Browsing through the High Street stores in London, often lets one know what key trends have filtered from the catwalk and onto the streets for the ‘everyday Joe and Joanna’. Going through the racks it was clear to see that ‘Maxi Dress Fever’ has swept through London again. This is one trend that comes in time after time every Spring/Summer season and this year things are no different.
What I love about the Maxi dress is that it’s a trend that all women of different shapes, height, ages and sizes can wear with aplomb- provided that they follow a few golden rules which I will get to later. Another great factor about this style of dress is its versatility- depending on the style, fabric and accessories one pairs their Maxi with- it can be worn for both casual and smart events.
Due to the various styles available with the Maxi dress, it is a great way to tick the boxes for hitting other trends as well. For e.g. on a recent trip to Miss Selfridge (my favourite shop for Maxi’s. Period.) I saw Maxi dresses that had the following details which covered the following trends for this S/S season namely-animal print, denim, floral print, stripes and crochet.
Celebrities and mere mortals alike tend to be drawn to the Maxi because despite what the fashion magazines would have us believe- no female body is perfect- and the Maxi is great for camouflaging common peeves like- bottom-heavy figures, thick waists, cankles and so on. One can even hide thick upper arms by getting a Maxi dress with sleeves as shown in the Winter Kate picture below.
Golden tips when wearing a Maxi
1. This style of dress is called ‘Maxi’ for a reason, so floor skimming dresses look best when wearing a Maxi. Dresses that stop inches above the ankle tend to look like the tailor just pretty much gave up whilst making the dress.
2. The Maxi dress is supposed to ooze a barefoot hippie vibe reminscent of the free loving 60′s and 70′s, so its best if your hair, make-up and accessories are not too ‘try hard’. Personally I believe that flats look best with Maxi’s. And the great thing with flats, sandals etc is that this style of footwear can be dressed up or down depending on the style, texture and embellishment.
3. It’s best not to mix structured tailored garments with Maxi’s as the tailored and ethereal look go together like oil and water.
4. The more ‘statement’ your Maxi dress is, the less you should accessorize. I am a great fan of the Nicole Scherzinger image (above) because it shows that with a great Maxi print dress, one only needs glowing skin, a statement pair of shades, bag and a smile.
5. Get the right Maxi to suit your frame, petite women should stay away from Maxi’s that are made with acres of fabric as this will drown their frame and the ‘tepee’ look will never be ‘in‘. Ladies with boyishly lean curves can still wear Maxi’s but should lean towards wearing ones where it is possible to cinch in their waist to give the illusion of curves.
I personally believe that Maxi dresses with empire lines are great as they suit so many types of figures. Furthermore, women with overtly small bustlines should stay away from Maxi dresses with plunging necklines and opt for dresses with boob-tube style tops or round necklines. I also recently saw a picture of Katie Price aka Jordan in a Maxi dress with a neckline that plunged down all the way to hell and the picture almost put me off Maxi’s for life. Maxi dresses are supposed to give off a natural air of relaxed hippie-chic cool. So when your breastesses are pouring out of the dress- the look is anything but chic.
SHF credits www.dailymail.co.uk, www.topshop.com, www.nicolerichiefashion.blogspot.com, www.lolafaturoti.com
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