Mini To Maxi Dresses: A Length Guide

Mini To Maxi Dresses: A Length Guide

A length guide to dresses, from maxis for the day, including a run of DÔEN, and gowns for the evening to calf length midis and structured minis, with the fitting room tests I use for each hem.

Where the hem lands

When Sarah Staudinger and George Augusto started Staud in downtown Los Angeles in 2015, the site let customers adjust sleeve lengths and hems before ordering. I think about that a lot, because the hem is the one measurement that changes a dress more than any other. The same slip reads as a party dress above the knee, an office dress at the calf and a wedding guest dress at the ankle. So this guide runs longest to shortest: maxis for the day first, then gowns for the evening, then midis, and minis last.

 

The day maxis open the edit, and a lot of them are from DÔEN. Margaret and Katherine Kleveland, sisters raised in Santa Barbara, launched the label in Los Angeles in 2016 with a collective of women partners, and the dresses still look like the coastal California of decades past. The Félicité has a bias cut skirt that grazes the ankle, the Rivelle and the Rivière are the cleanest of the group, and the Ischia and the Melie are tiered and easy enough for a weekday.

 

Catalina Álvarez and Mariana Hinestroza started Agua Bendita in Medellín in 2003, and their Vida Capullo maxi sits beside the DÔEN dresses, along with the Meshki Valentina chiffon halter, RESA's Lennon, Staud's Veronica knit, DELFI's Astrid and Shona Joy's La Lune. They all reach the ankle without needing a heel to keep them off the ground.

 

My test for a day maxi: it should clear the floor by about an inch when you stand in flat sandals. Any longer and the hem drags through everything, any shorter and it reads as a midi that went wrong.

Day maxi dresses

Maxi dresses for the evening

The evening maxis are where length does the dressing for you. A floor length gown makes even a plain fabric feel formal, so the details matter less than the line: Bronx Banco's long sleeve V neck gown and strapless satin and lace maxi, the Alice + Olivia Milta mermaid slip and Retrofete's Dixon all fall straight to the floor and pool a little at the back.

 

The Mac Duggal one shoulder jersey gown and sequined wrap gown stay from the first version of this edit, alongside Arcina Ori's Madalena ruffled satin. New to the group are Nadine Merabi's Sloane, Kate Barton's Aura, Helsa's lace column and two Lovers and Friends gowns, the Coralie and the Selene.

 

Hem an evening maxi to the shoes you will actually wear. I take the heel to the tailor and ask for the front to graze the top of the foot.

Evening gowns

The midi, at mid calf

The midi is the length I wear most, because it covers the most situations without trying. Amanda Uprichard started her label in a small New York studio in 2006, and her midis here, the Damira, Jada, Lyra and Monterey, show why the brand has stuck around: they hit mid calf, they have a real waist, and they work with a flat sandal as well as a heel.

 

There is a lot of range in this group. PatBO's Lara crochet flowers and Lotus midis are the dressiest, L'Agence's Seridie slip and Elodie the Label's North satin dress are the simplest, and Helsa's faille halter and cotton sateen midis sit in between. Bardot has four, from the Rosalyn to the Cavarly ramie halter, and Tanya Taylor's Bess and By Malene Birger's Camilla carry over from the original edit.

 

The midi rule I trust: the hem should stop at the narrowest part of your calf or just below it. A midi that ends at the widest part of the leg is the one people call frumpy, and it is almost always the hem, not the dress.

 

What I would skip: chunky ankle boots with a midi unless the skirt is full. A slim midi with a heavy boot cuts the leg in two places.

Midi dresses

The mini, above the knee

The minis close the guide, and they are the shortest group and the most varied. Staud's Mimi jacquard and Kallmeyer's Fiona knit are clean and structured, Retrofete's Norma crochet and Florra rib knit are softer, and Acler's Ketch and Pidgeonberry bring a bit of shape through the skirt. For going out, V. Chapman's Ginny corset mini and the Amanda Uprichard strapless puzzle mini do most of the work on their own.

 

My test for a mini: sit down in it in the fitting room and check the hem against the top of your thigh. If it rides more than a hand's width up, it is a standing dress, which is fine for a party and miserable at a dinner.

 

What I would skip: a mini with a long, heavy sleeve in summer. Keep the arms bare when the legs are, or the proportions feel off.

Mini dresses collage: Acler, Agua by Agua Bendita, Alice + Olivia, Cult Gaia, CultNaked, Guizio, Retrofete, SEROYA

Mini dresses

How I choose a length

The sitting test is the one I use for all three lengths. Sit, cross your legs, then stand and walk a few steps. A mini that stays put, a midi that does not twist and a maxi that does not catch under your heel are the ones worth keeping.

 

I would build a wardrobe around one of each: a maxi that works in the day with flats, a midi with a real waist for everything in between, and a structured mini for nights out. The rest is mood. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Mini, Midi or Maxi and Printed Maxi And Mini Dresses.