Elegant formal dress in velvet, lurex and satin

An elegant formal dress should let you sit through three courses, stand for the speeches and still look composed in the last photo. We sew ours mostly in velvet, with lurex knit and satin beside it, from minis to floor length. The simplest way to choose is by where you’re going.

Theater seats, anniversary tables and work receptions

For the theater or a concert, we’d wear the black velvet turtleneck midi. Its collar is high and the sleeves are long, so with a coat on top you’re as warm as you’d be in a sweater. The neck is covered. Move your jewelry to your ears or put a wide cuff on your wrist.

Is it an anniversary with older relatives at the table? The burgundy velvet midi has a rounded neckline and sleeves down to the wrist, and nobody will call it too much. Velvet doesn’t stretch the way jersey does. So lift your arms, then sit, the first time you put it on. In hard frost, knee-high boots nearly meet its hem.

A black velvet midi with a V-neck works for a company dinner, or when you’re the mother of the graduate. The V opens your collarbones and takes a pendant on a thin chain. Below-the-knee length suits any height once you’re in heels.

Long hems, lurex and a skirt made for dancing

Weddings and receptions often ask for a long skirt. Our navy velvet mermaid is narrow down to the knee and flares out from there, which leaves room to walk and to pose for photos. Round neck, long sleeves. Pick a heel that lifts the hem off the floor, and size it by your hips.

Want shine without sequins? The blue wrap midi is a knit with lurex thread. The knit has give, so nothing digs in while you sit through dinner, and the belt cinches in as far as you want it to. Silver sandals or black pumps go with it.

If the band is good, pick a hem that moves. In burgundy velvet there’s a knee-length dress whose skirt is cut as a half circle, and it swings out whenever you turn. From the front it’s closed, with a round neck and cuffed sleeves. The back has a cutout.

Satin wrap dresses belong to our warm-season collection. The fabric is a smooth satin, polyester blended with elastane. It isn’t natural silk.

We make each elegant formal dress in XS to XL, and the size chart sits on every product page. Next, browse all formal dresses, the evening styles, or go straight to formal velvet and midi lengths.