When we talk about wardrobe must-haves, what do you think of? A white button-down? A black blazer? A pair of dark blue skinny jeans? All of these pieces are great basics to build a wardrobe around, but I would like to humbly suggest we make an addition to this ubiquitous list – the floral maxi dress.

Maxi dresses aren’t going away – they’ve been a spring and summer fashion staple for years now, and we’ve been seeing floral maxi dresses on the runways for several seasons that run the gamut from dainty to gothic. They’re comfortable, highly versatile, and make getting ready in the morning easy; the only issue is, they’re not exactly warm.

Whether you’re dying to wear a new purchase or just want to pull out that old dress you love, let me show you how to wear a maxi dress now and later using Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s “The Roses of Heliogabalus” as inspiration:

Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s “The Roses of Heliogabalus” (1888) via Wikimedia Commons. (Click image to enlarge.)

Table of Contents

About Victorian Art and “The Roses of Heliogabalus”

In sharp contrast to the stuffy morals and attitudes we often associate with the Victorian period, the popular art of the era shows a cultural obsession with aestheticism and excess. Colors are often sumptuous and luxurious, compositions are huge and sweeping, and subjects are exorbitantly beautiful. Every detail is rendered with excrutiating realism.

It’s not surprising that one of the most popular subjects of the era is the story of the Roman Emperor Heliogabalus, who dedicated his life to lavish excess, luxury, and hedonism. He was said to have thrown an extravagant banquet and orgy, only to have his guests, many his enemies, smothered by literal tons of flower petals hidden in the ceiling.