Velvet midi dress with sleeves, slit or pleats

A velvet midi dress ends somewhere between your knee and mid-calf, which makes it the easiest velvet to wear to dinner, the theater or a family party. We sew ours for the cold season. Most have long sleeves, and the rest are shorter.

Just below the knee or mid-calf

Those few centimeters change your shoes. Our white sheath ends just below the knee, so pumps in a skin tone look right with it. The burgundy midi with a stand collar and the blue one with a boat neck both finish around mid-calf. That’s boot territory. Knee-high boots under a hem like that leave almost no gap, which is what you want in January.

A slit helps when the skirt is fitted. We put one on several midis, in burgundy, red, blue and powder pink. It’ll show your shoes, so wear a pair you like.

Sheath, pleats or a belt at the waist

Pick the cut by what you’ll be doing. Dancing? Pleated velvet. The skirt swings with every step, and we make it in powder pink, white and red, the red with bare shoulders and three-quarter sleeves. On the white one the velvet has a deep, soft sheen, and a milk-colored coat over it keeps the whole look light.

For a sit-down evening, a belt is kinder than a tight waist seam. The red and burgundy V-neck midis come with their own, so you won’t have to add one.

Fitted styles want a little planning. Under the powder pink bodycon midi, choose underwear without seams, and the velvet will lie evenly. The beige one has a deep wrap neckline, which means a low-cut bra, and you should size it by your bust so the front lies closed. And if you feel the cold, our black turtleneck midi is as warm under a coat as a sweater. Since the collar covers your neck, we’d trade the necklace for big earrings or a wide bracelet.

Off-shoulder fans aren’t left out. The black draped midi fits close, the folds end in a slit at the side, and the sleeves stop short of the wrist. Wear your hair up with it.

We sew every style in XS to XL, with M around a US 6–8. Shorter hems are with the velvet minis, longer ones with the maxi velvet gowns, and other fabrics at this length are on our midi dress page.