Midaxi and maxi dresses and skirts are on-trend and mainstream. If you like those lengths, milk it and enjoy. If you like the silhouette of a dress and skirt, but feel it’s too long, have it hemmed to a shorter length. Maybe you prefer maxi dresses and skirts at a midaxi length, and midaxis at a midi length. Maybe you like dresses and skirts just below the knee instead of calf-grazing. Shorten them to your sweet spot.
Some of my clients like the look of a maxi dress and skirt, but feel it’s too hot to wear, or a little treacherous to walk in. Hemming it to a midaxi or midi length solves the problem. Sometimes maxi hems have patterned borders and tiers, in which case, decide whether you’re okay to lose the border and shorten the tier. And every so often maxi, midaxi and midi dresses and skirts have complicated hemlines — or sweater dress hemlines — that cannot be hemmed easily, if at all. In that case pass on the style, or make peace with the length.
I’ve hemmed a too long dress to a shorter midi length, and am pleased with the result. I also have a loose-weave knitted midaxi dress that grew to maxi length after laundering that I cannot hem. I LOVE the dress, and have made peace with the longer length. A client of mine fell in love with the Ralph Lauren dress on the right. It fit perfectly and looked smashing. She said she wouldn’t wear it because it was too long, and hard to walk in. To which I replied, hem it to midi length! She did, and is very happy with the results.
