Black holiday party dresses for dancing, dinner and midnight

Between the first toast and the last song, a black holiday party dress should let you forget what you’re wearing. Ours are mostly velvet, with rib knit and lurex knit beside it, and nearly all have long sleeves. British shoppers searching for a black Xmas party dress are in the right place too.

Parties where you’ll be on the dance floor

Start with the hem. A mini is easier to dance in, and the barest one we make is a velvet mini held up by thin straps. Cold outside? Keep an oversized blazer on over it until the dancing begins. This particular velvet doesn’t crease, so the dress can travel to the party folded in your bag.

If you’d like your arms covered, the long-sleeved velvet mini with a round neck fits close and looks right at a club with stiletto sandals and hoop earrings. Choose its size by your hips, so the skirt doesn’t ride up as you walk. Our wrap mini in lurex knit brings its own shine. Plain shoes and matte black tights are all it asks for.

Sit-down dinners and the office party

A midi makes more sense at a table. Our velvet midi with bare shoulders comes draped, with folds that finish in a side slit and sleeves cut to three-quarter length. That’s room for a watch or a bracelet. Check in the mirror that the draping lies flat on your hip.

Going straight from your desk? Look at the black sheath midi with a round neck. Wear it under a blazer all day, then lose the blazer and put earrings on for the evening. And for a party with a dress code we sew a floor-length velvet gown, boat-necked and long-sleeved. Its high slit opens with every step, so walking and dancing in a long skirt stays easy.

What to put with black velvet in December

Velvet pile already has a soft sheen, so we’d leave the rhinestones at home. Silver looks better against it. Want some color? Put it in your bag or your scarf, and keep the tights thin and black.

This page is seasonal, so treat it as a way to plan ahead. We cut every black holiday party dress in XS to XL, and fitted styles are best chosen by bust and hip measurements from the chart on the product page. More ideas wait under holiday party dresses in other colors and on our black holiday page.