Dresses by style and occasion
Christmas is really several occasions wearing one name. There is the long day itself, spent between the oven, the table and the sofa. There is Christmas Eve, which for many families means a late service or a quiet dinner. There is the work party, with its vague dress code, and a week later there is New Year’s Eve, which wants more shine than any of them. The ten designs here cover all four in the colours of the season: frocks in wine, scarlet, maroon, emerald and forest green worked with gold, a rose gold sequin gown, two long-sleeved maxi dresses and a black co-ord set with a gold vine. Each is made to order in Pakistan, in a size from S to XL or to your own measurements, and sent to wherever you will be spending the holidays.
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Design previewQuick answer
The Gilded Seam makes Christmas dresses and outfits to order in Pakistan: frocks in wine, scarlet, maroon, emerald and forest green with gold embroidery, a rose gold sequin gown, long-sleeved maxi dresses and a black co-ord set with a gold vine. Each is cut in S to XL or to your measurements. Making takes 5 to 7 working days after the quote is approved and paid in full.
10 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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10 designs shown
£127Regular £159· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · eid
A wine velvet frock with a gold zardozi paisley panel on the front, gold-bordered short sleeves and a full, flared midi skirt.
£127Regular £159· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · eid
An emerald silk frock with gold zardozi work around the neckline and all the way down the long sleeves, over a fitted bodice and a flared calf-length skirt.
£76Regular £95· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · eid
A scarlet frock with gold kiran lace on the sleeves and around the hem, a round neck and a flared calf-length skirt.
£127Regular £159· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · eid
A forest green frock with a gold dabka bodice and a full, layered net skirt.
£127Regular £159· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · party
A rose gold sequin gown with a V-neck on fine straps, fitted to the hip and falling to the floor, with straps that cross over an open back.
£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.
£100Regular £125· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · eid
A maroon chiffon frock with gold dabka work at the neck, down the bodice and along the sheer sleeves, falling into a soft flared skirt.
£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.
£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.
£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.
Design preview01
Christmas Day is the longest day of the year to be dressed for. You may be up early, in and out of a hot kitchen, sitting down to a big lunch at two, on the floor with the children’s presents at four and still in the same clothes when the cheese comes out at nine. The outfit that works is festive from across the room but forgiving at the waist, with sleeves you can push up and a hem that stays out of the wrapping paper. Red, green and gold do the festive part on their own, so the shape can stay simple. Six designs here suit the day itself:
Christmas Eve is quieter than the day after it. If you are going to a midnight service or a carol concert first, covered shoulders and long sleeves are the sensible choice, and two of the coloured frocks here have them already: the maroon frock, with gold at the neck and a trail of gold down the front under long sheer sleeves, and the emerald frock. Both go on to dinner afterwards without a change of clothes. A plain shawl in cream or black goes over either for the walk and comes off at the table.
Not everyone wants a dress on Christmas Day, and a two-piece is easier to sit, kneel and cook in. The Black Gold Vine Co-ord Set is a loose button-front shirt with a pointed collar, a gold leaf vine down the placket and on the deep cuffs, and wide trousers with the same vine at one hem; it can be made with the vine on both legs, with straight trousers, or in another base colour. For a kameez and trousers instead, the Midnight Gold suit is jet black with gold borders at the neck, cuffs and hem, and the Maroon Heritage suit carries gold and rose embroidery on maroon. More are on our co-ord sets and embroidered suits pages, and Christmas outfit ideas in shalwar kameez puts the look together.
If the family photo is taken in front of the tree, think about what will be behind you. Red reads warmest against greenery and lights, while green can vanish into the branches, so save the emerald and forest green frocks for a photo taken elsewhere or let their gold embroidery separate you from the tree. Our red dresses and green dresses pages go through each shade, and maroon, burgundy or wine and bottle green, emerald or forest green settle the names.
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The work Christmas party is the hardest invitation of the season to dress for, because nobody tells you how far to go. It might be a sit-down dinner in a hotel, drinks in a pub straight from the office, a long table at a restaurant or a hall with a DJ, and the people who see you in a cardigan every day will all be there. Our party dresses page has the cocktail and pearl frocks for a night that is mostly dancing; the designs below are for the dinner, the drinks and the speeches, sorted by what the invitation says:
A December party starts with a cold walk and ends in a warm room, which is why long sleeves make sense on most of this page. The black roses frock, the emerald frock, the maroon frock and the seamed maxi all have them as drawn, the Tiered Maxi has full balloon sleeves, and the co-ord’s sleeves gather into deep embroidered cuffs, so you can hand your coat in at the door instead of keeping it over your arm all night. Long sleeve dresses and winter dresses with sleeves show more of the same idea.
A black dress is the office party’s oldest answer, and the way to stop it looking like a Monday is colour or shine somewhere on it. The black roses frock carries large red roses and green leaves over the bodice and down both sleeves, so it is festive without a single sequin, and the black co-ord set does the same with its gold vine and piping. For a plainer black with a long line, the seamed maxi in black is the quietest choice on the page; what colour embroidery goes on black helps if you want gold or red added to it, and our black dresses page has more.
Most office parties involve far more sitting than dancing. Choose a waist you can eat in, a skirt that does not crease badly when you stand up, and a neckline that behaves when you lean across the table. The frocks here are fitted at the waist and flared below it, the shape that forgives a three-course dinner, and any of them can have a higher neckline. Office party outfit ideas, what to wear to a farewell party or annual dinner and what to wear when you do not know the dress code go through the evening step by step.
