11 dress trends fashion editors want to wear all summer

Natalie Cantell calls dresses “the one place I let myself get a bit more fun” in this New York heat. In a city where the heat is humid and relentless, dresses have to leave an apartment, survive a subway ride, and still look right at dinner, with flats by day and heels after work. The CFDA’s preliminary Spring/Summer 2026 New York Fashion Week schedule, which ran from September 11 to 16, 2025, packed in more than 60 runway shows and designer presentations.

Shirt dresses

A shirt dress is the most civilized answer to a hot commute. The current range runs from Zeagoo’s $25 to $33 button-front version to J.Crew’s Elsie shirt-dress in striped cotton poplin at $148. The best ones skim rather than cling, making them easy with flat sandals at noon and a small heel when the day turns into dinner.

Slip dresses

Slip dresses remain the closest thing fashion has to a summer shortcut. The current crop spans Litherday’s long satin slip at $15 to $18, Quince’s washable silk maxi slip at $158, and Aritzia’s satin dress at $178. They work under a blazer, with bare sandals, and into the evening.

Lace-trim slips

Lace-trim slips are the more romantic branch of the same family, and they feel sharper than they did a few seasons ago. Fashion people are layering them over jeans or pants with flats, then switching to thong heels.

Babydoll dresses

Babydoll dresses remain the rare trend that feels both sweet and slightly subversive. Olivia Rodrigo helped pull the silhouette back into the conversation, and the versions editors are wearing now, like Marblau’s gathered cotton-poplin mini and striped or gingham takes, keep the volume high and the hem short, which is ideal when the air feels heavy. They are the kind of dress that looks best with boots if you want contrast, or kitten heels and thin sandals if you want to keep the line lighter.

Strapless dresses

Strapless dresses are the cleanest way to get skin into the equation without adding visual clutter. In the New York heat, that matters, because when temperatures push toward 100 degrees, nothing touching the shoulders suddenly feels like a luxury, and the tailored versions in the mix keep enough structure to avoid looking flimsy. The silhouette is also easy to dress up with earrings and a heel.

Floral maxi dresses

Florals are back, but the useful version is bold, saturated, and scaled up. The fresh iteration favors bright print, oversize blooms, and shapes that do the styling for you, whether that means a floral ruffle maxi, a boho floral version, or a yellow multi floral jacquard tiered dress that already has enough energy built in. It can replace the need for accessories entirely.

Crochet-fringe dresses

Crochet and fringe are the most texture-driven entries in the lineup, and they work when the construction stays light. A Wenrine crochet knit fringe dress at $45 or a fringe-hem cotton-blend dress reads relaxed rather than overworked, which is the difference between looking breezy and looking costume-y. The best versions move when you walk, catch light without feeling shiny, and keep the silhouette simple.

Drop-waist dresses

Drop-waist dresses are trickier than they look, but the smart ones create length without clinging. The current versions range from an Old Navy fit-and-flare drop-waist tube dress at $45 to Abercrombie’s bra-free smocked drop-waist maxi at $130. The seam can be unforgiving if the fabric is stiff, so the skirt stays fluid and the overall line stays relaxed.

Bubble mini dresses

Bubble minis are the least practical and the most obviously social, which is exactly why they still matter. The Aqua ponte mock neck bubble mini at $53 is the kind of dress you wear when the day ends under restaurant lights, not when you are pacing a downtown avenue at noon; the volume is fun, but it is best reserved for nights, parties, and any setting with decent air conditioning.

Smocked maxi dresses

Smocked maxi dresses are the comfort-first answer to New York heat. Abercrombie’s bra-free smocked drop-waist maxi at $130 makes the case neatly, because support is built into the dress, the bodice stays close, and the skirt falls away without needing constant adjustment.

Denim dresses

Denim dresses are the quiet workhorse of the group, especially when they lean chambray or washed cotton instead of heavy indigo. The range runs from Old Navy’s $15 chambray midi and Gap’s denim zip-front midi at $70 to Anthropologie’s boat-neck denim bubble midi at $178. It works with flat sandals in the daytime and still holds its shape at night.