Wearing summer work dresses in the season of heat is one of the easiest, most comfortable ways to take the stress out of getting dressed!

They’re cool, comfortable and let’s not forget…it’s only 1 piece to worry about. Of course, you’ll probably want a jacket for important meetings and arctic air conditioning, but still…with a summer work dress, you can get dressed in a snap!

Sooo…you may be thinking, “Um Dana, I’m still working from home…not gonna wear a dress.”

If that’s you, you’ll be happy to know I rounded up dresses in simple styles that can be dressed up or down that you can wear now and when you go back to the office.

And, I have styled 5 dresses, each for a different body type.

First I’ll define the body shapes, and then give some basic easy to remember tips on how you can dress your body to flatter yourself best. Find more detailed tips on dressing for your body type in this post. 

I’ll also give you a tip or two about what to wear and how you can change the look of the dress.

Just click each item photo to shop.  I make a small commission from your purchase at no additional cost to you. Let me know if I can assist you with a purchase. Thanks for your support! 

You can also explode each board shop all of my outfit boards and picks from my storefront, right here!

Now without much further ado…

Summer Work Dresses For Your Body Type

 Triangle

Triangle: (a.k.a Pear) Your upper body and shoulders are much smaller than your lower body. Typically, you wear 2 sizes smaller on top than bottom. Lucky you, you often have an amazingly tiny waist and flat stomach!

Your goal is to emphasize your upper body and detract from your goal is to emphasize your upper body and deemphasize your lower body.

Fit and flare dresses like the one above are perfect for you. They’re fitted to your smaller upper body and waist, and then they flare out, with plenty of room for your hips.

This white lace dress is pretty sweet, but I’ve styled it with a black denim jacket and structured leather accessories to give it an edge. If a denim jacket is too casual, a shortish black blazer or moto style jacket will sub in nicely. This “little white dress” is just as versatile as a little black dress!

Rectangle

 Rectangle: Your bust and hips are about the same measurement, and you have little waist definition. The magazines often refer to you as “boyish,” which is very confusing as you may have a both a bust and hips. You may also be very slim.

Your goal is to create some curves. By adding some volume to your top half and bottom half, your waist will look smaller.

The pink dress I’ve styled has a lot of draping as well as a wrap detail that will cinch in your middle.

This dress is the most comfy and casual of all, but adding a structured blazer, dressy jewelry and a heel dresses it up for most offices. You could definitely wear a flat sandal and add a straw hat on a weekend getaway!

Hourglass

Hourglass: Your waist is much smaller compared to your hips and bust which are fairly similar measurements. The moniker, “curvy,” is pretty accurate for you. You typically wear the same size on the bottom and top.

The biggest tip I have for you is never to hide your waist. And the second tip, especially when you’re dressing for work is to make sure your clothes aren’t too tight or too loose. When your clothes skim your body, you’ll be best flattered and most professional.

The navy Black Halo dress is the dressiest of all of the dresses today. It is a little low in the back, so you’ll definitely want a jacket with it for the office.

With extra dressy accessories and heels, this would be a fantastic dress for a wedding!

One last thing to know is this dress comes in lots of colors! So be sure to go to the Black Halo site to check them out.

Psst…Your pick is the most dressy and maybe the least comfortable…you’ll also be super flattered by that fuchsia knit dress (rectangle dress) up above! 

Oval

Oval: (Apple) You carry your weight through your midsection or tummy. You may have thin limbs, narrow hips and a small seat. You typically have great legs!

Flowing tops and dresses that hide your tummy are perfect for you! This doesn’t mean hide your body. Your clothes must fit you well, simply flowing over your mid section instead of hugging it.

I adore the red trapeze style dress I styled. Out of all the summer work dresses today, it definitely looks most comfortable. And the fun red color is fab!

You obviously could wear heels, but flats work extremely well with this kind of dress. And you could use black accents, even navy. Light blue would be extra unique.

One last note here…models are TALL. This dress will be longer on most women.

Inverted Triangle

Inverted triangle: (Strawberry) You’re bigger on top than bottom. You may or may not wear different sizes on top than bottom. Most of my IT clients (including me)  have a straighter waist than the actual geometric shape indicates. Lastly, more often than not, you have long, lovely legs.

Your goal is to narrow the look of your shoulders and bust; and then add some visual volume to your lower body.

Often times A-line or flared skirts are best for you. What I LOVE about this dress is that the bodice has some ease, and the stripes up top are vertical. The skirt portion, while straight, has lots of ruching and the stripes are horizontal, giving the illusion of curves.

This summer dress is office appropriate, but you could dress it down with a chunky heeled sandal and a white jean jacket.

Still not sure what your body type is??

Check out my Dress Your Body Shape Guide.

If you look around this blog, you’ll find LOTS of tips for figuring out your body type and dressing it in the most flattering way.

But it’s tricky…and the tips are generalized…and you’re an individual. When you work with me on the DYBSG, you’ll learn exactly what to wear based on your unique shape, style, and proportions.

No matter what your body shape, you’ll go from being unsure about what looks good on you to knowing which clothes and styles look great on you. You’ll look taller, slimmer, more comfortable and ultimately more confident!

Shopping will be faster, easier, and more productive--WOO HOO!–because you’ll know which styles to try on and which ones to bypass completely.

The Dress Your Body Shape Guide is 100% personalized, by ME, not a computer program! Check out all the details and finally learn you body shape!