4.5 ★Earthy OrangeVelvet maxi dress
The catalogue flagship: a short-sleeve V-neck velvet maxi carried in seven colourways.
Fabric: Velvet

$42.99
Check price & buyEmbroidery, not print. Cording is laid in floral shapes across a stretch mesh tulle base, which gives the surface relief you can see from a few steps away and feel up close. Underneath sits a soft lining; the sleeves are left see-through. The cut is the close one: fitted through the waist and hip rather than flaring, with a boat neck across the top. Reviewers have been warm about it so far, though there are not many of them yet.
In stock at our retail partner at the last catalogue check.
The floral is built from cord stitched onto the tulle, so the motifs stand proud of the ground instead of sitting flat in it. That is what keeps a pale blue dress from reading as plain under flash photography.
Mesh with stretch is what lets a close cut stay comfortable through a seated dinner. The lining follows the body underneath and stops at the shoulder, leaving the sleeves unlined and the arms visible through them.
Most of this shelf is A-line or smocked and loose below the bust. This one follows the body the whole way down, which makes it the outlier here and the pick for anyone who finds flowy skirts shapeless.
Light blue and brown, both floor-length and both cut slim. The stretch in the mesh does the sizing work, so the dress gives without a zip; Simplee names no closure. The sleeves are sheer to the wrist and the neckline runs wide across the collarbone. Gentle machine wash.
4.5 ★Earthy OrangeThe catalogue flagship: a short-sleeve V-neck velvet maxi carried in seven colourways.
Fabric: Velvet
4.3 ★Lake BlueLined chiffon with a fully smocked top and flutter sleeves, in lake blue, pink and a navy leaf print.
Fabric: Chiffon
4.2 ★Navy Blue 2Polyester chiffon in a vintage floral, with flutter sleeves and a smocked waist, cut to long midi.
Fabric: Chiffon
4.4 ★Navy FloralNavy, dusty blue or a yellow and dark green print, with a smocked waist, puff sleeves and pockets.