Bring On the Dresses! 16 Summer-Ready Styles That Have Already Caught My Attention

ELLIE WEARS A REFORMATION DRESS

(Image credit: @slipintostyle)

Ellie wears a summer dress from Reformation.

If you're a regular around these parts, you may have deduced that dresses are my weakness. Since the tender age of three, I've been parading through the lengths of my parents' living room and twirling to my heart's content (anyone else?). Now, the daily sartorial question has become less about what I'm wearing and instead, which dress. It should come as no surprise then that spend a significant amount of time in both my personal and professional life scouting for the best dresses on the market, and in doing so I've been coined somewhat of a dress aficionado. A title I'll humbly accept, given my love of frocks!

Typically when winter roles around dresses are folded away for spring and summer, but I find myself employing inventive styling methods and procuring seasonally appropriate styles (long sleeves, knitted fabrications and midi lengths, for example), in order to dress in accordance with the forecast. I consider the challenge accepted and I enjoy finding creative solutions to extend the wear out of my favourite pieces. It's also the time of year when spring-ready pieces start landing on retailer sites and we've been given a taste of what's to come (lots of silk and golden hues), when high denier tights are a thing of the past.

Whilst conducting my usual research and pondering the very apt Confucius quote "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work day in your life", I came across seventeen special dresses, from a pretty pink number to the perfect LBD. Continue reading to discover the best dresses of 2024 so far.

Shop the Best Dresses of 2024 So Far:

Freelance Fashion Editor

Avalon Afriyie is a freelance writer and storyteller based in London. She specialises in sustainable fashion, health and the narratives of marginalised communities. She has a background in fashion show production and styling, having previously worked on The Clothes Show and with the Lyst Group. Since graduating in 2013 with a BA (Hons) in English and contemporary media, she’s worked as a feature writer for an independent publication and a contributor for Quill’s creator network. She now marries her passion for words and style, writing for some of the most esteemed fashion and lifestyle publications, Who What Wear UK and Stylist. Avalon also provides copywriting services, creative consultancy, and visual media for independent businesses, including travel guides, interviews, press releases and blog posts. Her work has been featured on Lush, Contiki, Youswim and Ohne. She spends her days writing to her heart’s content for business and pleasure, shooting on film and dreaming of residing a stone’s throw away from the ocean with her love and a pup (clad in a sweeping frock, of course). She’s currently penning ideas for a book of personal essays and free verse poetry on love, life and the stages in between.