Which dresses worked well for you in the heatwave last week?

[yoyou]

Trying to find another couple of dresses for the summer. Age 50, size 12, 36DD. Looking for possibly a cool wrap dress, something with short sleeves.

Full length cotton petticoat. I wore mine with a button through dress last week. M&S have them.

This! Really lightweight linen, unusual print and didn’t particularly crease.

Very fine lightweight cotton.

https://atlastshop.co.uk/collections/cotton-annabel-tunic

I've just looked to see if Joe Brown's still has my hot-weather champion: sadly not. It's one of their 'tunic dresses' in a fine cotton. It's a tiered style which, frankly, looks absurd on a woman my age when worn as a dress - gives the impression of a clapped-out and wrinkled Alice In Wonderland 😬

I got it to wear over skirts/jeans/shorts but it was perfect, comfort-wise, on its own on last week's hottest days. The fabric lets air through, the bouffy style lets air in! Amazingly, the cotton keeps its shape despite being very thin. I've just seen dozens of very similar short dresses on Shein, but wouldn't bank on their having the same structural integrity.

This pointlessly rambling post is only here because I was so impressed by the thing's performance when the chips were down - even though I looked like I should be wearing scary plaits and clutching a lollipop!

I got two scoop neck last year and two v neck this year. I’m 5’1 so they’re just below knee length on me but I prefer that.

My other favourite is a Mantaray dress … I miss Debenhams. It’s viscose but feels like fine cotton only less inclined to crease.

I wore a couple of very old cheesecloth dresses I bought about 8 years ago. They were quite cool and not tight but loose flowing.

Why do you think dresses in the UK are more expensive? Is it perhaps because slavery is illegal here? ‘Being short on cash’ is no excuse to fund human slavery and misery.

I'd ordered 3 linen dresses in the Woolovers summer sale that were perfect for the hot weather. One that buttons down the front, so you wouldn't like it, but a couple of the pocket tunic dresses. The ones I bought are sold out, but they have loads of different colours and patterns.

I never understand why there is so much viscose snobbery on MN.

It's lovely and light, absorbent and breathable- what's not to like?

There are very few clothing lines in the uk that actually produce their clothes in this country. The vast majority of clothing is produced in other, poorer countries.

My new dress from Mknsson arrived. I just love it but wish I had boobs not fried eggs. The small fits size 10 perfectly. Its great for wafting about. Its a little bit see through so I have been wearing chub rub shorts underneath.

www.freemans.com/womens/dresses/midi-dresses//N-1lZ1z141odZ1z13vpb?fs_alp_id=monsoon-elma-print-midi-beach-dress//A-71R017_S&ns_mchannel=pla&ns_source=google&ns_campaign=full-dresses&utm_medium=pla&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=DEP%3AWOM_CAT%3ADRE_THE%3AGen_CHA%3APmx_CFO%3AMx%2BF_ADV%3AFreemans_PLA%3ASA360_INV%3AGoog_OBJ%3AConv&ns_mchannel=pla&ns_source=google&ns_campaign=DEP%3AWOM_CAT%3ADRE_THE%3AGen_CHA%3APmx_CFO%3AMx%2BF_ADV%3AFreemans_PLA%3ASA360_INV%3AGoog_OBJ%3AConv&ns_linkname=20281768709&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20281769669&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZLSBhCcARIsAEhGKgNwE9RqJDkZNhfzyTGqkoPbeiAVKGyDoX_PoeCMxeVKEx6z5rgQ3PAaAqWrEALw_wcB

Totally agree! I’ve been loving my 100% viscose shirt dress from Sugarhill Brighton during the heatwaves. Mine’s an old design with a lovely blue and pink shell print, but it’s a similar sort of style to this:

www.sugarhillbrighton.com/products/aileen-mini-shirt-dress-black-tropical-lines

I find viscose makes me feel sweaty. It's not snobbery against it. Plus, some of it needs ironing to, sort of, stretch it out again to its original size.

Same here. Since I hit perimenopause everything which is man-made draw the heat madly and makes me sweat and feel sticky and horrible. Plus it clings in the wrong places if you’re fairly well-upholstered. Cotton and linen only for me now.

I like this hush dress - the barrel air flow.

https://www.hush-uk.com/liddie-air-flow-barrel-tank-dress-soft-leopard/013798-4604.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_brand_allusers&utm_content=brand&src=paidjourney&tw_source=google&tw_adid=787659526041&tw_campaign=23344296717&tw_kwdid=pla-295707486900&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23344296717&gbraid=0AAAAADmDz94YETsaPH4kevVaaes7F6X1s&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZLSBhCcARIsAEhGKgPdlkyodv6tJ2qrXWv7tzLSNFHUSUtUdQMZTfZb902_iGmZFuCPfjsaAoGSEALw_wcBair flow dress.

I also love Albaray dresses eg this one Great sale on at the moment.

Verlaine!!!

Viscose is a natural fibre so I want to like it. And the type you need to iron can drape nicely. But, for me, it behaves like polyester and seems to trap any body moisture.

https://www.weirdfish.co.uk/p/women/dresses/i/dilsha-printed-midi-dress-nightshade-203314?fromsalecategory=true
https://www.weirdfish.co.uk/p/women/dresses/i/everly-printed-viscose-dress-red-203200?fromsalecategory=true

both these dresses are very cool and comfortable to wear

That's only a small percentage linen - viscose and rayon are much sweatier than linen.

Loose, natural fibers are the most comfortable. I am probably guilty of veering towards shapeless but I was a lot more comfortable last week than slimmer and younger colleagues wearing clothes that covered less skin but were synthetic and/ or had tight elements, even waist bands. We are not a home office environment and don't have air conditioning.

Boden short sleeve Jersey wrap dresses are amazing ! I have a lot that never let me down in the Summer (although I always need a safety pin as the wrap can be very revealing.

It isn't snobbery - I have a viscose dress I really like, but it's not suited to very hot and sticky weather at all - it's a far sweatier fabric than linen (though it can look nicer after being worn all day - linen stays comfortable but is like the wearer's mirror in the attic and shows that it's been worn all day!)

I thought that was a typo until I spotted the poster's user name!

Verlaine was such a master of poetic wistfulness - I love Les Ingénus in particular. Thanks for the reminder - I really must read (& re-read) more poetry!!

Seasalt linen dresses all summer. It's been up at 40° where we live and they are wonderful.

I always try to buy cotton, I seem to sweat in linen as well

manufacturers seem to make a lot in viscose now or mix cotton with modal

I always thought that modal was a sort of finer cotton (no idea where I got that from!) I have just looked it up as have a few tops in cotton/modal mix that feel nice. I think although not entirely natural it does have good wicking properties and my skin seems to like it. Linen and silk I find quite hot.