I'm going to interpret "semi-formal" loosely, since the only such events I can think of that would happen in the summer are Triple Crown parties, charity cocktail parties, graduations summer wedding guest dresses 2011 , and weddings. So I'm going with "things that are dressier than your average Saturday evening get-together but don't involve eveningwear and likely not to be meeting foreign dignitaries".

Relatedly, I highly doubt that what is commonly fashionable here is much different from what is commonly fashionable in any other major city in the U.S. -- just because there will be far more outliers of fashion here than, cheap white summer dresses likely long dresses for summer , in SFBA doesn't mean those outliers are necessarily what the average person will be wearing. ;)

And of course these will all be heavily tainted by my own taste.



*rolls up sleeves*

In the summer you can really never go wrong with a wrap dress. It's dressy, comfortable, and always in fashion.

Here's one (DVF, of course) in a fun, summery print:
and here is a more demure, down-played coloring:
They come in short and no-sleeved also, but I liked this best at first glance because it lets you get the best idea of what it looks like -- DVF has zillions and of course she's the expert.

The other dress that you can never go wrong with (provided you can pull it off -- I can't!) is the Herve Leger bandage dress. Here's a gorgeous one:
*sighs wistfully*

Anyway, continuing on.

Summer in NYC is hot, hippie headpieces hippie headpieces so summer dresses tend towards a little more flowy, fresh, 2012 Prom Dresses, Prom Dresses, Designer Prom gowns, Quinceanera Dresses, Bridesmaids Dresses, Bridal Dresses, Formal Occasion dresses and dreamier looking, with maybe light layers of chiffon or similar. Cotton jersey is ideal, really, although not everything abides by that. Not too much structure because structure means more fabric and threadwork which means a heavier article of clothing, which means hotter (in the temperature sense).

It's bright and sunny outside so whites and pastels are, of course, de rigueur, but there are a lot of bright color blocks going on and (weirdly enough) metallics. Asymmetrical dresses also seem to be pervading every boutique ever (much to my dismay, since they make me look severely lopsided).

Here are a smattering of things I would completely expect to see out these nights.

Wispy and asymmetrical (foley + corinna):

Metallic (Michael Kors): cute summer dresses 2011 cute summer dresses 2011

More metallic, asymmetrical (David Meister):

Asymmetric, bold color blocks, looks to be very cool and airy (Emilio Pucci):

Asymmetric, twist on the LBD, but likely overwarm (Helmut Lang):

Asymmetric, bold print, a bit more structure than ideal for summer but it looks pretty (Jason Wu):

Asymmetric, gorgeous color blocking (Narciso Rodriguez):

Flowy, breezy, pale (Alice + Olivia):
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Here's a cut I'm seeing a lot of in the shops these days; I can't say I'm terribly fond of it, but this is what I mean by the obsession with asymmetrical (Nicole Miller):
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I'm somehow the idiot that missed out on one of my favorite designers (I was trying to run the gamut of designers instead of what I would've originally done and stuck to, like, three); here's something breezy, pale, flowy, a bit longer, and altogether gorgeous (although the choice of footwear here leaves much to be desired) (Max Azria):
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And then simple, understated, elegant, wholesale cheap wedding dress wholesale cheap wedding dress beach bride dresses and divine Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen: wedding Accessories cheap wedding Accessories cheap
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I may come back and add more but this is a decent first pass, I think. :)

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