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The maxi tank dress is the perfect versatile staple for any wardrobe. This long, flowing dress style features thin spaghetti straps and a cool, breezy silhouette that is ideal for a variety of occasions. In recent years, the maxi tank dress has seen a major resurgence in popularity, with countless stylish iterations hitting the market each season.
What sets the maxi tank dress apart is its effortless adaptability. It manages to straddle the line between dressed up and casual seamlessly. One can easily dress a maxi tank dress up with layers of jewelry and heels for a wedding or formal event. Or, it can be worn in a more relaxed way with sandals and a denim jacket for a day of shopping or brunch with friends. From the beach to the farmer’s market to date night, the options are endless when it comes to finding ways to wear this wardrobe MVP.
Evolution of the Iconic Maxi Tank Dress Silhouette
The maxi dress silhouette itself has a rich and varied history within the world of fashion. Rising to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the long, free-flowing maxi became a signature look of the hippie counterculture movement. Brands like Ossie Clark and Thea Porter introduced groundbreaking maxi dresses that shattered restrictive, old fashioned style norms. These looks exemplified effortless glamour and a get back to nature type aesthetic.
Yves Saint Laurent brought high end sophistication and luxury to the maxi dress silhouette via his couture collections in the 70s. His creations were cut from premium fabrics and exquisitely embellished while retaining the breezy, billowing silhouette that defines a maxi dress. While mainstream brands and designers featured variations of maxi dresses here and there over subsequent decades, the 90s can be credited with the return of the maxi dress on a mass scale. The unfussy minimalism of the decade intersected seamlessly with the casual glamour a maxi dress exudes.
Since then, the maxi dress has retained its status as a versatile wardrobe staple for its laidback femininity and adaptability. The introduction and popularization of premium tank top fabrics such as modal, micro modal, and tri-blend fabrics in the 2000s coincided with the meteoric rise of activewear and athleisure. This intersection resulted in the emergence of the wildly popular maxi tank dress variation.
What Makes Maxi Tank Dresses So Universally Flattering
While trends come and go quickly, especially in today’s age of fast fashion, the maxi tank dress has shown incredible staying power transcending seasons and years. So what exactly makes this a forever fashion staple? The answer lies in the maxi tank’s uniquely flattering silhouette and fabrication blend.
In terms of cut, the floor grazing length has an elongating effect that plays up the legs. The spaghetti straps and exposed shoulders create shape and the illusion of a longer torso while the empire waist cinches neatly below the bust for definition. The flowing skirt skims over the midsection beautifully.
Made primarily of breathable knit jersey, the maxi tank dress cuts an effortlessly slimming silhouette that moves with you and clings in all the right places. The knit fabrication features two-way mechanical stretch for flexibility while modal and micro modal variations have a super soft drape and flow.
Easy to dress up or down through thoughtful styling and accessory choices, here are five ways to wear a maxi tank dress for infinite possibilities.
Effortless Daytime Chic
Pair an essential black maxi tank dress with a classic denim jacket and white sneakers for casual cool vibes. Add a crossbody bag, retro sunglasses and dainty jewelry for an elevated off-duty model look. For cooler months, layer on an oversized cardigan sweater and ankle boots.
Girls’ Day Out Glam
Dress up a colorful printed maxi tank dress with wedge espadrilles and a raffia crossbody bag for a playfully polished girls’ day out ensemble. Statement earrings and a fun poppy print scarf make it Insta-worthy. For extra glamour, slip a lacy bralette underneath the sheer georgette print maxi.
Beachy Vacation Vibes
Nothing says tropical vacation quite like a breezy maxi tank dress. Pair a coral colored modal maxi tank with beaded sandals and a straw sunhat for island exploration or resort lounging. Pack a few maxi tanks in bright solids and bold prints to mix and match throughout your getaway.
Cocktails & Dinner Date Night
For an effortlessly sultry date night look, don a silky black maxi tank dress and strappy heels with a cropped moto jacket. Finish the look with smoky eye makeup, tousled waves and an embellished minaudière for cocktail glam. For an outdoor summer dinner date, swap heels for jeweled evening flat sandals.
