Long velvet dresses for cold-season evenings

Winter weddings, galas and a night at the theater

Worried you’ll freeze at a winter wedding? Take the blue floor-length gown with the boat neck. Its sleeves run to the wrist, so there’s no need for a wrap once you’re inside, and it suits any evening with a formal dress code. For New Year’s we’d add silver earrings with stones. A theater premiere only needs small studs.

The burgundy style with a leg slit is the one we’d send to an office New Year’s party or a restaurant dinner. No shawl required. That slit shows your leg only as you step, and it gives you room on the dance floor.

For a ball or a milestone birthday, look at the champagne gold gown on one shoulder. It fits close and has a single long sleeve. Are you a guest at that wedding? Then leave our white velvet to the bride and choose from the darker shades.

What burgundy, navy and black do after dark

Velvet changes with the light, and that’s half the reason to wear it at night. Our burgundy is a deep wine shade that looks darker still in the warm glow of a banquet hall. The draped navy gown turns almost inky. Black stays deep even under dim lamps, so it doesn’t need sequins or trim to look dressed up.

Red and emerald go the other way and get richer under lamps. They’re the ones for photos.

What about the walk from the car? You’ll want a coat, and two kinds work. One that falls past the knee keeps you warm, while a short fur lets the whole skirt show. Anything ending mid-thigh chops the line of a long dress in two.

We cut each style in five sizes, XS through XL, and the chart on the product page gives the measurements. Compare slits and necklines on our page of velvet maxis, see evening velvet in shorter lengths, or go straight to ideas for a winter wedding guest.

Frequently asked questions

Can I dance in a floor-length velvet gown?

Pick one with a slit and you can. It opens with every step, so the skirt won’t hold your legs back.

Is a velvet long dress only for winter?

We sew these as cold-season dresses, so they’re at home from the first fall evenings through the winter holidays. They’d be too much for July.

What shoes go under a hem that touches the floor?

Heels or a platform. They raise the hem so it doesn’t sweep the ground, and with a slit they’re on show.

Do you call this fabric velvet or velour?

Velvet. Plenty of shoppers know it as velour, though, and it’s the same cloth either way.