Why are they making dresses so LONG this season?

[JinglingHellsBells]

I saw this reported in one of the papers last week.

The average woman is 5 4"

I have looked at a load of dresses, such as HUSH and one listed as a midi dress is 49 inches long. The maximum I can wear is 44 inches and even that is almost ankle length.

Even on the model, who must be 5 10" it's almost ankle length.

Midi used to be mid calf.

I'm handy with a sewing needle but don't want to fiddle with dresses costing £100 for take off 5 inches.

Am I alone in this????????????

I'm 5'6 and the only maxi dresses that fit are from China (as in Chinese brands)

I am tall and love the longer length. It's very easy to take up a dress, but near impossible to add any length!

@BewareTheBeardedDragon

Not necessarily.
It depends on the fabric.
I used to make my own clothes.

But the fabric is crucial. Many 'boho' type dresses now are made with very fine fabric. It's extremely hard to take up a hem (after cutting 6 inches off it) and hand sew it so the stitches aren't visible.

You really need a sewing machine that has an overlock needle, to avoid an obvious hemline. Most dresses, when bought, have hems of around 1 cm or less. If the fabric is flimsy, creating a new hem that is invisible is hard.

It's very easy if you are talking about cotton fabric, but something that is very slippery , and has a very full skirt of maybe 50inches, is not so easy.

I suspect those posters suggesting taking up dresses in lightweight flimsy fabrics have never done so .

IDK but I am loathing the Little House on the Prairie look.

I'm 5'7" so taller than average and I always needed to buy a long but recently standard fit me fine.

I am 6ft tall (yes really) and if I wear a dress from this season, midi or maxi, I just look beyond huge…. Like a ship in full sail approaching

So am giving the billowy midis and maxis a miss

I love the longer skirt lengths, having barely bought any in the years when everything stopped at knee length

I am so happy to see midi return to its original meaning of mid-calf, and an Happy with longer too.

I can see it's not so good for those who like shorter, but they're in the same situation as those who like long were in fir years. Or slightly better, as some can be turned up (compared to none which can be made longer)

I'm 5'9 and am really liking how much choice i have this season. Makes such a change to being restricted to whatever is left over in the "tall" section.

I’m 5”7 and recently refused to buy a beautiful jumpsuit from me + em as it was so ridiculously long. Acres of fabric puddling on the floor of the changing room. By my estimation you’d need to be over 6” to not need to take it up. I told the sales assistant I wasn’t going to spend £200+ only to have to pay to have it altered which would completely change the tailoring and the the line of the jumpsuit (we weren’t talking just a couple of cm which doesn’t affect how the trouser leg hangs). So annoying.

@NandorTheRelentlessCleaner lots for you at Me + em!

I can’t believe the average height is only 5ft 4. I’m 5ft 10 and don’t feel that tall

Long dresses are getting longer and short dresses are getting shorter! I yearn for a nice easy knee length…

It's fab having more choice. I got so sick of "maxi" dresses stopping way above my ankle, and I'm only 5'8!

At 5 ft 0 ins I am not pleased! Usually have to take to Zip Yard for a hem up. Trousers even worse!

It's not just dresses. I'm 5'7" and have had to buy "petite" trousers for about 5/6 years now.

Also loads of summery dresses with long sleeves. What's that about?

Dresses have been too long for me for at least 10 years. I don't know if this has got worse this year. I am 5ft 3", which is small but not unusually so. There are plenty of women smaller than me.
I have a similar issue with sleeves. When I was young, sleeves were the right length, now they are usually too long.

If they made clothes to fit women of 5ft4 then the petite collection would be redundant.

There are many more petite ranges than there are tall ranges.

It is much easier to make something shorter than to make it longer, there is never enough seam allowance to let hems down these days, on expensive stuff you might manage a centimetre if you are lucky but you can normally shorten hems by a couple of inches, sometimes more without ruining the look.

@Notwithittoday

I can’t believe the average height is only 5ft 4. I’m 5ft 10 and don’t feel that tall

Really? That is very tall for women.

If they made clothes to fit women of 5ft4 then the petite collection would be redundant

No, if they made clothes to fit the average height, more women might buy more stuff.

I don't think you understand petite ranges. They are for women 5 3" and under.

I am just over 5 3" and find petite often too small and 'normal' lengths too long.

And it's not that easy to shorten things. As I said upthread it depends entirely on the fabric. It's very hard to blind-hem soft and silky viscose if the skirt part of a dress is full.

For the benefit of those of us close to 6ft, can people please name the stores they're complaining about?

And it's not that easy to shorten things

Far easier than trying to lengthen them though!

@JinglingHellsBells

I am tall and love the longer length. It's very easy to take up a dress, but near impossible to add any length!

@BewareTheBeardedDragon

Not necessarily.
It depends on the fabric.
I used to make my own clothes.

But the fabric is crucial. Many 'boho' type dresses now are made with very fine fabric. It's extremely hard to take up a hem (after cutting 6 inches off it) and hand sew it so the stitches aren't visible.

You really need a sewing machine that has an overlock needle, to avoid an obvious hemline. Most dresses, when bought, have hems of around 1 cm or less. If the fabric is flimsy, creating a new hem that is invisible is hard.

It's very easy if you are talking about cotton fabric, but something that is very slippery , and has a very full skirt of maybe 50inches, is not so easy.

I suspect those posters suggesting taking up dresses in lightweight flimsy fabrics have never done so .

I sew, mostly upholstery, curtains, cushions etc but do dress alterations frequently. Not just hems but taking up from the shoulders to make the neckline bigger, turning round necks into vs etc. It really isn't difficult but can be time consuming. It's a very satisfying way of getting a decent fit and customising bought clothing is part of the sustainability we should all be striving for. I buy second hand a lot these days. Most towns and cities have basic dressmaking classes, besides which it's all on YouTube. And taking up flimsy dresses by hand is easy enough. Or machining a rolled hem is not hard and you don't need an overlocker!

One day women's clothes will be made in a range of widths and lengths like men's clothes are, but I'm not holding my breath.

I wonder what the average height is for different age groups? I was quite tall amongst my peers at 5ft 7 but my DD is 15 and 5ft 9. If younger age groups are taller and the brand is one that target them (not so much Hush I know) then perhaps they work of a slightly taller “average” height

I’m 5'11" and delighted with this trend!

Please stop moaning lol im only 4'11 kids clothes work well for me and size 3 in shoes at least you ladys can buy adult size