The Best Summer Fabric to Try: Cotton Gauze
Cotton gauze fabrics are everywhere this season and with good reason. This natural material is super soft and breathable for the hot and humid summer weather on its way. I’ve been wearing this lightweight fabric for years and love the subtle texture it brings to an outfit. I also love that ironing is not required! I’ve been sampling a few new gauze pieces here and there during my spring dressing room diaries, as well as adding some to my wardrobe.
On a recent trip to J. Crew Factory, I found this classic button-up shirt. I tried it on in the melon (shown here, but ultimately came home with their light blue shade. They come in sizes classic and petite, XXS-3X. These contain at least 30% of a re-imagined fabric, which contributes to J. Crew Factoryās goal of sustainably sourcing 100% of its key fibers by 2025.
Here’s how I wore the J Crew factory gauze shirt with a gauze skirt for a casual dinner out in Mexico.
Here’s a fun gauze dress I found. I loved the stripe but ended up buying this dress in navy. The fabric is opaque and lightweight, so it’s perfect for hot weather.
I bought it in navy and wore it often on my recent vacation to Mexico. The sleeves are a huge plus in my book, and the front tie gives the bodice some lovely shaping. It comes in a stripe, navy, and green, but it is selling out quickly.
I also love this striped gauze cover-up. The high-low hem is unique and you can’t go wrong with a fresh stripe for summer.
Gauze Dresses, Tops, Skirts, and More
Here are some other gauze clothing items that caught my eye while browsing. J.Crew and Nordstrom seemed to have the biggest selection right now, but I’ve included more from Talbots, Chico’s, J. Jill, and others below.
J. Crew Gauze Maxi Skirt
I love this flowy, breathable maxi skirt. The white is ideal for summer, and it also comes in pale pink and pale green. I’d wear this with my Jack Rogers sandals or a pair of espadrilles for an effortless summer outfit.
J. Crew V-Neck Shirt Dress
This simple dress makes it so easy to get ready during the warm weather months. Just add your favorite sandals, a sun hat, and your go-to sunglasses for a polished, put-together summer look.
J. Crew V Neck Soft Gauze Popover
The perfect summer shirt. This popover top from J. Crew will be a staple in your closet this season as it pairs well with all of your bottoms.
Tommy Bahama Midi Gauze Shirtdress
I know many of you like to wear dresses in the summer because they are easy and cool. This shirt dress from Tommy Bahama checks both boxes. It also comes in black or vibrant yellow.
Foxcroft Button-Up Shirt
I love button-up shirts because of their versatility. I can tie them up as I did in the first gauze button-up I showed, tuck them in, or leave them unbuttoned over a tank or swimsuit. This top from Foxcroft comes in several different shades, but I am really loving pastels like this pale purple right now!
Cotton Gauze Top
You can really find any garment you’re looking for in gauze, even a tee shirt! This cotton blouse by Caslon has a beautiful crinkled texture. I ordered this blue, then discovered it also comes in a stripe here.
Shop More Gauze Clothing:
Is cotton gauze a fabric you wear in the summer?
Thanks for reading and be sure to wear what makes you feel confident.
I love cotton gauze pants for warm weather but they are so hard to find these any more.
Love, love, love the navy blue dress on you! I bought several cotton gauze tops already at the JCP sale and canāt wait to wear them! It was 29 degrees F. this morning and was snowing when I got up! It is snowing again now! All of our trees are In blossom now. We need the moisture here in Colorado as we are in a 22 year drought. We need light and airy clothing for the very hot dry weather coming soon. Love the gauze shirt in blue.
Thank you for the gauze roundup and styling ideas! I bought the J. Crew Factory shirt in bright pink and am tempted to try the short-sleeved version, although it doesn’t come in petites. (I have narrow shoulders.) I own a navy shirt dress from J Jill last year that’s similar to the J. Crew version above and enjoy wearing it for casual occasions.
Itās hard to beat J Crew factory quality for the price.
Thanks for showing these gauze pieces. They’re perfect for summer and especially when traveling.
I purchased some of the J. Crew shirts and love them already. I have now added the dress from Nordstrom. Thank you for doing all the hard work! I had always stayed away from gauze due to the sheerness.
I love gauze and have been wearing it forever. It a hot southern California summer, it’s the best. There is a company called Oh My Gauze with many colors available. The styles tend to lean toward my boho, but not all of them. ohmygauze.com/gauze. They are also on Amazon.
They look great. I like the look of the Natalie dress.
Lovely gauze clothes! Jennifer, you should buy the melon shirt in that first photo. You said you bought the blue, which looks great on you. But the melon color is spectacular.
I loved the pink tooš
Love these gauze pieces. So cool and comfortable for those hot summer days.
I love cotton gauze for summer and highly recommend the J Crew Factory tops (which you show in blue and melon). IMO, these tops are just as nice as the J Crew version, but half the price. In fact, I prefer the Factory colors this year.
I also recommend Eileen Fisher organic cotton gauze pieces. I buy mine on eBay, where there’s usually a great selection. Love!!
I preferred the factory colors this year too! I totally agree about EF gauze. It’s fabulous.
Hi Jennifer,
I just love that blue gauze dress on you! Would buy it immediately. But what’s a gal to do since Nordstrom closed in Canada?!
Iām sorry, itās so frustrating.
When travelling; personally prefer gauze garments over linen for the very reason you mentioned being ‘no ironing required’. Also appreciate the link for the boyfriend jeans, due a good place to begin my search since require a new ones as I’m afraid between trying ‘all the options’ (š³) and retuning the not suitable, our summer would be over. (Our temps. are just ranging in the 40s to 50s F degrees with winds that are brutally cold so we are still kind of waiting for Spring.) -Brenda-
P.S.: Love the artistic backdrop in the 2nd photo and of course Mexico itself, as have vacationed there several times.
Love the gauze! Quick question about that maxi skirt from Amazon — I need a long (ankle length) black skirt and black long sleeve top (or dress) to wear as a choir member (1 of 50+ people) in a concert in early May. Do you think this is too casual for that? What kind of top could I pair with it? This is not the season to be shopping for long black clothes so I am panicking! ( I am over 70, on the heavy side so skirts don’t do me any favors…sigh)
This would work fine, depending on your height. This is long on me. I’d just wear it with a long sleeve plain black T-shirt.
Ordered the skirt and it is very very nice for the price. It fit well; not too much material over the hips, and a good length. However, I think the material is too casual for wearing in a concert choir. Thank you very much for the help!
JJill has a new black skirt that may work nuts itās just a midi.
Macys has nice long black skirts online.
Thanks for the suggestion. I just received a box full of various ones to try, including wide-leg pants. None fit!! But a long sleeved body suit looked good with some Amazon palazzo pants… it is a possibility.