Fashionable knee-length day dresses for spring and summer

^{I adore dresses. I prefer them to skirts, jeans, trousers, capris, leggings, tunics, shirts, saris... anything else, really. Until I turned 20, I wore jeans only while travelling. It was mostly casual dresses to classes and the odd skirt and jumper the rest of the time. Dresses are the comfiest of all clothing - no elastic, belt, buttoning, pins or other tight restraint necessary to keep the garment in place, though there are dresses that come with all of the above.}

I love this silk dress and its silk shell within. I bought it in Singapore for $189 on Boxing Day sales. I am not someone who usually goes in for frills and flounces - at least, not after my eighth birthday. But I love the frills from the collar downwards on this dress. This is not a day dress, so I wore it to my birthday dinner, with strappy sandals and a gold box clutch (in picture). It buttons all the way down the front, but thankfully these buttons are brass-coloured and look very vintage. You need to wrap it in tissue to prevent wrinkles and only ever dry-clean, but it is worth the trouble.
^{Here are a few of my comfy casual favourites. All snaps are candid and were not shot with the intention of blogging or showcasing the dresses, hence the extremely unprofessional look, which is a frequent feature of my blog.}

^{Immediately above is a 109F dress, ideal for summer outings. I love the blue and green colours on the stark white background with the black print. There are a few pleats in front at the waist. I wore blue nail polish and blue sandals with this dress, although I had taken a rather large and unsuitable brown bag as it was a day out at a bird park.} 

Next up is a cotton AND dress. It is black with orange flowers and tiny green leaves. It came with a brown belt but I could not locate it that morning, so I wore the red belt which came with my grey polka dress instead.
 Brown wedges or flats and a brown bag are good with this dress. There is a collar and the dress buttons all the way in front. I wish they had used black or brown buttons, though, instead of the pearly white ones, which stand out a bit. I have worn this dress to work, with a brown belt and black tights.

^{I picked up the black and white checked dress above unexpectedly in Cochin. I love the colour combination, the starkness and the below-elbow sleeves. It is collared and buttons all the way down in front. The buttons are large and plain black. The dress came with a checked cotton belt in the same pattern, but I felt that plain black would go better with it, so I opted for that. This dress looks good with a black bag and black flats or sandals. I also wear it to work.} 

^{This very pale grey cotton dress has white polka dots all over, and three small pleats at the neck on the left side. It is quite stark and has a side zip. It came with this red belt to add a dash of colour, so I combine it with reddish bags and reddish-nudish shoes. I have also worn this dress to work, only, with a black belt, bag, shoes and black tights. If it had longer sleeves, it would be pure work wear.} 

^{This black and white dress above is a rather older cotton outfit of mine. I love the print. I wear it with a black vest or slip, with a white bag and white wedge sandals or strappy sandals. I have a feeling that the black print is fading in some areas. It doesn't appear evident in person, though I find parts of the print looking greyish in photographs. I only wear this for summer trips. This snap was taken in Goa, where the dress was quite suitable.
While buying dresses, my first preference is for simple cottons, as I live in a tropical climate. My second choice is jersey followed by silk. I do have a couple of wools and polyesters and other synthetics as well, though. If you love the look, you tend to overlook the material.
I'll showcase more of my dresses another time.}