11 Summer Dresses That Are Perfect For A Belly Pooch
We’ve been dress shopping. Here’s what we’ve uncovered.
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by The Candidly Team
In our recent hunt for summer dresses, we’ve found 11 chic, romantic, modern dresses that are unbelievable for those of us with boobs and bellies and arms and curves that qualify us as apple shapes (which basically just means we gain more of our weight on the upper halves of our bodies).
We love these dresses because in addition to being so comfortable we genuinely want to wear them, they’re also skimming, lengthening, hourglassy - all the adjectives we want to feel when we wear a dress. But let’s not bore you with adjectives. Let’s get to the dresses.
1. The Skimming Sundress
WHAT: J.Crew Floaty Midi Dress In Block-Print Cotton Voile*
Why We Love It: J.Crew is having a pretty special moment with prints right now, but this dress also has incredible shape. It’s spacious without being a tent, and has such elegant, clean lines, we sort of feel like we’re wearing something fitted and elongating but we have all the room in the world for a pooch. We plan to wear it with flat sandals and a raffia bag all summer long. But be warned that it’s wildly on sale and we fear might sell out, so be swift.
Sizes up to 3X.
Price: $79.50
2. The Easiest Maxi Dress
WHAT: Anthropologie The Somerset Maxi Dress*
Why We Love It: Anthropologie is one of those brands that really seems to know how to make dresses for us apples. This one is a best seller and has racked up thousands of sparkling reviews because the fit. IS. SOOO. GOOD! The sleeve covers the thickest part of the arm, the waist is smocked, and the skirt is a loose, lovely maxi that again, isn’t so poofy that it makes us look thicker.
It comes in so, so many prints and sizes in petite and plus.
Price: $168
3. Probably The Most Elegant And Flattering Dress On This List
WHAT: The Tobie Shirt Dress by Exquise*
Why We Love It: We all just want that one dress that will make us look incontestably chic even on days we feel our bloatiest. Everything from the way the shoulder drops (which narrows our own shoulders) to that nipppppping waist is just perfection. It comes in many summery prints, solids, and stripes, but we’re partial to the gingham.
And of course, it sizes in petite and plus. Bless Anthro!
Price: $198
4. The Little White Shift Dress
WHAT: Madewell Mini Shift Dress in Linen*
Why We Love It: We make the mistake of avoiding short things when we have curves, but a shift dress with this modish shape is so, so chic. It covers and elongates our upper body and makes legs look longer. You can style it to dress for a fancy schmancy dinner or a day at the beach. We use these accessories to give us a “wait-a-minute-are-we-stylists?” effect … while pretty much feeling like we’re in a nightgown.
Comes in 2 other colors and sizes up to 3X.
Price: $70
5. The Incredibly Comfy Smocked Dress
WHAT: Z Supply Balos Gingham Dress*
Why We Love It: Smocking is a dream for those of us with a rounder belly. It just holds everything in while making us feel like we can still blessedly breath. Z Supply makes no less than a dozen dresses that are similarly amazing for us apple shapes, but this is our current favorite. We dress it up with black espadrilles and down with black sandals or white sneaks.
Price: $119
6. The Dress We Own In 2 Colors And A Print Because The Hourglass is Effin’ Phenomenal
WHAT: Maeve The Tommie Cap-Sleeve Smocked Front-Zip Shirt Dress*
Why We Love It: We’re probably boring you with our endless praise for smocking, but that’s exactly what allows this dress to give us that divine hourglass. It holds up the boobs, shrink-wraps the waist, and floats out so perfectly at the bottom. You will reach for this dress 87% of the time you require a dress.
There are too many colors and prints to choose from, and it sizes in petite and plus.
Price: $178
7. The Quiet Luxury Dress
WHAT: Marcella Clara Dress*
Why We Love It: We’ve written about this dress more times than we can count. The top is like your butteriest, stretchiest, most flattering tank, and the skirt is the lightest European poplin. It’s made for women with thicker waists. We wear it belted with strappy black sandals and also own it in white* because it’s the go-to, classic, everyday dress you can’t look bad in.
* Gifted
It sizes up to 3X and also comes in a short-sleeve version."*
Price: $118
8. The Pool Day Dress
WHAT: By Anthropologie The Kallie Flowy Maxi Dress*
When wearing a swimsuit, we think about one thing and one thing only, what we’ll wear over that swimsuit that will make us feel comfortable but still summery and sun-kissed and like we can order a big, buttery lobster roll poolside and never once think about our bellies. This gauzy dress comes in so many colors and because of that neckline, it’s still alluring and lovely despite all that magical space.
Price: $98
9. The Maxi Dress We Wear To All Daytime Events
WHAT: The Somerset Maxi Dress: Strapless Edition*
Why We Love It: First thing’s first, yes, we fell in love with this dress because it reminded us of THAT iconic dress in THAT iconic movie. But the second thing is that we have to suspend our fear of strapless. Strapless things often make our chests and shoulders look better than they do in a spaghetti strap. And this one is like its own built in bra with all that corset-like smocking underneath. A keen eye will have noticed this is the strapless version of the famous Somerset dress we mentioned earlier. It fits just as beautifully but is even more elevated in strapless, so we wear it to all kinds of spring/summer occasions, including polo matches.
Price: $168
10. The Fit And Flare That Holds You In Beautifully
WHAT: Aritzia Babaton Technique Poplin Dress*
Why We Love It: We’ve never felt so “held in,” so smoothed, so confident in a summer dress as we do in this one. The neckline makes our shoulders and arms appear narrowed, and the whole cut has us looking elongated to the point we feel like gazelles … or super models. The point is, you will want it in every color as well as the stripe because the fit is simply outrageous.
The only downside is it only sizes up to 12 and some colors and sizes are already selling out, so be quick!
Price: $168
11. The Original Wedding Guest Dress
WHAT: AFRM Ilaria Sweetheart Ruched Mesh Maxi Dress*
Why We Love It: We’re a bit tired of the same old satin dresses when we shop for an “event.” The ruffles on this one are a bit of magic, concealing any lumps and bumps we aren’t keen to have on display on an evening where we just want to have fun, feel good, and look fantastic.
Also comes in plus.
Price: $128
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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