Dresses by style and occasion
A long sleeve earns its place when it reaches the wrist and stays there as you reach across a table, and that is where bought dresses let many women down. Every dress and frock here is drawn with long sleeves, from below-the-knee frocks to dresses that touch the floor, and each is made in a size from S to XL or to your own measurements, sleeve length included. Any change to the sleeve, neckline or hem is set out in your written quote before cutting.
Design preview
Design previewQuick answer
Every dress on this page has long sleeves as drawn, from frocks that end below the knee to maxis that touch the floor. The Gilded Seam makes each one in Pakistan in S to XL or to measure, with the sleeve cut to your arm. Send your arm length and wrist, approve the written quote and pay in full; the work then takes 5 to 7 working days.
9 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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9 designs shown
£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.
£79Regular £99· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · party
A powder blue fit-and-flare dress with a square neck and long sleeves, embroidered with trailing wisteria across the bodice and sleeves.
£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.
£76Regular £95· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · everyday
A lilac tiered midi dress with a round neck, long gathered sleeves and a floral embroidered bodice, finished with an embroidered scalloped hem.
£68Regular £85· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · everyday
A rust wrap dress with a tie at the waist and long sleeves, embroidered with ginkgo leaves along the wrap edge and around the cuffs.
£87Regular £109· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · eid
A royal blue floor-length dress with a V-neck, a square embroidered yoke and embroidered cuffs in silver and white, flowing into a full flared skirt.
£112Regular £140· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · eid
An emerald green anarkali-style frock with a round neck and long sleeves, a floral embroidered bodice and a full flared skirt with scattered motifs and a deep border.
£87Regular £109· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · everyday
An ivory maxi dress with a round neck, long balloon sleeves and a full gathered skirt, embroidered with colourful wildflowers on the sleeves and along the hem.
Design preview01
Nine designs, grouped by where the hem falls. The Tiered Maxi and the Shirt Dress are photographed; the other seven are design previews. Every one can be made longer or shorter in your quote.
A midi can stop just under the knee, at the widest part of the calf or a hand’s width above the ankle. A higher hem keeps a full skirt light; a lower one looks more formal and sits better over boots. Measure from the shoulder beside your neck to that point. Knee and midi lengths in inches helps you choose, and midi dresses has more designs.
02
Long sleeves are cut in several ways, and the shape changes how much length you need. A gathered sleeve, like the balloon sleeves on the Tiered Maxi and the Wildflower Maxi or the gathered sleeves of the Lilac Tiered Dress, is held at the wrist by a cuff, so it is cut a touch longer and the spare fullness rests just above the cuff. A straighter sleeve finished with an embroidered cuff, as on the Royal Blue Yoke Dress, the Emerald Rose Anarkali and the Ginkgo Wrap, should end at the wrist bone, or the cuff slides over your hand.
On the rose frock and the Wisteria, embroidery runs the whole way down the sleeve, so the sleeve is the main feature of the dress. The Shirt Dress is the practical one, since its sleeves roll up and fasten with a tab for washing up, wudu or a warm afternoon.
Take three numbers: the sleeve length with your arm hanging, from the bony edge of the shoulder down the outside of the arm to the wrist bone; the same line with the elbow bent and your hand at your waist, which shows how much length the arm uses as it moves; and your wrist, with the upper arm too for the closer sleeves. If sleeves always stop short on you, sleeves too short for long arms explains why.
Long sleeves and hot weather can go together when the sleeve is light and loose. The balloon sleeves of the Tiered Maxi are chiffon and stand away from the arm, and the Shirt Dress’s sleeves roll up and fasten with a tab once the afternoon warms up. A gathered sleeve can also be cut a little wider, confirmed in your quote, which helps at a July wedding in Europe, in a Gulf summer or in Australia between December and February. More in summer dresses with sleeves.
Design preview03
Three designs here come in black. The Tiered Maxi is offered in Black as one of its seven colours, which makes it a long black dress with long sleeves: full balloon sleeves, a split band collar and three tiers to the floor. It is made in chiffon, which is slightly sheer, so ask for a lining if you want it less see-through. The Shirt Dress also comes in Black, plain and collared, for work and ordinary days. The frock with red roses is drawn in black, with roses on the bodice, across the back of the shoulders and down both sleeves to the cuff, and it is the one for parties and evenings.
For a long sleeve white dress, the closest here is the ivory Wildflower Maxi, a warmer shade than bright white, with wildflowers on the sleeves and a deep border of them at the hem. The six embroidered dresses (the Wildflower, Ginkgo Wrap, Lilac Tiered, Wisteria, Royal Blue Yoke and Emerald Rose Anarkali) can be asked for in another base colour, white included, confirmed in your quote; a lining helps with pale shades. Colours on a screen can look slightly different from the finished piece.
For the office, the Shirt Dress is the obvious one: a pointed collar, buttons from top to hem and long sleeves, in black, navy, emerald green, maroon or beige. The Ginkgo Wrap in rust and the Lilac Tiered Dress are softer choices for a less formal workplace, and a lining makes any of them easier in a cold, air-conditioned office. See a work dress with sleeves and modest workwear.
Design preview04
For a formal evening or a wedding, the dressier designs are the Royal Blue Yoke Dress and the Emerald Rose Anarkali, both to the floor with embroidered cuffs. The Wisteria and the rose frock sit between day and evening. Sleeves make sense at a winter wedding in the UK, Canada or the northern states, and they cover the arms for a nikah or a church service without a shawl over the top.
There is more choice on our wedding guest dresses and evening dresses pages, including frocks drawn without sleeves that can have them added in your quote. For autumn and winter dates, see autumn wedding guest dresses for the UK or fall wedding guest dresses for the USA.
None of the florals here is printed. The Wildflower Maxi, the Emerald Rose Anarkali, the Lilac Tiered Dress, the Wisteria and the black frock carry embroidered flowers, and on the modern dresses the thread colour can be changed in your quote. The embroidered dresses page shows them side by side.
For a long sleeve gown, the Royal Blue Yoke Dress and the Emerald Rose Anarkali both reach the floor over full skirts. For a long sleeve cocktail dress, the black frock with red roses can be cut at the knee or left at mid-calf, and the Wisteria works the same way in powder blue. Whichever hem you pick is written into your quote.
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
Keep looking
6 designs
Design preview13 designs
17 designs
Design preview28 designs
10 designs
Design preview9 designs
FAQ
Yes. Every design here can be made to your own measurements, so the sleeve is cut from your arm and not from a size chart. Send your sleeve length with the arm hanging and with the elbow bent, plus your wrist, and say whether the sleeve should stop at the wrist bone or a little past it.
Yes, three. The Tiered Maxi in Black is floor length with balloon sleeves, the Shirt Dress in Black is long to the calf, and the frock drawn in black with red roses down both sleeves ends at mid-calf. The chiffon Tiered Maxi is slightly sheer, so ask for a lining if you want it less see-through.
The Lilac Tiered Dress ends below the knee. The Wisteria Fit-and-Flare, the Shirt Dress and the black frock with red roses reach the calf, and the Ginkgo Wrap can be made midi or ankle length. Any of them can be made longer or shorter in your quote.
Making takes 5 to 7 working days after your quote is approved and paid in full. Shipping time is added after that and depends on where you live. The quote already covers delivery to your door and any import duty, taxes or courier fees, so nothing more is due when the parcel arrives.
Yes, the Ginkgo Wrap Dress in rust. It has a V neckline, a tie at the waist and long sleeves, with ginkgo leaves embroidered along the wrap edge and around the cuffs, and it can be made midi or ankle length. Another base or thread colour can be asked for and is confirmed in your quote.
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.
