key

I've greatly underestimated how bearable UK's summers are. 20˚C + high humidity is already at the upper limit of what I brought clothes for.

So I've been searching for one more summer dress to buy. It's actually painful because I don't lack summer dresses at all, but shipping plus duties to bring one / few of the dresses I already own is about the same as buying a new dress. Never would I think that I'd not enjoy shopping for summer dresses (woah this sentence's grammar is weird).

I've checked all the regular high street shops, nothing appealing and don't want to risk buying something with poor quality polyester (aka 99% of things on asos) and deal with the hassles of a return. I've avoided checking Aritzia because I know I'll find something I like but on principle don't want to buy from a brand that I can buy at home (aka would prefer a UK/EU brand because fomo). Too bad Toast / Arket's silhouettes aren't what I prefer in dresses.

FFA was helpful, found a French brand IRO. Their dress designs are great, there's some detail that distinguishes it from plain basic, but not too much so. Too bad it's too pricy, at least they do ship to Canada.

Some more digging on FFA reminded me that a linen dress would be the most functional option. I do really like this from Etsy. Open back designs are my weakness, the need for finicky bras be damned  ;_;