Friday Fashion: The Little Black (Summer) Dress

I blame Normal People. I blame Marianne. Since that fabulous episode in Italy when she went on the bike ride with Connell, I’ve been obsessing over little black summer dresses. Not necessarily the first colour you think of when it comes to summer dresses, Marianne is just so chic in her sundress, like a modern day Audrey Hepburn enjoying a ‘Roman Holiday‘.

But its not just Marianne who has embraced the black summer dress trend. Over the years, the most famous of style icons, from Kate Moss to Sarah Jessica Parker, from Dua Lipa to Alexa Chung, all have embraced the lure of the black dress, and showed us different ways to wear it, from flirty mini styles to long maxi dresses, and have accessorised with everything from ankle boots (which can most definitely still be worn in summer) to the strappiest heeled sandals, to a trusty pair of gladiators. I now find that when I pack for a holiday, there is at least one black dress that goes in my case, and it always gets a wearing, looking great against a suntan.

The great thing about the black summer dress is that it suits all moods and all days. It takes you from day to night, and looks great whether the design be a t-shirt style dress, or something more delicate and glamorous like the dress Alexa is wearing. It looks fabulous when teamed with metallics, either gold or silver jewellery, and whether you wear ballet flats, heels or a slider or gladiator style sandal, you will look summer ready. The look I’ve shown for Kate Moss is a few years old and yet is totally on trend for 2020. Thick gold style chains that have a 1980’s feel are very current, or you could swap them for the finer, delicate jewellery worn by Marianne in Normal People for a more subtle look.

Black Summer Dresses From New Look