Royal blue formal dresses for ceremonies and work events

Formal doesn’t always mean a gown, and most of the events where you’d wear a royal blue formal dress happen in daylight or straight after work. So this page leans on covered velvet midis with long sleeves, plus a few minis and lurex wraps you can dress up or down.

Sitting in the second row at a graduation

Your daughter’s the one on stage. You want to look festive without competing with her. We’d start with the deep blue velvet midi with a V-neck. There’s no sequin anywhere on it, and the color does all the work. A thin chain with a pendant sits right in that V. Wear pumps with a low heel. You’ll be on your feet for photos afterward, and the lawn outside is rarely flat.

Pleated velvet is the quieter option. The fine folds move as you walk, the neck is round, and with a small shoulder bag it looks right at a family lunch too. If the hall is chilly, a thin gray sweater knotted around the shoulders does more than a heavy coat would.

Prefer some give at the waist? Our lurex wrap midi stretches, and the belt lets you set the fit yourself. We think it suits a woman of forty or fifty as well as her daughter, and the wrap hides the tummy a little.

From the office straight to a business dinner

Here’s a dress that handles both. Our boat-neck velvet midi stops about halfway down the calf. Under a blazer at your desk, it looks calm. At seven, the blazer comes off. Done.

A stand collar is more serious still. That velvet midi covers the throat and the arms, which balances the slit at the leg, and with a jacket on top it suits a dinner with clients. Will short work for a formal evening? It can. The plain velvet mini covers your arms and has a simple round neckline. We cut it to work at a business dinner and later at a club, which is handy when the evening runs long.

Traveling for the event? The velvet turtleneck mini, 88 cm from shoulder to hem, packs into a suitcase and comes out without needing an iron.