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New Year’s Eve is the one night of the season when there is no such thing as too much shine. The Rose Gold Sequin Frock is a gown covered in sequins, with a V-neck on fine straps, fitted to the hip and flaring to the floor, with straps that cross over a low back. The forest green frock puts its gold on the bodice, worked all over in gold embroidery above a full skirt of soft sheer layers, so it catches the light from the waist up and moves below it. Between the two sit the wine, maroon, scarlet and emerald frocks, whose gold embroidery shines without a sequin in sight.
Sequins and beads can also be added to a design that does not have them, as part of its embroidery: a line of gold sequins round the neck of the seamed maxi, beads on the cuffs of the co-ord, or a sequinned band at the hem of a frock. Say what you have in mind in the changes box and we confirm in the quote what suits the fabric and the design. Sequins and beadwork: a practical guide explains the kinds of work, and gold or silver embroidery helps you pick the metal: gold flatters wine, scarlet and the two greens, silver suits black and the cooler reds.
The rose gold gown and the forest green frock are drawn without sleeves. Both can be made with short, elbow, three-quarter or full-length sleeves, chosen on the order form, and the neckline can be raised at the front; if you want the low back of the gown or the sheer back of the frock covered as well, say so and your quote will tell you plainly whether it can be done. Ask for a lining under either, so the sequins and the gold sit against cloth rather than skin.
Sequins and beads are stitched on by hand or machine, and the enemy of both is rubbing: a bag strap over one shoulder, a coat dragged across them, a whole evening sitting on a sequinned skirt. Carry a clutch, take the coat off slowly and smooth the skirt under you as you sit. If a sequin does come loose, how to secure loose sequins and beads shows the fix, and the dress stores best flat or on a padded hanger, away from anything it could snag.
If you are ordering one piece for the whole season, choose by the harder occasion: the wine, emerald and maroon frocks work at a family table on the 25th and at a dinner on the 31st, with the jewellery and the shoes doing the changing, while the rose gold gown is a New Year’s dress first. More floor-length shapes in other colours are on evening dresses, and day or evening: how colour and shine change explains why sequins look better after dark.
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Every piece here is made after you order it. Making takes 5 to 7 working days, counted from the day your written quote is approved and paid in full, and only then does the parcel leave Pakistan. How long it takes after that depends on your country and the courier, and December is a busy month for couriers everywhere. So we do not promise that a dress will arrive by a particular date, for Christmas or for New Year. What we can do is tell you honestly, before you pay, what the timing usually looks like for your country, so ask us as early as you can and leave more room than you think you need.
Your quote covers the dress or the set, delivery to your door, and any import duty and taxes at your end, so nothing is owed when the parcel arrives; delivered duty paid, explained sets out how that works. Planning ahead for made to measure is worth reading if you have never ordered this way before.
Name the design and, where there is a choice, the colour: Maroon, Black or Sage Green on the Tiered Maxi, and forest green, burgundy, one of the other four or a colour outside the six on the seamed maxi. Give your size from S to XL, or your measurements in centimetres or inches, each one marked as taken from your body or from a dress that fits you well. Add the sleeves you want, the hem length measured in the shoes you will wear, whether you want a lining, the date of the occasion and the country we are sending to. How to measure for a made to measure dress, how to measure for a co-ord set and our size guide cover the rest.
A dress makes a good present only if it fits, and the simplest way round that is a dress she already owns. Borrow one that fits her well, measure it as our guide shows and label every number as a garment measurement; we cut from those. Or send her the link and let her choose the design and colour herself, which spoils the surprise but not the fit. Either way, allow the making time and the shipping time before the day you hand it over.
In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Christmas lunch may be eaten outdoors in the heat, and long sleeves are the last thing you want. Any dress on this page can be made sleeveless; the rose gold gown and the forest green frock already are, and the Tiered Maxi, in light chiffon, is the airiest of the ten. Pick Sleeveless on the order form or write it in the changes box, send an armhole measurement with the rest, and the change is confirmed in your quote.
Choose S to XL if a standard size usually fits you, or send your own measurements and the dress is cut to them, which is how we make any size outside that range. Nothing is cut until every detail has been agreed in writing. Colours on a screen can differ a little from the finished cloth, and most pictures here are design previews made before sewing, so a daylight photo of the red or green you want helps us match it.
In close-up
Necklines, sleeves and backs from this collection. Tap a name to see every view of that design.
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Design previewYour 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
We cannot promise a date. Making takes 5 to 7 working days from the day your written quote is approved and paid in full, and shipping follows, taking longer to some countries than others, especially in December. Order as early as you can, tell us the date and your country when you ask for a quote, and we will say honestly what the timing usually looks like before you pay.
Match the venue. For a dinner or drinks, the black frock with red roses, the wine frock or the seamed maxi in black or forest green look dressed up without going too far. For a dance or a black tie dinner, choose the rose gold sequin gown or the forest green frock with its gold bodice. If you would rather not wear a dress, the black co-ord set with a gold vine does the same job.
Yes. Ask for short, elbow, three-quarter or full-length sleeves on the order form, and for a higher neckline or a lining if you want them. The forest green frock can be changed the same way. Every change is confirmed in your written quote before cutting.
No. We make women’s clothing only, in sizes S to XL or cut to an adult’s own measurements, so we do not make girls’ or children’s Christmas dresses.
Yes, if you choose by the dressier night. The wine, emerald and maroon frocks sit happily at a family table and at a New Year’s dinner, with different shoes and jewellery. The rose gold gown is a New Year’s dress first and suits Christmas Day only if the day is spent in a restaurant.
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.
