Maxi-mum Style

The right Maxi length can be tough to figure out - how short is too short and what shoes can you pair your maxi with? 

Personally, I love for my maxi to almost skirt the ground - which would make it impossible to buy something that I could wear with both heels and flats.  Until I discovered the Express Maxi Skirt (thanks Ashley for the recommendation!)

The skirt comes in a lightweight, jersey knit and comes in a handful of colors.  It's $59.90 but Express is constantly offering deals like buy-one-get-one-half-off and $25 off your $75 purchase so keep an eye open!  The *best* feature of the skirt though is its fold-over waist band.  The super thick band is about 4-5inches so fold it all the way over and keep the skirt short for flip flop days and simply un-fold it to add 4-5inches of length for your wedges at night!  This is especially a good buy for you model-esque tall women out there as you have the option of wearing the skirt long! 

This skirt is very figure flattering -- I only have one picture of me in it so far though, on travel this summer:

Hi!  This is me in my Express Maxi Skirt! 

I've got it folded to wear with sandals in the picture.

{Yes, all the way folded over it is still long on me - I am not blessed with long super model legs!}



:(

A great Maxi Dress I've found that is generous with the length is this one from Victoria's Secret:

Currently on SALE for $59.50 :)

So that you can get an accurate feel for the length, here's the dress on me {I'm 5'5"} :

{Meet my boyfriend, Mike!!}

I was honestly stepping on the dress for half the trip and should most likely invest in getting it hemmed or only wear it with wedges from now on... I'm klutz-y enough as it is without setting myself up for disaster!!

{For the record - I only came back with 3 bruises of unknown origin from our trip - WIN!}

Now to answer the question of "How short is too short?" [for a maxi]

As I mentioned earlier, I'm a fan of the longer the better in my personal style, but that causes problems when it comes to walking in general and my shoes don't really get all that much attention. [and Mike thinks it's ridiculous and that the maxi's actually look significantly better when they end slightly above the ankle - so if you're looking for a guy's perspective there it is!]

{  I also love extremely LARGE sunglasses.  And bags. And rings. He's learning to deal :)  }

So here's an example of a shorter Maxi done properly:

Photo Credit: Broke & Beautiful

So chic.

Do you own a maxi dress or skirt?  What do you pair it with - heels, wedges or flats?  What do you think is the ideal length for a maxi?

Tropical Destinations

My Hautelook membership may be my best friend today...

There is no easier way to beat the Summer Heat than with a chic Maxi Dress!  Literally, you throw it on and ::instant chic::! No hassle trying to match your blouse to your pants, and from day to night you can just kick off your beaded sandals and slide into a cute pair of wedges! 

My Hautelook purchase today:

Lily Zebra Maxi Dress Orig $86 SALE $34

I have come to love the Maxi, but unfortunately they can be pretty taxy!  Hautelook has several more color combinations of the above dress - so click here to join if you don't already have a membership and get to shopping!!

Celebrity Look for Less *Special Edition* with Gwyneth Paltrow (Part I - Long Jersey Dress)

So I recently stumbled across an article on Style Bistro where author Sasha found that "in one of her recent posts (on GOOP), (Gwyneth Paltrow) teams up with Net-a-Porter to talk about her spring wardrobe essentials. This is all fine and good, until you realize her six outfits total $18,301!"

Excuse me... the six outfits total how much?!?!

So not only are we now looking to Gwyneth's site and reading about how if we'd like to score her smokin' hot bod we should resort to 2 hour workouts every day (which is just not possible for most people's schedule) while eating a very strict diet, but also that to look as good as she does we should be spending our entire paychecks on a mere six outfits?  C'mon! 

I say it's time for a Celebrity Look for Less!!

                    Part I:  The Long Jersey Dress                    

Option 1: The Long Jersey Dress

Dressed Up

"Wear a long jersey dress with a silk blazer and statement sandals." - Gwyneth Paltrow

So this dress has a lot of good points - it's an easy jersey tank dress with some sexy details such as the slit and the rope belt.  I also love the light feminine pink.  Trying to keep this in mind I found the following options:

{Click 'Read More' To See the Rest of this Post!}