My love of Hill House Nap Dresses is, by now, extremely well documented. They’re kind of just perfect dresses for me – easy to get on and wear, smocked so it’s more adjustable, and super disability-friendly in my case. The only downside, for me, is that as an extremely short, petite person, the dresses are past-my-toes maxi length on me. Yes, they are easy to get hemmed… but I have not yet actually gotten that done! So when the last drop happened, I decided to try the shorter Elizabeth style of Nap Dress – and I am obsessed!
The Elizabeth style is really similar to the Ellie, which I consider the “iconic” Nap Dress style. It has the ruffled, tank straps and the smocked bodice. But where the Ellie has multiple tiers and is midi length, the Elizabeth is shorter (around knee-ish length) and just has one small ruffle at the bottom. It also has pockets (which doesn’t mean much for me, ha, but I know is something many people care about!).
In terms of sizing, I’d say it’s the same as Ellie. The typical advice is to size down from your typical size – I wear the XXS and it fits me really well. Because of the smocking, there’s definitely some flexibility in sizes, too – I don’t find that there’s a huge difference between the XXS and the XS, but the XXS just fits a tiny bit better, everywhere.
After having the chance to try it out, I’m happy to share that I think this might be my new favorite style of Nap Dress. As much as I love the originally Ellie, it’s long on me, like I mentioned. The Elizabeth is a perfect length on me without needing to be altered at all, which I love. And because it’s so similar to the other styles, it doesn’t lose any of the other details that I already know and love – the smocking, the straps, and the flowy skirt. It looks just as good on me seated as the Ellie does – honestly, maybe even better, because there’s less material.
I loooove this blue kaleidoscope print – I’ve been describing it as early 2000s, Limited Too inspired, which is the ultimate compliment in my opinion. But if you’re more of a solids person, it comes in a pretty lilac color, too! If you’re on the short side, or just not a midi dress fan, I think you’ll love the shorter Elizabeth style.
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