Marks and Spencer's £40 linen dress that'll 'look great with a tan' this summer

Marks and Spencer has shoppers loving a summer dress that is available to buy from the chain’s new summer range. The Linen Rich Square Neck Midaxi Dress has a price of £39.50 and comes in two brilliant colour options, black and a flame red colour, both perfect for summer evenings.

The dress itself is made from a rich linen material which stretches down to just about the wearer’s ankles in a midaxi style. The neckline is a modest square shape showing off the wearer’s collarbones and has thick straps stretching over the shoulders to the low back that ties in a fashionable bow.

M&S promises the dress is a ‘lightweight and breathable choice for warmer days’. Cut in a regular fit, the dress has a ‘shift silhouette’ and square neck with the wide straps adding ‘a neat finish’.

The retailer also has other summer dress options including its Linen Rich V-neck collared Midi Shift Dress for £39.50 and the Linen Rich Printed Halter Neck Maxi Dress costing £45. Another brilliant dress M&S stock is the Cotton Rich Striped Midi Knitted Dress for £35.

Woman wearing a red dress and holding a handbag

Despite the dress not being the cheapest available from retailers, shoppers do appear to be loving the product, giving it an overall star rating of 4.1 stars from multiple raving reviews.

One shopper who loved the dress said: “Really lovely & a good quality dress for the money! The flame colour is beautiful. Size down as it does come up a bit big. I really like the fact that the straps are adjustable!”

Another satisfied customer remarked: “Lovely linen dress. I like that it's not see through. I had thought it was a little low cut under the arms, but all you need to do is pull the ties at the back and re-do the bow. This shortens the shoulder straps. and looks great. The dress looks lovely on its own, or dressed up as a pinafore. Size wise, I chose to size down.”

A third who shared it would look great with a tan wrote: “Great style low back with bow which can be adjusted and can wear a bra with this one. Good quality linen mix and A line shape. Fabulous colour with summer tan.”

And a fourth happy customer stated: “Such a great dress. The shoulder straps were wide on me. First I thought I’d cross them over at the back but then I found a size 8. It is perfect! I bought this in red but others will definitely be getting this in both colours!”

Woman showing off the low back of a red dress

Despite the majority of shoppers loving the dress, some weren’t so keen and felt it wasn’t as great as others claimed it to be. One penned: “Such a shame the style is lovely, however the overall fit is far too big so while the top part is nice the rest of the dress falls like a shroud. I purchased 14, based on reviews to size down.”

And a second commented: “No idea who this would suit. Sags under the arms and has so much fabric. Very unflattering.”

If you’re looking for a summer dress perfect for the current heatwave but prefer something shorter in style, River Island has a handful of options to choose from. One brilliantly fashionable one in stock is its Brown Leopard Print Belted Swing Mini Dress for £45, or those loving an off the shoulder style its Cream Ruched Bardot Swing Mini Dress for £40 could be perfect for you.