The Long Dresses I Wear All Summer
And they don't make me look like a milkmaid.
One of my favourite things about summer dressing is that you can chuck on a dress and a pair of sandals and you’re good to go. A single dress essentially becomes an outfit in itself. They don’t require a lot of thought but they’ll keep you cool and comfortable in the heat, especially if they’re made from heat-friendly fabrics like linen or cotton.
Most of my summer dresses are long. I like the proportions long dresses give, I like that they cover my skin a bit more if I’m somewhere where the sun is particularly strong (or it’s a bit chilly and I could do with extra coverage), and let’s face it, I like that I don’t have to shave my legs to wear them.
The thing with a lot of long summer dresses is that you can easily get it into milkmaid territory. There are ditsy florals, puff sleeves and big necklines galore, and that’s just not me. I don’t want frills or fuss, or to look as though I’ve just spent a morning in the Alps milking cows. As with every season, in summer, I just want to dress in a way that feels like me.
Here are six dresses that tick that box. They’re summer-friendly, I feel like myself in them and a few of them I’ve had for years, so I know they’re timeless too. I’ve added a few new season dresses at the end of this post too, that I’ve bookmarked if I ever come up with a reason to add to them to my collection.
The floaty linen dress
Dresses can be long and floaty without the fuss, and this one is proof of that. It’s by Jessica Lewis, who makes her clothes to order in her studio in Manchester, using responsibly sourced fabric. This one is made from 100% Irish linen — it’s got a nice heaviness to it that makes it drape so beautifully (and it isn’t see-through). I’ve worn it mostly on hot, beachy holidays when I’ve wanted to wear a dress that’s cool and airy but it has a little ‘something’ to it. I love the rope tie at the neck — it’s unusual without feeling fussy and it gives it a point of difference to all the other dresses in my wardrobe.
The linen column dress
I love a column dress. That straight-down shape will forever be a classic, so you can almost guarantee that if you have a dress with this silhouette in your wardrobe, it will stay there for years. This dress is from Albus Lumen (I actually think it was designed as a tunic to be worn over matching trousers but hey, I’m 5’4”, so dress it is), which I got from The Archive Place a few years ago. The Archive Place is a great Australian retailer that sells past-season pieces from homegrown designers such as St. Agni, Matteau, A. Emery, Bassike, etc. etc. They ship internationally and I’ve bought some of my favourite pieces from them over the years.
This dress is a dark beige with black stripes. It’s a timeless print that goes well with the classic shape of the dress, and it’s easy to pair with black sandals and simple gold jewellery.
The long black dress
