THE SIX DRESSES OF SUMMER
Whether you're after a Midaxi or a '40s nightie, Caroline Leaper tells you all you need to know about the latest happening frocks
IIt is officially the summer of The Dress. Everywhere you look — on trains, at the tennis, at supper or in the supermarket — everyone’s wearing one. The day styles that are dominating have several factors in common; they’re all pretty, breezy and cool to wear when it’s hot outside. You can get ready mindlessly, in less than three minutes, because all you need to do is put on shoes — trainers, even — and you’ll look as though you’ve made a considerable effort; everyone registers that you look glorious in a glorious dress.
Thankfully, there are thousands to choose from. Woolworths has 169 options on its website, H&M has 826, Net-a-Porter has 2,130. The Duchess of Sussex has debuted two new dresses so far this month (a Jason Wu little black dress at the premiere of The Lion King and a Shapeless Linen Dress, an SLD, while the Duchess of Cambridge has introduced four, including a Suzannah shirt-dress and an LK Bennett floral midaxi. A particularly versatile Zara polka-dot style has “gone viral”, selling out several times and prompting 8,000 people to sign up to a fan account on Instagram, @Hot4TheSpot, which posts pictures of women of all ages looking fabulous wearing it.
I thought I wasn’t really a dress person. Ha! I’ve now got several for work and weekends. The beauty is that there truly is a dress for everybody — even for those who were once frockphobic. The challenge now, though, is not only to decipher which style is most flattering for your figure, but also which variation best suits your personality and needs. Is it OK to do a sudden sartorial U-turn and adopt a prairie look overnight? Questions like these are valid.
Here are the six key dress trends of this summer so far and, for the uninitiated, advice on how to ease into them.