Red and White Dresses: How to Choose, How to Style and 9 to Buy

A red and white dress is any dress that sets red against a white, ivory and ecru ground, and the right one comes down to three things: how big the print is, how long the hem falls and where you are going in it. Our edit of designer maxi dresses holds the long versions, the Andres Otalora brand page carries the new Fall Winter 2026 prints in red and ivory, and our guide to red dresses covers solid red for when you want the colour without the white.

Key facts

• The Andres Otalora Un Martini Maxi Dress is a long halter dress in a red and ivory abstract floral printed on polyester.
• The Andres Otalora Tribal Ikat is a printed pattern on linen, viscose and polyester, not a woven ikat.
• The Gesto Continuo Embellished Caftan is cut in red silk crinkle chiffon with embellishments.
• Every piece in the Andres Otalora Fall Winter 2026 collection is labelled Made in Colombia.

This guide explains how to read a red and white print before you buy, which lengths suit which occasions, how to style the pair of colours in winter, and then leads the picks with the Colombian label’s new red and ivory dresses, all labelled Made in Colombia. For the background on one of the prints, read what ikat is and how it is made.

What counts as a red and white dress?

Any dress where red and a pale ground share the surface counts, whether the red is a print, a stripe, an embroidery and a solid panel. In practice the pale side is rarely pure white. Ivory and ecru are warmer, and they soften red so it reads less like a flag and more like a painting.

The balance matters. A dress that is mostly red with small ivory marks behaves like a red dress at a distance. A dress that is mostly ivory with red motifs reads as a light dress with colour in it. Stand back from the product photograph and decide which of the two you are looking at, because that is how the dress will be seen across a room.

How do you choose the print scale?

Choose the print scale by your height and by how close people will stand to you. Large motifs read from across a room and suit long, uninterrupted lengths; small motifs read up close and suit shorter dresses and seated dinners.

Abstract florals

An abstract floral breaks the flower into loose shapes, so the red sits in brushy patches against the ivory. On a maxi length it gives the eye somewhere to travel. The Andres Otalora red and ivory abstract floral appears on a long halter dress, a tunic dress and a pair of wide-leg trousers this season.

Ikat-pattern prints

Ikat is a resist-dye technique in which the yarns are bound and dyed before weaving, which gives the motifs a feathered, blurred edge. The house Tribal Ikat is a print that borrows that look: the red lines have the soft, slightly broken edge of woven ikat, printed onto linen, viscose and polyester. An ikat-pattern print is more graphic than a floral, so it suits a belted waist and a clean midi length. Our guide to ikat dresses goes further.

Solid red with a pale lining of colour

If you prefer one colour, a solid red piece worn over ivory gives the same pairing with less pattern. The red silk caftan in the picks below works this way over an ivory slip and ivory trousers.

Which length suits which occasion?

Maxi for evening and weddings, midi for lunches and dinners, and a caftan for hot nights and relaxed celebrations. Here is how that plays out in the season ahead:

• Winter weddings: a red and ivory maxi with a heel and a fine wrap. Red is a warm colour in candlelight and photographs well against winter greenery. Keep the white of the print warm, ivory rather than bright white, so no one reads it as bridal. See our winter wedding guest dresses for more.
• Festive dinners: a midi in linen with a belt, worn with a heeled sandal indoors and a long coat outside.
• Gulf evenings: a long, loose shape in viscose and silk, which breathes in evening heat, layered over trousers where you want more cover.
• Holiday lunches: a tunic dress over bare legs in warm weather and over wide trousers in cool weather.

How to style a red and white dress

Let the dress set the colour and keep everything else quiet. Red and ivory is already a strong pair, so accessories should pick one of the two and stay there.

• Pick up the ivory with a cream bag and a pale sandal for day.
• Pick up the red with a red lip and nothing else red, so the dress still leads.
• Black works as a third colour in small doses: a wide black belt at the waist sharpens an ikat midi, and the Lo que Late Leather Belt wraps and ties at the front.
• Gold jewellery warms red. Silver cools it. Choose by the white in the print: ivory takes gold, a brighter white takes silver.
• For a coat in winter, camel and chocolate brown both sit well over red and ivory. A black coat gives a sharper, more graphic finish.

If you like the colour block but want it in separates, our guide to black and white dresses shows the same rules applied to a darker pairing.

Nine red and white pieces to buy

Andres Otalora leads the edit with five red and ivory pieces from Fall Winter 2026, plus a pair of trousers in the same prints and two earlier dresses from the house for further browsing.

1. Un Martini Maxi Dress

The Un Martini Maxi Dress is the long one: a red and ivory abstract floral printed on polyester, cut as a halter that runs to the ankle. The halter neck frames the shoulders, so keep jewellery to the ears. It is the strongest choice here for a winter wedding.

2. Gestos Lentos Tunic Dress

The Gestos Lentos Tunic Dress uses the same red and ivory abstract floral on fluid viscose. Viscose drapes closer to the body than polyester and feels cool on the skin, which makes this the piece for warm evenings and long lunches.

