Dresses by style and occasion
Nearly every wardrobe has one black dress in it and room for another: a plain one for work and for sad days, a long one for evenings, one with a little colour on it for a party. This page keeps to the black we actually make. The Long sleeve seamed maxi is black first, the Tiered Maxi and the shirt dress come in Black among their colours, and the frock with red roses is black under its embroidery. Three black outfits that are sets, a kurta, a shirt or a kameez with trousers, close the grid for anyone who wants black but not a dress. Each is made to order in Pakistan, in S to XL or to your own measurements, and sent to your door with the duty paid.
Design preview
Design preview
Design previewQuick answer
The Gilded Seam makes black dresses to order in Pakistan: a fitted maxi, a chiffon tiered maxi, a shirt dress and a midi frock embroidered with red roses. Hems run from knee to floor, sleeves can be long, three-quarter or left off, and each is cut in S to XL or to your measurements. Making takes 5 to 7 working days after your quote is approved and paid.
7 designs
Each design is made to order in your size or to your measurements. The pictures are design previews made before sewing, so the finished piece is confirmed in your written quote.
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7 designs shown
£256Regular £320· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · everyday
A fitted maxi dress with a round neck and long sleeves, shaped by curved seams from the shoulders to the hips, then flaring gently to the ankle. In six colours.
£100Regular £125· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · party
A black frock with large red roses and green leaves embroidered over the bodice and down both long sleeves, fitted at the waist with a flared midi skirt.
£56Regular £70· 20% offSale20% OFFeveryday · party · dresses
A floor-length chiffon maxi with a split band collar, full balloon sleeves gathered at the cuff, and three soft tiers. In seven colours.
£39Regular £49· 20% offSale20% OFFeveryday · dresses
A long shirt dress with a pointed collar, a full button front, roll-up sleeves held with a tab, and side slits. In five colours.
£96Regular £120· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFtwo-piece · party
A black shirt with a gold leaf vine down the front and on the cuffs, with fine gold piping, over wide trousers with a matching vine at the hem.
£96Regular £120· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFtwo-piece · everyday
A black kurta and straight wide trousers, embroidered with pink lotus flowers and green leaves, with an ivory lace trim at the neckline and cuffs.
£84Regular £105· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFtwo-piece · eid
A jet black kameez and matching trousers, with gold embroidery in a traditional border pattern at the neckline, sleeves and hem.
Design preview01
A long black dress does two quite different jobs depending on how it is cut, and we make one of each. The Tiered Maxi in Black is the soft one. Chiffon falls from a gathered yoke into three tiers that reach the floor, the sleeves are full and gathered into a cuff at the wrist, and a split band collar keeps the neck tidy. The Long sleeve seamed maxi is the sharp one. Curved seams run from the shoulders down the front and the back, so the dress holds the body through the chest and waist and then widens from the hips to the ankle, with a narrow band at the round neck, slim sleeves to the wrist and nothing else on it at all.
Between them they cover most of what people mean by a black maxi dress: the tiered one for a summer evening, a holiday dinner or a long family day when you want to be covered and comfortable, the seamed one for when you want a line, at a formal dinner, a work event or a winter wedding. Both are cut from your numbers, so the hem lands where you ask. Our maxi dresses page has the same shapes in other colours.
Both long dresses have full-length sleeves as drawn, and both can be changed. The Tiered Maxi lists three-quarter sleeves among its options and so does the seamed maxi, which is worth having if you push your sleeves up all day. Either can be made sleeveless, chosen on the order form and confirmed in your quote; send an armhole measurement with the rest so the edge sits close, and read how to cover your arms in a sleeveless dress for an evening that turns cool. More sleeved shapes are on our long sleeve dresses page.
Measure in the shoes you will wear and tell us where the hem should fall. The Tiered Maxi can be cut to the ankle rather than the floor, which is kinder to pavements and stairs, and the seamed dress can be made at midi length as well as to the ankle. A dress that reaches the floor needs the length taken from the shoulder to the ground in those shoes; how to measure for a maxi dress shows where to hold the tape, and midi or maxi helps if you are torn between the two.
Black hides less than you might expect. Thin cloth in black still lets light through when the sun is behind you, and the Tiered Maxi is chiffon, so a lining is the first thing to ask for. The seamed dress lists a lining among its options too, and under a fitted shape it stops the dress clinging to tights in winter. Write it in the changes box and it goes into your quote. Screens lift black towards grey or blue, and most pictures here are design previews, so a small difference in shade between picture and cloth is normal.
Design preview02
Three designs sit at or near midi length. The frock with red roses is drawn as a midi: a round neck, a bodice and long sleeves covered in large red roses with green leaves, a fitted waist and a skirt that flares to the calf. The shirt dress in Black is long, to the calf, straight and relaxed, with a pointed collar, buttons from the collar to the hem, sleeves that roll up and fasten with a tab, and side slits for walking. The seamed dress, fitted and plain, can be ordered at midi length instead of the ankle.
