I've tried 100s of summer dresses — here are 7 I'm wearing on repeat
Because I'm an absolute sucker for a summer dress (they're a need, not a want!), I've gone ahead and shared the maxi, midi, and mini dresses I have been wearing on repeat this summer. From wedding guest-friendly frocks to breezy, heat wave-friendly looks, these are my editor-approved dresses for summer.
FRNCH Pauline Afternoon Tea Dress
There is very little I don't like about this chic FRNCH Pauline Afternoon Tea Dress from Simons. It's so easy to dress up or down and it pairs well with sneakers, sandals and heels. The one thing I'll note is that I wish I had sized down. I wear size six and ordered the dress in a medium. It's not overwhelmingly large, but it would have fit better as a small.
$70 $205 at Simons
Babaton Fluid Dress
I know I'm biased, but I think the Babaton Fluid Dress is so, so, so chic. It has a contour bodice and a fit-and-flare skirt made from 100 per cent cotton poplin that I find so flattering. I wear this dress on repeat and will likely sport it for years to come thanks to its timeless design. I ordered a size medium and it fits true to size.
$138 at Aritzia
Twik Lace Trim Floral Dress
This floral midi dress has become one of my most-worn styles when the temperatures hit 30°C and above — which, considering what a sweltering summer it has been, has been quite often. You can wear it with or without a bra (which I love), and it doesn't wrinkle, so it's a great choice for those of us who hate ironing. I ordered it in a medium and it fits true to size.
$69 at Simons
Wilfred Marmion Linen Dress
My brother is getting married in August, and thus, I have tried on my fair share of wedding guest dresses. Although I didn't end up choosing the Marmion Linen Dress, I still think it's a chic pick for a summer wedding. It's made from breathable 100 per cent organic linen with an off-the-shoulder ruffled neckline. I'm wearing it in cognac, but it comes in four other colours. I ordered it in a size six, but I could have sized down.
From $101 at Aritzia
Reformation Balia Linen Dress
If you're in the market for a va-va-voom dress, Reformation's Balia Linen Dress is it. It gives waist. It gives bust. It snatches and it conceals. I've worn it on dates, nights out and even to the office. This is your wear-everywhere dress of summer 2025. I have a size six and it fits true to size.
$398 at Reformation
Wilfred Priscilla Dress
Please ignore my snail-like installation of my peel-and-stick wallpaper and instead focus on the star at hand: Wilfred's Priscilla mini dress. I am truly and utterly obsessed with this polka dot mini. It's made from a lightweight, semi-sheer fabric that is both ultra flattering and comfortable. My polka dot print is almost sold out, but Aritzia shoppers can still grab it in a few more colours (but hurry!). I ordered a size medium and it fits true to size.
From $83 at Aritzia
Twik Tie-Strap Tiered Dress
I love how girlie this pink maxi dress is. I ordered a medium, which fits my size six frame perfectly. If you don't like wearing bras during the summer, you can get away without wearing one in this dress, too.
$89 at Simons
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
How U.S. Christian musician Sean Feucht put freedom of expression to the test in Canada
Had you heard of Sean Feucht before this month? If you hadn't, you likely have now. The U.S.-based Christian musician wasn't exactly a household name or selling out the biggest concert venues in this country, but his recent concert tour in Eastern and Central Canada has put him in the spotlight in the past couple of weeks, as permits for some of his shows have been revoked amid an outcry that his controversial views are being given a platform in public spaces. The 41-year-old preacher and activist has raised the ire of people for his support of U.S. President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement, and over comments he's made about abortion, critical race theory 2SLGBTQ+ rights and gender diversity. His supporters, including Canadian politicians like Conservative MPs Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands—Rideau Lakes) and Andrew Lawton (Elgin—St. Thomas—London South), have decried what they see as an attack on free speech, conservative viewpoints and religion. While some freedom of expression experts do not agree with Feucht's views in any way, they do see the efforts to cancel his concerts — especially those scheduled to be held in public spaces — as problematic and indicative of how censorship is being used as a means of tackling social issues rather than debating them. "Because freedom of expression is so fundamental in a democratic society, we restrict it only in the most extreme cases," said James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University. WATCH | Multiple permits for Sean Feucht's concert tour denied or revoked: Safety or censorship? Over the course of the past week, Feucht saw permits revoked for his concerts in Halifax, Charlottetown, Moncton, N.B., Quebec City, Gatineau, Que., and Vaughan, Ont.— all of which were to be held at public sites. The City of Montreal attempted to halt his Friday night performance at a church, but it went ahead as scheduled. The church, however, is now facing a $2,500 fine for hosting the event without a permit. Feucht is scheduled to tour several cities in Western Canada late next month, including Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Kelowna, B.C., and Abbotsford, B.C. Turk said that public spaces are different than private venues, whose owners can choose who they do and don't host without violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There are "a very limited number of reasons" why municipal, provincial or federal governments could justify cancelling an event like this, he said, and there would need to be "reasonable grounds to believe that the person is going to engage in illegal activity in that space." In most of the cases, officials cited safety and security concerns and not the content of Feucht's shows or his past comments. But Turk said he doesn't believe Feucht's performance would have created "such a threatening situation that local police forces wouldn't be adequate to handle it." "I fear that, as in many cases, the use of security as an excuse is just that — an excuse to otherwise to deny what's a fundamental right of freedom of expression in this country," he said. If there was a situation in which tempers could flare if critics or protesters tried to disrupt one of Feucht's shows, government agencies responsible for pubic spaces have an obligation to provide the resources to ensure safety and order, said Stephen Newman, a professor emeritus in the politics department at York University in Toronto. But in an email to CBC News on Monday, he wrote that acting on "unspecified concerns" and preventing Feucht's concerts from taking place in response to public outcry is akin to what is known as a "heckler's veto" — in which groups or individuals suppress or shut down another's speech