"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses" is a work of short fiction by Irwin Shaw, originally published in The New Yorker in 1939 and first collected in Sailor off the Bremen and Other Stories (1939) by Random House.
The wife wishes to forgo an invitation to a private party which promises to be fueled by alcoholic beverages; she prefers to spend the day with her husband.
The husband is distracted by the many pretty women promenading along Washington Square, and his wife notices his roving eye: she gently chastnes him, and he protests his innocence.
[9] Literary critic James R. Giles reports that a number of Shaw's stories "rank with the most distinguished American short fiction, including 'The Girls in Their Summer Dresses'.
The tale is dry, painfully cogent, and brief..."[12] New York Times critic Herbert Mitgang wrote: Stylistically, Mr. Shaw's short stories were noted for their directness of language, the quick strokes with which he established his different characters, and a strong sense of plotting...He was critically acclaimed for such early short stories as The Girls in Their Summer Dresses.
"[14] Critic James R. Giles considers the dialogue key to understanding these two self-involved urbanites: What one senses most strongly about Michael and Frances's quarrel is that it is a ritual.