I more or less stopped wearing hemlines above the knee when I turned 34. Seemingly overnight, wearing short dresses felt puerile or “try-hard,” and there was a functional concern as well: chasing children around the park in a mini dress flirted with indecency. And so midi dresses (maxis present a tripping hazard) have become my weekday staple.
But then, a few weeks ago, I found myself adding a couple of shorter dresses to my online shopping cart, encouraged in no small part but the ultra-chic photo above of Bella Hadid in Valentino. (She’s wearing this $5,200 statement, but you can get the look for less with this.) There are a fleet of fresh mini styles with loose and interesting cuts as well as sophisticated necklines that telegraph a kind of bohemian sophistication out this season. I must say that my head has been turned. A couple of favorites:
THIS GORGEOUS EMBROIDERED SLEEVE FIND
THIS FLOATY WHITE BY JOIE (ON SALE FOR UNDER $100THIS SOPHISTICATED BELTED LINEN DRESS
THIS SUMPTUOUS FLORAL (LOOK FOR LESS WITH THIS)
THIS BRODERIE ANGLAISE WRAP (ON SUPER SALE)
THE EVER-POPULAR RHODE ELLA DRESS (ON SALE!)
PUFFED SLEEVES ($128)
THIS STAUD PAISLEY (ALSO $128 — ON MAJOR SALE)
What say you, choir?
P.S. A love letter to my boy on his first birthday.
P.P.S. A poem worth reflecting on — it already reads differently than it did just a few weeks ago.
P.P.P.S. Tennis-inspired fashion.
If you’ve got the body for it (and let’s be clear, a lot of women work very hard for their bodies), minis look amazing well into middle age. I’m all for women embracing whatever style they wish and I think we need to be careful not to judge or police other women’s choices in this respect with words like “puerile” or “try-hard”. I would reconsider that language.
Hi Becky! Point taken, and I apologize for any offense I may have given. I’ll be more careful with my language along these lines moving forward. xx
It’s funny — while I started buying/wearing WAY more midis/maxis around the same age, over the past year or so I’ve started acquiring & wearing the occasional mini as well. To be sure, midi and maxi dresses make up the bulk of my summer wardrobe, but I have a couple of shorter dresses by Faithfull and one really fun Liberty-print one from J.Crew that fit the bill. I also love the look of the Rhode Ella dress and have been carefully waiting to see if I can find one for less on The RealReal. 🙂 I find that my short stature helps in this department — dresses that are supposed to be mini length typically hit me closer to my knee, which is fine by me at age 36! Haha.
xx
100%! I have the same advantage — “minis” actually look more demure on me because I’m so dang short. I think I know the Faithfull dress you’re talking about — does it have kind of smocked straps? I love that one!!! xx
Ooh, no, I wish I had that one; I think I know the one you mean and it’s so cute! The ones I have are short-sleeve with little ties at the tricep … basically a shorter version of this one (in different colors): https://www.faithfullthebrand.com/products/lumina-floral-print-emilia-midi-dress
xx
Love love love. Even the name Emilia is chic. xx
Shein has been in the news very recently for selling prayer mats and swastika necklaces on their site. I’d really urge you not to link to their products.
Hi Christina – You are absolutely right. I just read about that yesterday. I removed the link. Thank you!