Maxi Dresses

A maxi dress is the most useful thing in a British wardrobe, because it is the only length that works standing in a field in July and sitting in a hotel ballroom in December. This edit runs to sixty-two styles, from floaty chiffon day dresses to floor-sweeping satin gowns, in UK sizes 6 to 26 and letter sizes XS to XXXL.

Free UK delivery on every order, no minimum spend, and free 14-day returns.

Four maxi dresses, and how to tell them apart

Length is the only thing these styles share. What actually decides whether a maxi dress works for you is the cut through the body.

  • Fitted and ruched — follows the line of the body and smooths through the waist. The sharpest option in photographs, and the one that most rewards getting the size right.
  • Mermaid — close to the knee, then flared. Formal, dramatic, and the standard shape for evening weddings and black tie.
  • A-line — skims from the bust and falls away. The most forgiving cut here, and the easiest to wear for twelve hours.
  • Bodycon — the most fitted of the four, cut for evenings rather than long days.

If you are buying without trying, the A-line and the ruched styles are the two least likely to disappoint. A mermaid hem is beautiful and unforgiving; it wants your true hip measurement, not your usual dress size.

By fabric

A satin maxi dress is the evening answer. It holds a clean line, catches light in a dim room, and reads richer in photographs than any other fabric here. Sixteen of these styles are satin, and they carry the deeper colours best.

A chiffon maxi dress is the daylight and summer answer. It moves, it breathes, it forgives a warm marquee, and it is what you want if you will be standing outdoors. Eleven styles here, mostly pleated or draped.

A lace maxi dress sits between the two and reads more formal than either. A sequin maxi dress is for the evenings that ask for it — New Year, a milestone birthday, an after-party — and looks best kept simple everywhere else.

By colour

This edit runs heaviest in black, then green, blue and yellow. A black maxi dress is the most searched of the lot for a reason: it is the least risky formal purchase you can make, and the one you will wear most. Seventeen styles here are black, across satin, chiffon and sequin.

A green maxi dress — sage, emerald or olive — has become the most requested occasion colour in the UK, and photographs beautifully against stone, greenery and low light alike. Yellow is the summer risk that pays off, particularly the softer butter shades. Red and pink both sit in this edit in small numbers, and white maxi dresses are here for holidays, milestone birthdays and anyone getting married somewhere warm.

By occasion

Roughly half of these dresses are tagged for evening wear, a third for parties, and twenty-six work as a wedding guest dress. Nineteen are cut light enough for summer and holidays.

For a wedding, avoid white and cream, keep the fabric occasion-led, and think about the ground you will be standing on before you commit to a full-length hem and a thin heel. For a holiday, the chiffon and cotton-blend styles pack smaller and recover faster from a suitcase. For a night out, the fitted and cut-out styles carry the evening without needing much else. For everyday, the sleeveless day dresses here work with flat sandals and a denim jacket, and that is the version of a maxi dress you will get the most wear from.

Sizing and length

These styles run from UK 6 to UK 26 in the numeric sizes, and XS to XXXL in the letter sizes, with our full measurements in centimetres on the size guide.

Our dresses are true to size. Between two sizes, take the larger in satin and chiffon and your usual size in anything with stretch. For a fitted or mermaid cut, order to your hip measurement. For an A-line, order to your bust.

The honest note on length: our maxi dresses are cut for around 5'7" without heels. If you are shorter, either plan to wear a heel or budget for a hem — a maxi dress dragging on the floor is the fastest way to make a good dress look wrong, and a taken-up hem is usually under twenty pounds at any local alterations shop. If you are taller than 5'9", the mermaid and A-line styles will read as a slightly shorter maxi rather than floor-length, which many people prefer anyway.

Delivery and returns

UK delivery is free on every order with no minimum spend, and takes around seven working days. Returns are free within 14 days, with a prepaid label already in the box — so if you are between two sizes, order both and send one back at no cost. For an event, give yourself three to four weeks so an exchange never becomes a problem.

Where to look next

If floor-length is not right for the occasion, midi dresses sit at or below the knee and read better in city venues. Evening dresses narrows this edit to the formal end, The Holiday Shop to the light end, and bridesmaid dresses covers the styles cut for a bridal party.