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 • Styling  • Floor-Length || How Long Is Long Enough?
floor-sweeping dresses

Floor-Length || How Long Is Long Enough?

Now with the beginning of the party season, everyone is searching for that perfect dress that will suit the occasion and weather while being comfortable and flattering at the same time. When attending classic events and special occasions, the floor-length ensemble is the epitome of elegance. However, the question arises: what length precisely qualifies as the perfect floor-length gown or ensemble?

Of course, your own comfort and preferences come first when choosing your perfect gown. However, there are certain rules to wearing floor-sweeping dresses to make your Cinderella moments just perfect.

Your perfect dress length should either touch the floor so your shoes isn’t visible when you are standing still or leave a graceful and slightly seductive train behind you. Anything in between might give the impression that you skipped your visit to the tailor.

A modern and practical take on the floor-length dress is to have the hem just above the floor. Designers often leave a small gap of a couple of inches between the dress and the floor. This allows for the shoes to be barely visible, making it advisable to hem the dress to a similar point as the shoes.

Complement the dress with an appropriate heels height to ensure the dress doesn’t drag on the ground.  Additionally, you can enhance the overall look by wearing a gown with a high-low hemline to show off your shoes while maintaining the elegance of a floor-length gown. And you can always opt for a gown with a slit to add movement and visual interest.

floor-sweeping dresses

The Bottom Line

While fashion trends and personal preferences can influence the acceptable length of evening gowns or trousers, consider choosing a length that makes you feel comfortable and confident keeping in mind the dress code of the occasion you’re attending. Also, when deciding how close the dress’s hem should be to the floor, take into account if you’ll be outdoors or walking up stairs, or you’ll be indoors.