD_BwE

I also realise that this is totally not what you asked for, but the vibe feels similar and I love it!
https://www.celticandco.com/products/kilt-dress?variant=47696515563676

me too!

Are you familiar with Justine Tabak, @Morebouncetotheounce?

https://justinetabak.co.uk/collections/dresses

Although sidebar-why do so many dresses clearly aimed at colder weather have 3/4 sleeves? My poor wrists freeze during winter and if I put a long sleeve top underneath the rest of me swelters!

OMG this is the dress I didn't know I needed.

OP - more cord dresses in teal or red, & it looks as if the dress itself isn't fitted at the waist, just pulled in with the sash. I quite often leave the belt or sash off that type of dress. Don't know the brand though.

https://www.wolfandbadger.com/uk/chelsea-corduroy-midi-dress-in-teal/

November is still autumn to me! And I'm still wearing a pair of heavy linen trousers - though the sandals have now been put away til next year ...

I love mixing textures & fabrics too, & linen of a heavier weight & denser weave is good for coats/jackets. But in December/January/February (the "winter months" for me!), even well-layered with wool, denim, cashmere etc, I don't think linen would be effective enough to combat the piercing winds that slice through the New Town in Edinburgh in winter. And just the thought of getting drenched while wearing linen makes me feel cold!

I can't see that much of a similarity between the Zara dress & the Kindred one, bar the colour. And that Zara range was a summer one that used lightweight linen. But I do like quite a lot of the Kindred clothes & it's great that they're using Irish linen. When I was wee, there were still fields of flax grown around the Armagh/Down area where I grew up - & I believe there's now been a bit of a resurgence in The North.

I am a 36F, which I think would usually be considered as quite "busty". I have dresses very similar to the Kate Barton ones - & no, they do not make me look fatter or pregnant.

A fitted or cinched-in wrap dress would, however, be too clingy in the places where I wouldn't want it to fit closely, & in contrast would make me look lumpy & lacking in a waist & therefore fatter (though as I'm post-menopausal, making me look pregnant would be a bit of a stretch ...).

Anyway, perhaps worrying about looking fatter is not my first consideration when choosing a dress I like ...? And maybe not the OP's either - but I'm sure she can decide from all the options posted!

And will make anyone busty look fat or pregnant.

I like the denim Masai one. I have a Toast dark denim dress about the same length & it's brilliantly versatile.

But the OP merely says that she is "a little busty"?

So she wants V-necks or necklines that can be unbuttoned. Her key requirement seems to be the overall shape of the dress - "a gentle A-line that isn't interrupted by a waist seam". Which means no fit & flare or wrap dress styles?

Like the OP I'm also tall & "a little busty", though I'm also larger than her at a size 16. And the shape of this dress - & the Kate Barton ones that the OP really likes - is one that I like rather a lot. The A-line shape of the dress below the bust skims over the waistline, stomach & hips in a neat fashion, without being overly voluminous.

I have a few heavy linen things amongst my everyday clothes (trousers and skirts as well as the odd frock) - and I fully intend to keep on wearing them until at least the end of November, mixed with tweeds and Shetland wool, thick socks and clumpy boots. The contrast is fun.

That brown linen Zara dress reminds me very much of Kindred of Ireland:

https://kindredofireland.com/products/the-stella-dress-cortado

and I always love the way they celebrate linen as a year round clothing fabric.