The Nap Dress Craze and Where You Can Get Yours
For women looking to be the main character of their own fairytale, the Nap Dress is the way to go. Today, the typical woman’s loungewear collection consists of leggings, athletic shorts, sweatpants, sweatshirts, and oversized t-shirts. Recently, however, a more elegant clothing option for taking that well-deserved afternoon nap has emerged.
When the “Nap Dress” made its debut last year, women everywhere were immediately love-struck by the garment and added it to their online shopping carts with such fervor that it sold out within hours.
The origins of the Nap Dress trend lie with the brand Hill House Home and its founder and CEO, 32-year-old Nell Diamond. Hill House Home trademarked the term “Nap Dress,” but it has since taken on a life of its own. It is now being used to describe a wide range of dresses similar to those designed by Hill House Home.
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What is a Nap Dress?
A Nap Dress is an ultra-comfortable yet charming dress with a vintage, French country feel. It’s classy enough to wear outside of the home but soft enough to fall asleep in. The original Hill House Home Nap Dresses are characterized by a smocked bust, a wide neckline, puffed or frilly sleeves and a loose skirt. The loose skirt of the dress can either be long, flowing and tiered or short and sweet for more of a babydoll look
The Nap Dress is feminine and flattering. The smocked bust ever-so-slightly accentuates the wearer’s curves. The wide neckline and statement sleeves work together to create the illusion of a longer neck and slimmer face, giving the wearer a dainty appearance.
Nap Dresses call to mind the image of an open field laden with lush grass and flowers – perhaps a few highland cows. There’s a soft breeze, and upon that breeze travels the smell of a fresh loaf of bread baking in the oven. Nap Dresses are targeted toward the 21st century fair maiden, nodding to the trending cottagecore aesthetic.
The cottagecore aesthetic, which shot to popularity on platforms like TikTok and Instagram during the pandemic, centers around living simply in an idyllic, natural environment. Taylor Swift even gave the cottagecore aesthetic a try while filming the music videos for her 2020 album Folklore. The fashion of the cottagecore aesthetic is romantic and traditional, just like Nap Dresses are- so it makes perfect sense that the Nap Dress is highly sought-after in the age of cottagecore.
Clearly, the Nap Dress isn’t lacking when it comes to stylishness- but now it’s time to address the question everyone asks themselves when they encounter the Nap Dress for the first time. Would I really nap in this dress?
The answer: it’s complicated.
Personally, I’d pair the Nap Dress with a few pieces of nice jewelry and a pair of heeled sandals. I’d wear it to brunch with friends, to dinner at sunset after a long beach day, and to events like baby showers and birthday celebrations.
But you could just as easily go barefoot in the Nap Dress and fall asleep in it while slowly rocking on a porch swing and soaking up the sun. And that’s the beauty of it! The Nap Dress can be whatever you want it to be, so try one out and decide for yourself.
Here’s Where You Can Get One
Hill House Home
You can’t go wrong with the original! Hill House Home, the brand responsible for the Nap Dress craze, has a great selection of high-quality Nap Dresses in gorgeous colors, patterns and silhouettes.
Their most popular Nap Dress is the “Ellie,” with a long, tiered skirt and frilly sleeves. My personal favorite is the “Athena,” a shorter option with puffed sleeves.
Some of the patterns available are great for warmer months, such as blue botanical, sheer white swiss spot and bubblegum stripe, while others are geared toward fall and winter, such as iris tartan, navy glitter check and matilda plaid.
Hill House Home even offers child-sized versions of their Nap Dresses so you can match with your mini-me.
Sleeper
Sleeper isn’t your average sleepwear brand. It has a chic, refined edge, and of course, it
hopped on the Nap Dress trend.
Based in Kyiv, Ukraine, the brand Sleeper’s mission is “to create [a] culture of self-love and self-care in everyday life.” Sleeper sells many gingham dresses and carries silk options as well. Sleeper is full of variety – some of their Nap Dresses look like traditional nightdresses, while others look like high-fashion pieces.
Free People
Free People is the world’s go-to outlet for bohemian fashion. No stranger to loose-fitting silhouettes, Free People sells several dresses, long and short, that would make for suitable Nap Dresses.
Altar’d State
Another boho fashion favorite, Altar’d State makes soft, flowing dresses in many earthy and pastel colors. Altar’d State’s dresses are less expensive than the others listed so far but still beautiful and high-quality, and the brand is known for giving back to charity organizations – on Mondays, 10% of net proceeds go directly to charities throughout America.
Amazon
Almost anything you might want or need can be found on Amazon, and Nap Dresses are no exception. Many affordable, high-rated Nap Dresses are available on Amazon and they’re waiting for you to frolic in them.
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