Summer Dresses Women Online | Maxi, Midi, Mini & Everyday Styles

Practical no-nonsense guidance for shopping summer dresses online, for every body and every day.

Before you start browsing

When you shop for summer dresses online, you skip the queue, but you also can't hold the fabric or pull it on right there. That is fine, you just prepare three simple things first. First, note down the measurements of one dress you already own that fits exactly how you like. Not the size on the label - the actual shoulder width, chest lay-flat, and length from shoulder to hem. Every brand marks sizes differently, this is the only reliable comparison you can make. Second, decide before you open any listings how you will actually wear this dress. Will you walk the dog in it? Sit through office hours? Eat dinner out? A dress that looks good on a model will only work for you if it matches the things you actually do every day. Third, set how many times you expect to wear it. For example: a €60 dress worn 12 times costs €5 per wear. A €30 dress worn 3 times costs €10 per wear. This simple sum will stop you buying things that only get worn once. Use the Size calculator to get your base measurements ready before you start.

What to check on the product page

Where the maker gives it, the product page shows fabric composition, lay flat measurements and care instructions. Do not skip these. For summer wear, look for fabrics that breathe. Avoid anything described as crisp or rigid if you will be moving around much. Read the note on stretch: even a small amount of stretch changes how a dress feels after an hour wearing it in sun. Check where the seams sit. Seams across the middle of the back will rub when you carry a bag. Seams under the arms will chafe on hot days if they are not finished flat. You can try a dress here on your own avatar before adding it to your basket. Upload your measurements once, and you will see exactly how the hem falls, how it sits on your shoulders, and how it will look with different footwear. Try on any dress first: Avatar Studio

Choosing length for your days

There is no right length, only the length that works for what you do. Mini dresses are for days you will be sitting very little, or moving fast. They are cool, they dry fast, they work for walks and daytime meetings with friends. Note that mini hems ride up when you bend over, climb stairs or sit on low walls. Midi dresses hit between the knee and calf. This is the most versatile length. It works for cafes, office days, train travel and evening meals. It will not blow up in wind. You can wear it with sneakers or closed shoes. Maxi dresses fall near the ankle. They are good for cool evenings, for sitting outside, for days you do not want to think about your legs. Remember that maxi hems drag on wet ground, and will catch on bicycle pedals. Browse: Mini Dresses, Midi Dresses, Maxi Dresses

Plan what you already own with it

You do not need new shoes, jackets or bags for every new dress. Before you buy, pull out three items you already own that will go with it. You can use the Mix & Match Studio here to test this. Upload the items you already have in your virtual closet, then drop the dress you are looking at next to them. See if it works with your favourite sandals, your denim jacket, the bag you carry every day. This is the single most useful thing you can do when shopping online. Most dresses that end up unworn at the back of the wardrobe are not bad dresses. They just did not fit with the rest of the clothes the person already owned. You will save time and money doing this check, every single time. Test combinations: Mix & Match Studio, Virtual Closet

Once it arrives

When your dress arrives, try it on inside first, before you remove any tags. Put it on. Stand up. Sit down. Bend over. Lift your arms above your head. Walk across the room. Do all the normal things you do every day. Do not just stand still in front of the mirror. If it pulls anywhere when you move, it will not get better the more you wear it. If it itches when you first put it on, it will still itch after three hours in the sun. Wash it once before you wear it for the first time, following the care label exactly. All new fabric has finishing dust from the factory. This is normal. Get washing and storage tips: Fabric care guide

Small adjustments that make a dress fit right

Very few dresses fit well straight out of the parcel. Most can be adjusted for very little cost, in one hour at any local tailor. Common small changes: shortening the hem by a couple of centimetres, taking in the waist slightly, moving the shoulder straps inwards. None of these cost much. All of them turn an almost right dress into one you will wear for years. Do not settle for 'almost fits' if a tiny change will make it right. It is almost always better value to adjust a dress you like, than to send it back and keep looking for one that fits well off the rack. 5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose.

How giving works when you shop with us

5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose. After your order you pick one of three causes: CARE International, Cool Earth or Project Zero. The donation is paid out through PayPal Giving Fund UK. Those three causes, together with how we run our own store (honest product data, fair prices), are matched to 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

That is the heart of the 1% Movement: small choices × millions of us = change. It is a giving promise we can show you, and it is the only promise we make on this page.