Holiday dresses for hot summer nights

A quick one from me today because having said that my schedule was calming down, I’m now heading off to London again. The light at the end of this current tunnel of madness is our holiday in Turkey so I’ve been having one last look around at holiday dresses for hot summer nights before the sales start. Here’s a shortlist of the best hot weather dresses I’ve found that still have stock available.

Holiday dresses for hot summer nights

Before we start, there are a few things to consider:

Fabric – avoid polyester if you’re going somewhere hot. Even if you don’t mind it usually, it will irritate your skin in the heat and you’ll find yourself just not wanting to put it on. A lot of floaty summer dresses tend to be synthetic – or even more annoying, silk with a synthetic lining – Boden and John Lewis I’m looking at you! All of the dresses below are made from breathable fabrics.
The skin on show rule – as you know, style rules usually suggest that you should only expose one area of your body at a time e.g. if the skirt is short, avoid a low cut neckline. This goes out of the window on holiday. However the most chic looking women tend to wear midi and maxi lengths in the evening – I have a theory that it’s because it makes a nice contrast to the days when you’re living in swimwear.
Shoes – flats or a low block heel look more sophisticated in high heat and are kinder to hot summer feet
Shape – know what suits you – I always look longingly at the wafty Hush dresses but they just don’t work for me. Because I have strong shoulders anything that hangs straight down from them makes me look like an amazon. I need dresses to fit at some point on my torso.
Colour – it’s always good to know which colours suit you best but don’t forget that when you have a tan, your range broadens. It gives you the opportunity to wear colours you might usually avoid.
Accessories – make all of the difference. I’m planning to do a big post on these soon.

Knee length and above

It’s difficult to find shorter holiday dresses that aren’t knicker-length short, however this is a nice one with its on trend trim and tassels. The embroidered lemons make me think of Italy, sipping limoncello in Sorrento. You could wear it over a swimsuit in the day and dress it up with espadrille wedges for the evening.

Lemon dress

Tiering is coming in in a big way and will still be strong next summer, it takes me straight back to 1978 and I love it. This is new in and selling fast, yet another dress it up / dress it down option.

Tiered pompom dress

Midi dresses

We’re going slightly longer now – this is a midi length with a dipped hem and pockets – still available in larger sizes.

Midi-dress with dipped hem

Now I have this one and can personally recommend it – it’s much nicer on than it looks in the picture because the top band is shirred which gives it some shape and the tassell and braiding detail makes it look far more expensive than it is. You have to stalk the site though and it does come back into stock every so often.

Tassel tiered dress

I also have this one – I was annoyed by how much it cost because the fabric is very light and I can imagine that it would be cheap as chips to buy on a beach in Goa. However it’s really well cut and is very flattering.

Hanky hem dress

Now in the sale – I really like this dress and have had my eye on it for a while but I’ve maxed my budget now and mustn’t buy any more. There’s a maxi skirt in the same style – also in the sale.

Broderie hem dress

This one has everything tropical going for it, including toucans hidden in the print and it’s a dress that you could easily wear at home too.

Toucan print dress

Sticking with midis, summer is the one time that I like to wear black, it looks great with a tan. This is so architectural that it looks as though it comes from somewhere like Cos but at a much lower price. It’s new in but it’s selling very fast.

Swing midi dress

Maxi dresses

Black again but moving on to maxis now, this has two trends covered – polka dots and ruffles. It’s a full dress but it works because of the flash of leg that will show as you walk. Add brightly coloured statement earrings and a clutch to give it a holiday mood.

Spot maxi dress

I have this one (you see why I’ve maxed my budget), it’s designed as beachwear so it’s a fast drying fabric but having tried it, I can say it works well for evenings too. It’s now in the sale.

Zigzag dress

This maxi is brighter and ticks the tiered trend again – it’s everywhere.

Resort dress with tassels

Sticking with the brights, this is in the sale and I usually avoid jersey for evenings as it can look a bit frumpy but I love a combination of orange and pink on holiday. It has a knee-high split which will add to its drama.

Contrasting maxi dress

Here’s another one that’s new in and I wish I’d seen it before. Blue and white stripes in cotton always look so fresh.

Tiered striped maxi dress

Finishing with one in a Kenyan print and more muted colours. The shirred top adds definition to your figure.

Kenyan print maxi dress

Finally I’m just throwing this in as a wild card because I keep seeing it pop up on Instagram. If I was going somewhere that was a little less hot – France for example, I’d snap this up. It has all of the on trend tiering but the versatility to be worn with a white top… or red… or navy… or a clashing pink would be fabulous.

Tiered cotton maxi skirt

Midlife lately

There’s lots I’d love to chat about but I’ll have to save it for Friday. Here’s a quick outfit of the day shot from Sunday when we popped into town because the youngest has gone through yet another pair of school shoes. It’s great knowing that they’re out in the fresh air at lunchtime playing rugby on the school fields but he keeps coming home with ripped trousers too. I hate buying uniform so close to the end of term. By the way M&S currently have their school uniform offer on – this is the last summer that I will ever have to do the big uniform restock – I’m not sure I like that thought. The Clarks sale is also on here. So should you ever have wondered what I wear when buying school uniform (and I’m quite sure you haven’t) this is it.

Blazer (g SS17); Stories t-shirt SS17; Jeans (g SS18); Shoes (in the sale, more stock here); Bag hopefully coming soon

The bag is one that I’m testing for the shop, I’ve been working on it for a while and I think I’m happy with it. I would have been using a Pop of Colour but they all went in the space of 90 minutes and I even had to sacrifice the one I’d earmarked for myself! On that subject, thank you for your overwhelming enthusiasm over the weekend. All orders have now been placed and I will update you as soon as I have a delivery date. Your support has been amazing and I feel really encouraged to keep on developing this business.

Right, I’m back off down to the South for another fast turnaround trip. Have a great week and I’ll be back on Friday.