What cocktail attire means
Cocktail attire is the dress code that tells you the least and expects the most. The safe reading: a dress that ends somewhere between the knee and the ankle, in a fabric that looks like an occasion. Satin and lace manage it without trying; sequins and velvet manage it with the lights down. A midi is the dependable answer, a mini works while the party is young, and a maxi is right for an evening wedding or anything that starts after eight. If the invitation says black tie, you want our Event Dresses instead; if it says festive, start with Holiday Dresses.
Cocktail and party dresses by length
Short: mini cocktail dresses in satin, sequins and structured crepe, the ones for a birthday dinner that turns into a late night, with heels and not much else. Midi: the length that works for every cocktail invitation, from a rehearsal dinner to an office party, in satin, lace and floral jacquard. Long: a maxi in a liquid fabric reads cocktail rather than formal as long as the cut is simple; see our Wedding Guest Dresses for the ones built for a ceremony and the reception after. And when the brief is simply ‘look nice’, a black dress with good shoes has never once been wrong.
Winter cocktail dresses and the holiday calendar
From Thanksgiving week to New Year’s Eve the calendar fills with parties that ask for a cocktail dress and a coat check. This is the season for long sleeve dresses in velvet and satin, for deep reds, emerald and black, and for a little sequin where the invitation allows it. Our Christmas and Holiday Dresses edits pull the season’s best into one place; this page is the full cocktail range, year round, with new styles added weekly. Nothing here is on sale, so what you see is what is in stock and current.