I’ve called this the very specific Late Spring Dress Edit, but really it’s dresses to look at now, for wearing right the way through summer and beyond. It also leaves me scope to do Early and Late summer dress edits in the weeks and months to come. Always thinking ahead.

I do love jeans, t shirts and trainers, but I also really love a good dress. I find them such an easy outfit choice, especially at this time of year when tights are not needed. You can still add warmth with your secret leggings though, or as someone else pointed out this week, cycling shorts. Especially useful if you are prone to leg chaffing. Something that doesn’t get mentioned much, but a problem a lot of us come across in the summer months when wearing skirts and dresses.

Just to note, as people often ask me where to buy them from… ‘secret leggings’ are not an actual item. For me they are just cheapo leggings I cut to the right length so as not to be seen under my dresses.

This post was inspired by two places I visited this week. The Daily Dress Edit pop up shop in Belgravia and the Chelsea Flower Show. Two very genteel and rather fancy places that were a lovely change to my usual haunts of Lidl and Brentford FC. The Daily Dress Edit stocked some wonderful labels, a lot of which I had never heard of before, Three of which I feature below. The Chelsea Flower show was an absolute joy for many reasons, The scents, The flowers, The Pimms, The people watching and the lovely dresses spotted on all the ladies there. We spotted That Spotty Zara Dress on no less than 6 women. But to be fair it looked good on all of them!

DAY DRESS

Kicking off with this brand that I discovered at the Pop Up Shop. I’m now borderline obsessed. Day Dress is the brainchild of Gabby Deeming, who alongside her job as Creative Director at Homes and Garden magazine has started a company designing and producing the prettiest of dresses after being inspired by a trip to India. All Day Dresses are hand-block printed and stitched in Jaipur and the cloth is sourced from WomenWeave in Maheshwar. She runs the business from her flat, coming home from work to press, steam and pack orders. Look out for new stock coming later this summer on her site.

1. Day Dress Zita in Brocante Stripe
2. ASOS Heart Shape Sunglasses 
3. Day Dress Isla in Delft Flower 
4. H&M Wedge Tie Espadrille Sandals 
5. Sollilas Tan Leather Espadrilles 

THE SPOTTY DRESS

Aside from that Zara dress, polka dots are having a bit of a moment. Although to be fair they have never really gone out of fashion and are always a great print option. I wore my spotty Anthropologie dress to the Flower Show. Unfortunately they don’t seem to sell it anymore but there are plenty of other great options out there.

1. Warehouse Polka Dot Chiffon Dress 
2. & Other Stories Green Polka Dot Wrap Dress
3. Office Memo Pointed Slingback Heels 
4. Next Forever Comfort Leopard Star Trainers 

THE TIERED DRESS

To be honest I never thought of myself as a ruffles kind of a girl but there’s been a few dresses of late that have changed my mind about a bit of frippery. Another brand I recently discovered is Neve & Noor. They also get their prints made in Jaipur, it’s obviously a go-to destination for pattern lovers. Where Day Dress use more subtle block printing, Neve & Noor use screen printing in bright colours. Something for those who like to stand out in a crowd.

1. Topshop Split Wicker Bag 
2. H&M Tiered Ruffle Dress 
3. Neve & Noor Palma Ruffle Dress (also available in Pink or Yellow) 
4. Adidas Sleek Ice Mint Trainers 
5. Dune Cross Strap Sandals 

THE SCANDI BRANDS

Once upon a time the only ‘Scandi Brand’ we knew of was H&M. Or Hennes & Mauritz as it was known when I worked in the High Street Ken branch as a Saturday girl in the early 90s. Did you know if was originally just called Hennes (which is Swedish for ‘hers’), it added the Mauritz when it bought a male hunting wear brand in the late ’60s. You learn something new everyday. These days there are many more individual Scandi Brands, Ganni, Stine Goya, Samsoe and Samsoe and Baum und Pferdgarten. Plus you’ve got your High Street brands & Other Stories, H&M, Cos, Monki and Weekday. I’m going to have to split this section into 2 price brackets, here’s the higher end…

1. Baum und Pferdgarden Aerin Printed Maxi Dress 
2. Stine Goya Stardot Freesia Dress 
3. Whistles Kali 2 Part Sandals 
4. TopShop Strippy Coral Sandals 

And the more affordable Scandi High Street dresses…

1. & Other Stories Cotton Blend Handkerchief Midi Dress 
2. Weekday Storm Printed Maxi Dress 
3. Vans Old Skool Suede Trainers 
4. Axel Arigato Clean 90 Bird Trainers 

THE WHITE DRESS

Finally, just because I found some really nice ones that I didn’t want to leave out, a bonus white dress section. I love a good white midi or maxi dress in the summer. They go perfectly with your old beat up denim jacket or your khaki jacket. You can add your new sturdy sandals from last week too. Now I just need a good basket bag to complete the look. How do I not have one yet?

1. M&S Pure Cotton Embroidered Dress 
2. Next Bleach Denim Jacket 
3. Loewe Medium Woven Basket Bag 
4. Kin Light Green Utility Shacket 
5. Grenson Chadwick Leather Sandals 

I hope there’s something here for everyone. Which dress is your favourite?

K x