3. Umbria Midi Dress with Belt

The Umbria Midi Dress with Belt carries the Tribal Ikat print in ivory and red on viscose, with a belt that marks the waist. The belt gives the graphic print a shape, so it suits a dinner where you want structure without tailoring.

4. Memoria Densa Midi Dress in Ivory and Red Tribal Ikat

The Memoria Densa Midi Dress in Ivory and Red Tribal Ikat is cut in linen, and the house says the linen keeps it fresh and light. Linen creases, which is part of its character: hang it the night before and let the folds drop out.

5. Gesto Continuo Embellished Caftan

The Gesto Continuo Embellished Caftan is solid red silk crinkle chiffon, loose and light, with embellishments that catch the light. Crinkle chiffon is sheer chiffon set with a permanent crinkled texture, so it packs well and needs no pressing. Wear it over ivory for the red and white pairing.

6. Te Veia Pants

The Te Veia Pants take the red and ivory abstract floral onto a wide leg in polyester with 5% elastane. Under the tunic dress they make a full printed look for cooler nights and for anyone who wants their legs covered.

7. Me Quedas Pants in Ivory and Red Tribal Ikat

The Me Quedas Pants in Ivory and Red Tribal Ikat match the Umbria and Memoria Densa print on a wide leg with 5% elastane. Wear them with a plain ivory blouse and very little else.

8. Nosso Amor Dress

The Nosso Amor Dress is an earlier strapless maxi from the house. Our listing does not give its colour, so check the product photographs before you choose it for a red and white look.

9. Meu Sol Dress

The Meu Sol Dress is another earlier Andres Otalora maxi. As with the Nosso Amor, the colour is not given on our listing, so treat it as further browsing for the long shape.

For more red and ivory from the region, browse Johanna Ortiz and Silvia Tcherassi, two Colombian labels, plus Zimmermann and Self-Portrait.

Red and ivory pieces compared

Source: the Andres Otalora product pages, read by Coveti Editorial on 7 November 2026.

Wearing red and white around the world

The pairing travels well, but the fabric should change with the climate. In the US, red and white is a holiday colour pair from Thanksgiving to New Year, and a polyester maxi with a coat suits a cold evening in New York and Chicago. In the UK, winter weddings and Christmas parties are mostly indoors, so a linen midi with tights and a boot gets you there and back. In Europe, the long lunch is the natural setting for a tunic dress, worn over trousers once the weather turns. In the Gulf, the winter months are the wedding season and the evenings stay warm. A loose viscose tunic and a silk caftan breathe best, and both layer over wide trousers in the same print for modest cover. Our guide to kaftan dresses has more long, loose shapes, and silk kaftans covers the fabric in detail.

How do Andres Otalora dresses fit?

The halter and the caftan are the most forgiving shapes here; the belted midi needs the waist size to be right. Andres Otalora cuts in US sizes 0 to 12 and Coveti lists the UK equivalent: a US 0 is a UK 4, a US 4 is a UK 8 and a US 6 is a UK 10. The house size chart gives body measurements (bust, waist and hip in centimetres) rather than garment measurements, and the brand gives no fit corrections, so take your usual size and check the chart on each product page.

How to care for red and white prints

The brand publishes no care labels online, so follow the label sewn into the garment. As a general rule for red and white, wash nothing together with pale pieces until you know the red is fast, and keep linen and silk away from direct sun when drying, which fades red faster than ivory. Store the caftan folded rather than hung, so the embellishments do not pull at the chiffon.

For the full collection, read Andres Otalora Fall Winter 2026 and our guide to Andres Otalora dresses.

Frequently asked questions

What should you wear with a red and white dress?

Keep accessories to one of the two colours: cream bags and pale sandals pick up the ivory, while a red lip picks up the red. Gold jewellery suits ivory-based prints, and a black belt adds a sharp third colour.

Can you wear a red and white dress to a wedding?

Yes, if the white is a warm ivory and the red carries most of the print, so no one mistakes it for bridal. A maxi length with a heel suits an evening wedding.

Is red and white a good combination for winter?

Yes. Red is a warm colour in low winter light, and in December it reads as festive. Wear it under a camel, chocolate and black coat.

What is the difference between ivory and white?

Ivory is a warm, slightly yellowed white, while pure white is cool and bright. Ivory softens red and flatters more skin tones.

Is the Andres Otalora Tribal Ikat woven ikat?

No. It is an ikat-pattern print on linen, viscose and polyester, which borrows the feathered edge of woven ikat.

What length of red dress is best for a festive dinner?

A midi is the easiest length for a seated dinner. It clears the floor, works with a heeled sandal and looks finished with a belt.

Which red and white dress suits warm weather?

Choose viscose and silk. The Gestos Lentos Tunic Dress in viscose and the Gesto Continuo caftan in silk crinkle chiffon are the lightest pieces in this edit.

Read next: Red dresses, Ikat dresses, Winter wedding guest dresses.

By Coveti Editorial. Updated 7 November 2026.