Stylish Summer Dresses from Amazon You Need (and Don't Need) This Season
- Erika Doty
- Jun 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 28
It's my favorite time of year: Summer Dress Season!
I LOVE summer dresses. Tossing on a simple summer dress takes VERY little effort, which is clutch when the heat and the kids have zapped all of my energy. One piece of clothing and I can look put together. Sometimes a bra. Sometimes not. Plus who doesn't love a little undercarriage breeze when it's 100+ degrees outside?
This year I jumped into the blackhole of Amazon fashion and found 13 dresses to buy and try. Below is the stock photo on the Amazon listing (left), and me in the dress (right), along with my thoughts.
By the numbers:
Purchased 13
Most expensive: $51.99; Least expensive: $19.90 (I returned BOTH!)
Kept 5; Returned 8 (well, 7.5...you'll see)
2 of the dresses below I now have in multiple colors because I loved them that much!
Note: The prices listed are what I paid on Amazon in April. This could certainly change by the time you read this.
Now, let's find your next essential summer dress!
KEEP. This dress is awesome! I bought it in black to "class it up a bit" but it legit feels like I'm wearing a nightgown. It's soft, cozy, but decent enough quality that it doesn't look like I'm wearing a nightgown. Would be cute with sneakers or sandals, could pair with a cardigan or button-down tied around the waist.
RETURN. Considering the price, I had higher hopes for this dress. But it was basically a long t-shirt, very thin material and hung loose and just sort of icky on me. Not worth the money.
RETURN. Meh. I got what I paid for on this one. It was a basic t-shirt dress with a tiered skirt. Cheap-feeling fabric. One plus - it did have pockets. To me, it wasn't comfortable so I returned it.
RETURNED...sort of. I loved the fit of this dress! I've heard good things about CUPSHE and was thrilled to find out that you can get a lot of their products through Amazon (here). This dress was the second most expensive one I purchased, and it really was worth the money. However...I didn't love the color on me. 100% a personal taste issue. So I returned the dress, but ordered another one in a different color (turquoise) and I love it! Also, no bra needed - always a bonus in the heat of the summer. Now I just need a vacation to a tropical island to go with it.
KEEP. I loved this dress! It has pockets, it had a cute fit, comfortable fabric that doesn't wrinkle easily (packable), no bra needed, and a great price. I loved it so much I ordered it in a second color (below). The only downside is that the belt is not attached to the dress (which can be annoying). But that was an easy fix with a needle and thread and a little stitch in the back (even you non-sewers out there can do it).
KEEP!
RETURNED. I wanted to love this so badly. But it was just weird. The fabric was kind of heavy, and the fit in the shoulders/neck wasn't what I was looking for. The fabric is stretchy, which can be nice. And it has pockets (which I love). But overall, I didn't love it so I knew I wouldn't wear it.
KEEP. This is the one! Not only did I keep this, but I bought it in navy blue and in a fun tropical floral pattern. This dress is SO comfortable and doesn't easily wrinkle. I love the higher neckline and flowy skirt. I wore this last weekend and got compliments all day long. (My kids even asked me, "Why are you all dressed up, Mom?" That made me laugh - I literally threw this thing on with some sandals, put in zero effort and apparently looked dressed up.)
RETURN. Ugh. Again, I really wanted to love this one and I debated about returning it. It was very cute and comfortable. A simple tank dress (no pockets, though). But at the end of the day I didn't like how tight it fit around my midsection. Totally just a personal taste thing. If this is a fit you like, I'd totally get this dress. It's a great price and comes in other colors as well.
Summer Spring Casual Sundress- $24.99
KEEP. I don't think the pics I took do this dress justice. This is a very cute dress. The detail along the neck and shoulders adds a little something to dress this up from a simple tank dress. I tried the dress just by itself, which was cute. But definitely dressed it up a bit with the belt. Plus it has pockets! This is a dress I can wear to run errands or to an appointment or meeting this summer. (Comes in a few other colors as well.)
RETURNED. This dress. It was just weird. The cut was strange. It hung weird on my body. The seem that connects the top and skirt was odd and made the skirt hang in a very unflattering way. This was the most expensive dress I bought and it was absolutely not worth the money.
RETURNED. As you can see in the online picture, I thought the fabric would be like a rayon/polyester type that wouldn't wrinkle and would look kind of nice. Wrong. It was (again) a scratchy cotton-like fabric. The only thing I liked about the dress was the pockets, so I returned it.
RETURN. I was fooled again by the Amazon photo. Again I thought the fabric would be a rayon/polyester type - something smooth that wouldn't wrinkle easily. But it was a weird soft cotton-like fabric that looked worn out when I pulled it from the packaging. (I shared a close-up picture of the fabric and you can see it looks like the dress is 20 years old and been worn 100 times.) Not even a little bit worth the money.
Did you know Babble has an Amazon Storefront? It's full of even more summer dress recommendations as well as jumpsuits and other must-have summer essentials. Check it out here!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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I’ve had the black tank dress in my cart for a few weeks. Just ordered!