7 Days of Maxi

Hey y'all! Funny how this post came about, and I'll get to that in a moment but I just want to say that this whole "7 Days of ____" might just become a series! You see, I've had an idea for a particular 7 days post floating around in my head for too long...and just haven't put it together. But when Hannah emailed this to me in a 7 day format I realized it's time I got on with my own post! And hopefully I can pull in some more guests for those posts!

Speaking of guests on the blog, this is the first time I've had an official guest on the blog which is super exciting! Let me introduce Hannah to y'all!

Hannah is the epitome of a southern belle. truly. from her hospitality to the way she calls everyone darlin'. Seriously one of the sweetest people I have ever met {am I making you blush Hannah?! love you!} and she's also one of the dear people from TN that I have met & grown close to *since* moving north! I love how I keep meeting fabulous people down there that turn into close friends even though it's been 6 years since I lived in TN!

A few months ago, I was talking to Eleanna {who is the person that introduced me to Hannah in the first place a few years ago!} and we were discussing ways to style a maxi dress or skirt. She mentioned how Hannah was fabulous at coming up with great ways and I should ask her for some ideas. So I sent Hannah a message asking if she'd be willing to throw together something small for my blog-- no pressure. And just the other day pictures and a post arrived in my inbox! So sweet of her!

 If you have any other ideas, feel free to share and definitely leave Hannah some love in the comments- I'll make sure she sees them! Without further ado {and having to read my ramblings!} lets read what Hannah has to share!

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:: 7 Days of Maxi Dresses ::

I’m short. So maxi dresses are my best friend. They give me an umphhh of height, are comfy as can be, and for a while they were “in”. Never before have three pros been combined in fashion for this girl…

That being said, I own two maxis. These are the exact same dress. One is in grey, the other, navy. I whacked the sleeves off the grey one due to the fact that it had long short sleeves. Make sense? Long short sleeves are the length between ¾ and short sleeve. My grey one then, has been my layering dress. I usually throw a shirt or cardigan over it.

First up: A disclaimer. You will notice I belt. A lot. It’s true. With maxi dresses I feel like there needs to be definition with so much length going on. That, and I adore belts. Win/Win :)

Second up: These dresses came from Forever21 a while back. I never buy two like items in different colours before a trial run with one…until these beautes. I bought TWO, at the SAME TIME!

And I never looked back…

Day 1:

Simply a short sleeve button down over a dress. Belt it, throw on flats and a hat. It doesn’t get much easier…

Day 2:

My maxi needs an undershirt, this is a fun way to throw some colour in a sea of navy-ness.

I tried this with a thicker belt, but the belt was fighting for attention with the vest.

The vest won.

It always wins.

Thin belt it is!

Day 3:

In case there wasn’t enough going on around my neck; I added my hands:) Because I assumed you could see through them. You can’t? Well, what you may (or may not) know is, there is a frill collared shirt under the dress. Then slap on a scarf and belt.

Day 4:

See the grey shirt? It’s the same one that was choked in the pic before. I realize most maxis don’t have a neckline like this, but seriously, it is perfect for statement shirts.

It’s able to let the shirt take the limelight, even when it has limited exposure.

Day 5:

Typically I don’t have matching pops of colour. So the belt/scarf combo is unusual for me. But I have this thing for yellow….

Day 6:

If you are staying at home all day, feel sick, or simply want a comfy outfit. Stop here.

This is truly as comfy as it gets. Come on now, maxi and a hoodie.

Extras:

Throw on wool socks, grab a mug and a book. You’re all set.

Day 7:

If you don’t mind exposed seams, fold your dress up and belt to secure*. Depending on your height/length of dress, you may not need an under skirt. I do, obviously. I chose a thick belt due to the fact that it needed to cover the hem that was folded up.

Yes, that is a brown belt with a black undershirt and black boots. Judge if you will;)

Extras:

Layer with a lacy skirt peering out? Precious…

Pair with coloured tights and oxford heels or socks and boots.

*Safety pin for added reinforcement.

I whittled the list down to seven, because I realized I only use three accent pieces and I just switch them around:

1-Scarf

2-Cardi (not shown in any picture-go figure)

3-Belt

All I do is relayer…and that gets old quick. So seven seemed like a fairly painless number.

{another option to this look: if your maxi dress is strapless, or you have an extra long maxi skirt, you'll be able to put it on as a skirt, inside out and then pull up with the right side showing and belt it. It doesn't have to be perfect either. Sometimes I only tuck up sections so the end result looks a bit like I have large draped pockets. <3em}