Great Debate: THE MAXI DRESS

Even though it is almost 5 in the AM, I am sitting behind my pink laptop furiously searching through tons of pictures to post for this article. I feel like I needed to address the rise of the 'maxi dress trend.' This dress style starting slowly creeping onto retail shelves about 2 summers ago. (~2009) At first they were just really plain and made me think, "Oh, hey that's cute and extremely comfortable, let me try that bad larry on." But lo and behold it just looked absolutely terrible on me. Over the next two summers the maxi dress gets fancy. And now it seems everyone is wearing them these days. You can't go into a store without seeing a whole mess of them on an entire rack. And every summer they come back, I keep wanting to give the maxi another chance, but continue to be disappointed with how UNFLATTERING they usually make me look.
Happy to say that today that all changed! I think I found one maxi out of a slew of atrocities, that really looks quite nice. So, it made me re-evaluate the maxi dress altogether.

What makes a maxi dress look nice or not? What body types are able to wear a maxi dress and actually look good? Why was the cotton maxi dress designed in the first place?
......I wish I could answer all these questions with confidence, unfortunately after my research I have come to the conclusion that NO ONE IS SAFE.

It doesn't matter if you are the most fashionable celebrity (achem...Kim&Kourt Kardashian) It doesn't matter if you are a 6 foot tall skinny model with no curves, and it doesn't even matter if you are a little heavier and curvier......the maxi dress can potentially make anyone look horrendous.

All I know it definitely has to do with hem lines and the way it falls, patterns, and color schemes - that all play a crucial role on making the maxi dress either a HIT OR MISS.

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The things I look for in a great maxi is either a solid color or a subtle print. Not too much should be going on because then it looks too gaudy and not so easy on the eyes. Also, any maxi with some ruffles at the top or is a halter that gathers under the breast line to create dimension is very flattering. Tube top maxi dresses tend to look bland. That type most likely will not flatter any kind of body shape, and could look just like a draping of fabric wrapped around you.

First i'll be posting A LOT of different pics of celebs, and non-celebs wearing maxi dresses that I would say are in the 'miss category.' Then, I'll post the pics of celebs and non celebs that I think worked it well and why they did so.

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THE MISSES... (Click any image to make it larger)

1. Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Garner have no breast support their maxis hang on them like quilts.

2. Model has a perfect shape and nice control on top with the halter tie but those colors are what really ruin the whole look. And the hem towards the bottom doesn't seem to go It seems it was put there as an afterthought for extra character, which was a mistake.

3. & 4. Beautiful, tall and skinny victoria's secret models can't even make these maxi dresses look presentable. So that's a good hint for shoppers ---> If victoria's secret models can't pull it off, chances are you can't either. :-/ It's a harsh reality but someone has to break it down. The kelly green tube top does nothing for her shape. There are not even hemlines around the breast to give the dress a little definition. And 4 maybe could have worked if it wasn't for that plaid pattern. Anything red plaid makes me think 'back to school' or 'tablecloth.' And these are both two things I wouldn't want to be thinking about when putting on my maxi dress for summer fun.

5. Model is shorter and very thin. Although the color block scheme is in this year, and the cool blues are appealing to the eye, the fact that is gets wider and wider towards the bottom is what makes this maxi a miss. Also, halter top maxi's are designed for more top heavy women so a very thin body type that wouldn't fill out the halter part also would make the dress look awkward.

6. Kimmy kimmy kim kardashian. I don't know how that happened but she is my style goddess and even she made a bad maxi decision. Yellow and blue loud print, and there is just so much fabric that doesn't end, i would be afraid that I would trip over it and make a spectacle of myself.

7. What is there to say. Maxi dresses are mostly modeled by girls with this body type. Honestly, it makes the miss list because it is too short and the light blue subtle strip pattern reminds me of long john pajamas.
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WOW, this update was obnoxiously long, and the debate is still not over!
I'm going to continue with another post, but this time I will be showing how women PULLED OFF the maxi dress and made it look fabulous! Plus, I'll post a picture of me in my new maxi and then you can tell me If I made a hit or miss myself! Lots of fun stuff to look foward too!

Until next time....to be continued.