During the summer I live in a casual cotton dress and deem it to be one of my summer wardrobe essentials. I honestly couldn’t live without my dresses. The best part about a dress is it’s basically a one and done outfit. Throw it on, add a necklace or earrings and you look instantly put together regardless of the type of shoe you are wearing. If you need a little warmth, just add a jean jacket or tied up chambray shirt.The casual summer dress is so versatile – it can be styled very casually or dressed up for date night.

Three Ways to Style a Casual Summer Dress

Super Casual

A summer dress works great when you want an easy, quick and oh so comfortable look. Just throw on your dress with flip flops or slip-on sneakers and you are ready to run errands, walk your dog, or meet up for coffee.

Casual

My favorite way to wear a summer dress for a casual outfit is to pair it with fun sandals. It just takes even the most casual dress up a notch in the looking put together department. I have worn my dresses with ruffled coral sandals, gold sandals, gingham sandals, and more. Whether or not I add fun jewelry just depends on my mood and the event I’m attending.

Date Night

As usual, it’s all about the shoes. To bring your outfit to the next level, you’ve got to level up your shoes. The perfect shoes to pair with a casual summer dress for date night is the wedge. Add a statement necklace, leave the dog at home, and you are good to go!

Best Summer Dresses

I believe that the best summer dresses are made out of cotton. It’s breathable and can take you from super casual to date night. I, of course, love a color. If you wear the right color (Why knowing your best colors is important), you glow. If you are only wearing one piece of clothing and it’s near your face then color becomes even more important. I’d say only about 30% of all people look great in black, so think about that next time you reach for it. In terms of style, a swing dress or a-line works with many shapes and also provides versatility in terms of the types of events you can wear it to.

If you want to know where I bought my dresses, two were bought used from ThredUp and I bought two at Maurices, but they are no longer available.

I’d love to hear about how you style your summer dresses in the comments, so please share!