I woke up yesterday elated that it was finally warm enough to wear some maxi-dresses…until I went to try them on and 4 dresses later realized that my pre-pregnancy maxi’s had nowhere near enough room for my pregnant boobs!  I seem to own a lot of triangle top maxis which aren’t going to cut it right now…oh darn, I have to get new dresses!

Being that it’s now maxi dress season, I thought it might come in handy to know a few styling tips to make sure you look your best in them.

What is a maxi dress?  It’s a floor length dress…

A few guides to keep you on track:

• Maxi’s are meant for summer, this is obvious in Portland, you’ll be dragging around a 50 pound wet dress any other time of the year, but in general, you don’t want close-toes shoes with a maxi, it’s all about bare shoulders and sandals!
• Wear flat sandals or flip-flops with your maxi dress: this much dress with a heel and it can easily head to overdone diva-ville!  Always pick what your accentuating with your outfits, and if you’re wearing a floor length dress, it’s gonna be the dress, so keep the rest simple.  A fun embellished sandal is perfect, you can even get away with a low wedge-sometimes, but in general the sandal is the best choice.
• Same with your jewelry: if it’s a solid dress, you can go bigger on the jewelry, but if it has a bold print, tone down the accessories, you don’t want your ensemble competing!
• These tend to be made of jersey, either cotton, silk or poly-all of which are body skimming, so think about your VPL, nothing can detract from a gorgeous dress worse than an underwear line.  We have Hanky Panky’s, which are perfect, they’re sexy, lacy little thongs that come in low, mid or high rise, are comfy and provide you with no VPL!

• Another option is adding a Spanx body-shaper underneath.  I wouldn’t recommend this for day wear, but if you’re going out to dinner and your dress isn’t as flowing as some, then this will give you a little extra confidence boost as it will hold EVERYTHING in it’s place!

• And for up top: you can go with a strapless bra if it’s a strappy or strapless style, we also have Girlfriends Pick-Me-Ups and Nipple Covers, sticky covers or tape that keep you perky underneath, both work great.  The main thing is to stay away from the dreaded saggy-boob.  Being that maxi’s are usually made of jersey, which clings and doesn’t support, you want to make sure you are supported and not hanging there.  If you’re small chested- you’ll be fine going without anything extra, but for larger chested gals-add in some support!

That’s it!  So grab your maxi’s and head to the park!

Thank you all for a fabulous 4 years!  We’re celebrating all weekend with dresses 10% off from Thursday through Sunday and a trunk show on Thursday from 5:00 to 8:00 with Gemkitty!  We’re also giving away free class coupons to The Bar Method with every dress purchase while supplies last!

Hope to see you this weekend!