The phrase “winter maxi dresses” seems inherently oxymoronic. Because breezy silhouettes should be reserved for the calendar’s warmest months, right? Because summer is the only season where comfy-cute dressing is a priority, and winter is strictly for bundling up in chunky knits, oversized scarves and warm AF coats, right? (You might want to think again, actually.)
Though this logic is commonly held, your favorite retailers have taken to challenging it. They’ve stocked up on maxi dresses en masse—in the middle of winter—leaving winter maxi dresses feeling less oxymoronic than they ever have before. One simple fact has become undeniable: Winter maxi dresses are here, and they promise to leave our winter wardrobes way more dynamic than they found them.
I first encountered a winter maxi dress in the wild in December, when a friend of mine wore one to dinner. The dress was floor-length, and its flowy cut screamed of summer. But its thick, forest-green fabric communicated otherwise; this maxi was strictly intended for cold weather. The piece perplexed—and then delighted—me. I’d never before seen a maxi dress look so at home in a genuinely chilly environment.
