Our Editors Weigh In on 8 Outdated Dress Trends for Summer

As someone who owns and wears a lot of dresses, I’m of the opinion that no dress trend is a bad dress trend. Sure, there are some I personally wouldn’t wear, but I genuinely believe there’s a place for every frock option, be it bodycon or oversize, subtle or saturated. This is something I’d like you to bear in mind when you read this story. Like every other piece of clothing or accessory, it’s common for some dresses to lose their appeal over time, especially if they once tapped into a very specific fashion moment. For example, I love puff-sleeve dresses, the type that’s intrinsic to the cottagecore aesthetic, and will always gravitate towards them. But, as the saying goes, sometimes, you can have too much of a good thing. Although I know I’ll loop back into wearing my puff-sleeve dresses in a couple of months, right now, I find myself exploring new dress trends that feel fresh for 2022 by way of fresh silhouettes, prints, textures and colours.

It occurred to me that some of my colleagues might feel the same about the dresses currently in their rotation, so I decided to ask them which, for the lack of a better word, “outdated” dress trends they were the no longer excited about. We agreed on the eight below. Now, that’s not to say we don’t like them, think they hold no style value or, indeed, that you shouldn’t wear them—it’s just that we fancy trying something a little different this summer. To counter them, I’ve listed the dress trends we think are breakout stars of the season. Scroll on to see the eight dress trends we’re pausing on and the eight we’re excited to wear instead.