Dresses

Last month, I did a deep dive into the dress trends and brands that we expect to hit the big time in 2021, with a mix of archival labels and up-and-comers making our shortlist. Well, after the amazing response to the story, we wanted to create an additional article dedicated to the products themselves, celebrating the beautiful design and innovation displayed by some of our favourite dress designers. After all, with summer just around the corner, there’s no better time to brush up on your brand knowledge. We’ve included a few brands that were in our original dress report alongside a handful of newbies that have recently caught our eye. We’ve got all the bases covered, from O Pioneers’ throwback prairie-dress styling and Tove’...

I have to confess I’m writing this story away from my desk, and under my duvet, because it is that cold this week. But with Easter behind us, we’re now into spring and one of the things I always love the most about this season is abandoning the many layers (so long, puffer!), and revisiting my dress wardrobe. New-in sections are helping me indulge in my dress daydreaming, as every day is bringing with it new summery items to scroll through. Floral tea dresses and check midi dresses are hardly groundbreaking, but these throw-on styles always sell out at record speed. Lots of the dresses around for spring 2021 have plenty of chuck-on appeal, meaning they are comfortable enough to wear at home or for daily laps of the park. There are five types of dresses in particu...

Fun fact: Who What Wear UK’s top-selling item from 2020 was a dress, but not only that—it was a dress from high-street fave H&M. Coming in a pop of pastel pink and featuring puffed sleeves and a loose, smock-like fit, this staple sold out every time it was restocked, and we couldn’t take a walk around the park without seeing someone wearing this fabulous frock. Well, if you missed out last year, it’s time to sit up because we just found 2021’s answer to that pink dress, and it’s even better than we’d hoped.  Though in spirit it has the same throw-on-and-go appeal, the pink dress 2.0 features some marked differences: First, the hue is deeper, less pastel and more fuchsia. Second, the smocking has been dropped and rep...

The secret to the style’s success lies in its “throw-on-and-go” appeal. Gone are the days of faffing around for hours in the morning, trying to match skirts with blouses and trousers with tops—these smock-like dresses are liberating us from the tyranny of our wardrobes. Plus, they look good with everything: both trainers and knee-high boots, chunky crewnecks and slim-fit roll-necks, smart tailored coats and leather bikers. Have we made ourselves clear enough? There are so many interpretations of this versatile dress trend, so you can feel safe in the knowledge that you’ll find the right one for you. There are knitted iterations, which would look so chic for work with heeled boots, leopard-print styles to pair with ch...

The way we dress is always reflective of our surroundings, which explains the urge most of us have to wear florals in spring—we’re channelling the flowers blossoming around us into our outfits. Brands, be they high-end or high street, are all too happy to cater to this sartorial mirroring. Right now, in any and every new-in section, you’re sure to find a plethora of petal-adorned pieces just waiting to sell out. Still, regardless of how pretty the motif may be, the saying “too much of a good thing” exists for a reason. When you’ve already got a closet full of floral prints (we know we have), you’d be forgiven for wanting to spend your money on something different. Perhaps the springtime picnics we’re planning are serving as inspiration, but ri...

We’re only three months into 2021, so really it’s no surprise that we haven’t seen many dress trends surface quite yet, but with waves of warmer weather coming in fits and starts, it seems as though fashionable frocks are finally coming out to play. Case in point, there is one particular dress that has cropped up multiple times on our feeds over the last few weeks, and that’s Free People‘s Dahlia smocked midi. While the pale-yellow iteration has undoubtedly been the biggest hit, this trending dress actually comes in five summery hues, including mint and faded pink. With dramatic puffed sleeves, a tiered skirt, a smocked bust and daisy embroidery, it packs plenty of nostalgic fairytale vibes, which is sure to ad...

From polka dots and smocks to back-baring midis and pops of print, the results of 2021’s affordable dress deep dive are in, and I can confirm that we’re in for a stellar year. While spring might’ve only made a tentative debut so far this year, the odd 23° day last week has completely thrown us off course and has had us scrambling to dig out our summer dresses. Honestly, the British weather can be so hard to keep up with sometimes.   You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give...

It’s an understatement to say that we like dresses here at Who What Wear. We spend a long time working out which frocks are going to be the ones we, and you, obsess over during the year. We put together dress reports on the names to watch for 2021, which include the key dress trends to know. Plus, we hone in on the brands that are getting it spot on right now (yes, Aje, we’re looking at you). Alas, in many ways, dresses over 2020 took a bit of a dip. With fewer weddings and big events to attend, our posh frocks got only a rare outing. That said, the house dress became particularly popular, with loose silhouettes and unrestrictive material becoming vital in our dress purchases.  But with restrictions easing and the chance that gatherings, inclu...

DENIM  If I had to pick one trending dress fabric for S/S 21, it would have to be denim. No longer contained to the traditional jeans format, this hard-wearing fabric has manifested in everything from shirts and shorts to jackets and, of course, dresses. Packing a certain retro-inspired, ’70s vibe, it was a trend that quietly wove itself through the runway collections of designers such as Celine and Alexander McQueen.  “My love for denim dresses started back in 2009 thanks to Stella McCartney’s S/S 10 collection. The British designer had created a button-down summer dress in a light-wash jean fabric and a skirt in the same finish and waist-nipping fit,” explains Who What Wear’s editor in chief, Hannah Almassi. “Des...