Pomegranate Print Mandarin Dress

September is when to buy new ankle boots, which go particularly well with midi dresses. Here my midi Mandarin dress with a pomegranate print is perfect for early to mid fall. I wore it for the Asian Moon Festival, which fell on Sept 10 this year.

In modern Chinese culture, Mandarin dresses are for special ocassions only. Ethnically Chinese (including Chinese American) women usually wear Mandarin dresses with high heeled shoes. That's probably necessary if the Mandarin dress is knee length, because high heels flatter the calves. A women's calf musles always look smoother when she's in high heels, versus bulky-looking calf muscles when she's in flats. However, if your dress is midi length, it will cover the largest portion of your calf muscles, so you can wear flats or low heels. My low heeled boots worked very well for me to walk around Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park prior to the Moon Festival dinner. There happens to be a Chinese-style pavilion by the lake.

In case you are interested in purchasing a Mandarin dress on line, I would recommend getting one in midi/tea length, which is the most versatile. You can dress it up or down. As explained earlier, a knee-length Mandarin dress must go with high heels, unless you have super thin calves.  On the other hand, ankle-length Mandarin dresses may seem too formal. As matter of fact, midi is a good length for other types of dresses, too. 

While midi and maxi are both in style this fall, I would say midi is more practical. Why not pick a new midi dress and pair it with ankle boots?

Happy shopping!

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