Dresses: The search, the styles and the summer

Dresses, more to say!

When I showed Kris' haul from La Cache, some readers said they liked the idea of a store brimming with dresses, but the boutique's trademark retro charm wasn't their look.

If Cornell's not your cup of camomile tea either, other options fill the window today.

Strict and simple

At the opposite end of the style spectrum are unembellished, solid-colour options exemplified by Eileen Fisher. This lightweight denim top and skirt captures the EF ethos and comes in sizes up to 3X.  The top is $CAN 200; the skirt, $CAN 280.  At their prices, you get more value from a two-piece set, assuming you take care to wear both pieces about the same amount so they continue to match.

Photo: Eileen Fisher

Some of you sewists can make similar, and I salute you. A search of "Eileen Fisher sewing pattern" on Etsy turned up many patterns for the tank.

Abstract gauze

A modern motif: the Veronique Miljkovitch "Renata" cotton gauze dress, now s/o; sale price was $CAN 135. I recommend this small  Canadian brand; every time I wear a VM piece, someone asks where I found it. They are original, wearable, and well-made (in Nova Scotia); this is a rare print.

Photo: Veronique Miljkovitch

Chocolate belted midi

Jennifer Glasgow is a Montréal designer who manufactures locally; I'd pick the "Adira" dress in chocolate, an unusual summer neutral in a shade more milk chocolate than dark, making it easy to combine with other summer colours. Sale price, $CAN 138.

Photo: Jennifer Glasgow

Yes, peas!

 London's Palava make dresses that are lighthearted but not twee; here's one with a print of green peas. The Louise shirtdress is a cotton-linen blend, made in sizes up to UK 22. Price, £149.

Photo: Palava

Tranquil tee

The "Calypso" dress, designed and made in Montréal at Bodybag by Jude, tweaks the classic tee shape with an offset pleat down the front, and a grey, blurred palm-tree print—and it has pockets! The knee length would also work over linen trousers or crops.  Price, $CAN 195.

Photo: Bodybag by Jude

Dresses  have a short, ecstatic season here because it's so cold from autumn through mid-spring that you risk hypothermia wearing a dress even under a coat. This young woman wore a padded jacket over her thin white dress, on a still-chilly May morning. Instead of a slip, she put black bike shorts under it.

Rushing the season

We are just now able to wear our dresses without layering. On a specific evening in mid-May, the city pivots sartorially and Montréalers commune on terrasses and balconies. I admired how this woman's baby-blue hair harmonized with her rust wrap dress; her companion is not wearing a dress, that's an Indian kurta over shorts—and shiny lime boots! 

We savour finally slipping on a dress; we wear skirts too, but there is something well, dressed about a pretty dress, still a signifier of femininity. After a winter in layers like an Arctic construction worker's, their grace and swish delivers a psychological lift. 

Do you too get the Dress Effect?