Holiday Hero: The Linen Dress 2.0

There are some pieces that just simplify summer dressing, and the linen dress is one of them. 

It’s a fast-track to the breezy glamour of the French Riviera and the Amalfi Coast. It’s Sofia Loren and Audrey Hepburn combined, elegant, cool and relaxed. Just add a pair of tan sandals and tie a scarf around your ponytail and you’re good to go. It’s a very one-and-done style solution with a really evocative power – you can’t wear linen except when it’s warm.

It’s unpopular to say in the era of hardworking basics, but the linen dress has zero transitional appeal. No one is wearing one beyond mid-September unless they’re on holiday. It can’t be layered or worn multiple ways and that is part of its appeal; it only works in the balmy months, which is what makes it special. Digging your linen dress out of the depths of your wardrobe means only one thing – summer has arrived. 

Although the linen dress is all but useless for the majority of the year, it will serve you very well during its glory season. It’s rare to find a dress that works for the office, park and pub but a linen number will do all three. We all love it for its breathable qualities, which is why it’s been used for millennia. The world’s oldest woven garment is made of linen: the Tarkhan Dress, a long-sleeved shift with a pale grey stripe, was unearthed from an Egyptian tomb in 1913 and has been dated at over 5,000 years old. For all its lightness, linen is one of the strongest fibres in existence and is impressively resistant to mildew and bacteria. You might not be able to wear your linen dress all year round, but – invest in the right style – and you’ll be wearing it for summer after summer after summer. 

Its ability to keep us cool during the heat is also its downfall. Unlike cotton and silk, its densely packed flax fibres make it relatively stiff which means it absorbs moisture and, sadly, wrinkles easily. There is no magical remedy for this, although a linen-blend material can help reduce crumpling (and is usually more affordable too). Navygrey has created a line of well-cut T-shirts made from high-density linen, offset by a cotton neckline which makes them less liable to crumple. If you’re really worried, then choose a printed style, which will obscure any potential creasing. My advice is lean in – the wrinkles are part of its charm, and the price we pay for its lightweight airiness.

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Isabella dress, £1,550, Kindred of Ireland

Up until relatively recently, linen had a bit of an image problem often associated with dowdy, shapelessness. The linen dress 2.0 comes in two distinctive forms but each with a specific USP. For sleek, sculpted silhouettes with day-to-night appeal, head to linen experts Arkitaip, whose collections are all hand-made in Portugal. In the same pared-down, refined camp sits Cos, whose peplum linen-blend midi has nearly sold out, and ethically-minded Jamaican brand Haveli, whose timeless Seema design is high on my wishlist and is a great summer office option. Mango and Reformation also deliver affordable, minimalist versions in low-key, neutral tones.

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Layered peplum dress, £135, Cos

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Harlow smocked dress, £265, Arkitaip

In team two, there’s the more whimsical, romantic contemporary iterations. Dôen is a go-to for hyper feminine, pretty dresses worn by Alexa Chung and Kaia Gerber, and, if you’re on a budget, make sure you browse its new collaboration with Gap which delivers more of its signature summer cottagecore. Kindred of Ireland is becoming a lesser-known luxury favourite of the fashion crowd, loved for its contemporary styles made using artisanal methods and family-run mills across Ireland. If you needed further impetus to invest, the brand not only donates 10 per cent from every purchase to local anti-trafficking charity Flourish NI, but it also helps upskill trafficking victims. On the high-street, Nobody’s Child milkmaid-adjacent Cora dress is currently a bestseller, featuring a bustier-style bodice that is currently becoming a bit of a vibe this summer. 

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Monroe dress, £278, Doen

The linen dress might be the highest maintenance item in your summer wardrobe, but she’s willing to put the work in, summer on summer, to make up for it. She’ll keep you cool and pulled-together for every event you’ve got planned over the next few months. She might be a wrinkly hassle, but she’s worth it.