The cool late spring, early summer weather we're currently enjoying here in Northwest Ohio makes this a great time to wear maxis! I've got my two favorites from last season washed and ready to go! How do you stay fashionable in maxis when minis are all the rage? Well, the whole point of wearing a mini is to show some skin, so when you wear a maxi this summer, instead of showing some leg, show some cleavage. My two favs from last year are both low cut and I wore tanks with them last year. This year I'm ditching the tanks and adding jackets or sheer shirts. It's that easy to update a look!

MAXImize your MAXIS!

Petite women often find that maxi dresses are too long for their diminutive figures. Those determined enough to wear the comfortable stylish look will cut off as much as a yard of cloth to fit their frames.

If they're really clever, tiny maxinistas will use the extra fabric to make a matching wrap or if they're adept seamstresses they might even make a cropped jacket or summer hat, making their maxi look even more chic.

Those of us with taller frames can get the same chic look by purchasing two identical maxis, cutting the bottom 12-18 inches off to make one of the dresses knee-length, and using the fabric to add a matching accessory or to add sleeves to the shorter dress.

Try to catch maxis on sale if you're planning to buy two, however. Either way, you'll end up with a unique look that will look quite a bit more expensive than what you actually paid, whether you buy one dress if you're petite or two if you're not.

Maxis year round!

I refused to give up my maxis during winter this year, despite record snowfall and frigid temperatures. I just added a turtleneck, some tights, and a blazer to my sleeveless maxis and was toasty warm and fashion forward.

But spring is here and it's time to take off the winter gear and let my maxi dresses shine! For spring this year, I have to find ways to jazz up my maxis from last year and previous years since my budget won't allow me to purchase new ones.

So, how do I do that? For one thing, I can use those cropped jackets I have in my closet to dress up my maxis or a blazer to make them office-friendly. I can also dress them up with jewelry and scarves or a pair of matching sandals.

I'm going to have fun figuring out what to wear with my maxis this spring and summer! The possibilities aren't endles, but they're as plentiful as the styles, colors, and designs of maxi dresses available. Have fun wearing your maxis this season!

Maxis to the Rescue!

Last summer, I went to my 40th class reunion in one of the hottest places in the country. The reunion at my high school in Central Texas was held the Fourth of July weekend. The temperature on the Fourth was 105 degrees!

My newly purchased wardrobe of maxi dresses helped me survive the Texas heat. I bought half a dozen before I went on the trip and took three guazy ones with me. One of my guazy dresses is shown above in my very favorite color, peach. The dress has ombre shading and is coral at the bottom, reflecting a color trend in today's fashion.

I also have a turquoise dress and a chocolate dress in the same style and fabric. I gave a lavendar dress I purchased in the same style and fabric to my younger sister last year. I also gave her the blue and white one shown in my profile photo. Now, she has more maxis than I do! She just bought me a new one that I can't wait to wear.

The full-length version of the maxi dress I'm wearing in my profile photo is below. I bought a silk blend maxi dress with horizontal bands of color pictured below and nearly suffocated wearing it last summer, so I think I'll find a nice jacket to compliment it and wear it to work next fall.

That's what's so great about maxi dresses. You can put on a jacket or cropped cardigan and wear them to the office or out to dinner. Wear flip flops with them to the beach. Put on some silver or gold slippers and glittering jewelry and wear them to a gala event. You can even put on a hat and a cami or tank, and wear them with pumps or stilletoes with a complimentary bag to church, or some other formal day time affair.

I love my maxis and am determined to wear them regardless of fashion trends, fads, and various dictates about what is chic and "in." So is my sister. I am interested in finding more women who feel the way we do about maxis who will take the pledge to wear our maxi dressed come hell or high water.

MAXIS FOREVER!