Midi cocktail dress in velvet, lurex and satin

Cocktails at seven, a dinner that stretches past midnight, and maybe your aunt’s anniversary in a restaurant with a dance floor. That’s the kind of evening a midi cocktail dress is made for, with a hem below the knee that never has you checking how you’re sitting. Most of ours are velvet or lurex for the cold months, and a few are satin for summer.

Pleated velvet for a night of dancing

Expecting a band and a packed floor? Then you’ll want the pleated velvet. The red one has the shoulders out and three-quarter sleeves, and the tiny folds swing and shine as you turn. Leave your neck bare. Earrings do the job. Shoes on a steady heel will last the whole evening.

The powder pink pleated midi is more covered, with a round neck and the same sleeve length. In winter it goes with thick nude tights, ankle boots and a camel coat. A watch on a thin strap looks nice on the bare wrist.

Pleats don’t like pressure. Wear a coat without a belt on the way there and don’t squash the dress into a bag. At home it lives on a hanger.

Lurex and velvet V-necks for the office party

For a work party or a New Year dinner, the electric blue lurex wrap stands out even in a dim restaurant. A tie belt sets the waist, the wrap forms a V, and the sleeves are long. Black pumps, silver earrings, a black patent clutch. For a family jubilee, the beige lurex is the quieter midi cocktail dress, fitted with long sleeves, and it ends at mid-calf. We’d pair it with gold earrings, brown heels and matte nude tights.

Velvet V-necks come in black and in white. The black one is a midi cocktail dress you can wear as the mother of a graduate or at a dinner with your parents. A long pendant or long earrings, a coat that reaches past the hem. The white one is for an engagement or a registry office, with champagne shoes and smooth nude underwear beneath. And the emerald turtleneck velvet has a little belt at the waist and goes to the office by day with a black blazer.

Chocolate satin for summer evenings

Our warm-weather midis aren’t in the catalog until spring. The chocolate wrap is silk-look satin with a little elastane, long sleeves and ties at the waist. Knot them where you’re slimmest. Gold jewelry and caramel heels with it. When you need something shinier, the satin party dresses have more.