There aren't many places that specialize in dresses anymore, but since dresses are in vogue (sadly mostly knit dress in maxi and baby doll styles) several places "could" and "likely" have dresses. Century21 is a NY discount staple but be prepared to really dig through heaps of stuff that is even more disorganized and messier than usual this time of year. The one downtown used to restock Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Another place to pop your head into might be Intermix (for trendy dresses) and New York Look for anything from cocktail to office (their stock changes frequently). Catalogues that might be of interest might be Chadwicks of Boston, Boston Proper (for trendier, borderline-trashy-if-unbuttoned-and-worn-with-those-thigh-high-boots-that-model-is-wearing form fitting dresses), and Garnet Hill.
As a backup there's always Dressbarn that sadly doesn't seem to have that many actual dresses in their stores (but lots online).
Theory also has been churning out fine gauge sweater dresses that can be machine washed in a laundry net & flat dried these past few years.
Last edited by tcl; Jan 11, 2012 at 9:57 pm