The summer dresses to snap up now that won't look out of place once autumn hits

It pains us to say it, but we think summer may have almost come to an end. What was once one of the year's most anticipated summer months, August has become famous for being a meteorological washout. And 2019 is no different...

Frustratingly, it's still roasting hot - or, rather, muggy AF - rendering our appetite for boots and cosy knits entirely impossible to satisfy, and making getting ready in the morning one of the day's most difficult tasks.

'Transitional wardrobe' may well be one of the w******* phrases to come out of the fashion industry in recent years, but unfortunately the meaning behind it resonates more than ever as, in what we can only presume is a major warning from global warming, the lines between our traditional seasons blur.

What we're dubbing the 'semi-summer dress', therefore, has become a sartorial essential.

11 trends we'll all be wearing now that autumn has officially arrived

11 Photos

By Charlie Teather

View Gallery

Dresses in thicker fabrics, or with longer sleeves and/or hemlines, are the bread and butter of this 'semi-summer' situ, and they may actually be a blessing in disguise as they'll prove a lot more long-term than your short little broderie-anglaise numbers come autumn.

Here are the dresses we're shopping right now that'll see us through both the backend of summer and all autumn. Just layer a roll-neck beneath and add boots if things get really chilly...