Season Trends: Rompers and Maxi Dresses

Today in my Public Speaking class, I had to give a speech about dressing well, and in it, I discussed the pitfalls of blindly following fashion trends. Now, I'm going to completely disregard my own advice and fall prey to the sexy allure of two of this season's more doubtful trends.

First off: the romper. The cons of the romper are pretty hard to ignore. Why would I want to wear something that will make it ten times harder to go to the bathroom, frustrate and perplex my boyfriend (and possibly cause him to laugh at me), and that even my childhood self wouldn't have wanted to wear, but probably would've been physically forced into anyway? Well, because... just look at these! They're ADORABLE. I would definitely try this trend if I could do it with one of these four:

Now, as for this one, I saw it and thought, "Oh, cute!" Then I saw the back of it, and was all, "Bummer." Why is there a dumb little button just above the crevice of what looks to be the worst wedgie of all time? Please don't tell me that it's a butt flap or something, although that would make the bathroom situation easier.
This one I like. I think the model looks really cute in it. The only thing I'm not sure about is the fancy, pleated restaurant napkin at the top. I'm also never sure how to spell restaurant.I'm just not sure at all about this one, but I kept coming back to it. I think I like the fact that there was some edginess given to a sort of childish piece by making the neckline plunging and adding some sophisticated accessories. Love that necklace. I also really like the color of the romper. I guess it doesn't quite work for me because the bottom half is just too big, which is not flattering. Shame.
I wanted to show pictures of some celebrities wearing these trends so we could laugh scornfully at the ones who don't pull it off, and admire/hate the ones who do. Can you spot the worst ones in the picture below?
Yeah, I don't think Ashely (or Mary Kate?) Olsen looks too great in that huge silk pillowcase she's wearing. Everyone else looks pretty cute, except for the gal above her (don't know who she is)--not sure why I can't get behind her version. It's probably because of the hat. I like the color and straps of Blake Lively's but it isn't that flattering on her. It somehow makes her look kinda big, which I thought was impossible. Lively has a great body, and it's shown off way better in this example:
Now that romper is cute. Apparently those are studs on it, but whatever. Just because I wouldn't wear them doesn't mean she can't. And in this instance, they look really cool, and give the romper the necessary edge that every romper needs to balance out the little girl vibe (along with that deep neckline, of course).

So there you have it. The romper: ones I would wear, others I probably wouldn't, and how people hotter and richer than me have done it.

Next we have sort of the opposite: the maxi dress. Here's four that I liked:






The last one was a vintage one from the 70's, and it looks good doing its own thing with that awesome color and the stripes. For the others, though, my general rule is that I'd want it to have some sort of definition on top, like an empire waist or something cinching your upper half. I like them to have florals, prints, stripes, or even just be one block of color.

However, two kinds that I don't like are shown here by Rihanna (just ignore her hair) and Nicole Richie: either all black or all white. The first seems sort of hot for a summer staple, don't you think? As for the latter, it's just too much of a wedding dress or hippie vibe (Richie's channeling the latter here, I think):Dislike.

On the other hand, Hayden Panettiere rocks this really flowy, really yellow maxi dress:

The funny thing about maxi dresses--for me at least--is that because of the length they sort of look more on the formal side. So I think that long, pretty dress on Hayden is sort of a juxtaposition to the fact that she's just out walking her dogs. Weird. I mean, I'm sure there's ways to make maxi dresses look casual, but if I ever got one I'd probably save it for special occasions, like a wedding, or for a night out. It seems too hot and dressy to wear around during the day.
And now I leave you with an awesome example of Kiera Knightley rocking the maxi dress trend:


How does she always look so gorgeous? And does she have to make a conscious effort to suck her cheeks in like that? Whatever. The important thing is, I want that dress. I need that dress. I just hope that's not a see-through midsection... Oh god, is that her bellybutton? Dress officially ruined.


Five minutes later:
Nooooooooooo I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, please come back? I love you, dress.


:(


Oh well. What do you think about some of this season's current trends--maxi dresses, rompers, or one that I didn't mention? Would you try any?



UPDATE: Forget celebrities! How would you like to see a real person style these trends? I just found the blog Second Skin, which you should totally check out to see some amazing outfits on a very cool, pretty woman. Here she styles a romper and here, a maxi dress. Nice! (Is it just me, or does she totally look like Maggie Gyllenhaal?)