Like many of us do, I really enjoy the Hill House nap dresses dresses. They’re easy, they’re flexible, and you can look pulled together in an instant! The iconic Ellie Nap Dress is a closet staple for me, but once I tried their new Louisa style, it quickly became my all time favorite. The Louisa style is a newer silhouette introduced in their recent Gingham drop. If I could take all my favorite things about the Ellie style (and there are a lot of them) and make a dress even more well suited to my body type, it would be the Louisa. If you see me wearing it on repeat until the winter rolls around, do not be surprised because I love it that much!
The Louisa Dress has a smocked chest/bodice, three quarter length puff sleeves, pockets, and hits at the midi length. The moment I tried this style on, I didn’t even need to see how it looked on me, I could just feel the fit was a 10/10. The major thing that stands out to me about the fit of the Louisa, is that every seam hits right where you want them to hit. The smocking has the perfect amount of length to it where it falls below the bust line at the proper waist without pulling or needing to adjust it. I find that the smocking on the Louisa is longer than that of the most recent Ellie Dress, I love it. The scoop neck is also super bra friendly, I wore a full coverage bra and the cups did not show nor did the back of my bra.
I love that the neck and arms offer a little more fabric/coverage than some of the other Hill House silhouettes, which will be nice heading into the cooler months. The puff sleeves are subtle, so you could easily layer a cardigan or jacket over the dress eventually. The skirt is also super light in the a-line shape with a ruffled hem. I found the skirt to be more lightweight compared to the Ellie style! Generally speaking, Hill House runs generously and goes up to 2XL (xxl) in all styles – I keep crossing my fingers that they add more sizes! In the Louisa, I got the XXL for a little more room to allow my pregnancy bump to grow. However, I think the XL would have fit very similarly with just a little less room in the skirt. I would suggest going with your normal size in this style. I can’t wait to style it with some suede booties in the fall or layer it with a cropped knit cardigan. I think it’s versatile, comfortable, and most of all, it’s super cute. While you can’t go wrong with most of the Hill House silhouettes, if you have a larger chest like I do, I would without hesitation recommend the Louisa over any other Hill House style!
P.S. I have been meaning to update my previous blog review on the Ellie Nap Dress since Hill House upgraded the fit and proportions. In the meantime, I have a highlight saved on my Instagram giving a thorough review!
Looks beautiful on you!