You lift it off the hanger and the flowers stand up under your thumb.

Getting ready has run late, the room is warm, and this is the last thing to go on. The mesh is cool against your ribs for a second, then it warms through. You pull it up, level the straight band across your chest, and the skirt drops into place around your calves. No zip to fight with, no straps to adjust. One look in the mirror and you are already reaching for your heels.

The sky blue ground is a fine stretch mesh, and the flowers are worked on top of it in glossy satin ribbon: daisies and chrysanthemums with coiled rosette centres, leaves trailing between them on a loose diagonal. Run a hand down the skirt and you feel every petal sitting proud of the net. The body is cut close from the straight neckline to the knee, then the hem opens out into a soft fishtail. The band across the back sits level with the front, and one seam runs down the centre.

Key Benefits

• Raised ribbon embroidery. The flowers are stitched in satin ribbon on the mesh, not printed and not glued on. You can feel the ridge of each petal with a fingertip, and the satin turns from pale to deep as the light moves across it.
• Straight strapless band. The neckline runs level across the chest with no straps and no sleeves, so your shoulders and collarbones stay clear for a necklace or a pair of drop earrings.
• Close to the knee, then it opens. The mesh holds close through the bust, waist and hip, and the hem flares into a fishtail below the knee that swings as you walk.
• Pulls straight on. The maker lists a pull on closure and no zip. There is spandex in the mesh, so it stretches over the hips and settles back.
• Midi length. The hem lands around mid calf on the studio model. Short enough to take stairs in, long enough for a dinner or a reception.

Best for: a wedding guest, a dinner, an engagement party or a reception where a floor length dress would be too much and a mini would be too little. Also for anyone who wants texture instead of sequins, and who likes one soft colour that holds up under warm light.

Why It Works

Most blue occasion dresses get their interest from a print or from sequins stitched flat to the surface. This one gets it from height. The ribbon is built up in layers on a sheer net, so the flowers throw their own small shadows and the blue shifts as the satin turns. Because the ground is mesh with spandex in it, all that surface work still moves with you instead of standing away from the body, and the fishtail hem gives the weight of the embroidery somewhere to go.

Quick Product Facts: stretch mesh ground, listed by the maker as 95% polyester with spandex; raised satin ribbon floral embroidery; straight strapless neckline; covered back with a centre back seam; close cut through bust, waist and hip; fishtail hem; midi length, mid calf on the studio model; pull on, no zip listed; one colourway, Sky blue; sizes S, M and L; one dress in the box.

How It Fits Your Routine

The invitation says six and you have twenty minutes. This dress suits that, because there is nothing to fasten. Step in, pull it up, level the band, done. Bring your own heels and a small bag, since neither comes with it, and keep the jewellery quiet: the embroidery is already busy at the neckline.

Through the evening the mesh stays light. There are no sleeves to push up and no zip pressing into your back when you sit down at a table. The hem clears the floor, so stairs and a long walk out to the car are not the problem they would be in a full length gown.

Afterwards, treat the ribbon gently. Hand wash cool, or use a mesh laundry bag on a delicate cycle. Keep it away from anything with a hook or an open zip that could pull a loop of satin, and hang it to dry rather than wringing it. A cool iron on the reverse, under a cloth, will take a crease out of the skirt. Do not press the flowers directly.

FAQ

Is the back open? The back is covered. The straight band sits level front and back, and the mesh covers you from there down with a single centre seam. Your shoulders and upper back are bare above the band because the dress is strapless.

Is the embroidery printed on? No. It is stitched in satin ribbon on the mesh and it stands up off the surface. The close up of the fabric shows the loops and the coiled centres of the flowers, and you can feel them with a fingertip.

Is this a floor length gown? No, it is a midi. The hem sits around mid calf on the studio model and your shoes stay visible in every photo, short enough for stairs and a long walk to the car.

Is the fabric see through? Over the body the raised flowers sit dense enough to cover, while the hem reads sheer where the embroidery thins out and you can see the floor through the flare. If you like full coverage toward the hem, a nude slip does the job.