Woman in a red satin one-shoulder crop top and matching midi skirt reading in a leather armchair in a book-lined study

Satin and slip · Spring · Summer · Autumn

Red satin one-shoulder crop top with a tie-waist midi skirt

A red satin set: a draped one-shoulder crop top over a fluid midi skirt with a tie at the waist, read in a leather armchair.

Two pieces in the same red satin. The top is cut on one shoulder, gathered at the collarbone and draped across the chest into a short, cropped hem, with a loose puffed cap on the covered side and the tattooed arm left out on the other. The skirt sits high, closes with a self-fabric tie at the waist and falls to mid-calf in soft, uneven folds that pool when sitting down.

A matching set does half the work before you leave the house. Wear it from late spring into autumn: flat sandals or a black slingback by day, a pointed heel and the hair down for dinner or drinks. The narrow band between top and skirt is part of the design, so keep the skirt at the natural waist rather than on the hip. Nothing on the neck; the asymmetry is the jewellery.

I chose the armchair for the light, then stayed for the last forty pages.