Midi covers a lot of ground, from just below the knee to the lower calf, and the same number of inches sits very differently on a petite frame and a tall one. Decide where you want the hem against your own leg, then give us the measurement; knee and midi dress lengths in inches turns the names into numbers. Our midi dresses page has more shapes at this length.
The little black dress of the old photographs is plain, simple and cut to flatter, and it is usually short. Ours comes out longer, and in two versions. For a plain one, the seamed dress at midi length is the closest thing we make: no print, no embroidery, only seams that follow the body and a skirt that moves. For one with something on it, the frock with red roses can be cut as short as the knee, where its flared skirt and long embroidered sleeves make a black party dress for a dinner or a birthday. Either way the fit comes from your measurements rather than from a size on a hanger, which is what a dress this simple depends on.
A good many people searching for a black mini dress want a hem above the knee. We do not draw one. The shortest length in our designs is the knee: the shirt dress has a knee-length version and the frocks can be cut anywhere from the knee to the floor. If you want shorter than that, ask when you request your quote and we will tell you plainly whether the design will work at that length, rather than cutting it and hoping.
The shirt dress in Black is the one to put on when you want to get dressed and forget about it. The collar and buttons make it look considered, the roll-up sleeves cope with a warm afternoon, and the side slits can be made deeper or shallower, which matters if you sit at a desk or cycle to work. Ask for the knee-length version if a calf length is too much, for three-quarter sleeves, or for a button in another colour. Our work dresses page covers office dress codes, and pockets in a maxi or shirt dress deals with the question of pockets. For your name or a verse on a black shirt dress, the personalised name and verse shirt dress is drawn in navy and can be made on another base colour.
Design preview03
Black after dark is the easy choice, and the embroidery decides how dressed up it looks. The frock with red roses is the party dress on this page: the roses are large and bright against the black, they run across the shoulders at the back as well as the front, and the flared skirt was drawn for a dinner or a December do. The seamed maxi is the quieter evening dress, and it carries jewellery well because nothing on it competes. Our party dresses and Christmas dresses pages have more for December.
If the invitation says black tie, the colour is not the point. Black tie is a dress code, and for women it usually means a gown to the floor, in any colour. We do not draw a long black gown, so go to our evening dresses, where the gowns are gathered and the dress codes explained. The seamed maxi, which reaches the ankle, is the nearest plain long black dress we make for a formal dinner that stops short of black tie.
At most Western weddings and evening receptions a long black dress is an ordinary thing for a guest to wear, and in winter it is often the easiest. At a Pakistani wedding the answer is yes in most families today, especially at an evening walima or reception, with a few exceptions: some older relatives still read black as mourning, a few families ask guests to avoid it, and at a bright daytime mehndi head-to-toe black can look as if you missed the mood. Black for a wedding differs from black for a funeral in the details, so choose black with colour or gold on it, the frock with red roses or the Black Gold Vine set, or add a bright scarf and jewellery to a plain dress. Can you wear black to a Pakistani wedding? goes event by event, and our wedding guest dresses show the other colours.
Three black outfits at the end of the grid are sets, and we would rather say so than let a picture suggest a dress. The Black Lotus co-ord is a black kurta to the hip with three-quarter sleeves, pink lotus flowers and green leaves embroidered on the front and ivory lace at the neck and cuffs, over straight wide-leg trousers with lotus flowers down each leg. The Black Gold Vine co-ord is a relaxed black shirt with a high-low hem, a gold leaf vine down the front and on the deep cuffs and fine gold piping, over wide trousers with the vine at one hem. Midnight Gold is a jet black kameez to below the knee with a band collar, gold cuff bands and a wide gold border at the hem, with matching straight trousers; a dupatta can be added to make it a three-piece for Eid. Each is made to your measurements like the dresses, and more are on our co-ord sets page.
The six modern embroidered dresses, the Ginkgo Wrap, the Wildflower Maxi, the Lilac Tiered, the Wisteria, the Royal Blue Yoke and the Emerald Rose Anarkali, are pictured in rust, ivory, lilac, powder blue, royal blue and emerald, and each lists another colour for the base or the embroidery among its options. So a Wisteria on black with its lilac and silver flowers, or a Royal Blue Yoke dress on black with silver and white work, is something to ask for, agreed in your quote before anything is cut. The thread colour can change as well; embroidery colours for a black outfit and gold or silver embroidery help you decide, and the six are on our embroidered dresses page as drawn.
