From linen to gingham: the best summer dresses for every occasion

Whether you want floaty, floral, midi or maxi, the perfect summer dress should be versatile and easy to style. Here are 30 of our favourites this season

• Jess Cartner-Morley’s May style essentials

There’s a particular kind of optimism that comes with the first real day of summer sun; not the false start kind in April, all blue skies and betrayal, but when you can leave the house without a coat and not immediately regret your decision.

In theory, the summer dress is the easiest item in your wardrobe to style. One decision, one zip (or none) and done. However, this ease can be deceptive. Without the option of layering, a summer dress has to be versatile.