Nothing here yet.
My first proper summer wardrobe, the kind bought specifically because it was hot rather than cobbled together from whatever fit, was a linen shirt dress from a supermarket rail that I wore to a barbecue and spent the entire afternoon tugging down at the front because it gaped between the buttons every time I reached for a drink. It taught me that fabric with no give at all, on a warm day, in a dress with buttons under strain, is asking for trouble, and that the size on the label matters far less than where the actual stress points sit on your body.
Colour is where I'd start if you're building this out properly. White linen looks wonderful on a hanger and then shows everything, sweat, sauce, the lot, within an hour of actually living in it, so I've learned to save true white for things that aren't doing heavy lifting, like a loose overshirt rather than the dress you're wearing all day. Softer shades earn their keep better in real weather, a faded terracotta, a washed out denim blue, a proper olive, because they hide the creasing that linen and linen blends do no matter how careful you are, and they don't go translucent the way pale cotton can in bright sun. For fit, the thing to watch is where a dress or top is cut to skim rather than cling, because skimming fabric needs a bit of structure somewhere, a seam, a tie, a gathered waist, or it just hangs and does nothing for you. Check the depth of a neckline when you sit down, not just standing in front of a mirror, and if there's an elasticated waist, pull it out properly before buying, because the cheap ones recover slowly and end up loose by August. Cotton poplin and viscose jersey are the two I trust most for actually wearing all day without fighting the fabric, linen I treat as a special occasion fabric that needs an iron and patience.
For pairing things up, a decent linen or cotton shirt, a jersey midi dress, and a pair of wide leg cotton trousers will cover most of an ordinary summer between them, and a lightweight cardigan in a breathable knit means you're not stuck when the evening cools down, which it always does, even in a heatwave, somehow, by nine o'clock.
If a dress or top has a tie or wrap element, fasten it a notch looser than feels right in the shop, because heat makes everything swell slightly by mid afternoon.
Nothing here yet.