Claire's Pick of the Best Beach Dresses

It’s rare that a bikini can double for a dinner option without looking like you’ve lost a bet. Dresses on the other hand have a lot more flexibility if you know what you’re looking for. There’s the sort of beach dress that justifies its place in your suitcase, and there’s the sort you wear once to breakfast and swear you’ll never let yourself out again, and the difference between the two is almost always the cut through the body. Buy ones that fall away from your skin rather than cling to it, so they’ll handle sand, salt water and that sort of heat where anything with any sort of elasticity starts to feel like a questionable life choice by eleven a.m. Look for something with substance to the fabric, cotton, linen or a decent viscose blend. Ignore anything too flimsy, because it’ll crease as soon as you sit down and show every mark your drunk friends might leave on it throughout the day. Bonus points if there’s a little stretch or a tie at the waist so you can wear the same dress loosely over your swimsuit at lunchtime and then belt it up for dinner at eight p.m. That is really all beach dresses should be doing: allowing you to get away with two outfits where minimal effort is involved.
Necklines and lengths are more important than colour, contrary to what every single magazine photo seems to think. A halter or square neck stays put over a bikini, a wrap style is slimming after you’ve consumed half a pie, and midi that skims rather than clings means you can hoof it from sand straight to pavement without adjusting. Speaking of clings, stay away from anything white that isn’t canvas or linen. Nothing says beach grass like thick white pants that become transparent the second they get wet.
Bright florals are great if you know you’ll be spending the day by the pool. If you want something to throw on when you actually want to look like you made an effort, not just that you’ve stayed cool, pack a plain linen shift in white or a warm neutral colour. Bonus points if it has pockets.
As for styling it, it doesn’t get much easier. Pair flat sandals and a raffia bag during the day, swap those gold hoops you hate everybody else wearing onto a stack, and chuck on a pair of heels with the same dress by night. Beyond that, really, there’s no need to think about it too much.

Throw a denim jacket on top when you leave because between sunshine and seaside breezes, you will be chilly on the walk back. That jacket also covers you for weekend mornings when you roll out of bed late and have nothing appropriate clean. Two birds, one jacket.

Okay, where it truly earns its keep is anything in-between. Lunch at a beach club, a boat trip, exploring a seaside market town on holiday – slip into this dress and you don’t have to think about changing until you’re ready to drink winesburgs at sunset. That, more than anything I own, is what makes a beach dress worth packing.