Woman in a burgundy leather and crimson satin gown with zipped panels and puff sleeves in a sunlit period sitting room

Leather and lace · Autumn · Winter

Burgundy leather and satin zip gown with puff sleeves

Burgundy leather panels zipped over crimson satin, puff sleeves with zipped cuffs and a high-low hem that drops to the floor at the back.

A gown built from two fabrics that do not usually share a seam. Crimson satin forms the base, draped across the bodice and falling to the floor at the back; over it, panels of burgundy leather are zipped on, one running diagonally down the front, another forming a pocket flap at the hip with its own zip. The sleeves are leather, gathered full at the shoulder and finished with zipped cuffs that open or close depending on the mood.

The hem is cut high in front and long behind, so the leather stops above the knee and the satin trails. Autumn and winter evenings, a dinner that goes on, a house with a radiator that works. No jacket; the sleeves are the jacket. A pointed heel, and the hair down.

Yes, the zips work. No, I will not demonstrate.