Cocktail short dresses with sleeves or thin straps

Our cocktail short dresses end above the knee or just touch it, and most of the cold-season ones are cut from velvet with long sleeves. You’ll also find a red satin slip, a powder pink lurex wrap and a white angora turtleneck for a colder party. The printed summer wraps come back with the warm months.

Velvet with sleeves for a December table

Velvet does most of the work on this page. Our red velvet mini has a plain round collar and full-length sleeves, and it needs nothing added. In a chilly restaurant that sleeve matters more than any necklace. Thin black tights and black pumps finish it. The chocolate wrap has a different mood. Its velvet has stretch, so the dress stays close to you and still lets you take a full step. Drape gathers at the waist right over the tummy, and an uneven hem crosses one side over the other.

Want one bare shoulder instead? The little black velvet dress has a single sleeve, so leave your neck free. Black and emerald velvets on thin straps go further. They need a strapless bra or clear straps, plus a short jacket for the walk from the car.

Gold or silver? With chocolate and emerald we’d go gold. Black and red take either, so match your bag clasp.

Red satin, powder lurex and one warm angora knit

The red satin slip has a deep V and slides over the body. It’s a cold-season dress, so we’d keep an oversized black blazer on it until the room warms up. Powder pink lurex is quieter. Its shine is soft, the wrap crosses into a V, and nude pumps keep it light enough for a birthday at home. Small earrings are enough, since the fabric already glows.

The white angora turtleneck sits looser and lands at the knee. It’s the one for a January party when you’d rather not freeze between the taxi and the door.

Every style here is made in XS to XL in our workshop in Ukraine. With fitted velvet, the hip measurement decides. Sit down at your fitting and look where the hem lands, because a short skirt rides up more than you’d expect. If you’d like the whole run of short velvet dresses, they’re one click away.