Wedding guest winter dresses in velvet and soft knit

A winter wedding guest dress has to handle a chilly church, a long dinner and photos on a frosty porch, so nearly everything here has long sleeves. We sew most of them in velvet with a soft pile, in midi, mini or down to the floor.

From a cold ceremony at noon to the dance floor at ten

Think about the day in order. The ceremony comes first, maybe in an old church where you can see your breath. A covered velvet midi makes sense there. Our burgundy midi has long sleeves and a round neck, and in velvet that shade goes the color of red wine. Put gold in your ears. If it’s snowing, knee boots under the hem get you from the car to the door, and the pumps come out in the coat room.

Higher neckline? Our black velvet midi comes with a turtleneck collar. Under your coat that’s warm, and there’s nowhere for a necklace anyway, so wear big earrings or a bracelet. We make a navy midi too, with a boat neck. Silver suits it.

Then the reception. Later there’s dancing, and for that you want a skirt with some swing. Our burgundy velvet does that, knee length, and the half-circle skirt flies out when you turn. From the front it looks covered, round neck and cuffs at the wrists. Turn around and there’s a cutout in the back. Hair up, obviously.

Before you order a winter wedding guest dress in velvet, sit down and raise your arms at the fitting. Velvet doesn’t like being pulled tight across the body. More ideas in this fabric are on our velvet page.

Floor-length velvet for an evening reception

For a black-tie dinner, we’d go long. For this kind of winter wedding guest dress, take the navy mermaid, which sits close through the hips and only flares out past the knee. You can walk in it and still pose for the photographer. Order it by your hip measurement and keep your heels on all night.

Burgundy goes long too. The maxi keeps its slit closed until you walk, and the long sleeves mean the shawl can stay home. For bare shoulders, there’s a floor-length burgundy cut off-shoulder with three-quarter sleeves and a big side slit you can dance in.

Outside, wear a coat that’s longer than the knee. A short fur works too, as long as the hem hangs free underneath it.

Love that deep red? There’s a wine-colored guest page of its own. If green suits you better, the emerald floor-length velvet leaves the shoulders out and has a slit at the leg. Gold earrings, a little clutch in the same metal, done. Honestly, a winter wedding guest dress in emerald needs nothing else.