Plus Size Maxi Dress and Maternity Fashion Trends 2010
Aside from the similarity in dimensions that Plus Size
and maternity dresses have in common, until recently women in
these sizes have been excluded
from readily available fashionable dresses. However, due to demand,
designers have now produced lovely maxi dresses for these larger
ladies, some of which are featured here.
Bigger women, plus size ladies and
pregnant gals all want access
to fashion they would wear if they were much more slender. They
want what the skinny model or celebrity or WAG wears, but in their
larger size. Full-figured women with a few lumps and bumps
prefer clothes that glide over their faults and the maxi
dress can be the answer to their prayers.
Plus sizes are catered for far better since women voiced their
opinion in internet forums and at online chain store
reviews. Plus sizes are getting a better deal, and the high street
has upped its game providing many larger women with clothes that are sized up from
main ranges.
Currently Marks and Spencer don't even list Plus
Sizes in their navigation and even a search there does not pull up
plus sizes. Yet take yourself to their Portfolio range and
you'll see larger sizes galore in the short dress range up to
size 24. However none of these larger dresses were maxi dresses.
In June 2010 at the height of the maxi rush I could only find three
size 20 M&S maxi dresses and one of these was bridal occasion
wear.
So in many cases the quest for a good plus size maxi will need to look further afield
to specialist plus size retailers and boutiques like
for example Beige Plus.
The Alexon group own Ann Harvey, and this plus size maxi dress,
featured to the
left, will show the curves of fuller figured women. Here we have
a bright feminine multicolour maxi dress ideal for the
16+, outsize woman who likes the tropical
women's trends. The tropical print is stunning.
Above Right - Ann Harvey Malibu Print Maxi Dress £75 - Ann
Harvey Spring Summer 2010 Stockist Tel: 01582 399856.
»
The popularity of the maxi fashion trend has taken people by
surprise. It is now an acceptable day-wear transition piece for
informal wear and moves from ultra casual rough cottons to the
silkiest of silks and chiffons. It is still not the same as a
long
structured embellished evening dress, which
is
in the red carpet category.
You will soon be wearing the right maxi dress from morning till
night and regarding it as a winning bridge piece. For plus sizes
there is the added bonus that it may cover water bound legs or
varicose veins. For those who hate tights the maxi is the
answer.
Whilst maxis do hide the legs the majority of them focus on
the bustline so this is where big girls take the goal, set and
match.
Big girls love a bit of feminine flutter in frills.
Below - Evans Butterfly Maxi Tier Frill Dress
Summer 2010 - £59.50/€89.50.
Evans are longstanding providers of fuller figure clothes and
are excelling themselves at providing feminine romantic fashions
that bigger women enjoy.
Once
known as 'Evans Outsizes' they soon dropped the Outsize label and
rebranded as 'Evans' when they realised customers hated walking around with
a bag publicly declaring they were buying from a shop selling
clothes for the fat.
The maxi dress shown on the model above is he same
garment featured at the top of
this page.
Evans provides a good range of plus size maxi dresses for today's more
developed young women who are much larger overall than previous
generations. Incidentally, Evans also sell larger, wider footwear and
underwear. When women put on weight flesh goes to every part of
the body so even necklaces and bracelets are designed for fuller
necks and wrists.
www.evans.co.uk.
Also from Evans is this tribal print jewel dress left and
shown flat. Evans SS10 Ladieswear - Jewel Maxi Dress -
£65/€99.50.
Right - Evans Plus Size Autumn 2010.
Tiered Maxi Dress -
This
long sleeved dress will appeal to any feminine woman who loves
not only frills, but sleeves. Get it this autumn 2010 from Evans.
You may find many examples of high street stores
and concessions where maxi dress ranges now extend to size 20 to 24. Whilst
that may not help really large women, there are specialist
ranges and boutiques that try to satisfy outsize customers. Fat
women are being heard.
Yes I used the words outsize and fat. Plus sizes
are fatter than average, even when average is size 16 and bears
no relation in size to pin-thin catwalk models. In the past 2
decades marketers realised women don't want to buy clothes
called outsize. These women don't think they are out of size,
they are just their size. They don't need reminding they are much
larger than catwalk models, they know they are 'bigger' than
even the so called size 14 plus size catwalk models.
Above Left - Windsmoor Maxi Print Blue Sundress
£149. Windsmoor Collections go from size 10-24 and I would say
the fit is more like American sizing.
windsmoor.co.uk
Centre - Evans Tie Dye Maxi Dress £35/€55. Evans
collections start at UK size 14 and go up to 34.
Right - Monsoon Black Kuta Dress £70/€110 Eire. Most
Monsoon clothing collections range from UK Sizes 6 to 22. The Monsoon
Fusion range is to up to size 18.
