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Heading for a long summer

April 14, 2011 14:08

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

3 min read

Please pay attention at the back, especially the fashion professionals (PRs and retailers, that means you) skulking out of earshot and confusing consumers by describing long evening dresses as "maxi dresses".

We went to great lengths (excuse the pun) last summer to explain the difference between a maxi dress and a long evening dress. So listen up, because we are recapping (there will be a test): as we pointed out back then, if the dress is made of chiffon, organza, lace, taffeta or any other traditional eveningwear fabric it is not a maxi; it's an evening dress with an identity crisis.

A maxi dress is a long version of a day dress, made from cotton, lawn, jersey or even silk, but it is not - and this is the crucial bit - a formal dress for eveningwear, so please stop calling a long evening dress a "maxi".

Okay, now we have cleared that up, let's get on to the subject of longer lengths this summer. You will have noticed that the maxi dress, which took roughly three years to make the transition from desirable, cutting edge catwalk garment by designers such as Zac Posen, Pucci, Cavalli and Diane von Furstenberg to 2010 high street ubiquity, is still highly visible for spring/summer 2011.