Frocks to love

Scores of young women have been keeping tabs on monthly fashion magazines hoping to discover the last word on summer dress trends. Is it nautical in shipshape shades of navy and white? Or is it bold in batik prints that channel Africa with its bright sunburst colors?

The answer is neither. Magazines have remained mum on deifying just one trend for spring and summer, instead celebrating all the looks the season has to offer.

The latest frocks decorating racks at department stores like SM have drawn inspiration from batik prints and classic cuts. Earthy prints get a fresh look with tie dye dresses awash in an almost neon pop glow. This version, a ‘50s-style dress with a cinched waist and a ruched, bust-hugging bodice, is flatteringly snug, emphasizing all your important assets. With a hem that hits just below the knee, it can make any footwear appropriate. Dress it up with pretty, embellished kitten heels for lunch with friends or pare it down with flats for a lowkey day spent running errands. It’s easy to imagine a life with dresses if many of them were made like this: pretty and easy on the pocket. It’s so charming that even if your wallet didn’t runneth over, the dress wouldn’t make a sizeable dent at only P399.75.

The ladies’ boutique department easily wins points on eye-catching dresses that have more ooomph than a pot filled with glitter. The more heavily-embellished pieces seem like they were flown in directly from some exotic locale like Mozambique with their vivid tones and extravagant beading. For one dress, a deep pine green is juxtaposed against a fiery orange, along with accent shades of bright pinks and yellows. The department offers another version in more classic muted shades of blue and white. This incarnation of what is essentially the same dress seems almost Indian in origin, the indigo shade providing a pretty yet somber effect, making it look entirely different.

Inspirations for the best dresses summer has to offer are wide and varied. Seventies-style apparel has made its mark on some lines, including the surprisingly wearable Pipay, the label under the auspices of pop singer Pops Fernandez. There are white and chocolate versions of a retro spaghetti-strapped dress with a deep V neckline. A wide belt of the same fabric hugs the waist, while the dress falls gracefully in asymmetrical points around the calf. The white is crisp and oozes a cool elegance, particularly when paired with a gold necklace and cuffs and a nice deep (hopefully faux) tan, while the chocolate is our preferred version. A sexy dress for an equally sexy woman, the shift is equal parts provocative and chaste.

If that’s not enough, you can opt for casual summer attire in the form of a sleeveless shirtdress. Girlish, almost mod-ish stripes provide a strikingly refreshing canvas for this simple, breezy, wisp of a dress. Loose and made in cotton, so that the light fabric doesn’t cling to your sweaty frame during long strolls in the beach or, more likely, brisk strides across busy city intersections, this dress was clearly made for walking.

But if a cocktail dress is more your style, a sleek sheath in nude, with a deep, embellished V-neck, which is corseted at the waist and fans out for a nice swingy skirt, should be right up your alley.

Clearly, summer’s easy picks may be easy on the wallet, but not so easy to choose from. Our suggestion? Pick all and you’ll be set for the entire season. Scratch that. With our tropical weather, these frocks should be good for the entire year.

Trust us, the selection is so excellent, you’ll have to catch yourself from saying, "Hot damn, I look good," each time you catch a glimpse of yourself in the dressing room mirror so you won’t end up looking like a grade A narcissist.