My history with maxi dresses is a bit of a dramatic one. And by dramatic, I mean that I hated them with an intense and fiery passion until I was old enough to understand how to dress for my body type (hint: it wasn't until after high school). Growing up, I loved to raid my mom's closet for vintage pieces from the 80's and grunge era silhouettes from the 90's to help me stand out when it was "Free Dress Day" at school (yep - I wore a uniform for 13 years before I could wear what I wanted in college), and there was no shortage of how many maxis she had. To sum up, I always though the print and cut of these pieces were cool, but the length? I just couldn't get over it. It wasn't until college that I realized that this was because at my private school, we were taught by the school administration to keep our plaid skirts at a respectable length. Translation? The shorter the hem, the cooler you are. Once I graduated high school and realized I didn't care if I was cool or not, I started to look at the maxi dress in a whole new light. Dresses are easy. Maxi dresses? Easier.
I always thought that because I have a tiny frame, I could never pull off this look due to the possibility of being drowned in fabric and all. Some maxi dresses do, in fact, drown me - but add a belt at the waist and that changes everything. No belt needed though, for this printed perfection from Lifestyle Clothiers. Wrap detailing at the bust, waist tie, 3/4 sleeves, slinky fabric - I honestly don't think this piece would look bad on anyone. Not sure if the pattern is floral or paisley, but seeing as how the fit is nothing short of amazing, it could have crying clowns as the print and I would still wear it.
The print had a bit of pink in it, so I paired my Illestevas from Shop Ditto with the look to get that pink and purple vibe going (use the code "AUDRIESTORME" to try on a pair for free).
A grey fedora from Free People kept it from getting too matchy-matchy since I decided I wanted a black suede choker at the neck. Oh, and my rings? My Barse Jewelry basics - surprise, surprise.
Long blog post short? This dress is fucking awesome.
xx Audrie
Hat: Free People // Dress: Lifestyle Clothiers // Jewelry: Barse // Shoes: A'GACI