True Confessions: I am a Late Adopter

Let me tell you a little something about myself: I am a late adopter to most trends. That comes as no surprise to those who know me in real life (or, at least, those who have gone shopping with me). Let’s take a stroll through fashion history for a moment:

Capri pants

Then: “Why in the world do you need too-short pants? Either wear shorts or wear pants! JEEEZ!”

Now: I pretty much live in capris now during the summer. And when I’m not wearing capris…

Bermuda shorts

Then: “Now those are just dumb. Why not just wear capris?!”

Now: Annnnnd then I reached 30 and oh dear sweet baby Jesus in the manger, am I EVER thanking the fashion Gods for allowing an extra few inches of material on my shorts.

Uggs

Then: “Only if by ‘Ugg’ you mean UGG-LY!”

Now: I still don’t think they’re terribly attractive, but good lawd they’re comfortable. However – I still don’t get the whole Uggs-With-Shorts trend. Mark my words, you will NOT find me sporting that look. Pinky swear.

Which brings me to my latest Venture to the Dark Side: The Maxi Dress.

In theory, I don’t find anything necessarily wrong with the maxi dress; it’s just not something I would have ever picked for myself. At 5’8”, I’m not exactly what one would call “petite in frame” (or in anything, really) (except my arms. I have really short arms.) (I should stop talking now.), and it just seemed like one of those clothing pieces that should be reserved for those tiny and cute as a button, or those tall and lanky and supermodel-y. But I found one this spring for dirt cheap at T.J. Maxx (that my friend Mary had actually tried on at Talbot’s the previous year) – and, wouldn’t you know, I went home with two maxi dresses that day (one for me, one for Mary!).

HAA! Please pardon the craptastic picture. Ran out of battery before I perfected "the pose."

HAA! Please pardon the craptastic picture. Ran out of battery before I perfected "the pose."

I decided to finally cut the tags off of it over the weekend to test it out. Really comfy! I felt like I was running around in pajamas all day, and I felt very island-chic. For that reason, and the fact that I wore flip flops all day, I don’t find this trend particularly work-appropriate. Maybe that’s a given, though? Hm.

What are your thoughts about the maxi dress? Love ’em? Hate ’em? Do you wear them to work? Tell me in the comments.

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About Jo-Lynne

Written by Jo-Lynne Shane, a professional lifestyle blogger, brand advocate and community manager. Named one of Nielsen’s 50 Most Influential Women in Social Media, Jo-Lynne is best known for her award-winning lifestyle blog, Musings of a Housewife, where she dishes up an assortment of food, fashion, fitness and family travel. She has been featured on Mothering.com, Southern Living Magazine, CNN.com and in Cosmopolitan Magazine. In the local sphere, Jo-Lynne facilitates the vibrant networking group Philly Social Media Moms, providing community, support and education for 200 area bloggers. Jo-Lynne lives and works from home in the suburbs of Philadelphia with her husband of 17 years, three lively children and one extremely spoiled shih tzu named Savannah.

Comments

  1. I wear maxi dresses all the time. Love them! And they work well for the office too with a cute pair of sandals and a cardigan.

  2. Love them too! I didn’t think I was going to since I’m short (5′ 1″) and not teeny tiny skinny….but I found a few that were short enough and love the look. I do wear them occasionally to work, but we have a pretty casual office. I don’t think they are professional or anything, but hey if you can get away with something so comfortable, why not?

  3. Oh, I completely agree that if you can get away with it, you totally should. 🙂 Like I said, very comfy! Maybe my issue is two-fold: For starters, I work in a fairly casual office but for a pretty conservative company; second, I think my particular maxi dress is too casual! Maybe I just need to go shopping some more. Don’t tell my husband… 😉

  4. I am 42 yrs. old and I like capris.

    I just bought my first Maxi dress and I LOVE it.

    I also have a pair of Uggs. They are so ugly but this Florida girl needed them when we moved to Cincy. I wore them all winter long. So comfortable. I wore them in the house too.

  5. I just bought a beautiful maxi dress at NY&C. It’s nice enough for church and work paired with my wedge sandals and a light cardi.