Last summer the Nap Dress by Hill House Home took over my Instagram feed and the streets of New York City. It was suddenly the unofficial uniform of girls everywhere in quarantine but I never bought one as smocked tops don’t look great on my chest. Well? I caved and while it’s not the most flattering dress I’ve ever worn – I sure do get the hype now.
Nap Dress Review
The Nap Dress comes in a variety of styles but I went with the Ellie. It is cool, crisp and easy to throw on and go. A lot of friends I know that have it wear it without a bra but sadly that’s not an option for me but I found it wears fine with my go-to t-shirt bras.
What’s so good about the Nap Dress?
What I love about the dress is its comfort level and its seamless ability to be dressed up or dressed down depending on how you style it. It’s easy to go from day to night thanks to the A-line silhouette and its elasticated smocking, ruffled shoulders and tiered midi skirt.
This particular nap dress is 100% cotton and can be machine washed and tumble dried on low. Note that several other styles come in a variety of fabrics so care may vary and each fabric will also vary in terms of look and feel.
I was drawn to this beautiful print as it reminded me of the hillsides of France in Spring. It was a custom print that Hill House commissioned from artist Leïla Dubus harnessing her watercolor designs and drawing on inspiration from vintage prints. It also features some subtle bows and hidden animals – can you spot them!?
Nap Dress Drops
Hill House does regular drops of Nap Dresses as it is their best-selling item but you have to act fast – I recommend signing up for their newsletter to get alerts for the forthcoming drops! They also issue a variety of limited edition patterns and colors which makes adding to your collection all the more fun.
The Ellie in Blue Botanical is part of The Classic Collection. It’s a year-round essential that never goes out of style. If you don’t see your size, get on waitlist to be notified when it’s back in stock.
How is the fit of the Nap Dress?
The Nap Dresses run BIG! Go down at least one size. I am wearing a size small. It comes in sizes XXS through 2XL.
My favorite part about the nap dress is the sleeves – I think the flutter is really flattering and I appreciate that it allows you to wear a bra if you’d like.
I also bought the White Swiss Dot but do note it’s practically sheer so I had to buy a slip to go under it if I want to wear it outside of my own home.
The Ellie Nap Dress is $125 so it is pricey but it’s also one of those dresses you know that you’ll reach for time and time again making it worth the cost per wear. Because of its feminine and unique details it doesn’t require a lot to finish off a look with the Ellie Nap Dress. I’ll definitely be styling it with espadrilles and gold hoops soon.
This Ellie Nap Dress was also designed to be pregnancy and breastfeeding friendly, too so if you’re expecting this summer this is a great throw-on and be flexible dress option.. The elasticated smocking stretch should grow with your bump and then for nursing access postpartum, simply pull down the elastic neckline.
The brand also now makes mini aka “tiny” nap dresses for little ladies which I think is so cute for Mommy & Me moments.
Other Prints and Colors I Own:
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Hill House Ellie Nap Dress (S) // Steven Sandals // Mansur Gavriel Bag // Bracelet one // Bracelet two // Kinn Ring
This dress looks SO comfy! love that it comes in so many prints too.
xo Jessica
an indigo day
You need one!!
Did you find it to be see through? That’s my only worry as many reviewers have commented about that flaw on the Hill House website. Could you comment on this? Thanks!
Hi! So I mentioned the Swiss dot one being sheer but this fabric I don’t have an issue with – I’m not wearing anything under it and don’t think you can tell?! Hope that helps!
Finally bought this one after going back and forth for weeks! Thanks for all of the details on this–definitely helped me make the decision. Now, I’m patiently waiting for the mermaid drop 🙂