A whole range of companies have begun to spring
up, concentrating on serving larger ladies. These companies know
there is a huge market for larger garments that women find
fashionable and which pay homage to seasonal trends. Companies
who ignore larger women will do so at their peril.
One successful new animal print colour combination is wine
red mixed with black/grey/white. Here is the Fifty Plus glamorous answer to modern
plus size maxi animal print dress
cruise wear.
Near Left - Halterneck Animal Print Maxi Dress, From £65 - Fifty Plus Spring/Summer
2010 Women's Wear. Fifty Plus Stockist Tel: 0871 231 2000.
Far
Left - A fresh navy
and white plus size halterneck maxi from Fifty Plus Spring/Summer 10.
Fifty Plus Washable Cotton Beach Maxi Dress, from £28, Sizes 12
to 32, Fifty Plus - SS10 Womenswear Stockist Tel: 0871 231 2000.
Right - Fifty Plus Maxi Dress from £30 - Fifty
Plus Spring/Summer 10.
Fifty Plus carries a large range of maxi dresses including these
maxis below and which accommodate larger sizes.
Above Left - Fifty Plus - Changes By Together
Print Dress 52in Long -
From £36 to £43.20. Fifty Plus say this maxi-style dress is
fully lined and machine washable. Sizes 10-28.
Centre - Fifty Plus - Joanna Hope Border Print
Crinkle 100% Cotton Dress in 52in/50in Lengths - £40 to £48. The
dress has beautiful bead and sequin embellishment to underbust
band and is hand wash. Sizes 12 -32.
Right - Fifty Plus - Joanna Hope Jewel Trim
Print Dress 52in - £48 to £52.80. This
95% Polyester, 5% Elastane print jersey maxi dress has a jewel
trim detail to front underbust band, short sleeves with
V-neckline, self fabric back tie fastening and is also hand wash.
The long tribal maxi
left is from the Autograph Medina Collection at high
street and online retailer Marks & Spencer. I recently
purchased this dress so I am reviewing it here.
The cut is
generous so I went down a size when I bought this dress. I
noticed the dress goes up to size UK 18 and as its roomy in cut
I believe it may even fit a neat plus size UK 20.
Despite reviewing the maxi dress on other pages, I didn't think
the maxi dress was a fashion I would want to wear again,
especially as I love the classic
Mad Men look which
suits me. Now the maxi look has gone as viral as the
Boho Gypsy Skirt of the mid noughties and I decided to
resist no more - I wanted one new maxi in my wardrobe. Is this
going to become the established major new fashion trend of the
early twentens? It's not the same as the latest must-have Houlihans (close fitting
ankle zip pants) but more women everywhere will fit into maxis.
I began looking out for a silk version that
could at least be worn on trips/holidays even if I never put it
on in UK. I wanted a silk top fabric and washable dress that would pack
well, but didn't want one that would break the bank.
Knowing its ultimate use would be in a hotter country I wanted
to be sure I could comfortably expose my arms without worrying
about a cover up. This silk tribal maxi dress from M&S fits the
bill and so I bought it online, tried it on at home with the
right bra to hand and the deal was done.
Left & Right - Marks & Spencer Summer Womenswear Striped Tribal
Print Silk Maxi Dress - T50 0217 £79 - Marks & Spencer Clothing
2010.
It
is designer inspired and part of the Autograph Medina
Collection. The maxi dress feels wonderfully cool to the touch.
As the
silky maxi flows beautifully over the body so it smoothes over any
lumps or bumps.
The colouration is jazzy yet murky. It manages
an understated subtlety for a kaleidoscopic tribal print with
all the tones found in natures forest floor. The images do
not do the colourway justice. The understated quality in
the print I think stems from the lining fabric being brown, not
white. The simple elongating
silhouette is every bit as good as it looks. The mixed print will
suit olive and darker skins as well as those with English Rose colouring.
Copper freshwater pearls, green amethyst quartz, peridot, rutilated quartz or citrine jewellery all look terrific worn
with it. For a less formal look African/Indian bangles, wood
beads and carved necklaces can change the final look.
The front is quite low, but could be given a
few modesty stitches, while the empire-back bodice is cut in a short
V-back marginally higher than the front. The built up shoulder is less revealing overall than
many shoestring strap dresses. Like many mature women I need the
right armscye cut to feel more comfortable
showing my arms and in this maxi I am just about happy to show
them.
Whist M&S say its machine washable at 30Deg C
and tumble dry, I will probably only ever hand wash my dress and
let it drip dry in the shower. The less delicate items see of a
washing machine the better. But if you do wash such a dress in a
machine choose the silk setting and put the dress in a
pillowslip or lingerie bag. Far Right - Fabric Pattern Detail.