Design preview04
A funeral asks for a dress that says nothing about itself: plain, covered, without shine. Two of ours answer that. The Long sleeve seamed maxi in black has a round neck, long slim sleeves and a hem at the ankle or, if you ask, at the calf, with no embroidery, no print and no trim; ask for a lining so it does not show light. The shirt dress in Black is plain too, with a collar, buttons to the hem and long sleeves, and its side slits can be made shallower. The Tiered Maxi in Black is plain but it is chiffon and it moves, so it suits a memorial gathering more than a graveside. The frock with red roses and the gold sets are for other days.
Customs differ, and it is worth asking before you settle on black. In many Pakistani and South Asian families mourners wear plain white or soft pale colours; in others, particularly among families settled in the UK and elsewhere, black or dark colours are usual. Neither is wrong. If you are not sure, ask someone close to the family or choose a quiet dark colour such as navy or charcoal: the Charcoal Minimal Frock, drawn in charcoal grey rather than black, is a gentler plain choice with three-quarter sleeves and a pleated skirt to the calf. At many funerals women keep their heads covered, so bring a plain black scarf of your own, keep jewellery to a watch and small studs, and wear flat closed shoes. White or black: what to wear to a Pakistani funeral goes into the day itself, and if you would rather wear an abaya than a dress, our black abayas are made to measure in the same way.
A funeral often comes within a day or two, and a dress made to order cannot be hurried to meet that. Making takes 5 to 7 working days once your written quote is approved and paid in full, and shipping comes after, taking as long as the courier needs to reach your country. So a black dress ordered now is realistically for a memorial or a prayer gathering some weeks on, for the chehlum in families that hold one, or for the wardrobe: a plain black dress kept for the days nobody plans. We never promise a date. If you have one in mind, tell us and we will say plainly whether it is possible, as should you tell your tailor your event date explains.
Black near the face suits some people better than others. Against deep and olive skin it looks sharp and clean; on very fair or cool-toned skin a solid black neckline can drain colour from the face, and a scarf, a necklace or a lower neckline brings it back. The cut does more slimming than the colour, as do dark colours make you look slimmer? explains, and if a true black feels hard, the Tiered Maxi also comes in Navy and the seamed maxi in navy and forest green. Once the dress is yours, wash it inside out and cool with other darks and dry it out of the sun; how to keep black clothes from fading has the rest.
When you ask for a quote, name the design and say Black where the design has several colours, give your size or your measurements marked as body or garment, and add the sleeve, the hem and whether you want a lining. Every detail is agreed in writing before cutting, and the quote covers delivery to your door with any import duty and taxes, so nothing is owed when the parcel arrives. Our size guide shows where each measurement is taken.
Your choices
Initials, a name or a monogram can be embroidered too: tell us the letters and where you would like them, and we confirm the size and thread in your quote.
Anything else you would like changed, ask in your quote request and we tell you honestly whether it can be done.
How to order
Delivery to the UK
Quoted and paid in pounds. Your quote includes delivery to your door and any import VAT, duty and courier fees, so there is nothing to pay when the parcel arrives. Ordering from the UK
Delivery to the UAE
Choose to be quoted in US dollars, euros or pounds. Delivery to any emirate and the import charges are included in the quote. Ordering from the UAE · the Gulf
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Guides
FAQ
Yes. The Long sleeve seamed maxi is black as drawn and plain, fitted through the chest and waist and flaring to the ankle, with long slim sleeves. The Tiered Maxi also comes in Black, a softer chiffon shape with three tiers and balloon sleeves. Both are cut in S to XL or to your measurements, and either can be lined.
The shortest length we draw is the knee. The frock with red roses can be cut anywhere from the knee to the floor, the shirt dress has a knee-length version, and the seamed dress can be made at midi length as a plain fitted black dress. For anything above the knee, ask in your quote request and we will say honestly whether it works.
The Long sleeve seamed maxi in black or the shirt dress in Black: both are plain, with long sleeves and no shine, and either can be lined. Check the family’s custom first, since many Pakistani and South Asian families wear white or pale colours to mourn while others wear black. Making takes 5 to 7 working days after your quote is approved and paid, then shipping, so a made-to-order dress usually suits a memorial or a later gathering rather than the funeral itself.
At most Western weddings and evening receptions, yes. At a Pakistani wedding it is accepted in most families today, especially in the evening at a walima or a reception, though some older relatives still see black as mourning and a bright daytime mehndi suits colour better. Choose black with embroidery or a bright scarf, and ask the family if you are unsure.
No. The Black Lotus and Black Gold Vine co-ords and the Midnight Gold suit are two-piece outfits: a kurta, a shirt or a kameez with trousers. They are on this page for anyone who wants a black outfit rather than a dress, and they are made to measure in the same way.
Ready when you are
Send the design you like with your size or measurements, and we reply with a written quote.
No commitment until you approve your written quote.
