Dear Friends, in Sabrina (1954), shot on the Long Island estate of Paramount chairman Barney Balaban, Audrey Hepburn plays a chauffeur's daughter who comes home from Paris polished, and director Billy Wilder sent her to Hubert de Givenchy for the wardrobe. That one trip is why we still talk about the film in terms of clothes.

 

So what can we borrow from her. Mostly a way of choosing. Edith Head did only Sabrina's everyday wardrobe, while Givenchy handled the Paris looks, and the split tells you what mattered: one or two pieces with a clear line, then everything else kept quiet. That is how I would shop for the best summer dresses too, and the modern-day options below (all of them midis, all of them natural fabric) are my attempt at it. Linen is a good place to begin. Britannica notes flax is one of the oldest textile fibers humans have used, and the hollow fiber absorbs and releases moisture, which is why it keeps its cool. I went deeper on a related idea in Cult Gaia Clara Dress and 13 Other Summer Dresses.

 

Picture Audrey on that Long Island lawn in the natural beige of the L'Academie Uma, a self-tie halter with front slip pockets. The LPA Seina comes with a cotton lining, while the Sleeper Brigitte in Linum is unlined and semi-sheer, so I would plan the slip first. The Camila Coelho Harlow has a fitted bustier bodice and flowing flax skirt, and the Kivari Marnie goes one shoulder in floral linen. For more drama there is the ALÉMAIS Natalia in cream paisley, with bell sleeves and a tie belt. Switching to cotton, the Ulla Johnson Marin is a floral poplin with puff sleeves and pockets, and the Bell Sofia has a ruffled collar and beaded ties at the neckline.

 

My test: crumple a handful of the skirt in your fist for five seconds. Linen creases (it has little elasticity), so pick the dress where the wrinkles look relaxed, not rumpled.

Gingham was the checked cotton of everyday summer long before it got a film credit, so I treat it as the sensible start of this list. Think of Audrey in Two for the Road (1967), a couple's road trips through Southern France shot in the summer of 1966 in Paris, the French Riviera, Saint-Tropez and Nice. In my fashion dreams, that is the soundtrack for the checks below.

 

Begin with the cottons. The PEIXOTO Liam is a navy gingham poplin midi with a fitted bodice, and the LSPACE Misha is a soft blue check in seersucker. The Marea Celine is a mocha mini gingham with a square neck, smocked bodice and cap sleeves, while the Cleobella Ardena runs to the ankle in blue bonnet gingham with a smocked back. The florals are softer. The LPA Everly is a cream floral cotton midi, fully lined, and the Moon River sweetheart-neck midi is a black multi floral. The ASTR the Label Janna in carnation pink and the MILLY Lily in yellow satin are the two that move when you walk (I find the satin one a lovely daydream for a long dinner).

 

At the fitting room, hold the check up to the light. If the lines of the gingham run straight across the bodice and the side seam, it was cut with care, and that matters more than any label. Check the smocking by stretching it gently, since it should spring back.

 

What I would skip: a heavy poplin for a very hot day, because the PEIXOTO Liam is the weightier kind. Keep it for the cooler end of summer.

Givenchy himself said the shallow horizontal neckline was first called a bateau and afterwards the décolleté Sabrina. The story goes that Audrey asked him to modify an evening dress to hide her prominent collarbone, and the neckline took her film's name. I love that it began as a practical request.

 

Now the modern versions. The LESET Nando is a white cotton jersey boatneck mini, unlined and light, and the onia bubble-hem mini is fitted and fully lined in cotton. Polo Ralph Lauren gives you two ways in: the navy and white linen A-line with a boat neck, and the white cotton voile fit-and-flare with mesh details. The Hemant and Nandita is a yellow floral viscose with flutter sleeves and ruched sides, and the Madewell Smocked Boatneck midi in faded ivy has pockets on the seam. For the flare, the Alice + Olivia Vera in golden hour is the dressy one, and the PAIGE Pippa in toasted ecru is a rigid cotton-lyocell denim that stands up by itself.

 

Test the neckline before anything else: raise your arms and see whether the boat neck stays put on the shoulder or drifts back. A good bateau sits flat. Then sit down, because the fit-and-flare skirts show their length in a chair.

 

What I would skip: a sheer white jersey without a nude slip. It looks calm on the hanger and very different in sunlight.

Givenchy went on to design her extensive wardrobe, with many costume changes, for William Wyler's 1966 film shot in Paris. Audrey's resort mood, though, is Two for the Road: Saint-Tropez and Nice in summer. So I picture the maxi as a travel piece, light enough to pack flat.

 

Start with the necklines. The Kivari Kaelia is a palm-print cotton voile with a square neck, drop waist and tie belt, and the STAUD Laura in dark chocolate has a square neck with beaded straps. Halters come in linen: the FARM Rio Souvenir has rope straps and a nautical scarf print, and the FAITHFULL Clara is striped with a partly smocked back. The Playa Lucila is a brown cotton maxi with a V-neck and adjustable beaded straps, while the Agua Bendita Suzie is a floral. For softness, the LoveShackFancy Madeleine in misty iris is a pleated viscose with a V-neck, and the Dress To Brisa is a strapless stretch-mesh with a floral graphic and stripes.

 

Try this in the shop: walk up a flight of stairs in it. A maxi should clear your toes without gathering in your hands. Look at the halter ties too, because they should be adjustable at the neck.

 

What I would skip: the strapless mesh for a long travel day, where you will keep tugging it up. Keep it for an evening that stays put.

Madewell makes a case for the shift here. Both of its linen shifts have on-seam pockets and a scalloped hem, one in ivory with a scalloped eyelet edge and a crew neck, the other in wild poppy with an embroidered hem and a back button keyhole. Short hems were part of Audrey's mod change in Two for the Road, when she skipped Givenchy for Mary Quant, Andre Courreges and Paco Rabanne.

 

Which raises a fair question: how short is too short. I would say it is the length where you can still bend to pick up a bag. The Free People Fleur is a cotton mini with studs and a square neck, and the MINKPINK Sirena is red viscose with a boat neck and nautical print. The BLANKNYC is a cream cotton-linen with a drawstring neck and pockets, so it reads relaxed. The Z Supply Annabelle is a white cotton voile with a collar, button placket and glass seashell charms, and the Ulla Johnson Keira in cypress is an eyelet cotton with pleats and scalloped trim. The L'Academie Rini in light beige is the clean one, with contrast trim.

 

For the buying test, check the eyelet: it should be stitched down on the back, never frayed, and the hem should lie flat when you turn around. Linen shifts also soften after washing, so go with the first fit you like.

 

What I would skip: a studded or beaded mini with a heavy bag, since the studs catch on straps.

I would start with linen, then a boat neck, then whichever mini or maxi suits the trip. Look at the fabric before the print, and check the lining before the hem. Audrey Hepburn, for me, is the reminder that you need one or two pieces that read clearly and a quiet everything else.

 

And if you want her lesson in one sentence, it is Givenchy's, as she put it: his clothes were the only ones she felt herself in. Choose the dress where you feel yourself first.

 

With love, and cool linen,