Short-or-Cap-Sleeved Summer Dresses Are Back!

Style & Co at Macy's

As soon as summer weather arrives, I switch from wearing leggings to dresses. My legs don’t get covered again until autumn, when the days start to get nippy.

Style & Co and Jones New York at Macy’s

During the last decade, sleeveless dresses dominated summers. Understandably, with heat and humidity ... and yet, I missed what I mostly wore during my teenage and 20s,  short sleeves. Cap-sleeved is an abbreviated length of short-sleeved and is also perfect for summer when you just want fabric covering your shoulders and the top of your arms. 

Lands’ End

What I appreciate about short-or cap-sleeved dresses is that I rarely have to carry a cover-up, such as a cardigan or shawl. That little bit of extra material on the top of my arms gives me the warmth I need for indoor air conditioning. What’s more, it shields my shoulders and arms from too much sun. I also think short-or-cap-sleeves give a dress a little extra versatility when perhaps cloaking more skin is desired for certain occasions. Years ago, when tourists entered churches in Rome, they were required out of respect to cover their bare shoulders.

Old Navy’s Swing Dresses

There was a 10-year period when dresses with short sleeves seemed to have disappeared. You could find long-sleeved or sleeveless, but not much in between. For the versatility of having both short-sleeved and sleeveless options in a wardrobe, I'm happy to see short sleeves on summer dresses back in fashion!

Style & Co at Macy's

My fabric preferences for summer dresses are cotton, linen, or silk. I don’t mind 1 or 2 rayon dresses since rayon is light and cool, but rayon isn’t as durable as the natural fabrics. Macy’s has a variety of dresses with short sleeves, which include polyester (a fabric I don't buy). For this post, I featured cotton and linen dresses from Macy’s and Lands’ End. Old Navy’s swing dresses are rayon. I have some Old Navy rayon swing dresses from summers’ past ... yes, sleeveless!  The retailer puts their dresses on sale for $7, $10, $12 so you get enough wear out of them for the little you spend. They are machine washable, and customers look amazingly polished for $7 bucks!

You may also enjoy:

Big Ticket Looks For Less

Madewell Summer Dresses

6 Best Fabrics To Wear For Summer

Fabulous Deals Now At Macy’s, Old Navy And More