Woman seen from behind in a navy and silver brocade dress with pleated metallic puff sleeves on an old stone street

Velvet and embroidery · Spring · Autumn

Navy brocade dress with pleated metallic puff sleeves

A navy and silver floral brocade dress with huge pleated lamé puff sleeves and a layered high-low skirt, seen from behind on an old stone street.

A fitted navy brocade dress woven with a silver floral pattern, the kind of fabric that used to live on armchairs and does better on a body. The sleeves are the point: two enormous puff sleeves in pleated blue lamé that sit above the elbow and catch the light at every fold. The skirt is cut high-low and layered, a brocade overskirt falling open over a crinkled metallic underskirt that goes longer at the back.

It is an evening dress that walks well in daylight. Wear it with a thin heel and nothing at the neck; the sleeves already take up the room. Spring or early autumn, a dinner that starts outdoors, a long walk through an old town between the aperitivo and the table. Hair down, watch on, that is all.

I wore it on a stone street with bougainvillea. The flowers lost.