This long silk tribal
print dress would suit many special day occasions, and be perfect
for a holiday where sea breezes waft nearby. The cut is generous
so I went down a size when I bought this dress. Since the
dress is so roomy it just about takes in plus sizes and I
believe the UK 18 (the largest size available) for example may fit a neat size 20. This style
could be wonderful if made up in a winter colour and with long
sleeves.
One aspect of it that interested me was the fact
that the lining is semi fitted and has a centre front seam, but
the top fabric is loose and ample especially in the front - loose
enough without the lining for someone increasing in size weekly!
This means that a pregnant woman might find she could open up
the centre front lining and make an adjustment to suit and close
the seam up after the maternity needs were met. Of course a
mum-to-be could just head straight for the maternity sections of
stores and online malls.
One person that will find the maxi dress or maxi skirt a
dream especially on holiday is the mother to be. Looking good
and comfort go hand in hand on holiday and Maxi dresses often have
greater flexibility with elastication, shirring or ruching that
accommodates an ever expanding waistline.
Far Right - Green Tiered Maternity Maxi Dress - NEXT
Directory Maternity.
Near Left - Mama-Licious - Black Bodice Floral Skirt Maxi Dress -
£35.
Available at www.asos.com
Every season there is a fashion that pregnant women can adapt
to their needs. There are plenty of smocks around this year, but
the maxi dress is a very comfortable option too. For women who find
they retain water easily pregnant or not, a maxi dress also
offers excellent leg coverage.
For pregnant women the hot maternity tip is to make sure that
your maxi dress is not too long. Make sure you can see
your footwear like all these maternity dress models show. Whilst
you may not be able to locate your feet by looking down over
your growing baby, regardless of dress length, if you cannot see
your feet in a long mirror whilst wearing your maxi dress then
it is too long for the situation. Falling over is not a good
option so you must take care not to trip in an overlong
maternity maxi dress.
You can buy fashionable maternity maxi dresses online at
retailers such as
isabella.oliver.com. These garments right are both from Mamas and Papas who
specialise in maternity and parenting products. Mama-Licious
Maternity
Maxi Dresses - ASOS.
Near Right - Mamas and Papas Summer Solstice Maternity
Collection - Tie Dye Maxi Dress £70, Necklace £15. This delicate
dreamy long dress, with lightweight grey layers is made from
ethereal and floaty fabric. You can be both pregnant and pretty
in a romantic summer sweeping maxi like this.
Mamas and Papas Maternity Mono Print Maxi Dress £70 -
Glamazon Maternity Range. This pretty floaty floral print long
maternity dress pick sup on the trend for sleek stylish summer
tribal safari fashions. Both items - Mamas and Papas Stockist
Tel: 0845 268 2000 or 1890 882 363 for Ireland.
If you are having trouble losing weight after the
birth of your baby then a forgiving roomy Maxi dress will help
cover many problem figure areas. The generous open bodices on
many will accommodate larger busts and may even be a comfortable
alternative to buttoned tops if still feeding a newborn. For
more general maternity fashion links see this
maternity webpage.
Whatever stage of life you are at teen, young mother, middle
youth, fabulous at fifty or elegantly mature in your sixties and
seventies, there is maxi dress hanging on a rail somewhere with
your name on it.
If
you simply don't see yourself ever wearing a dress, let alone a
short dress
then perhaps the best maxi for you would be to go shopping for a casual ankle long
skirt such as the ones here.
Left - Long Tall Sally - Nancy Hat, Jaco Vest, Gremada Slort
and Dream Wedge. Floppy straw sun hat £18. Ribbed vest
£14. Linen blend skirt with frilled hem, £50. Frill front wedge
£46. Available at
longtallsally.
Right - Twist Vest in Copper - Kettlewell Spring/Summer 2010 -
Stockist Tel: 01460 282917.
Tribal and ethnic prints like this
yellow and black skirt will cheer
you. Boho lives! Right - ASOS Clothing - Maxi Skirt £35.
A maxi skirt can be a good choice for both festival wear and
a blessing to women with widely
differing bust and hip measurements. Strong colour and pattern
is a given for this years maxi skirts. Turquoise is the colour
of the year for 2010, the colour of great skies and seas making
it the holiday colour memory of a lifetime.
‡
Copyright of images courtesy of Prshots,
Dorothy
Perkins, NEXT, Fifty Plus, Evans, Marks & Spencer, Windsmoor, Ann Harvey, Monsoon,
Long Tall Sally, Mama-Licious,
Marisota, Kettlewell.
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The front is quite low, but could be given a
few modesty stitches, while the empire-back bodice is cut in a short
V-back marginally higher than the front. The built up shoulder is less revealing overall than
many shoestring strap dresses. Like many mature women I need the
right armscye cut to feel more comfortable
showing my arms and in this maxi I am just about happy to show
them.
