Burgundy midi dresses with long sleeves, velvet and rib

Our burgundy midi dress comes with long sleeves every time, and the hem always drops past the knee. Most are velvet, where the wine shade turns deep under restaurant lights. One is a rib knit for ordinary workdays.

Velvet for the anniversary, rib for Monday

Think about the room you’re walking into. A family dinner with older relatives at the table, a concert, a fiftieth birthday? Our round-neck velvet midi keeps the top closed, so you can be braver with earrings. Gold works well with this red-wine color.

We also sew a velvet midi that shows a little more. The V-neck is shallow on the belted one, and that thin belt marks your waist. A close-fitting V-neck version sits snug from shoulder to hem, so you’ll need very little jewelry. The third option keeps the round neck and adds a slit on the leg, which is where thin-strap heels finally get noticed.

The rib knit is the quiet one. It stretches, so sitting at a desk all day is easy, and the vertical ribs make you look a touch taller. Add a black blazer and loafers. On Saturday, swap in a sand-colored coat and chunky boots.

Fit, coats and the cold

Velvet doesn’t stretch like knit does. At your fitting, lift your arms and sit down before you decide on a size. Bust and hips are the two numbers we’d check first, and we cut every style from XS to XL.

A burgundy midi dress meets knee boots almost exactly at the hem, which keeps your legs warm when it’s freezing outside. Over it we’d put a straight coat that ends just below the hem. It’s a cold-season group, so no breezy fabric here. Black, grey and beige coats all get along with the color. Not sure about wine against your skin? Hold the dress up to your face near a window, then again under a warm lamp, because burgundy shifts between the two.

Want a different neckline in this shade? See the whole burgundy collection. For other colors at the same length, there are midis with full sleeves, and darker velvet lives in our maroon velvet.