What 'midi' really means — it depends on your height

"Midi" is supposed to mean mid-calf. On the high street it means one thing: a dress cut for a 5'7" body, 110–125 cm from shoulder to hem. On a 5'2" frame that same dress stops a hand's width above the ankle, swallows the shoe and takes the waist down with it.

Stop reading labels, start reading lengths

Lay a dress you love flat and measure it from the highest point of the shoulder to the hem. That number tells you more than any size guide. For most women between 5'0" and 5'3":

• 88–97 cm lands at or just above the knee.
• 98–110 cm is a true midi — below the knee, above the ankle.
• 115–130 cm is a maxi that sweeps the ankle rather than the floor.

Why the difference is bigger than it sounds

Hem position changes where the eye reads your waist. A hem at the widest part of the calf shortens the leg; a hem just below the knee or at the ankle lengthens it. Ten centimetres of fabric is the difference between "she's tall for a shorter" and "that dress is too big for her".

How we list dresses

We don't use the word "midi" unless the measured length actually lands there on a shorter frame. Knee-length dresses are called knee-length. Every product page shows the centimetres per size.