Trend-Spotting | Tea Length Dresses

Happy Monday Fashionable Guys&Girls!

With hot and humid summer weather (other than the unpredictable rain) pants are almost always too much, but sometimes shorts aren't right for whatever summer event you're invited to. Of course then there is always the maxi or mini dress. Or there's the tea dress. As I found while I was shopping around though, the tea length isn't defined the same by everyone.

Around 1922- as recorded in Emily Post's book, Etiquette- the tea dress is between a 'wrapper' (dressing gown) and ball gown. The length was at the bottom of the calf, but has risen to just below the knee. Either length is fine. As with shorts and skirts, some stores have began calling something similar to the 1922 dressing gown length dresses a 'tea dress'. Maybe this is old-fashioned, but I don't anything at or above the knee can truly be called a 'tea dress'.

With the traditional length, the tea dress is elegant and classic. It's great for showing off your shoes and its lighter fabrics and colours make it a nice daytime cocktail dress.

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Naturally my search for cute tea dresses brought me to ModCloth where I found two I instantly loved. The first was the Afternoon Tea Dress with lace, a peter pan collar, and pleating and the second, the Tropical Tea Dress with a pastel floral and feather print, loop collar, and thin cutout where it closes with a little eyelet closure.

Since this dress length allows you to show off your hottest shoes, you can definitely choose your favourites, but I have been seeing kitten heels more and more on my twitter and bloglovin feeds. I don't know if I could sacrifice height and return all of my high heels to my closet in place of kitten heels all the time, but there is something pretty darling about them.  I would choose equally vintage and classic feeling accessories with the dresses- a round or a cat-eye sunnie shape, a floppy sun hat or floral crown.

What do you think of the tea-dress length? And have you traded in your stilettos for kitten heels?

Stay Fabulous,
xoxo Aimee ♥

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