Emerald shantung pleated-sleeve top with draped trousers

A top in emerald silk shantung, the slub of the weave catching the light, with cap sleeves built from fanned knife pleats that stand away from the shoulder, a round neck, black piping down the side seams and a hem cut to a point at the front. The trousers match: high-waisted, pleated at the front, tapered at the ankle, with wide draped panels at the hips that fall like pockets, a thin black belt and the same black piping down each leg.

It is a dinner suit in disguise. Wear it where tailoring would be expected and a dress would be too much: a dinner party, an opening, an office with a decent dress code. Pointed flats in the day, a black heel at night. Spring and autumn; the silk is not for July.

Green is not a neutral. I wear it as one.