Chic Wedding Guest Attire Make a stunning statement as a wedding guest in a flowing floral maxi tank dress paired with crystal embellished heels and a sparkly headpiece. Choose a style with a sultry open back detail and delicate straps. Carry a beaded clutch and accent with glittering statement earrings and a stack of metallic bangles.
Iconic Brands Leading the Maxi Tank Dress Movement
Countless fashion brands and designers around the world have incorporated their own takes on the wildly popular maxi tank dress into their clothing lines and collections. Some of the most notable maxi tank dress offerings come from these iconic contemporary brands:
Free People
Bohemian chic lifestyle brand Free People practically pioneered some of the very first widely distributed maxi tank dress styles back in the early 2000s. Their famously flattering FP Beach line put the “glam” in glamping and music festivals everywhere thanks to their signature easy breezy styling and custom developed fabrics.
Today, the Free People movement continues to elevate the Set Maxi Tank Dress bar with countless coveted variations each season featuring unique details like embroidered yokes, smocked bodices, tiered ruffles, handkerchief hems and crinkled gauze fabrics. Effortless feminine details, custom fabrications and lived-in comfort epitomize the Free People maxi tank dress ethos.
Everlane
Minimalist basics brand Everlane has mastered everyday luxury essentials at an accessible price point as exemplified by their line of fitted maxi tank dresses. Known for versatility and wearability, Everlane’s maxi tank styles are impeccably tailored from smooth lightweight fabrics that hug curves just so while allowing for ease of movement.
Signature design details include thigh high side slits, curved split necklines and sharply cut arm openings. Pair an Everlane maxi tank with a boyfriend blazer and sneakers for contemporary model-off-duty appeal. Effortless hair and barely-there makeup keeps the look utterly unfussy.
H&M
As one of the world’s most recognizable fast fashion giants, H&M democratizes runway trends and designs coveted looks for the masses. When it comes to versatile staples like the maxi tank dress, H&M utilizes eco-friendly fabrics, feminine detailing and on-trend prints each season for affordable styles women love.
Flowing hemlines, colorful patterns, smocked busts and strappy open backs put the free-spirited twists on closet essential maxi tank dresses. H&M makes it easy to rock a boho chic maxi dress for day to night no matter your budget.
Anthropologie
Quirky-chic lifestyle fashion house Anthropologie captures the imaginative and adventurous spirit of far off exotic locales in every design. When it comes to maxi tank dress offerings, Anthropologie utilizes artisan crafted detailing and custom designed prints inspired by places like Marrakesh and Jaipur on flowing silhouettes.
Signature whimsy can be found in their maxi tanks via eclectic embroidery, mosaic mirrors, brushed fringe trim and fabric combos blending linen, gauze, crepe and jersey. Anthropologie maxi tank dresses transport the everyday to somewhere extraordinary effortlessly.
Target
Big box retailer Target offers affordable on-trend fashion basics everyone can access. Their maxi tank dress assortment delivers lots of bang for your buck with the styles comparing easily to more premium brands. Available in the Massimo, Wild Fable and Knox Rose house lines, Target’s maxi tanks check all the boxes.
Variations feature curve hugging silhouettes in solids and prints, smocked bodices, tie dye and ombré dips, cowl necklines and pretty lace trim. Pair their casual maxi tanks with denim jackets and sneakers or dress them up with wedges and jewelry for date night versatility at low prices.
How to Care for Your Maxi Tank Dress
To preserve the life of your maxi tank dresses and maintain their flowy drape and flattering silhouettes wash after wash, follow these best practices for care: -Check the fabric composition tag before cleaning to understand what materials you are working with. Most maxi tank dresses feature a blend of cotton, modal or rayon. -Gently machine wash maxi tank dresses in cold water on a delicate cycle using a mild detergent and always wash dark colors separately to prevent fading. -Consider washing by hand for delicates like lace trimmed and silk maxi tanks instead of machine washing to prevent snags. -Avoid overloading the machine to minimize friction damage
