From Erdem x H&M to Miu Miu, long dresses are having a moment

Have you noticed how longer dresses are right back in fashion – and I don’t mean that what goes up must inevitably come down, as the old fashion mantra would assert – but there is a distinct move towards more covered up styles?

Ruth Negga at the Oscars in that full-length, high-necked, long-sleeved red Valentino gown caught the mood dramatically and oh so stylishly. And now the high street is amplifying the trend in different ways. Recently three Dublin stylists attending a fashion event in the city wore exactly the same long dress (a Zara number) – a case in point.

It’s not just another echo of the continuing influence of the 1970s and hippie chic, but a completely modern take on vintage. A whole generation fed on imagery of skimpy, revealing clothing or form-fitting dresses is discovering the comfort, the flamboyance and elegance of the floor-length skirt, the chaste and flattering neckline and the drama of the longer line. It feels so different.

Every international designer had their own versions of alluring, more enveloping scene-stealers from Delpozo and Dries Van Noten to Miu Miu, Valentino right down to Topshop Unique. Add florals – full frontal bold dark wintry blooms – to the look, and ankle-skimming lengths look fresh as they also do when spreading into suits and long skirts (Erdem for H & M is a good illustration).

All my life when it comes to clothing I’ve just felt ‘wrong’ – well not anymore

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View sites like Matches to see the prices of long floral dresses from Gucci, Roksanda and Valentino that run into thousands of euros, then check out Zara or iClothing (a Dublin online label) for affordable alternatives. It may be getting colder but a maxi dress layered over warm underwear and topped with a fake fur, is a new kind of accessible glamour for all ages. These dresses, zany, patchworked and polka dotted tick the boxes.