When the universe speaks, I listen. And in my world, the universe and the fashion media are interchangeable terms. Last Thursday, an undeniable force was telling me that I needed to embrace the maxi dress. The style crosses my mind every summer, but I rarely see a girl under 5′5″ pulling off the look (except Nicole Richie and the Olsen Twins, of course).
The first sign came to me while I was groggily sipping my coffee and skimming the NY Times Style Section. The main article was entitled “A Long, Lean Backlash to the Mini.” Though the girls in the photos looked chic, and the first paragraph was a reference to the incredible Jean Rhys, I just wasn’t in the mood to read it. I moved on to my usually routine of weather, horoscope, CNN and Vogue and went on with my day.
After that the signs became more prominent. On my way to work I ran into my neighbor walking her Yorkie in a long black dress. She looked effortlessly phenomenal, and the dress was so simple. I declined an invitation to go out that night in favor of a date with the May issue of British Vogue. I opened it to find the first article was about none other than the new maxi dress. The styles they showed weren’t what I had seen before. They were monochromatic not boldly patterned and the models wore scarves tied around their waists not their heads.
Somewhere around the interview with Gwynny Paltrow, I realized that I was distracted by the thought of maxi dresses. I pictured myself wearing one dancing with a chic clutch, not walking through the farmers’ market with a tote bag full of vegetables. Could I actually pull off a sophisticated looking maxi dress? I quickly went back to the Style Section and carefully read the article. It was official, the new maxi was different. It was updated, cool and with the right accessories, forward.
The next day, I bought the Filippa K Long Dress, wrapped a long thin belt around it and went dancing.
