Monsoon has quietly become the destination for the best floaty summer dresses — at up to 40% off

Everyone I know is looking for a summer dress to wear in the heatwave. If they’re not looking in their wardrobe for last year’s summer clothes or digging their holiday gear out from a cupboard to see what they have, they’re wondering what dress to buy.

What makes a good summer dress for the first heatwave of the summer? First and foremost, it must be made of a natural breathable fibre: cotton, linen, silk or viscose. Second, it must be light, airy and floaty with no potential for uncomfortable cling.

There are many great dresses out there now, and I honestly thought I’d seen the best until I took a good look at Monsoon’s brilliant summer collection today.

Let’s not forget this business has been the home of affordable boho summery style for decades. It stands to reason they can do a light, airy, floaty dress – and they do. Lots of them!

At the time of writing, it’s fully stocked with truly excellent, stylish and well-priced dresses including loose maxi styles, midis, sundresses and flowy tunics in bright colours and pretty prints all designed with heatwaves and holidays in mind.

Not only are they all available in sizes from 8 to either 24 or XXL, some are up to 40% off, and though not all of their dresses come in natural fibres, the ten dresses in this edit are made of 100% cotton.

Monsoon doesn’t do highly polished chic, theirs is a more relaxed, decorative style with embroideries, floral prints and patterned stitching, which makes them ideal if you have a gap in your wardrobe for heatwave appropriate dress.

If you have boho accessories lurking in your wardrobe, raffia sandals, a roomy raffia tote, or easy slider sandals, even better. These dresses will partner with them like a dream.

It’s hard to choose my favourite from this edit, but for beachy days I’d be torn between the ‘Lola’ yellow cotton off-the-shoulder maxi and the 40% off ‘Daisy’ white cotton midi. For hot-in-the-city days it would be a toss-up between the embroidered prettiness of the ‘Keira’, and the elegance of the black floral ‘Eleni’.