Fall maxi dress or autumn maxi dress in deep velvet

When the evenings turn cold, a fall maxi dress in velvet keeps you warm from shoulder to ankle. In Britain the same search is usually an autumn maxi dress. We sew these in deep wine, forest green, navy and black, and it pays to try one on well before the date, with the shoes you plan to wear.

An October wedding or a night at the theater

Going to a wedding as a guest? Leave the white styles for someone else’s big day and pick a color with some depth. Our burgundy velvet with a round neck and long sleeves has a slit on the leg, and in a warm-lit hall the wine shade turns darker still. The sleeves are warm enough that you won’t need a shawl inside.

Emerald changes with the light. On one of our emerald styles the slit is on the left leg, and the color moves from dark green to brighter as you walk. Gold jewelry suits it.

For a theater premiere, the blue velvet with a boat neck stays closed and calm. Small stud earrings are enough there, since the neckline doesn’t ask for more. Navy also comes draped and off the shoulder, and under warm lamps that blue looks nearly ink-dark.

Coats, boots and the fit of a long velvet

Fall means a coat on top. A short faux-fur jacket or a cropped coat works best, because the hem stays visible and doesn’t get crushed. Some of our autumn maxi dress styles, the ones with bare shoulders and three-quarter sleeves, need a wrap for the walk outside, but long sleeves usually don’t.

Shoes matter more than you’d think. Heels keep a floor-length hem off wet pavement. One burgundy one-sleeve cut can even go with heeled boots, since the slit shows them.

Two of the one-sleeve styles stretch well and follow the body closely. The navy mermaid sits fitted to the knee and opens below, so you can walk and pose easily. For all of these, go by your hip measurement. We cut every one in XS to XL in our own workshop, and the XL costs about 10% more.

Before you leave the house, run a soft brush over the velvet pile. The color looks even after that.