Hippie dresses and Boho Chic maxi dresses are perfect for chubby chicks who are looking for a trendy way to stay comfortable. Even skinny women love cute, casual, bohemian, peasant style clothing.
Big Hippie Chicks
Bohemian, gypsy, non-bourgeoisie hippies were very welcoming to overweight women.
Back in the day (late 60s), hippies discouraged friends from judging a person based upon his or her looks. The true hippie mantra was, “It’s what’s inside that counts,” although, in the real world, it was (and still is) difficult to actually do this. People make snap judgments, whether we like it or not.
However, most hippies tried extremely hard to be nonjudgmental about clothing, weight, nose shape, cheekbones, hair (as long as it was long), ethnicity, and all that superficial stuff. Hippies certainly didn’t give a flipping hoot about “designer bags”.
Long Maxi Dresses for Big Women
True hippies commonly described big chicks as “Earth Mother” types. Actually, if a fat chick ever said anything disparaging about her own weight, there was always some guy in the group who would say, “Hey mama, I really like your peaches, wanna shake your tree,” with a wink. And, that meant, ahem… that he found the woman sexy and desirable.
Actually, there might be lots of men who feel this way about fat women, but they are discouraged by societal norms. Who knows?
Maxi Dresses for Plus Size Women
Flattering hippie dresses (AKA hippy dresses) are clothing perfection. Why? Because a good stretchy boho dress, without a tight waist, will fit you after you have too many milkshakes, and it will also fit you after your weight loss from a pre-summer diet blitz.
A stretch jersey maxi dress is usually an easy thing to buy online and to get a good fit. But, be careful not to buy shiny fabrics because shine will highlight every little blip and bulge. Any patterned, matte jersey will give you good camouflage for fat bulges. (Some shiny dresses are so beautiful that they're worth a try.)
If you have a choice, get a dress without a zip. With zippered dresses, the fabric usually has very little stretch, and who wants that? The point is comfort, ladies. On the other hand, gauze is also a good fabric if the cut is comfy. And, somehow, soft ethnic styles just seem to look better on curvy females than on skinny twigs.
Bohemian Style Clothing
There are tons of sites for heavy gals. And, thank God for online shopping because chicks can try on clothing in their own bedrooms without public scrutiny. Here are some possible websites for good hippie clothes, but check around for sales and other styles:
- Plus Size Floral Maxi Dress: Use this floral maxi as a beach dress, an errand-running dress, and a dinner dress. Only con: Might need a strapless bra. Pro: Smaller girls can let it all hang out and go braless, while reminiscing about the 60s.
- WomanWithin.com: Knit Maxi Dress by Ellos goes up to 5X and a dress like this is a basic necessity. (To funk it up, wear a T-shirt underneath. To dress it up, wear a funky statement necklace.)
SimplyBe.com:
I'm seeing several cute and loveable, stretch jersey dresses at Simply Be. If you don't mind a non-jersey dress, there are even more cute prints to choose from. While my first choice is, invariably, a fabric with a little give, I'm willing to sacrifice, if the cut works on my apple shape and the armholes are big enough for my big, German peasant bones.
- Plus Size Print Maxi: Print Jersey Maxi Dress is $89 and goes up to size 28. Use this swirly pattern for camouflaging those silly little bulges.
- Anna Scholz leopard print stretch jersey fabric with detachable straps ($105): This comes in sizes 10-28. I hate to give high accolades to a brand I've never tried, but Anna Scholz looks like she could be another DVF of plus sizes, along with Rachel Pally. I'm going out on a limb and predicting that Scholz's maxi dresses will rock your curves.
- Paisley Dress in photo below
Avenue.com
This is a go-to store. See their Embellished Printed Maxi Dress. It’s so hippie-trippy that it’s a total flashback. This dress has everything: Flowers, Earth-Mother earth-tones, tribal / ethnic accents, long sheer flowing length. This maxi works for daytripping (you can wear it over a T-shirt) and for spring or summer evenings.
Play with a dress like this for trendy fun:
- You can have fun mixing patterns with this print.
- You can wear a dress like this layered under a slightly shorter skirt, or vest, or hippie-style apron dress, or anything. (Very West-Coast-Haight-Ashbury fashion.)
- Wear something like this with a shrug and play with different jewelry combos.
- Add funky gladiator sandals, thong sandals, or boots.
- Add a denim jean jacket to rough up the sweetie-pie feel.
- Wear this type of dress with a floppy hat or a flowered scarf (worn as a hippie headband).
Best Dresses for Travel : Wrinkle Free
Peasant Top and Gypsy Skirt
Another way to get that Earth-Mother style is a cute long skirt, like the Bold Rose Print Skirt at Roamans (to 32W). Try this with a black top or a smaller-print floral top. You can wear this skirt with tunics, peasant blouses, T-shirts, and under dresses from thrift stores for a layered-gypsy, vintage style. Trippy denim skirts can be used in similar fashion.
Maxis are great because they give a long unbroken line from head to toe. However, use caution with all-black maxi dresses because, if they look like evening gowns, they won’t be as versatile for your gypsy-woman, exotic wanderings.
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Christina Gregoire - Christina Gregoire writes about divorce, fashion, and baby boomers. Her forte is explaining complex ideas in simple language.
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