The trendlet: Maxis
This ankle-length summer staple is a perfect look for picnicking on summer's verdant grasses and sinking toes deep into hot, white sands.
This ankle-length summer staple is a perfect look for picnicking on summer's verdant grasses and sinking toes deep into hot, white sands.
The trendlet
The maxi dress. This full-length frock is the go-to for all warm-weather moments. Solid or striped, sleeved or strapless, all this piece needs is the right jewelry. And it will work for you. I promise.
Where does it come from?
The first maxis were ancient Egyptian tunics. Hem lengths remained at or below the ankle until the early 1900s, when Coco Chanel's short flapper lengths ushered in a new era.
The most fashionable skirt lengths stayed about mid-calf or above the knee through the 1960s.
Then in 1967, Oscar de la Renta designed an ankle-length frock for the Elizabeth Arden Salon. One has to assume he was over the miniskirt craze.
Yves Saint Laurent and Halston, also inspired by African, Asian, and Middle Eastern cultures, followed suit, and maxis enjoyed an easygoing fashion heyday in the 1970s. By the 1980s, they'd been replaced by the short, the tight, the neon.
Fast-forward to 1998, when Erykah Badu, in a nod to all things Afrocentric, wore printed maxis and turbans with the debut of her first album, Baduizm. Three years later, India.Arie wore patterned, ankle-length dresses while strumming her guitar and singing melodic grooves of women's liberation.
Supermodel Kate Moss nearly upstaged bride Leah Wood (daughter of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood) at her 2008 wedding to Jack MacDonald by wearing an ecru maxi to the couple's wedding. By 2010, maxis were it when Carrie and the rest of the Sex and the City crew wore them throughout their second feature-length film in Abu Dhabi.
Who is wearing them?
Maxi dresses are super-downtown chic as they remain at the heart of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's stunningly expensive women's wear line, the Row. And they are Main Line preppy, as Tory Burch designs a mean maxi, too. This summer, look for maxis on beach bunnies in the form of caftans.
Would Elizabeth wear one?
Heck to the yes. I'm probably wearing one as you read this.
Should you wear one?
See above exclamation.
There is a maxi for every height, weight, and budget. Tall women, don't cheat yourselves when it comes to length. Make sure your maxi stops at or below your ankle for full regal effect. Shorter ladies, a wedge can prop you up. But don't be afraid to comfortably stroll around town in flats. Embrace the goddess silhouette that only a maxi can give you.
ewellington@phillynews.com
215-854-2704
Model: Tylor Augustine.
Sparkling-blue kimono maxi, Maje, $700, at Bloomingdale's in the Court at King of Prussia, 610-337-6300, www.bloomingdales.com.
Floral asymmetrical maxi, Flying Tomato, $29.99, at Century 21 Department Stores, 821 Market St., Philadelphia, 215-952-2121, www.c21stores.com.
Color-block indigo maxi, Nic + Zoe, $213, at Gem'n'i Fine Jewelry & Boutique, Tuscany Marketplace, 1990 Rt. 70 E., Cherry Hill, 856-751-5530.
Blue silk maxi, Ecru, $370, at Gem'n'i Fine Jewelry & Boutique.