Every year it’s the same. Summer creeps up on us from behind and, without seeing it coming, we’re profusely sweating, chafing and overheating.

If there’s anything – anything at all – that makes wading through a summer in the city more unbearable, it’s the mere prospect of pulling and tugging clothes over your head, only to have them cling to your body all day. There is nothing worse.

This is precisely where the ever-virtuous, hard-working smock dress comes in. The oversized swoopy silhouette lends itself to the act of cooling a body down without compromising on the art of looking good.

Now look, it might be that you’re resistant to investing in yet more dresses, and that argument is one that’s entirely valid (sort of). But the smock dress ought to be the exception to the rule. 

They’re just the right level of breezy without veering into a full-on Marilyn moment; they’re lightweight, making them the perfect accoutrement for last-minute staycations and they’re easy to style. They are, in short, crying out to be given the opportunity to become the most hard-working member of your wardrobe, if you’ll only give them a chance.

Boteh’s are my favourite. It’s the Australian brand that specialises in the sort of bohemian style we’ve come to expect from the Balearics – all broderie and linen in frothy silhouettes. The Wave mini smock dress looks so timeless it could be vintage, and it’s received compliments during this current heatwave from people I’ve never met before.

Other smock dress favourites are Ganni (who does a dress better than Ganni, I ask you?) and Asos, whose fuss-free frocks ought to line everyone’s warm weather wardrobes.

Take it from me, who has spent a lifetime despising getting dressed during Britain’s sporadic heatwaves, a smock dress is the only piece you need to ride it out in style.

Images: courtesy of Getty