White maxi dresses for ceremonies and warm holidays

Here a white maxi dress comes in two very different moods. For a civil ceremony, an engagement or a ball there’s soft white velvet down to the floor, and for summer trips we make light cotton muslin wraps.

Velvet, one bare shoulder and a slit for the big day

Maybe you want something long and pale for the ceremony, but lace isn’t your thing. Velvet, then. We sewed one with just one sleeve, so your other shoulder stays bare, and that uneven neckline does all the decorating, so skip the necklace. Long earrings balance it out. Champagne heels under the hem. Buy the shoes first and bring them to your fitting, so you see the hem at the exact heel height you’ll stand in all evening.

We also make floor-length white velvet, and those gowns open with a leg slit. One style is off the shoulder with three-quarter sleeves, which leaves your wrists free for a thin bracelet. The other mixes one long sleeve with a bare shoulder.

Wear thin heels, light or silver, since the slit shows them with every step. Pin your hair up. Leaving the registry office in December? Take a pale coat or a faux fur wrap. Velvet with a thick soft pile is warmer than light fabrics, and that white maxi dress works for a winter party or prom, too. On wedding photos it gives the bouquet a calm white background.

There are white styles in other lengths on our page of white dresses, and other colors in the same long cut among our maxi styles.

Hearts, flowers and a wrap for a hot July

Our summer ones are thin cotton muslin that wraps across the front. Sleeves are short. One has a floral print. The other has little pink hearts. Pack a light milky cardigan for a cool evening by the sea. Wear either with flat sandals and a wide straw hat on vacation, or white sneakers and a denim jacket in town. It’s a white maxi dress you’ll want at a picnic or a shoot in a field, because the long hem moves nicely when you walk.

They’re part of our summer line, which is out of the catalog through the cold months and back in spring. Until then, our other light white pieces show what we make for the heat.