What Jacket to Wear With a Formal Maxi Dress

Updated December 2021

How To Wear a Blazer With A Maxi Dress — blazer: L'Agence (also available here), dress: Charles Henry, booties: Nine West (also available here)

Selecting the correct outerwear for an outfit can be the hardest part of styling oneself. Within this already difficult task, selecting outerwear for a maxi dress is the ultimate challenge.

Best Outerwear For A Maxi Dress

Yes, a denim jacket, cardigan, and scarf all look good with a maxi dress, but none of those feel especially fresh at the moment. My favorite outerwear for a maxi dress is a blazer. The masculine structure of a blazer is a delicious juxtaposition to the flowiness and femininity of a maxi dress.

When To Wear A Blazer With A Maxi Dress

A blazer over a maxi dress is an on-trend, stylish look for brunch, parties, and even work, especially if you work from home, which most of us do these days, at least sometimes. A blazer over a maxi dress is one of my favorite Zoom call looks because there is minimal thought to the outfit with only two pieces to consider, but a blazer always looks sharp. Resort meets powerhouse, and only you know what's below the belt.

How To Wear A Blazer With A Maxi Dress

First and foremost, the key to wearing a blazer with a maxi dress is the blazer itself. Almost any maxi dress will work, but the blazer must be perfect. The number one no-no when pairing a blazer with a maxi dress is boxiness. You cannot wear a boxy blazer with a maxi dress, especially if you're short. There are exceptions of course. Here are the few times you can wear a boxy blazer with a maxi:

The boxy blazer is cropped and paired with a maxi dress that is completely fitted at the waist and above.
You are very tall as well as very thin.
The maxi dress is a bodycon dress (aka tight all the way down).

Exceptions aside, the best blazers for a maxi dress nip in at the waist. The hem length of your blazer is also a factor. Shorter is far more flattering, but the longer blazers are more fashion-forward. But don't go too long. You do not want a blazer longer than your mid hip. A longer blazer will make you look frumpy instead of fresh. Your female form will get lost in all that fabric, and you'll look heavier than you are. Below are my favorite blazers to pair with a maxi dress.

You can see me sporting a blazer with a maxi dress in my post What To Wear To Alt Summit.

Best Shoes For A Blazer Maxi Dress Look

The blazer says work, and the maxi dress says play, so the shoe choice can be confusing for most. Let's cut to the chase. Definitely skip the work vibe. Do not wear pumps or work flats with this look. Instead, go for sandals, chunk heels, or a pointed toe bootie. The shoe choice depends of course on the actual maxi dress and blazer you end up wearing. You can see me pair booties with a maxi dress in my blog post The Long Sleeve Maxi Dress.