There's A White Cotton Summer Dress For Everyone – Here Are 5 Of The Best Styles To Buy Now
In 2024 we had Brat Summer: this year, it's the season of the white cotton summer dress. It's not as catchy, sure, but it's also considerably less sweaty. From minimal maxis to crisp poplin shirt dresses, the white cotton dress is the sartorial equivalent of air conditioning – a welcome respite from the cling of acrylic. (As the owner of one too many vintage nylon dresses, I am speaking from experience.)
If the SS25 catwalks were anything to go by, designers are in agreement. Most ubiquitous was the white cotton shirt dress, which manifested in mini, midi and maxi forms at Alaïa, Bottega Veneta, and Erdem, respectively. More classic iterations made way for styles with a difference – a flounced hem, split sleeves, or statement cuffs, as seen on Elle Fanning at Cannes last month.
The minimal maxi is another sound option for the white summer dress purists among you – it bears no unnecessary decoration, only exaggerated proportions and one or two interesting details. See Brioni's totally perfect, tent-like T-shirt dress or Khaite's very compelling tunic, which appeared on the runway layered atop a pair of silk trousers.
For something with a little more romance, we present the white cotton nightie dress – the more demure cousin of the slinky slip. See Bella Hadid's collab with Frankie's bikini, or Harling Ross's collection with If Only If. Equally lovely would be a Broderie Anglaise dress, as seen at 3.1 Phillip Lim, or something with lace cutwork, as at Tove.
And if you're not totally ready to relinquish Brat Summer, may we suggest a bubble hem. Alberta Ferretti and Carven proved that the white cotton summer dress can be all sorts of fun via the gathered-hem dresses they showed for SS25.
Ready to slip into something a little more comfortable? Here is our edit of the best white cotton summer dresses. Easy, breezy, and not a bead of sweat in sight.
Bristol-based vintage seller DuLievre's edit of antique French cotton dresses is unrivalled, while Smock London, Faune and If Only If all make modern iterations. Wear yours with a pair of block-colour ballet flats, chunky silver jewellery, and a basket bag.
You can't go wrong with a crisp cotton-poplin shirt dress. Follow the simple but effective styling at Simkhai and style a sweeping maxi with a skinny black belt or do like Alaïa's Pieter Mulier, who dressed up flouncy mini dresses with strappy mules and layered necklaces.
The minimal maxi's allure lies in an interesting silhouette – something with oversized proportions or an open back or split sleeves, for example. You'd be forgiven for mistaking styles by Arket for The Row and Khaite, especially when paired with leather flip flops and a single cuff.
Spend all of summer in Broderie Anglaise, either in the form of a demure midi dress (with scarlet ballet flats) or something flirtier and thigh-grazing (with Nineties-inspired mules). A white lace dress will do nicely, too. Play with opacity by layering a coloured slip beneath – or, more daringly, not at all.
Another bubble-hem summer is upon us, and we're not complaining; this playful detail makes the simplest of white cotton dresses that much more fun. Team Free People's white cotton mini with sleek flip flops and sea-salt hair, or try Cos's midi with jelly shoes and a beaded necklace.
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Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
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