by means of disruption, intimidation or even violence. LISTEN | Discussing why Quebec City cancelled Sean Feucht's performance: Capitalizing on controversy Feucht may have fewer gigs on his tour schedule, but he just gained a wealth of free publicity, said Dax D'Orazio, a post-doctoral fellow in the University of Guelph's political science department who researches freedom of expression in Canada. "If you generally disagree with someone, if you think their expression is harmful, you have to think really long and hard about what the best way to counteract that in society is," he said. "Sometimes calling for the cancellation of events Is not always the most strategic way to go about things." D'Orazio said performers like Feucht can earn "symbolic capital in public discourse" if they can claim they're a victim. Matthew Taylor, a senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies in Baltimore who has written about Feucht, shared that sentiment. "He's been doing these provocative, in your face, intentionally trying to draw a response from local officials, even trying to get barred or banned, and then he presents that as persecution, that he is the victim of anti-Christian bias," he told CBC News last week. Feucht, for his part, celebrated that he and his followers were triumphant over attempts to scuttle the performances, having rebooked some to other venues or properties. "The plan of the enemy has backfired BIG TIME up here!!" Feucht wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. "Just like the book of Acts, what the activists tried to stop has now gone viral — IT BACKFIRED!! They are having to report on worship and the preaching of the gospel every night! We did not seek this controversy — yet God will use it for His glory!," he said in a separate post that same day, noting it was the third year in a row of bringing his "Let Us Worship" movement to Canada. WATCH | Feucht's show goes on after permit revoked for national historic site near Halifax: 'Price of a democracy' Both Turk and D'Orazio said they see a bad precedent being set by public agencies revoking permits for a divisive figure like Feucht. There could end up being a "tit-for-tat" situation,D'Orazio said, in which people or groups holding opposing views can target one another using Feucht as an example of public agencies shutting down events just because people on one side are rallying against the other. It doesn't matter if people view Feucht as spreading hate, Turk said, because it's unlikely anything he says would rise to the level of being considered hate speech in the eyes of Canada's justice system. Turk said in the case of someone crossing that line, they should indeed be prevented from having a platform. But beyond that, he said, freedom of expression must be protected for everyone equally — regardless of which views we hold. "The price of a democracy is we're always exposed to divergent views, some of which we love, some of which we hate."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Blue Rodeo celebrates 40 years with packed hometown show in Toronto's Distillery District
From 5 Days in May to 40 years in 2025: Blue Rodeo took to Trinity Street Stage in Toronto's Distillery District for a free acoustic set Monday afternoon, celebrating four decades of music. It may have been 4 p.m. on a weekday, but it didn't stop a large crowd from packing in front of the stage by Mill Street Brewery and belting along to a set of classic Canadiana in the band's hometown. Blue Rodeo was formed 40 years ago by Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, who met in high school in Toronto, and led Monday's concert along with Jimmy Bowskill and Colin Cripps. The group would rise from a Queen Street bar band to a part of Canada's cultural fabric. Craig Hamilton said he took the train in from Long Branch to catch the anniversary show. "The sound of Jim Cuddy's voice, can't miss that," he said. Hamilton said he was thrilled the band led off with his favourite song, 5 Days in May, which he said contains his favourite lyric from any Canadian songwriter. "When he sings, 'Rain on the windshield headed south' — every time I hear that line it just conjures up all these images, and I just love that song," he said. "They've been bringing us fantastic music for many, many years." Hamilton was one of many people in the crowd enjoying a specially crafted beer put out in honour of the band's milestone, which he said was a perfect complement to the sun and music. "Everybody loves Mill Street, and who doesn't love Blue Rodeo, so to bring the two of them together … it's fantastic." MPP Chris Glover, who represents Spadina-Fort York, was also on hand for the show. "It was fantastic. How often do you get to see Blue Rodeo, especially on their 40th anniversary, and in this setting in the Distillery? It's just a beautiful setting," he said. "This is what makes Toronto so much fun to be in in the summertime." It's a setting Blue Rodeo knows well. The band got its start in Toronto, playing its first show in 1985 at the Rivoli, according to its official website. It had been selling out shows in the city for months before the release of its first album, Outskirts, in 1987. But it took off when the music video of its lead single Try, already a popular staple at its concerts, was put on heavy rotation at years later, the band released its most commercially successful album ever, 5 Days in July, and never looked back. Blue Rodeo was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in September 2009 — the fifth band to receive the honour. This year, the group was the subject of a documentary called Lost Together, available on CBC Gem, and got its own Canada Post stamp. It kick off its official, country-wide 40th anniversary tour this fall.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Toronto man, 26, wins $60M lottery jackpot
Bocheng Mei said his hands and feet grew numb when he realized he had won $60 million in the LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball. The 26-year-old from Toronto, who works in the software industry, said he got a phone call from an unknown number — a representative from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). Mei had missed an email informing him that he had won a prize, and the caller asked him to check his OLG account. "I'm talking to OLG people, but at the same time I'm googling the number, googling trying to find any information to verify if this is legit," he said in a video provided by OLG announcing his win from the May 7 draw. After Mei saw the win in his account, he said his first call was to his parents. "I said, 'now you guys never have to worry about money anymore. You can just retire now, you can enjoy the rest of your life,'" he said. He said his friends were jumping for joy when he told them the news. Mei said he plans to use the win to further his education and travel around the world — particularly to Antarctica, Finland and Iceland. "[I'd] love to see the Aurora Borealis and just everything that's new to me," he said.
