True story: This dress trend is stalking me. I first noticed it pop up all the way back in 2018 when just a few cult brands like Ganni and Dôen were designing it, but then as more and more brands got in on the look, I started seeing versions land in my inbox, plant themselves in my Instagram feed, and appear on my most stylish friends. It has gotten to the point where I can no longer ignore it. Shirred dresses are the trend that just won't quit. Trust me—once you start noticing this smocking detail, you'll also start seeing it everywhere you look.
The stretchy fabric makes any dress (and, therefore, any outfit you wear with it) immediately more summery, so it makes sense that the trend tends to come back around at the first sign of warm weather. Even though they're not necessarily new for 2021, shirred dresses still feel like a current option and a surprisingly comfortable one, at that. This summer, smocking has returned in ways that feel even better than it ever has, from pretty floral-print dresses to charming bow-tie straps and all the puffy sleeves a fashion girl's heart could desire. Simply keep scrolling to shop the very best ones and to get inspired by how cool girls wear them.
The dresses from Faithfull the Brand are possibly some of my favorites this summer.
The kind of dress you can easily throw on with sneakers or sandals.
Under $100 but doesn't look it.
Sleeper's dreamy smocked dresses are in a category all their own.
If you ask me, the more smocking, the better the dress.
The non-boring LBD you were looking for.
Ganni's version of a smocked dress has a cool downtown vibe to it, naturally.
This color is everything.
Now that's what we like to call big smocking energy.
18th-century peasant vibes.
Simply stunning.
This print, though!
Giving picnic prints a whole new meaning.
I love that this one is a year-round kind of dress.
So pretty.
It's not every day this cult L.A. brand is on sale.
Angelic.
Nothing beats Staud's summer dresses.
Print mixing done right.
The definition of effortless.
An outfit idea and a dress in one.
Probably the most comfortable summer dress you'll own.
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